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Step by step guides about the fundamentals and process of creating a comic

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I grew up surrounded by some of the most powerful superheroes. Characters like The Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk to name a few.

Creating a (believable) alternate reality through the art of visual storytelling has always fascinated me. But it wasn't until recently that I decided to write my own comic book.

Truth be told... it happened somewhat accidentally.

01. Start with an idea

All things start with an idea; and your comic book or graphic novel is no different.

As a storyteller, your best tool is a notebook (whether it be electronic or paper). My advice: keep it with you at all times. That way, when an idea pops into your head, you can jot it down.

Don't worry if your idea isn't fully realized yet. Go with it. You never know where it'll take you.

For example, when I interviewed Maya Posch on Roundabout: Creative Chaos, I never intended that conversation would be the catalyst for a new comic book. During the interview, we talked about having super powers. She made an off-handed comment about a "super cat" and almost a year later, G.E.N.T.S. was released.

02. Write a script

One of the most common mistakes is to start drawing your comic book before working out your story. While you may feel like grabbing a blank sheet of paper - or launching your favorite drawing app - and just diving in, by doing so, you're likely setting yourself up for failure.

Take the time to write a script. It doesn't need to be fancy and you don't need an expensive app to get it done. A simple text editor will do. However, if you're looking for a more robust app for writing, my preference is Scrivener.

When it's time to write your script, there are four main points to keep in mind:

Know your genre

Understand your main character's goals/challenges

Create a believable setting

Include a beginning, a middle, and an end

03. Plan the layout

Once your script is complete, it's time to start drawing. Well... it's almost time to start drawing.

When working on the layout, your goal is to keep the reader interested. One way to do this is to end each page (maybe not all, but some) with a cliffhanger. Draw the reader in! Let them know something interesting is about to happen, but don't reveal what that is until they turn the page.

I find the most efficient way to 'work out a layout' is by using thumbnails. Thumbnails, which are similar to storyboards, help work out any composition problems before you invest time into inking and coloring your drawings. Think of them as a very (VERY!) rough draft of your drawings, and of course, your layout.

Note: Don't forget to leave room for the dialogue!

04. Draw the comic

Whether you're working traditionally or digitally, drawing the comic can feel like a daunting task. But at this stage of the process, your work doesn't need to be perfect. Focus on getting your comic drawn; you can work on perfecting it later during the inking stage.
Choosing the right tool (personal preference)
I'm a digital artist, and my application of choice (for comics) is Manga Studio Ex. Because it's specifically designed for making comics, this seems like the obvious choice. But it's more than just that... the tools feel natural.

If you're interested in learning more about Manga Studio, check out this review.

05. Time for inking and coloring

Now that you have your comic drawn (penciled), it's time for inking and coloring; two tasks that don't necessarily need to be done by the same person.
Inking
It is at this stage where you clean-up your drawings and add depth to your illustrations. If you're inking/coloring illustrations from another artist, don't be afraid to ask questions if things aren't clear.
Colouring
Choosing the colours can make or break a scene. In addition to proper color selection, not keeping your colours consistent can break things too.

Imagine how confusing it would have been to see Superman's cape colored red in one page and green in another. While this silly example is just that - silly - the point is, keep things consistent or your readers may be confused.

06. Lettering

An often overlooked task when creating a comic is lettering. You may have a great story. You may fantastic illustrations. But if your lettering is messed up, people won't read your story!

I won't lie. I don't hand-letter my comics. Granted, I may hand-letter a few 'sound effect' words here and there, but generally speaking, all of my lettering is done using installed fonts.

But not just any fonts!

I like to use fonts that fit the comic. The biggest collection of comic book fonts can be found at Blambot. They have both free fonts and paid fonts. Be sure to check the font license before using any font in your work.

07. Selling and marketing

Congratulations! You made a comic. Now what?

Selling and marketing your comic isn't easy. The best thing you can do is tell people. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Tell the world!

Luckily, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter make this relatively easy. Your best best is to create a daily post telling everyone about your new venture. Let them know what it is and how they can get it. Just don't be a pest; don't flood their feed with your sales pitch. Keep it to once (maybe twice) a day.

08. Wrap Up

Creating a comic book or graphic novel takes a lot of work. If you have the skills and the time to tackle this task on your own, great! If not, don't be afraid to collaborate with another artist. And don't be afraid to ask questions.

There are a lot of places on the web to help get you started. One of my all time favorites is Comics For Beginners.

Now, if you'd like to take a look at my new comic book here's a special offer just for Creative Bloq readers: receive a discount when purchasing G.E.N.T.S. issue #01 using coupon code: CB-READER
Like this? Read these!

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The 8-step guide to creating and publishing your own comic book

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I grew up surrounded by some of the most powerful superheroes. Characters like The Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk to name a few. Creating a (believable) alternate reality through the art of visual storytelling has always fascinated me. But it wasn't until recently that I decided to write my own comic book.

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wikiHow is a "wiki," similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 202 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has also been viewed 1,119,018 times.

Categories: Making Comics

In other languages:

Español: crear una historieta, Português: Fazer uma História em Quadrinhos, Italiano: Fare un Fumetto, Français: faire une bande dessinée, Deutsch: Ein Comic Buch machen, Русский: сделать комикс, 中文: , Nederlands: Een stripverhaal maken, Bahasa Indonesia: Membuat Buku Komik, العربية: صنع قصة مصورة, ไทย: ทำหนังสือการ์ตูน

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,119,018 times.

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Do you have a great story to tell with pictures and words? Why not write a comic book? For help with sketching, developing characters, writing a compelling story, and synthesizing all these elements into book form, use these guidelines and...

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Creating a comic book is a much more complicated process than people expect. It's much more than writing a script and drawing the images. There are many steps the mainstream comic book goes through and it can take an army of workers to produce. From idea to press, we'll take a look at what goes into creating a comic book so that you can know what to expect when creating your own.

Idea/Concept

Every comic book starts with this. It might be a question like "I wonder what would happen if an ancient warrior met a space alien." It might be a concept like time travel. It might be based on a character - like Captain Jaberwocky, the man with a monster trapped inside! All of these could easily be the basis of a comic book.

This person, or group of people, creates the overall story and dialogue of the comic book. It could easily be that this person came up with the idea or concept on their own, but that isn't always the case. This person will give the basic structure, rhythm, setting, characters, and plot to the comic book. Sometimes the story will be completely fleshed out, with instructions as to specific comic panels and characters. Other times, the writer may give a basic plot, coming back later to add the appropriate dialogs.

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Creating a comic book is a much more complicated process than people expect. It's much more than writing a script and drawing the images. There are many steps the mainstream comic book goes through and it can take an army of workers to produce.

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People discuss their experiences on the first day in college

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-Batman
-Suicide Squad
-The Joker
-Harry Potter

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The Boondocks (Black Culture)
South Park (Canadians)
The Simpsons (Everyone)
Family Guy (Everyone)
Modern Family (Gay couples, Latinos, traditional families)
Key and Peele (Black Culture)

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How did you feel when you first enter college??

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When did you start getting used to college? Is it really scary at first?

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I finally started my college classes this week. I was lucky to have my classes start on Thursday. There are reasons why I feel like this semester will be one of the best experiences of my life, however, there are also reasons why I feel like this can also be the worst time of my life. Like any other freshman starting college, the beginning will always be difficult and slow paced. The more you explore, the better you will feel about college.

College may not tell you what to expect because everyone there has a different purpose. You may be the student that is trying to get straight A's hoping to get into medical school. You may be the complete opposite and don't care. You may just want to try your best and have fun. Others may be at college because they didn't know what else to do with their lives after high school. College is the place to discover who you truly are. For me, I've learned that living on my own has forced me to be more social and learn how to be independent. I enjoy the independence but there are those moments where I miss my family, but who doesn't?

First of all, college classes are no joke. When people told me that I needed to arrive 15-20 minutes early to class if I wanted a good seat, they weren't kidding. I was 10 minutes early for my organic chemistry class and it was completely full. I was lucky to get a seat in the back.

Friends are not as easy to make as you think. Life was easy in kindergarten when everyone would be my friend because I had the 128-count crayon box.

College walking is much different from high school. I will have one class in one building and then in 10 minutes I would have to be all the way across campus for my next class. Time management skills are a must in college.

As a freshman, I find myself being really lonely compared to high school. Then again it's only been two days since classes started. I kind of feel like I am starting high school again and have no friends yet. I tried out for my college's indian ricochet raas team. Even though tryouts terrified me, I made a few more friends. I encourage other freshman to take the initiative to discover new ways to make friends. Join a team and make friends! Don't be lazy and lonely, it won't make college any easier.

College is the time to see what you can handle. It is a time where classes may take up most of your time. It may be the time where you discover who your best friends are. It may be the place where you realize you really miss your family and past, but whatever you figure out, you will always appreciate the memories you make during this time of your life.

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How I Really Feel About Starting College

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I finally started my college classes this week. I was lucky to have my classes start on Thursday. There are reasons why I feel like this semester will be one of the best experiences of my life, however, there are also reasons why I feel like this can also be the worst time of my life.