Got a question for comic-makers...

[ranger]

Hello artists..

So, for my last high school semester I'm going to care about, I have to do an English project that relates to the novel that I read.  Of course, being the big DC/mystery fan I am, I decided to go with Sherlock Holmes (plus I bought the 2 volumes over the summer and wanted to crack them open).

So I'm actually doing a comic, and I was wondering if anyone had experience with making comics could help me out.  I can pretty much get all supplies if I ask my art teacher because I'm in Art this year...

any tools you think other than the generic pencil/eraser/ink would be helpful in my project?

Also, I'm planning on drawing it by hand, then scanning it on my comp, and adding bubble dialogues after that.  I was thinking of using paint, but is there a better program out there for this type of stuff (Also, any preference for font?)

Any help would be appreciated, gracias.

[kirite]

Sounds like a fun project Ranger!  I'm a complete noob in everyway so don't take my advice too seriously.

Supplies:

Normal sized paper
Mechanical Pencil
Ruler
Eraser
(OPTIONAL)  Fine liners

Fine liners and inks are optional because you're scanning it.  When you scan it you can make the lines dark on the computer.  They're excellent if you want to make your comic look neat.  But mechanical pencil can also be very neat.


Research:

Ask the internet what the clothes and background will look like.


Writing:

I can't really help you with this since I don't know what scene you're doing xD.  Just think in dialogue.

Drawing:

Start with a rough draft, keep it very loose and don't concentrate at all on details.  Figure out where to put speech bubbles.  Since this is your first comic.  KEEP IT AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.

Advice:

START THIS PROJECT EARLY.  COMICS TAKE FOREVER TO DO.

[bluekaitou1412]

I'm a complete noob in everyway so don't take my advice too seriously.

NOOB?! If you're noob then what do you call me? CRAP?!

Nyahahaha! Kidding!

[kirite]

Oh yes, as for scanning on computer anything that can modify brightness/contrast is fine.  So any type of picture manipulation program (something that comes with your scanner hopefully?)

Paint.net might be useful (http://www.getpaint.net/)

[ranger]

Thanks Kirite,

for the story, I'm actually done with that part (it's not really related to Sherlock Holmes in any way other than it being detective fiction +eccentric/abnormal main character - everybody loves weird people!)

If you're curious, the setting is the 90's, Seattle, Washington.  lol, my teacher was making fun of me if Kurt Cobain was the murder victim (heheh..what? you guys dont get it?  :-\)

Writing process - still thinking of the the murder method...let's hope 500+ eps of DC has taught me well.  I'm definitely using some of the methods as inspiration.  I'm wondering how the hell Gosho thinks of this stuff..

Ah, dont get me started on starting stuff early, I am an A-class procrastinator, no call me a S-class.  The deadline is somewhat close, but i think I'll manage.

Style-wise, I was thinking of going with a western look (not japanese with the big anime eyes), and I wanted sort of a noir look, kinda like the aura Case Closed had back around the 1st 100 episodes.  Question is, since I'm pretty much n00by artist who has taken only a years worth of art classes, I don't really have my own style.  Tips/Opinions or stories on how you guys developed your styles...I'm all years,

Gracias for the help so far.

[kirite]

Can't really help with drawing style (I don't know how you draw normally) but just a few random tips.  I'm glad you're going with a western look, iunno, I always love noir style detective comics.


Make your characters easy to recgonize.  Props such as hats, glasses, facial hair, etc...are useful like that. 

Know your limits and know what you're comfortable drawing.  Look at pictures of people from 90's Seattle Washington and develope your characters from there.

What's important is not how prettyful everything is but telling your story.  Keep it neat, easy to understand, and do not sweat the details.  Only go back and add details after you're done all the pages.

Try to do as many things by hand as possible.  It's really troublesome doing things on the computer if you're not familiar with it.

[kaitoushinichi]

Oh yeah, I noticed on this comic-making program that my teacher had, that comics generally use the "Comic Sans MS" font as a standard...

I don't really draw people because I can't make draw original characters from scratch, and I'm more for still life and landscapes than action and people and blood and murder and codes and white suits and... and... (yeah...), but all my friends say that when you draw things (especially comic-ish stuff) it's best to use 0.9 lead (if you're using mechanical pencil...)


By the way Kirite, nice avatar...