Drawing a comic

Have you ever thought about drawing your own comic strip or even comic book, thinking “How hard can it be? It’s just a couple of simple characters in neat little frames saying something clever”.  So you sat down at your desk with your pen and paper and… nothing happened. Turns out it’s not that easy after all, but don’t fret – we’re here to help!

There are three key elements that make a good comic. First, you need good characters with distinct personalities. Then you need a captivating story that you will be able to maintain and develop, and finally, you need to find a drawing style. Now let’s begin right away, starting with the first thing – your protagonist. Try making a sketch of him or her. Keep in mind that your protagonist will experience different situations and emotions, so try capturing them in different poses and with different facial expressions. Once you are happy with the result, make sure your character is coherent and voila – your protagonist is ready!

Now think about your protagonist’s personality and backstory. Any character can have a crazy backstory, even if it’s a cute little rabbit munching on a carrot. Maybe an amazing story already starts to take shape in your mind as you are thinking of your protagonist’s background, but hold your horses for now. Instead think of what your character is like. How will they react to danger? What makes them happy? What makes them mad? Fleshing out your character will help make your story more authentic. 

Now it’s time to think about the story. You have a protagonist that you can use, and you are already imagining the adventures they are going through. The key thing a story needs is a plotline and humour. It’s not like you have to create the next Moby Dick, but it would be a crying shame if your frames had no point to them and simply fizzled out. So keep writing and lay down some story structure to follow and to make sure you have the main plot and a decent ending. And don’t be lazy – do this even if it’s just a super short comic that you’re working on.

Next, you need to put it all together, which means the majority of drawing work is now ahead of you. Get a notebook and try to put your story in individual scenes that you want to draw. Make outlines of these scenes, adding dialogue. Keep in mind that we’re still at the drafting stage, not at the final product. Perhaps show your draft to a friend or a family member to get an honest opinion, and when you are happy with the feedback you receive, move on to working on individual scenes and images and start putting in the real, homerun effort.

So, how did it go? I bet you are super proud of your first comic creation! And please don’t be too hard on yourselves, nobody is great at stuff right off the bat. Did you find this journey fun and perhaps would like to continue? Come join us at Draw Planet and let our professional comic book artists help you get a solid foundation! Register now and make a comic book that will blow your mind!