Comics - what is it? How comics are made

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Comics easily evoke emotions in people. Whether it's joy, laughter, sadness or sadness, these picture stories touch a nerve. It is because of this exposure that making comics can be an interesting experience for everyone. Comics are a lever of influence on people's feelings. And if you have an idea, it's not that hard to create a comic.

Comics: meaning of the word

There are many definitions of this word. Most of them boil down to the fact that comics are a story told in pictures. Let's look at their origin. The word "comics" is a borrowing from English. Comic means funny, amusing. Thus, before it was just fun pictures. But now comics are a genre of literature. It created many works that have already become classics.

But in general, comics, the definition of which we are considering, contain a combination of two types of art: fine art and literature. They became very popular in the last century. Therefore, now find interesting comics in Russianno longer a problem.

Where to start creating a picture story

You should always start with preparation. And the preparation in this case will be that you write down the main provisions of your story. After all, a comic is, first of all, a story about something, and it must have a beginning, middle and end, which must be thought out in advance.

Thus, when writing the beginning, one should not forget about the background against which the plot will develop. It is the environment that will set the tone of the story, its pace, and sometimes determine the actions of the characters. After all, comics are stories that must develop at all levels of storytelling.

Characters are the actors in your comic and need to be chosen with the utmost care. Their images should be solid, and their character and actions should be logical, because they are the link between the narrator and the reader. It is the heroes that attract all attention, and the story of their life should develop consistently and gradually. This point is especially important if you are looking for a long-playing narrative, and not a five-minute story.

The plot becomes a script

No matter how strange it may sound, but the plot and the script are two different things. And if the plot is just the alignment of the relationships of the characters, determining the direction of the course of events, then the script is a detailed analysis of each piece of your story. Here will be all the lines and all the actions that your heroes perform.

For example, consider an excerpt from the plot description: "It was sunset. Lydia was standing on the bank of a cliff,but her thoughts carried her far, far beyond this piece of land. After standing like that for about 5 minutes, she turned around and went back to the camp. "So, at this moment, each of us imagined a picture of what was happening, but each did it in his own way, using his imagination.

In the script it should look clearer and more defined. Let's try to shift this passage of text to the scenario plan. Here is what we should roughly get:

• Shot 1. The sun is setting, half-hidden behind the edge of the sea.
• Shot 2. View of Lydia from below the cliff. Her eyes seem to be fixed on the reader.
• Frame 3. View of Lydia from the back. Her thought-bubble: "Yes, you won't wish your enemy to fly upside down from here either."
• Shot 4. Side view of Lydia leaving. Thought Bubble: "We should hurry up. Everyone must be waiting for me."

I hope after this short example, the difference between a script and a written plot has become clear to everyone.

What is a storyboard and what is it eaten with

So, a storyboard is a transcription, an embodiment of our written script on paper, in pictures. It is in the storyboard that we schematically draw our "frame 1", "frame 2" and so on. This procedure is usually referred to as a multiplier technique, but it also brings a lot of benefits to comic book draftsmen.

There are no pitfalls and special tricks available only to the pros in the storyboards, but there are a couple of little things that are better to remember. For example, it is worth making a set of angles, portraits, views as diverse as possible so that your reader's eyes do not blur or get tired. The easiest way for any artist will be sketchy sketches, which are later easier to compose and replace without spending a lot of time and effort on it.

Distributing words and text bubbles

So, after we came up with the plot, wrote the script and made storyboards, we can start drawing! Many people think so, but no matter how! Before the most interesting stage of creating our comics, there is still a lot of boring, even routine work related to thinking through and arranging the text on our picture.

In general, there is an unspoken rule for drawing comics, which says that text does not fit into a bubble, but a bubble is drawn around the text. Therefore, a small life hack: since bubbles usually take up a lot of space in the frame and often overlap part of the background, and sometimes some characters, by depicting bubbles first, you can save yourself from unnecessary work, without drawing in vain what will still not be visible!

Total drawing, or the nightmare of any artist

At this stage, you can already unleash your remarkable talent and let it roam. Now is the time to get carried away with drawing so much that sleepless nights will become a lifestyle, because right now you need to think through every detail, bringing it to aesthetic perfection!

And all these words are not empty intimidationnewcomers. Everything will be like this until you get your hands on it, until you get used to drawing your characters the first time, until they become like family to you. And then, when it becomes easier and easier to draw with each new drawing, a new page, then this work will begin to bring you real pleasure!

Comic book as a gift: it needs to be well wrapped

The artist sets the dynamics of the story by arranging the frames. So, large, bright frames attract attention, make the story dynamic. Such a composition is suitable for fast, decisive scenes of the story. A large number of small frames, on the contrary, slows down the narrative, this technique can be used to convey the tension of the moment. You can read more about all these tricks in Scott McCloud's book Theory of Comic Books. It contains a lot of information that will be interesting and useful to anyone working in this genre.

It is also worth considering the integral elements that should be present in the design of the comic, but this is a tedious and boring business. The main thing to remember about the main points:

1. The name of the comic and its logo.
2. Title of page, issue or chapter.
3. Page, issue or chapter number.
4. Name or nickname of the author.
5. Year of production.

Final stage: publishing platform

The drawings are finished, the dialogues are written, the frames are put together, and now this moment has come! It's time to choose your place under the sun on the main beach of free artists - on the Internet.

The choice of site should be treated with dueseriousness, because this is the future home of your creation. And you need to maintain good relations with this resource house, because it is the door through which your creativity will be released. The main thing is to choose what will suit you.

That's about it! But to consolidate and summarize all the information, let's recall all the stages of creating a comic:

1. Preparing the workspace.
2. Developing the idea, identifying the main conflict of the characters.
3. Writing the story from beginning to end.
4. Thinking through the characters to the smallest detail.
5. Drawing the main characters, their facial expressions and paraphernalia.
6. Translating the plot into a script.
7. Storyboard.
8. Putting text into the storyboard, applying effects.
9. Drawing frames.
10. Location of frames in the page.
11. Page feed (design).
12. Assembling the pages into a book.

Publishing!

Be inspired by examples

Excellent examples in which all of the above can be traced are "Lady Bug and Super Cat" - comics with a rich, fascinating plot. With well-designed characters and a vividly written universe of storytelling, this story has gained great popularity around the world.

The Simpsons comics have become a godsend for well-known cartoonists, in which famous characters get an additional platform for the development of their stories. These comics, unlike the previous ones, are drawn by world-class professionals, so a great picture, selective humor andAn interesting story will not leave anyone indifferent. You need to learn from the best, go for it!