How to Make a Comic Book Page
Comic books tell stories using both words and images. For this reason, the creation of a comic page usually requires at least two people: a writer and an artist. Their collaboration brings the comic book to life. Though technology has changed the way comics are produced for the public, taking many online and adding layers of computerized ease to the creation of art, it's simplest for most people to start with the old methods: pen, pencil, and paper.
Things You'll Need
- Regular pencil and paper
- Oversize 11 by 17 inch cardstock matte paper (or the more expensive comic art paper)
- Non-photo blue drafting pencils, erasable
- Comic artist's black markers with varying nib sizes
- Colored brush pens (for color comic pages)
- High-quality copy machine
Instructions
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1
Write a synopsis of what is to happen on the page. The synopsis should be reasonably detailed, describing each plot point and character action, and it should include a list of all characters present in the scene. It should not, however, try to break the action down into panels yet.
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2
Draw a storyboard (a graphic outline detailing where panels go and how the story will be visually told) for the actions using plain paper and pencils. In the storyboard the artist should include rough-penciled characters and settings and a panel breakdown.
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3
Create a script from the storyboard. If there are things the writer feels should be in the storyboard that the artist left out, the writer should make note of these things in the script.
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4
Draw the comic page on the 11" by 17" cardstock paper using non-copy blue pencils, basing the penciled page on the script and the storyboard. Draw in the borders of each panel and the page as well. Letter in the dialog from the script.
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5
Ink the penciled sketches and lettering once both writer and artist agree that the page captures the outlined actions. Gently erase the penciling that is still exposed once the ink dries, but don't stress over getting it perfect; the non-copy blue sketching pencils will not copy in a non-color copy machine, and lines are faint enough in a color copy machine that your color art should render them unnoticeable. Color or paint the page, if the comic is to be in color.
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6
Copy the page on a high-quality copy machine, shrinking the size to a standard comic book page size: 6.325" by 10.25". This means you have to copy the page at about 60 percent. The resultant copy is your comic book page.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're going to put your comic online instead of printing it, you can scan it with a minimum 600 dpi resolution and make that file whatever size you need it to be for your online page.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comic book / Graphic Novel Scene image by Wingnut Designs from Fotolia.com
