How to Sketch Your Own Comic
Comics are a series of cartoons drawn in consecutive panels called a "comic strip." Most comic strips use pictures to tell a story in one to three panels, but some comic strips use up to nine panels and "comic books" use between five to nine panels per page. "Comic books," longer stories presented in book form, use comics to convey the action with a little dialogue. Comics tell stories in almost every genre, from humor to action-adventure. To sketch a comic, first develop a story idea, create dialogue and decide how to present it.
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Things You'll Need
- Hard lead pencil
- Pencil sharpener
- Paper; bristol board or heavy weight drawing paper
- Square ruler
- White plastic eraser
- Black fine line technical pen
- Colored art markers
- Colorless blender
Instructions
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Create the story idea for your comic. Write out story notes on paper until a you develop a complete idea. The story should focus on a specific event, such as a humorous prat fall. It also needs a beginning, middle and end, which in the case of a humorous comic is the punchline of a joke.
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Plan out the action of the comic in a storyboard. Decide how many panels you want to use for the story. Plot out what occurs in each panel. Stick figure sketches in mini panels will help you storyboard your comic.
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Sketch the appropriate number of panels on a sheet of paper. The panels may be any size you like, but make them large enough to draw in comfortably. A square ruler is useful for creating perfectly square panels.
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Sketch in the placement of figures and objects quickly into each panel. These quick sketches provide a base for refinement. Use a light touch with the pencil. Work to create the impression of each each scene in the comic without worrying about creating a finished cartoon.
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Sketch dialogue bubbles in each panel. These bubbles are often ovals with a small triangle shape extending in to the direction of the speaker. Make your bubbles large enough to accommodate the dialogue. Thought bubbles often appear as fluffy clouds.
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Define the sketch further around these bubbles. Smooth out and darken the lines around characters and objects. Erase unwanted lines. Add details to your pictures, such as hair, facial features, patterns or text on objects. Add light shading, but not too much. Comics rely primarily on line drawings.
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Write in the dialogue text in your best handwriting. Use the ruler to create even rows of text in the bubbles.
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Ink your comic with a black technical pen. This creates a highly visible black line drawing. Go over the panel outlines and text with the pen as well.
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Color your comic with the art markers. Color in one section at a time with a base color. Start by outlining the area in a line of color before filling in the area. Use smooth, careful strokes and avoid overlapping.
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Finish off the coloring with blending to add depth and shade to your comic. Art markers are designed to blend. Start from the outer edge and alternate with the original shade to blend. Go over the two colors with a colorless blender to save time. Sign your name in ink to complete the comic.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider uploading the comic line drawing to your computer to finish coloring it. Art editing software allows you to color images quickly.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit PhotoObjects.net/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
