How to Draw Comic Strips
While comics have finally begun to be considered as a legitimate form of art, they're still very accessible to the beginning artist. If you can think up funny situations and dialogue, you are well on your way to becoming a successful comic strip writer. If you're good at drawing too, so much the better!
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Instructions
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1
Develop your characters. Most comic strips have a few (or more) characters that appear in the strip frequently. Develop your characters and practice drawing them in different situations. Make sure that each has specific signature features, so that it's easy to tell who is who.
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2
Make a quick sketch of your strip. When you have decided what is going to happen, figure out how many panels you will need, and exactly what will be depicted in each panel. Stick figures are probably sufficient at this point, as you're basically just trying to decide what the elements of each image will be. Block in where the text will go, and what the characters will be doing.
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3
Use a ruler and pencil to draw the squares you will need.
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4
Use the pencil to draw in your images. Draw the speech bubbles (or just leave space for text), characters, and any background of the scenes. Correct until you are happy with your drawing.
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5
Add the text. Many cartoonists just do this with pen, but you might want to start with pencil until you feel confident in your lettering abilities. Make sure your text is very easy to read.
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6
Ink over the final lines of your squares, text and images, being careful not to smear the wet ink as you go. When the ink is completely dry, run an eraser over your comic to clean up the paper and remove any remaining pencil marks.
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Tips & Warnings
Try not to make the scenes too complicated. Comic strips are usually quite small, and it can be hard to tell what is going on. If your strip involves a complicated action, consider breaking it into more panels so it's easy to see what's happening.
