Steps:Here are the steps I follow for creating a comic: - Come up with a script on my word processor. This can some times be the hardest step.
- Sketch
out each page very very rough, trying to get a feel for how each frame
will work together and fit on each page. This is also where I decide
where text bubbles will go. My rough sketch is usually with any pencil
I can find using a s
- Draw finished work one or two rows at a
time with non-photo blue colored pencil. I usually draw my finished
work on my best Bristol paper about 1.5 times larger than what I print
it as. This gives me much more room to draw details.
- Ink over my colored pencil. This is where the fun starts.
- Scan my inked pages into my computer at 300 dpi grey scale.
- Color each frame using GIMP.
- Add word bubbles using Inkscape.
Software Programs:
Here
is a list of tools that I use to create comics. I do all my art on an
old G4 Power PC Mac running OS-X. I bought it used from a friend for
only $200. I also have an Epson 3490 Photo scanner that I paid about
$80 for. GIMP
is an open source raster graphics editor. GIMP stands for GNU Image
Manipulation Program. It works great for coloring my scanned line art
using what they call "layers". There are free versions of GIMP for
Linux, Mac, and Windows operating systems.
Inkscape is a vector graphics editor. Once I have colored my scanned art, I
use Inkscape to add word bubbles and text. Vector graphic objects
are great for doing this type of work because they can be copied,
resized and reworded.
Books:
As far as books go, I have received the most help from the following books.
Art Supplies:
- Paper - I use a smooth Bristol paper, which is excellent for pen and ink.
- Pencils
- I use any pencil I can find for sketching. However, for my final
draft I first pencil my drawings in with a non-photo blue colored
pencil. The non-photo blue keeps my pencil lines from being scanned by
my scanner.
- Pens - I use a .01, .05, and .08 tip pen by Zig. This gives me varied line widths for detail work.
- Brush
Pen - To get the professional look of an ink brush (which I am not good
enough to handle), I use a brush tip felt marker that has a lot of flex
like a brush. It is made by Pigma (BR#49).
Links:
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