How to Make a Comic:

Comics are a growing interest in popular culture. With many blockbuster movies and popular TV shows being based on comics, more comics being added to school curriculum and even MacArthur Genius Grant winners and Senators participating in comics culture, there are a rising number of individuals showing interest in reading and creating comics.

Resources*

· Paper

· Pencil

· Pens

· Colored pencils, markers, or paint

· Computer and/or tablet

· Art software (Photoshop, Autodesk Sketchbook, Manga Studio, Corel Painter, etc.)

· Word processor or script writing software

*some of these supplies will depend on how you want to create your comic. For the purposes of my project I used an iPad Pro 9.7 and an Apple Pencil. The app I used was Autodesk Sketchbook Mobile.

This part is both the

easiest and the hardest part. In order to make a comic, you need an idea for a story. This can be virtually anything that is adaptable to sequential art form. The great thing about comics is that they are an extremely versatile medium that can work with all genres.

For my comic, I decided to try an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.

Once

you have your concept, you need to write your script. A comic script typically consists of a description of the panels, dialogue, and captions. The panel descriptions can range from simple to extremely detailed. This can be done in any typical word processor, or script writing software like Celtx.

For more examples of what a comic
script looks like, there is a free archive at comicsexperience.com.

For further research into writing a comic script try these books:

· Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud

· Making Comics by Scott McCloud

· The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics by Dennis O’Neil

· Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics by Stan Lee

After you finish your script, you

will want to figure out the layout of the pages and thumbnail them. While your script allows you plan out the plot, the number and content of the panels, and your dialogue the layout of the panels can go a number of ways. As long as a reader can figure out the reading order easily, the possibilities are endless. Thumb nails essentially let you figure out the layout and the content of the panels without

Note: I forgot to take pictures of my thumbnails, but I do have a picture of my layout. I used a square drawing tool within the app, and although it came out a little uneven, I am ultimately happy with the result.

Then you draw the content

of the panels with a pencil. This is to make sure you get everything down correctly before getting everything permanent. Once you have drawn everything to your satisfaction, go over your lines in pen. Then color the pages if you intend to create a color comic.

For further research into how to
approach drawing comics, try these books:

· Framed Ink: Drawing and Composition for Visual Storytellers by Marcos Mateu-Mestre

· The DC Comics Guide to Creating Comics: Inside the Art of Visual Storytelling by Carl Potts

· Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative by Will Eisner

· Expressive Anatomy for Comics and Narrative: Principles and Practices from the Legendary Cartoonist by Will Eisner

· Vanishing Point: Perspective for Comics from the Ground Up by Jason Cheeseman-Meyer