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Comic Creators Thread: Ways to Stay Motivated, Creative, and Productive?

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  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    munch you have to defy god and finish it

    show that jerk whatfor

    7656367.jpg
  • herojoeherojoe IndianapolisRegistered User regular
    They should have also paid for that first page.

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  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    At JRjr's rates.

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    "How much is this worth?"

    "Billion dollars?"

    "We'll give you five."

    "...

    .. deal."

  • CrimsondudeCrimsondude Registered User regular
    edited March 2012
    HA! Five dollars. I'd be shocked if they paid for what the sheet of paper cost.

    Crimsondude on
  • Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    Munch wrote: »
    On top of that, and I told TLB this in an e-mail, a roofer kind of fell through the ceiling of my house, coating my workspace in insulation and debris, and destroying the first page I'd done of Chupacabra. They only recently repaired the ceiling, so I can actually work in that room, without breathing in horrible black dust.

    Just sayin', I got problems.

    Holy crap. My apartment ceiling collapsed last summer with similar results, big ol chunk of plastic fell right on my Wacom. But I was lucky, they seem to build em (or at least mine) pretty tough.

  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    Two pages left to go, sucka-chumps. The goal is to have the whole thing lettered and toned before the end of the weekend, and then get an early jump on Chupacabra. I really want to challenge myself to pencil and ink the whole thing, before the end of April. Which means I'm probably going to have tear my internet connection out of the wall, to free myself from distractions.

    KKO8.png

    Sidenote: I drew this whole thing without having the koala in seen in profile. Then at the last minute, I decided to change panels two and four, requiring me to draw him from the side. It was only then that I actually looked up a picture of a koala from that angle, and realized that they actually have weird, wedge-shaped faces, that aren't as flat as I'd been drawing it.

    Whoops.

  • Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    Munch, that page is fantastic.

    I especially like the fourth panel with the distance from the characters and the bird in mid-flight in the foreground.

  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    Thanks, I appreciate that. I was worried that the scene wouldn't read like Kookaburra was flying/floating, so that panel was a late addition. I also wanted to have some kind of actual background on this page, so it accomplished that, too.

    The second panel was the one I was most worried about. I tend to be awful at foreshortening and forced perspective stuff, but I think it came out alright.

  • Tidus53Tidus53 Registered User regular
    Munch wrote: »
    You're over-thinking the divide between Eastern and Western comics. Here's the only difference; some are made by people in the West, and some are made by people in the East. I'd get into how both are incredibly diverse when you stop looking at the "mainstream" stuff, but it should be a given. Yotsuba!, Blade of the Immortal, Dominion, Gunsmith Cats, Lupin III, Monster, Astro Boy, and Bleach all come from the same place, and they couldn't be less similar.

    Don't worry about what kind of comic you're making. Do worry about if your characters are three-dimensional, if your story has a beginning, middle, and end, and if there's emotional resonance to it.

    Worry about writing a comic that's put together well, and that you would like to read. That's the goal, and everything else is just noise.

    Okay after looking at some tolerable manga and a few comic books, I think I'm close to what I want to know and I think I know what I precisely need to ask. Okay so let's say a script calls for two characters to have a discussion after a fight. I know this will probably have a few flaws, but bare with me. In a typical Western comic this discussion ,if left to fill the entire page, the panels would most likely focus on both characters in the discussion, showcasing each characters body language in correspondence to the others comments, commonly in one panel. But in a manga, said conversation would probably focus solely on the speaking character on the time and feature multiple individual frames. I know this might have a few flaws, but this is based off of hypothesis in the first place, and any feedback would be appreciated to correct me. Especially in how such a theory relates to action or combat scenes.

  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    Again, you're over-thinking this entirely too much. Comic artists, Japanese, American, French, Korean, or Ivorian, should draw or write a scene to focus and influence the reader's intention, to achieve their intended effect, and that's it. It can't be broken down so cleanly by nationality. Housui Yamazaki and Eiichiro Oda, both manga creators, both working in very different genres, would probably approach a scene from two very different perspectives. A single creator could, on any given day, approach a page in entirely different ways. Here's something I drew up really quick, to illustrate what I mean.

    bx2HT.png

    This one puts more emphasis on the guy's reaction, ending with him looking diminutive, emphasizing his vulnerability.

    10t33.png

    This one takes the focus off both subjects, creating a more neutral, austere feeling. We only see distant silhouettes of the man and woman. Instead, the mood is conveyed through the imagery of the home they're in. An askew "Home Sweet Home" sign, here. A dead houseplant, there.

    nwyu4.png

    This one emphasizes the woman more than the man, spotlighting her in the first panel, and emphasizing her reaction to the man's words, in the third panel. If I wanted to emphasize her even more, the second panel could a close-up of her plaintive face, as she tries to explain herself.

    Really, get it out of your head that Japanese people draw like this, and American people draw like this.

    Concentrate on the mood and information you want to convey, and choose the best way you know how to convey it. That's all that really matters.

  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    here is my advice

    do a thing

    don't worry about nothing

    just do a thing

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  • JyrenBJyrenB St. AugustineRegistered User regular
    here is my advice

    do a thing

    don't worry about nothing

    just do a thing

    This.

    This so many times.

    It's so easy to get caught up in thinking about shit you just sit around doing nothing in the end. Just...do. And however you do it is how you do it. If it's not the best? Well, do better next time. Just keep doing.

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    XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
  • Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    I love seeing the ways a dialogue sequence in a scene can be emphasized depending on what you want it to do to the reader.

  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    speaking of doing a thing

    where's my chupapages

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  • liquiddarkliquiddark Odd magpie St. John's, NLRegistered User regular
    edited March 2012
    Week three of Comic Book Bootcamp tonight (Wednesday). So far interesting stuff and grating story formulas are in about equal proportion. If you're in Toronto or area and have $400 to blow, though, you could find worse ways to spend it.

    liquiddark on
    Current project: Contension, a realtime tactics game for mobile
    @oldmanhero .programming .web comic .everything
  • liquiddarkliquiddark Odd magpie St. John's, NLRegistered User regular
    Also, @Munch, that is awesome. Is that sequence of ideas entirely of your own creation, or is it partially drawn from some other source? Cuz if there's a book that boils it down that cleanly, I might be interested in reading it, and if that's your own, well, that's wonderfully concise and it might be time for you to run a class up in here.

    Current project: Contension, a realtime tactics game for mobile
    @oldmanhero .programming .web comic .everything
  • Tidus53Tidus53 Registered User regular
    Munch wrote: »
    Again, you're over-thinking this entirely too much. Comic artists, Japanese, American, French, Korean, or Ivorian, should draw or write a scene to focus and influence the reader's intention, to achieve their intended effect, and that's it. It can't be broken down so cleanly by nationality. Housui Yamazaki and Eiichiro Oda, both manga creators, both working in very different genres, would probably approach a scene from two very different perspectives. A single creator could, on any given day, approach a page in entirely different ways. Here's something I drew up really quick, to illustrate what I mean.

    bx2HT.png

    This one puts more emphasis on the guy's reaction, ending with him looking diminutive, emphasizing his vulnerability.

    10t33.png

    This one takes the focus off both subjects, creating a more neutral, austere feeling. We only see distant silhouettes of the man and woman. Instead, the mood is conveyed through the imagery of the home they're in. An askew "Home Sweet Home" sign, here. A dead houseplant, there.

    nwyu4.png

    This one emphasizes the woman more than the man, spotlighting her in the first panel, and emphasizing her reaction to the man's words, in the third panel. If I wanted to emphasize her even more, the second panel could a close-up of her plaintive face, as she tries to explain herself.

    Really, get it out of your head that Japanese people draw like this, and American people draw like this.

    Concentrate on the mood and information you want to convey, and choose the best way you know how to convey it. That's all that really matters.

    Please don't take this the wrong way or think this is offensive, because what I hear in my head when you type might be different from the voice you in your head when you read when I typed, but thank you for the visual aids. I really appreciate that, I'm better at grasping something when it's from context. And I know I should get out of the mindset that comics between regions follow a certain formula or guidelines in regards to,"How it's done," its just that I've been taking this seriously since last year, and I've come a long way and I hope to do comics and do games when I'm older. That way I can spread my ideas, or if one of my ideas isn't liked by the guys at my studio, I could always try with comic publisher or even cut the middle man and go right to the web.

    But thank you, I appreciate the help. I'd also like some help exploring more deeply one of my characters, Bonehead. Mainly in the terms of powers, or what he gets. I have a detailed fully-done (mostly black-and-white because he's in pencil) drawing lying in my backpack, so I'll post him later tonight.

  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    tidus, I am going to have to ask you to stop thinking about the future and just do a thing and follow it through to completion.

    don't think about the rules.

    don't think about what works and what doesn't.

    just do it.

    the more you talk about it, the more you justify it, the more you research for it, the more you analyze conventions, and the more you put it off, the more you are not doing a thing.

    the only way to learn in a creative medium is to actually do it. trust me.

    what you are doing now is fishing for validation on an idea that isn't finished. you may not realize it, but that's what you are doing. you are asking for validation for the effort you put into thinking about starting something. well, cold facts are that just doesn't cut it in the real world. i am not going to pat you on the back and tell you to swing for the fences. i'll check out how far you hit it after it's done. i'll help you improve your stance, timing, and power afterwards. but, until I see you actually swing for it, you are wasting yours and a lot of other people's time.

    if you are serious about doing this, just do it. it's been a year. why haven't you produced something? what's stopping you? how do you ever hope to ever get better if you don't even start? let us see a story. lemme see a page layout. let me see you have done something. Otherwise, you are just another of the millions with a dream. I don't care about what's in your head. I don't care about the journey you took to get pen to page. I care about what putting pen to page produced. After you finish it up, yeah, maybe I'll wanna see how you got there. But until you get there, stop dawdling.

    if i am coming off as mean, too bad. i will not coddle you and tell you you have wonderful ideas and insights. because, until i see you use a single bit of all this research and do something with it it's all just snake oil.

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    liquiddark wrote: »
    Also, Munch, that is awesome. Is that sequence of ideas entirely of your own creation, or is it partially drawn from some other source? Cuz if there's a book that boils it down that cleanly, I might be interested in reading it, and if that's your own, well, that's wonderfully concise and it might be time for you to run a class up in here.

    Yeah, it's just something I did off the top of my head. As for running a class; at this point, that'd have the stink of, "Those who can't do, teach," all over it. But, if someone ever wants an opinion on something they're doing, I'm always willing to throw my two cents in.

    KKO9.png

    This page is a bit weak. I need to take another run at the background tones.

    Also, next time I make a comic, I'm just going to color the damn thing, or hire someone to do screen-tones. Because seriously, either way would be easier than doing it myself.

  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    it needs another run at

    FUCK THAT SHIT CHUPACABRA

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    Hey, just one more page left, and then lettering.

    And then I need to draw a cover.

    Get people lined up for an introduction.

    Pitch the Kookaburra: K.O. Ala made-for-TV movie.

    Contact Paul Hogan to star.

    But then, then--

    I dunno, maybe I'll do a story about a bee.

    I'll call him Rumblebee.

    The bee that fights other bees.

  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    stealing rumblebee

    he will fight the weEVIL

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    edited March 2012
    I was actually thinking Rumblebee would be a good Batman analogue, for that thing we were talking about.

    I also want to use Go-Rilla (superfast ape, naturally) and Robotanist for something.

    I seriously have a page in my sketchbook, that's nothing but pun superhero/villain names.

    Munch on
  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    I actually had some ideas for another one of the things we were talking about. I just gotta find which notebook I wrote it in.

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  • Linespider5Linespider5 ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER Registered User regular
    Munch wrote: »
    liquiddark wrote: »
    Also, Munch, that is awesome. Is that sequence of ideas entirely of your own creation, or is it partially drawn from some other source? Cuz if there's a book that boils it down that cleanly, I might be interested in reading it, and if that's your own, well, that's wonderfully concise and it might be time for you to run a class up in here.

    Yeah, it's just something I did off the top of my head. As for running a class; at this point, that'd have the stink of, "Those who can't do, teach," all over it. But, if someone ever wants an opinion on something they're doing, I'm always willing to throw my two cents in.

    KKO9.png

    This page is a bit weak. I need to take another run at the background tones.

    Also, next time I make a comic, I'm just going to color the damn thing, or hire someone to do screen-tones. Because seriously, either way would be easier than doing it myself.

    Huh.

    Don't really know what I can usefully add, exactly, but...it's really interesting to see part of the in-process stuff of how your head works around what it is you're doing. Especially since it's so completely...well. Different from how I get to where I get when I do stuff. That's for another time, though.

  • JyrenBJyrenB St. AugustineRegistered User regular
    Munch wrote: »
    liquiddark wrote: »
    Also, Munch, that is awesome. Is that sequence of ideas entirely of your own creation, or is it partially drawn from some other source? Cuz if there's a book that boils it down that cleanly, I might be interested in reading it, and if that's your own, well, that's wonderfully concise and it might be time for you to run a class up in here.

    Yeah, it's just something I did off the top of my head. As for running a class; at this point, that'd have the stink of, "Those who can't do, teach," all over it. But, if someone ever wants an opinion on something they're doing, I'm always willing to throw my two cents in.

    KKO9.png

    This page is a bit weak. I need to take another run at the background tones.

    Also, next time I make a comic, I'm just going to color the damn thing, or hire someone to do screen-tones. Because seriously, either way would be easier than doing it myself.

    Those tones really are kind of crazy. They're a little too intense and it makes my eyes vibrate. Which is kind of cool, but probably not the intended idea.

    I know you like tones, but have you tried more traditional inking instead of where you use tones? Some hatching in the right way, or even just differently placed blacks and more details in the backgrounds could achieve the same thing and might not cause you so much trouble.

    osasbutton.png
    XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    edited April 2012
    JyrenB wrote: »
    Those tones really are kind of crazy. They're a little too intense and it makes my eyes vibrate. Which is kind of cool, but probably not the intended idea.

    I know you like tones, but have you tried more traditional inking instead of where you use tones? Some hatching in the right way, or even just differently placed blacks and more details in the backgrounds could achieve the same thing and might not cause you so much trouble.

    I think the eyebration is due to the angle I have the tones set to display at. Here's a side-by-side comparison, with the more traditional tones on the right.

    DvWaI.jpg

    I changed them originally, because I just thought the traditional ones looked kind of flat and boring, and liked the checkerboard texture of the new tones. But, I'd be interested to hear if anyone has a preference, because I could go either way.

    As for inking; I do use spotted blacks sometimes: 1 2 3 4 5

    I just tend to save that kind of thing for a certain tone. It's something that I'd be more likely to use in a noir or horror story. For a superhero/adventure story like this, I tend to reserve big swaths of black for objects like Kook's hair, gloves, etc. Just a little splash to draw the eye.

    As for hatching, I use it sometimes, but sparingly. It's one of those things that's really easy for me to screw up and overdo, so I only use it when I really want to convey a certain texture.

    Really, up until this point I've mainly been using tones for little stylistic accents, like in the drawings I linked above. This has been my first time trying to use them in a cohesive way, to define light and shadow, etc. I'd like to eventually be as good with them as Joe Hunter, but I think I'm a ways off from that.

    I don't think I've really discussed this, but I really constructed this whole story as a way to challenge myself. It's the first full-length comic I've done in years, so I threw all kinds of obstacles in there for myself; there's an old guy, a young guy, a pretty girl, and a non-human character. There's scenes taking place outside and in, in light and dark. There's a car, building exteriors, a bar, plants, trees, and arid plains. There's comedy, drama, and a little horror. There's loud bombastic action, and quiet talking scenes.

    The whole thing's basically a ten-page demo reel. Something I can show to somebody and say, "Here, this gives you an idea of what I can do."

    Munch on
  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    I like it

    Now do some chup

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    I've got one page left to tone, you Chumpacabra.

  • The Lovely BastardThe Lovely Bastard Registered User regular
    noooooo

    the chupapuns were MY THING

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  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    Fiddling around with lettering. Think I found a font I like.
    bG29M.jpg

    I have to say, all the more technical aspects of putting a comic together, vis a vis sizing of the text, page, etc. are really the biggest headaches. I don't mind the drawing, but trying to keep a bunch of stuff consistent across multiple pages, is a pain in the ass. And I have no idea what I'm going to do, when it comes time to print off a batch of these.

    Normally when I draw something, I just fiddle with it a bit until it looks right, and then spit out the JPEG.

  • JyrenBJyrenB St. AugustineRegistered User regular
    That's a good font for it. I like it. But man, that toning in the last two panels is still pretty crazy. I can't keep my eyes off of it and I don't think that's your goal.

    As for all that technical stuff? It sucks. For lettering and all that, I've kind of had to figure it out as I go. I tend to err on the side of slightly larger text to start with, but getting that perfect size is annoying as hell. I actually put together a template in Illustrator for lettering pages, with the exact dimensions of the page marked out and various balloon shapes prepped that I can mess with. Info on the fonts I use and text size for them off to the side. It's been insanely helpful.

    I was planning to put together a "How we put together a page" this week. It'll probably go up Wednesday with our new page and I'll link it here. Not sure how technical I'll get with it, but we'll see.

    osasbutton.png
    XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
  • MunchMunch Registered User regular
    Yeah, I think you've convinced me. I could either turn down the opacity, or just shrink the dots:

    Gy19z.png

    I'll probably do the latter.

  • herojoeherojoe IndianapolisRegistered User regular
    I was going to attempt to letter my own book in order to decrease the workload for the artist, but then I realized I have no fucking clue how to go about doing that.

    Munch, that lettering looks good.

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  • JyrenBJyrenB St. AugustineRegistered User regular
    Hopefully I'm not coming across as too pushy, Munch, just want to help out. I really do like what you're doing and it seems like you're consistently getting better, too.

    And I mentioned I'd make a process post about how we put pages together from script to lettering and finalizing it all. I'd copy and paste it all here, but it's kind of massive, so here's a link to the blog post. If that's bad form, let me know, but I want this kind of thing to maybe help out others if it can.

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    XBL: JyrenB ; Steam: Jyren ; Twitter
  • DMACDMAC Come at me, bro! Moderator mod
    Cool stuff. Speaking of tutorials, I did a little tutorial on my process for this piece for Mutants & Masterminds.

  • Tidus53Tidus53 Registered User regular
    Alright I feel like I've been posting practically nothing at this point so I feel I should at the very least get something done, and so here is what I've got, I apologize for the side but you really only need to focus on the big guy with the muscles, the blade protruding froms his forearm, and the mask. It's in pencil I have yet to work it into tablet.

    JzsJt.jpg

    This is Bonehead. The main character of my comic and who I've been trying to develop and talking about. I took your advice to heart you Lovely Bastard, and shut up and put up. It's not the best art in the world, not the best quality, but it's better than where I was 2 years ago. Any questions? I love questions. Give me all teh questions.

  • Tidus53Tidus53 Registered User regular
    The left side is mostly early concept frames for an intro comic that takes place in a bank. Bank robberies are cliche, but you never read about 'em any more, or at least nothing I've read. And excuse me for loving a good heist.

  • Lewis RiceLewis Rice Registered User regular
    Munch, those doodles you did for the sake of the tutorial have a great variation in line quality! They give some dimension to the drawing that some of your pages just don't have. I am talking here from someone who hasn't been here in a long time, and I remember your work from when I was around briefly in the artist corner many years ago. But I mean it with the best intentions to see you develop further! Great stuff. Koalas are evil bastards. Have you heard them scream?

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