Are you trying to create your own comic book and are wondering where to start? Many times a comic book can be very hard to think about because we try to do it all at once. The easiest way to create the book is to break it down into sections. Try these steps and see if it helps you:
- Create the story. Try to think of things that happen to you in real life in such places as school, work, on the playground etc.
- Create thumbnails of the story that you just wrote. Thumbnails are little rough pictures showing the scene, the people in the story, and who is talking.
- Create the pencil layouts. Some artists may do a script at this stage, but I leave that to the end of my work. So I would draw up the pencil layouts from my thumbnails on to proper comic art board.
- Create inks and colour layouts. Now that you have your pencils created go ahead and ink and colour them. If you are colouring with traditional materials don’t forget to leave room for the speech bubbles.
- Now that the art is finished I add the text, speech bubbles, thought baloons, etc. I can do this last because I do those in the computer. The reason I do these last is because sometimes after you draw you will think of better things to say that will help your comic.
Remember break down your steps and you will find it easier to complete the project. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your comic some day.
About the Author
Bruce Outridge is a comic book artist and illustrator from the Burlington Ontario area. You can view more on Bruce and his work on the Pride Junkie website at www.pridejunkie.ca or his regular website at www.bruceoutridgeproductions.com
