How to Make a Watercolor Comic

Use watercolor paints to create a comic.

Comics provide entertainment to people of all ages. Comic creators develop characters who expose the amusing aspects of life. A comic may be a single panel or a series of two or three panels. The statements made by a character in a comic are generally written in a speech bubble placed above the character's head. Adding color to your comics helps readers identify characters and make a comic more appealing. Use watercolor paints, which dry quickly, to embellish your comics.

Things You'll Need

• Hot-pressed watercolor paper
• Pencil
• Watercolor paints
• Round watercolor paint brush
• Watercolor palette
• Water container
• Black archival ink pen
• Colored pencils
• Craft knife

Instructions

1. Purchase a pad of hot-pressed watercolor paper. Hot-pressed paper is smoother than cold-pressed and rough watercolor papers. A pad consists of multiple pieces of paper held together with an adhesive around the sides. To prevent warping of the paper as it becomes wet from the paints, keep the paper secured in the pad until you are finished painting the comic.

2. Sketch the outline of your comic lightly with a pencil. Draw the characters, as well as speech bubbles. Since space in a comic is limited, be economical in your drawing. For example, instead of drawing an entire person, you might draw just the character's head and upper body. Only draw as much detail as you need to guide you in your painting and do not write words in the speech bubbles yet.

3. Squeeze out paint about the size of a fingertip into the wells of a watercolor palette. Put a different color in each paint well. Select colors according to the content of your comic. For example, if you have drawn a person, pick colors for the hair, skin, clothing, shadows and facial features. Spritz the paint with water and stir the water into each color with a round watercolor brush, cleaning the brush in water between each color. Create color mixtures in the center area of the palette.

4. Dip the bristles of the brush into clean water and load the bristles with paint. Paint each area of the comic. Allow adjacent areas to dry before painting next to them to prevent unwanted color bleeding. Don't paint too much detail. Focus, instead, on painting major shapes. For example, paint the character's hair as a single shape in one color. Let the paint dry completely.

5. Use a black archival ink pen to outline the areas you have painted and to write text in the speech bubbles. You may also use the pen to add a few details, such as strokes at the end of a section of hair. Use colored pencils to add shading to the dry painted areas. When the comic is finished, find the small open spot in the adhesive along the top edge of the watercolor pad. Insert a craft knife under the top sheet of the watercolor paper in the open spot and gently slide it along the edge to release the paper from the pad.

References

• How to Draw Funny Cartoons; How to Draw Comic Books; Martin Berube
• YouTube; How to Color a Manga Illustration Pt. 1 ("Miki Falls"); Mark Crilley; October 2007 (video)
• YouTube; How to Color a Manga Illustration Pt. 2 ("Miki Falls"); Mark Crilley; October 2007 (video)
• Anne Sibley O'Brien: Middle School Comics Workshop