I want to write a comic.

Discuss the future, present and past of sequential art.

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Wikkit
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Post by Wikkit »

Greetings,

I want to write a webcomic. I already have a few written, and I think the general concept would make it relatively easy to keep writing them. I'm relatively good at making an exacting sketch of whatever static object I'm looking at (typical boring class sketches) but I'm not good at drawing settings from nothing or people.

So, I could go one of three routes: I could do a <a href="http://people.ne.mediaone.net/pshaughn/ ... ">Triangle and Robert</a> type comic with bad art so that the story carries the strip; I could get a drawing program so that I only draw each charachter once or twice and change the face (like <a href="http://reallifecomics.com/">Real Life</a>); or I could partner with someone who can draw (like <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~cjclark/thappen1.htm">This Happens</a>).

Any suggestions, tips, offers to draw, or suggestions on what software is good for option two?

Ben
Mona Montrois
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Post by Mona Montrois »

Greetings!

Personally, I think that the writing is the most important part of a witty and entertaining comic. The art is more like the icing on the cake.

However, I personally like seeing at least decent drawings in a comic- it's more aesthetically pleasing, and it gives the comic it's own personal style.

If you feel you are not all that great at drawing, I would probably follow the guidelines of Real Life, and just use reusuable characters. Unfortunately I don't know what software is best for this method- photoshop comes to mind, but oy, is that expensive.



Sean Frost
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Post by Sean Frost »

Heck, bad artwork never stopped me.

See <a href="http://www.johnny-public.com/fwb.asp">Furry Widdle Bunny</a>.

I think you'll find that, whatever approach you decide on, your skills will improve rapidly as you keep doing the strip.
Sean Frost
<a href="http://www.johnny-public.com">Public Record</a>
chrisSturhann
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Post by chrisSturhann »

Ben,

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I'm really more of a writer than an artist. I think any of the of the three options you cite would work along with half a dozen more if you really sat down an thought about it. Here's my thoughts on each.

Do you own bad art. First, you might find that you're not as bad as you think you'd be. I sometimes surprise myself. I find that if I have a decent reference to copy/adapt from, I can do okay. Sometimes, this even means tracing a photo on a light table and retracing/redrawing from my own work several times until it feels right. Now that I have a digital camera, I have a feeling that finding reference material to work from will be a lot easier. For me, this works pretty well. Redrawing/retracing and correcting each iteration helps a lot. By the fourth or fifth time, I'm usually fairly happy with what I've done.

Drawing program, so you can reuse the same art over and over. I tried this, but wasn't real happy with it. I couldn't afford a real program, so I downloaded Corel Draw 8 LE (freeware for a Mac), but the program was real glitchy, crashed my computer all of the time. Computer problems aside. There might be a tendency to limit youself. I'd like to this, but I don't know how or want to take the time to draw it, so I'll do something else that's easier. There's probably a tendency to do this when you do your own art and you don't draw very well. But this route, I think you'be be more likely to settle in on the limited pallette you've given yourself.

Find an artist. Great idea, provided you can find someone that you're compatible with. Say you want to do stories about college life in the dorms, but the artist you've found only wants to draw superheroes or unicorns. Would make for a pretty odd comic. You could spend a lot of time looking and never find anyone you really click with. And in that time, you might be able to teach yourself how to draw with a computer or otherwise.

If I had to choose, I think I'd take either of the first two options. People tend to be more forgiving of crudely rendered comics online than they are in other media. As long as they are funny, insightful, compelling, whatever, people will want to come back, and that's kind of cool. You can do whatever you want, and the only limits you have are the ones you impose on yourself.

Good luck,

Chris
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