How to create a comic book? Inspiration from Comics: A Step by Step Guide to Creating My First Comic

From news reports to literary novels, to various movies and TV programs, contemporary comic books can focus on any theme. They boldly expose darkness, are interesting and profound, possess the same narrative power as other media, move you to tears, make you laugh heartily, or break your heart.

Comic books used to be an underestimated and undervalued form of artistic expression, but now, due to the success of various superhero blockbusters, comic books are experiencing a revival in contemporary culture.

In the 2022 epidemic, when I was infected with severe COVID-19, I hardly had the strength to get up. At that time, the only thing I could do was read books, and the only thing that made me forget about my illness was to read some online Japanese and Korean comics. I remember reading a series of manga called 'Cyberpunk', which was a science fiction manga.

It brought me different feelings and thoughts, and inspired me a lot. From that moment on, I wanted to create my own manga. Until today, with the emergence of AI, I have finally taken the first step.

Inspiration from Comics: A Step by Step Guide to Creating My First Comic

• What is a comic book?

Comics are a visual narrative form that combines images and text. They are usually presented in the form of comic strips, which are independent images that tell a story plot (such as a moment, a glance, a scene freeze shot).

This medium is conducive to innovation and artistic expression, allowing comic creators to freely explore the space of each image.

As popular writer and comic book author Neil Gaiman once said, "When you come into contact with comics, you enter a completely different field... We use pictures and words to try to do things in the reader's mind that you may never be able to do in prose or film

• When did comic books become popular?

The so-called 'golden age' of comic books spanned from 1930 to 1950, with the introduction of superhero prototypes into orthodoxy. This era gave birth to some of the most famous comic book characters in history, including Superman, Batman, Spider Man, Captain America, and Wonder Woman.

After World War II, superhero themed films were gradually replaced by other genres such as romance films, westerns, and science fiction films.

The era of modern comic books (from the 1980s to the present) has experienced dramatic expansion in form, because independent publishers and the Internet have paved the way for the voices that rarely appeared in comic scripts before, making them glow.

• What are the elements of a good comic book?

Comic books are typically composed of multiple elements that work together to tell a story.

Panel: A panel is an illustration on a page, usually surrounded by a border. A comic book consists of one or more drawing boards. Each canvas pushes the story forward by depicting the actions of characters and dialogue bubbles.

Gutter: This is the space between the drawing boards. These spaces can be large or small, affecting the ease of reading the page.

Tier: A single line drawing board.

Splash: A full page illustration typically used at the beginning of a comic book to introduce the story and establish the background and atmosphere.

Spread: An illustration that spans multiple pages.

Title box: A box separated from the rest of the drawing board, typically used to provide background information about what is happening through the voice over.

Speech bubbles/bubbles: These contain dialogues between characters and are located inside the drawing board. Each bubble has a 'tail' pointing towards the character speaking.

• What is required to create a comic book?

It was difficult, almost impossible, to build a comic book entirely by oneself in the past. Writing comics is a difficult and demanding job. But now with the assistance of AI, most writers can create stories on their own, making it possible. Of course, collaborating with other artists to present stories on the page is definitely more efficient and high-quality than working alone.

Under normal circumstances, the production of a comic book requires the following character roles:

- * * Writer * *: The writer develops the elements of the story, such as plot, background, characters, conflicts, and dialogue. They also create outlines and scripts, which serve as roadmaps for other collaborators.

Editor: Every good writer needs an editor. Ideally, the editor would have a deep understanding of the writer and her goals, but still be able to provide thoughtful criticism, especially if certain aspects of the story do not resonate.

Artist: The artist transforms the author's instructions into illustrations on a canvas. Artists have the ability to add subtle dimensions to simple instructions; For example, the phrase 'the character looks away' can be displayed in countless different ways, whether it's the sad expression on the character's face, the character's face in shadow, or the character's head tilted at some angle. The artist enhanced the writer's plot development through her creative explanations.

– * * Typographer * *: Typographers use fonts, sizes, and calligraphy to convey stories. Story titles, sound effects, and dialogue bubbles are all the domain of text typesetters. The typesetter also fills the artist's pencil lines with ink.

Colorist: After the story is drawn and the ink is fixed, the colorist fills the black and white lines with colors. From a historical perspective, this was accomplished using brushes and dyes. Although some colorists still choose to do things manually, others use digital tools; There is no better one, it all depends on personal style and preferences.

10 great comic books, recommended for collection and viewing

1. Action Comics # 1, DC Comics Publishing (1938) 2. Two Fist Stories # 25, created by Harvey Kurtzman (1951) 3. Top Novel Library # 6, created by Chris Weir (1965) 4. Fantastic Four # 51, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (1966) Girl ", created by Grace Ellis and Noel Stevenson (2014)

• How to come up with an idea for a comic book in 4 steps?

Whether you want to come up with an idea for a comic strip or a short story comic, please use the following tips to inspire you.

1. Think of a short story idea that can be visually presented well. What you want is grand, easy to define moments, vivid characters, and a lot of dialogue. If you are already writing a novel, try adapting your character and background to comic format as a creative exercise.
2. Next, outline the general structure of your comic book. Consider a grand opening, main plot points, climax, and resolution.
3. Write a brief profile of your main character. Who are they? What do they want? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Where were they at the beginning of the story and where were they at the end of the story? What central conflicts did they face and overcome?
4. Think of some extraordinary backgrounds and strong emotions, such as love, death, anger, good, and evil. How are these portrayed in your comic book?

• How to build the structure of a comic book in 3 steps?

Like movies and other narrative art forms, most comic books tend to follow a three act structure.

Act 1: Introduction - Introduce the central character, as well as the background, atmosphere, and main conflicts of the comic book.

Act 2: Character Development - Character development, personal story clues, setbacks, challenges, learned things, and final climax.

Act 3: Post climax resolution - After climax, the characters undergo a transformation based on what they have learned from their hardships.

• How to develop an outline for a comic book in 6 steps

The following is a step-by-step guide for developing an outline for comic books from the MasterClass course by award-winning author Neil Gaiman.

1. Collect paper. From a small sheet to 15 sheets, they are bound along the spine of the book.
2. Create a numbered page list. This will help you understand what content should be placed on each page. As long as you remember the beginning and end, you can master the rest.
3. Determine the rhythm of the story. A good starting point is to allocate a page for each beat, although some beats may occupy many pages. Write down the story beat next to the corresponding page number.
4. Transform the rhythm of the story into a canvas. Starting from the beginning, determine how you will use each canvas to tell specific parts of the story. Pay attention to the amount and type of information that needs to be presented on each page, and allocate space accordingly (by adjusting the size of the drawing board to provide more space for beats such as building shots, and less space for beats that do not require too much detail to be displayed).
5. Sketch actions and indicate dialogue. These sketches are only visible to you; They can be line drawings or symbols, as long as they are meaningful to you and display what should be in each canvas. Consider what your conversation needs to do to help readers transition from one canvas to another. Write annotations for each image in the drawing board.
6. Write your script! Use your thumbnail as a reference to write a script for your story, which will ultimately be handed over to your artist. Work on each drawing board one by one, conveying matters such as composition, perspective, scene and character description, and dialogue. Imagine this script as a letter to your artist, in which you give them all the information they need to visually create the story in your mind.

Whether you are creating stories as an art practice or trying to attract the attention of publishers to publish comics and make money, making comics is an iterative and collaborative process. You need to be fully prepared, constantly strive and persist in order to create works that are loved by the public! Believe in yourself, as long as you carry a love for art and a persistent pursuit of stories, you will eventually reap your own achievements and glory.

My first comic book work: The Fight between stick figures and pencils, co created by ChatGPT and Midjourney