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How can I make a webcomic if I can't draw?
poshniallo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've been thinking about making a webcomic for quite some time now. I've got ideas for what I'd like to do, and I've been looking for an artist to work with, but I just can't find anyone who lives near me and fits the bill.
I should mention that I'm obviously not thinking of this as a financial thing - just a project that I'd like to do.
I'd like to try and make something myself, but I really can't draw freehand. Now, comics like giantitp or xkcd have comparatively rudimentary art, but I'm sure they require more skill than I possess. Qwantz and A Softer World have other approaches.
I'm not looking for anyone to do my creative homework for me, just wondering if anyone has any ideas that might give me a better starting point.
Some more direct questions:
(1) Have you seen any other webcomics which use art that wasn't drawn or was very easy to draw?
(2) Do you think that someone who can't draw well on paper can get significantly better at drawing on a computer? Are the two skills closely related or very different?
(3) Are there any programs or books that might help me?
Thanks.
I should mention that I'm obviously not thinking of this as a financial thing - just a project that I'd like to do.
I'd like to try and make something myself, but I really can't draw freehand. Now, comics like giantitp or xkcd have comparatively rudimentary art, but I'm sure they require more skill than I possess. Qwantz and A Softer World have other approaches.
I'm not looking for anyone to do my creative homework for me, just wondering if anyone has any ideas that might give me a better starting point.
Some more direct questions:
(1) Have you seen any other webcomics which use art that wasn't drawn or was very easy to draw?
(2) Do you think that someone who can't draw well on paper can get significantly better at drawing on a computer? Are the two skills closely related or very different?
(3) Are there any programs or books that might help me?
Thanks.
I figure I could take a bear.
poshniallo on
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I'm not sure if that's of any use to you at all, but it's an option. You could also try pixel art (like that of Diesel Sweeties). Like hand drawing, it can range from simple to complex, but I imagine that it would be more time-consuming than hand drawing.
Something I ought to mention is the existence of these two newsposts that briefly mention some of Jerry's drawing techniques. Might be a little helpful.
XKCD
Dinosaur Comics
8-bit theater
Those are off the top of my head a few comics that either have stick figure art, really sloppy stick figure art, no new art, or sprite comics.
It is possible.
Super Mega.
Edit: Slooooow.
(don't kill me artists!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Angriest_Dog_in_the_World
If I were you I'd just go ahead and draw, no matter how bad it is. You will get better and the comic will be better for it. Terrible art is excusable if the comic is good enough and if you stick at it you'll become much better - you only need to look through the archives of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal to see a shining example of this.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
1. Statistically speaking, MOST webcomics are drawn with art that is relatively easy to draw. Hit a random one on the webcomics list. cry a river.
2. You will normally be worse on the computer than on paper. you've been using paper all your life.
3. There are "how to draw cartoons" books that offer a quick'n easy approach, but impose their own drawing style. There are are a gazillion good books that teach you how to draw well. Slow and steady. Some books hover between these extremes.
try reading the comments in the Artist's forum here. They offer many advice styles, altough most will hover towards the "draw well" instead of a "draw in this style" approach.
furthermore, evenif you can't draw well, just look for a style within your abilities. Simple stuff can work. don't aim for realism. goofy and bendy is just as much fun and affective. XKCD and Order of the stick are as much artistic choices as much as forced limitations.
Some of my favourite drawings require very knowledge of anatomy or of artist's materials.
I've also heard good things about Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. It's another approach to learning to draw, and apparently it works well for non "creative" types.
Having good art is never a bad thing, though.
2. Drawing on the computer is a lot harder than drawing on paper, especially with a mouse. If you have a scanner available, you'd probably be better off drawing on paper.
3. Paint.NET and/or GIMP--even if you scan things in, you'll want to crop/rearrange/touch up/(maybe) add color/add text.
Make friends with Gabe while you are both in high school together.
</wiseass>
No, seriously, if you don't think you can draw a comic for a webcomic, are you sure you want to make a webcomic? Wouldn't some kind of written form of media be a better fit?
If you insist on a webcomic, hit art boards. Try to find someone you have some sympatico with. I think you'd be better off finding someone local, but that doesn't seem to be an option for you.
But if comics are what you want to make, don't feel like you have to do the whole thing yourself. A writer for a movie is not necessarily the director or an actor in the flick. And not having an artist can limit the kinds of comics you'll be able to make. Paint the Line, the PA series about Ping Pong, would not have been possible or funny if done by XKCD.
It's true that if the writing is great, you can be forgiven for poor art, but if your writing is great and your art is great, then you've got something special. So find a remote artist or get started practicing drawing.
Note: This is forgivable if you make the sprites yourself and not just get some Final Fantasy or Mega Man sprites and recolor them. Real Life is a sprite comic, technically.
TS
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Sex Percussions: Love has a beat all its own...
My How to Write and Do Internet Business Blog
(BTW: Alien Loves Predator uses small figurines, and it's pretty good.)
TS
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Sex Percussions: Love has a beat all its own...
My How to Write and Do Internet Business Blog
I think the point is that if the writing is good enough, it can overcome a lack of artistry, and vice versa. So yes, I think it's viable, but the best webcomics make the best of both sides.
they have a two man team, like gabe and tycho. one writes, the other does the art. if you wanted to could find someone with enough free time to dedicate to drawing your comic if all you wanted to do was write it.
I think that excellent writing carries bad art more easily than excellent art carries bad writing.
OP:
I advise against collaboration. It occurs most successfully when born of existing/natural relationships, or if you're paying the other person. Lots of people want to write; everyone has ideas. This includes artists, so if one is going to commit the effort to producing a webcomic, they will most likely want to put the work in on the stories they want to tell. Your selection pool consists primarily of amateurs, young folk. If you find someone within it willing to make artwork for your comic for free, I predict you'll be getting results a lot slower than you'd like after four or five completed instalments. His/her interest may wane, or yours for that matter. Either of you may feel too restricted by the other's control or too uncomfortable to broach the issue at all. Hoping for a successful, productive dynamic between strangers is basically playing the lottery.
You say this is simply a hobby project. So does the art really matter? I know you want an audience, or I assume so, as its the reason just about anyone puts a comic online. But you have to earn the audience, and you earn them by committing more time and effort (and money) into developing the skills you apply to your comic. To "properly" learn how to make art is essentially a life decision, because you have to devote a lot of everything to the pursuit, and there will be years of mundane practice ahead. The computer makes a lot of the drawing process convenient and forgiving, but it will not expedite your learning of the basics (except by also serving as a platform for research and study). Some will also adamantly argue that the pencil-paper connection is more immediate, portable, and wieldy, so it is recommended as the medium for beginners to use in their training.
But you don't have to do that shit. Anatomy, perspective, colour theory, composition, lighting... it's a lot of information that you will not make it through if you don't have a drive to create art. You have alternatives though, and this is where the computer really will make things easier. Clipart and photos have been mentioned. But honestly, you can find a style beyond stickmen. I know the "I can't draw" argument well, and anyone who says it really could draw if they developed the right thought process. All it takes for a head is an enclosed shape, some eyes, a nose and mouth. If that. It's as simple as studying some other comics and cartoons you like or respect, and just looking at how that artist represented those features. Then copy or experiment. If this is still too much, just keep going more simple. Your characters can be classic shapes in different colours! Here's a brainstormed suggestion if you have a scanner: cut pieces of a figure out of coloured paper. The arms, legs, and body can just be different sized rectangles, and a circle for the head. Pose them in the scanner, then reuse the parts for the next action depicted. Draw on some faces using the computer, and if you're adventurous, try cutting out more details as you think of them like hair or clothing. Cutout styles can be quite versatile, consider Southpark.
What you will have to learn regardless is a graphics program. Photoshop is popular, but of course far too expensive for someone who isn't really trying to invest in significant artistic development. I've heard GIMP mentioned a lot as a strong, free alternative, but can't offer any firsthand opinions. There's always MSPaint, and you can make lemonade by building the visual style of your comic around its simplistic features.
So invest as much into the art as you think is necessary, but then concentrate your remaining available energy on developing your writing ability. Gag strips will require savvy in pacing, characterization, phrasing, and of course humour. But if you are intending a more drawn out tale of drama, there'll be a whole lot more to master as you consider the governing story as a whole and how it will be structured.
Or don't work on any of this. And I don't mean that in a snarky way, but if the chief reason for this endeavour is to get some ideas you've had out of your head and available to show off to friends and family and wandering e-strangers, then make it easy on yourself. But don't get your hopes up for a larger audience without a willingness to put more work into it (and even that isn't really a guarantee).
Sorry for the post length. Good luck!
http://www.pagesunbound.com/
I read said webnovel just as religiously if not moreso than any webcomic I've ever ready, and there's obviously no artwork involved.
CAD
oh ho ho
Entirely different medium, though. It sounds like he wants to make a webcomic. Novel != webcomic.
Practice drawing your characters every day - draw until your arm is numb then draw some more.
Drawing is like music - there is some talent involved - but there is also a LOT of "brute force" practice that you have to do.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Still, everyone has to start somewhere. Get your writing out there, no matter the art that goes along with it. If it's good then the art will take a backseat.