Posted by Paula Richey on August 29, 2012 at 6:55am
Nine pages drafted of Volume 1! I have miles to go on this, but I'm pretty happy with my rough mockup so far.I am convinced that the key to accomplishing anything is a solid foundation, so I'm trying to be very thorough with my prep work. I've borrowed library books for my background reading, worked on sketching and storytelling exercises, even enrolled in the home study Kubert School course. I know my characters, my theme, my plot, and I even have a few lovely, good-natured people to be models. (My son is also always happy to give me a pose so I can snap pictures with any unusual angles.) I also have a Pinterest account and boards where I pin art inspiration and other reference material.Now, I'm sketching rough layouts on copy paper which I've drawn margins on to make it closer to comic book proportions. I draw the gutters and design the panels, and populate them with glorified stick figures and scrawled text. Then I can see how the pacing is going, whether my panels make sense in relation to one another, and if I'm missing any action or need to change up my angles. I also put them together in sets of two so that I can see how each two-page spread looks together. When I'm happy on all those details, I punch holes along the side and clip them in a three-ring binder in order so I can turn the pages and read the story.I'm creating two-page spreads of the major turning points in the story first, then going back to add in the rest of the story and connect my turning points together. I know the overall arc of the story and characters already, so now the thing to work on is making sure the story makes sense while it's told.When I'm done, I will have a very ugly penciled version of my comic :) If the story survives amidst the sloppy sketches and half-erased mistakes, I'll know it has merit :)What's your process? Any tips?
Thanks guys! My sketches right now are kind of horrifying, but once I get the first issue completely drafted I might possibly put it up a page at a time - idk. I have perfectionism issues - I feel physically sick if anybody sees less-than-finished work of mine. Of course before it's finished is the best time to get feedback and suggestions on it, so I'm painted into a corner there. :( I'll probably post warnings in all caps once I do post pictures - THE ART ITSELF IS AWFUL! PLEASE CRIT STORY AND LAYOUT! :)
Impressive. One additional thing I do is post my sketches on galleries and try to get feedback. Discussion and feedback from peers is a great way to speed the process. Secondly, guard your homebase; a secure home where you can talk out your projects and get encouragement when you're down is how you stay in this process for the long haul.
My process is similar to yours, except i staple my rough papers and I don't draw margins. Sounds like you have a good foundation to make this volume work.
Comments
Impressive. One additional thing I do is post my sketches on galleries and try to get feedback. Discussion and feedback from peers is a great way to speed the process. Secondly, guard your homebase; a secure home where you can talk out your projects and get encouragement when you're down is how you stay in this process for the long haul.
My process is similar to yours, except i staple my rough papers and I don't draw margins. Sounds like you have a good foundation to make this volume work.