Hey everyone, I've just finished with a major update to the guide "Taking a Comic From Start To Finish" and wanted to share with all of you.
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Direct download link: https://gumroad.com/products/NQME
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Recent updates include:
- How to make sales tabling at conventions
- Marketing tips and tricks
- Gaining a social media following for your books
- A huge update to the sections on how to print and ship your books
- How to acquire ISBNs and UPC numbers and barcodes for your books and which of the two you'll actually need
- A ton of various additions to pre-existing sections, as well as numerous images to go with the tips.
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The guide is now sitting at a solid 174 pages and they're all yours for free!
I hope you find the guide useful and thanks for checking it out :)
I have only 2 pages and the third is WIP. Every page has its own little cute story about Uncle Jim and his niece Lola, who he adopted when his sister and her husband died. There will be a new page whenever I have time, so it is not regularly.
If you are interested to see more of them go here:
Yeah, keep trying. An anthology is a business, and you need to prepare for it as if you were opening a very small Starbucks.
Write project proposals, and talk to creators and see what kind of timelines they estimate. Above all, listen to them. Use https://trello.com/ or a similar project management tool to map deadlines. Expect that even the smallest project will take 6-12 months. Identify project risks and build fallbacks, so even if 90% of people flake you still have a product.
Figure out the roles the project needs, and find folks to fill them. Learn the basic skills of all possible roles so you can fill those roles yourself if you can't find them. You need to absolutely know Adobe Indesign, Photoshop and Illustrator, be able to letter a comic, the basics of graphic design, and the basics of project management. I took evening courses to learn these things, and that's the only reason I've survived to anthology 3.
Untrue. I found my artist here and worked out an agreed upon price. We're both happy with the deal and two books are on the "shelf" (Comixology): https://www.comixology.com/Fringe-Science-The-Big-Man/comics-series/90965
That said, I see a lot of writers wanting to find an artist willing to work for free or a share in the profits. While I can sympathize, writers need to understand that, in general, there is going to be more demand for artists than writers. Unless you have something outstanding that an artist wants to be part of, you'll often be left wanting.
That said, I have a couple of other partnerships with artists that are unpaid. These partnerships have formed because both me and the artist want to try something new -- neither of us are sure of what will come of it, etc. As such, these are not priority projects on either side of the equation. We work on them as time allows.
As a writer with no artistic talent, in regards to getting art for your project, the old adage applies: fast, cheap, good... Pick two.
Hey Rob,
Just to add onto your topic, especially for Twitter, you will want to research which hashtags will be most effective to attach to your posts. Try not to use more than 3 at a time (rule of thumb) on Twitter, but feel free to spam hashtags on instagram.
For researching hashtags, check out this link. I've already searched #indiecomics. You can see related hashtags, who the big influencers are, as well as popularity.
http://hashtagify.me/hashtag/indiecomics
Couple that with another website called ritetag, which I have a link for below. This will help you scope out how many tweets per hour that hashtag is currently experiencing as well as how many views per hour that hashtag receives. All of which are important.
https://ritetag.com/hashtag-search/indiecomics
Hope this helps a bit :). Best of luck out there to everyone.
Don't want to crush your dreams but... Superman and Batman sometimes don't hit 200,000. Even well know series like Rick and Morty do under 10,000. http://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales.html
Since you say the comic is already completed, have you tried submitting to publishers like Image, Darkhorse, etc.
Simplest way would be to submit it on: https://www.comixology.com/ (50% split)
Kickstarter is an option but only works if you reach the funding goal so set realistic goals.
You can publicize your comic book on your social media (like reddit) and submit part or all of it to websites that review comics.
So far I have almost made my printing costs back, mainly thanks to digital sales to be honest. As for the money spent to pay the artist, I probably won't make that back. I'm happy with that for this first issue (which btw you can get here) but if we're going to make future issues, and I hope we get to, we either have to get accepted by a publisher or run a crowdfunding campaign. Either way, growing the audience is priority numero uno right now.
Hey guys thanks for the support I have the first 5 pages completed now, I have uploaded page 3 for your feedback. Give me a minute and ill add the story so you know what it's about. If there is enough interest I might add page 4 and 5 as well.
I have just signed up for instagram and tumblr as well. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/robreplicator https://instagram.com/rob_arnold_replicator/
Set in England 10 years from now after an epidemic known as the red death has brought the country to its knees, a scientist heralded as its savior goes missing. Her husband is blamed for her death, is jailed and begins to lose his mind. Due to lack of evidence he is released and starts to investigate his wife's disappearance. He finds the partially completed cure, a miracle drug she was developing before she disappeared, the proof that could clear him. However, his distrust of the world he lives in convinces him he has only one option, he injects himself with the serum she created.
He gains strange and unique powers and will stop at nothing until he finds his wife and uncovers the truth. With the whole world still wanting nothing more then the end of his existence.
The closer to the truth, the deeper his insanity.
Hope you like it, Thanks Rob
I raised $25,000 on Kickstarter for a film project:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/596784753/thane-of-east-county
I would say that 90% of the funding came from friends/family/acquaintances of mine and of the actors and crew on our film. Part of what helped make it successful was we had our whole team (~40 people) in place before running the project and all of them helped push the campaign to their own social networks.
I went through every Facebook friend and every email address I had, no matter how tenuous the contact was, and sent a personal message to each starting with "hi remember me! [Personalized anecdote], [copy/paste block of text about the project] [request for money and social media shares]". I did that in the first week, the I did AGAIN in the third week.
It is my firm belief that Kickstarter donors are almost always people that already know and like you. Do you have 1 million twitter followers? Or have you already produced something people have liked? Those people already know and like you... If you don't have that, it's gonna be friends & family. And you have to spend the whole campaign WORKING to make contact with them all and get that $$$.
This is true of films - I know a number of people that have done this. I don't know anyone who has done a comic Kickstarter but my guess would be that it's the same deal.
The rules are totally different for products/gadgets that people actually want to buy, rather than artistic products. And occasionally something goes viral like the potato salad guy. But IMO, you really shouldn't plan on that.
Oh, and if you want to see the film we made, it's on Amazon Prime (we changed the name...) https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Will-Have-Carr-Cavender/dp/B07961JG3G/
From-a-writer recommendation: make sure whomever you end up working with gets you a full script early in this process.
Good luck! Nice portfolio thus far.
I just had my first comic Prophetica release on Comixology a week or so ago. It is nowhere to be found on Amazon's site, so I'd say you have to handle that separately.
Few things:
Having separate cover artists is common enough industry practice that I think most of the more savvy people don't automatically think the cover artists did the interiors. Basically every publisher (including the big two) does this because it just makes sense.
It's definitely very possible to have stellar art within a comic format, however, in exchange for amazing art, you'll have to sacrifice a lot more time and effort into each individual panel. There are some artists who develop and create their comics with such detail that every panel looks like a full-blown painting (WLOP and Yuumei are the first to come to mind), but in turn, it takes them nearly a month or two (sometimes longer) to get a chapter out. Despite starting their comics 6-7 years ago, they only have about 10-20 chapters out compared to the comic artists that utilize simpler art styles to pump out more chapters on a weekly basis (and have 100+ chapters under their belt working for 2 years).
Ultimately, the choice is up to you whether you are willing to sacrifice the quality of your art to progress your story. Story and art go hand in hand and if lowering the quality of the art hurts the story, it's best not to go the route of a simpler art style. In the end, just practicing and working on the comic itself will help improve your speed if you're worried about each panel taking too long.
The submission form says that they're "mainly looking for comics that are from two to ten pages," and their previous anthology was rated "15+ Only."
My process is:
-very loose sketches on the script (if i'm working from one) [15-30 minutes per page]
-thumbnails (consolidating sketches into 'pages') [15-30 minutes per page]
-layouts (drawings of each page that are clear enough to send to the writer) [1 hour per page]
-gather references (mixture of drawing + photography + general research. I usually do this simultaneously with the above three steps) [time varies depending on project]
-Pencils (scan these + send to writer. I will do very loose pencils if I am not working with an inker) [4-6 hours / page]
-Inks (scan these + send to writer) [3-4 hours / page]
-Color - sometimes watercolor, sometimes digital [2-4 hours per page]
-Lettering - I don't like lettering, so I always agonize over it [1 hour per page]
In total a page takes me about 11-16 hours to complete, but that can vary a lot from comic to comic. For example here is a short comic I did for Red Stylo Media where I wasn't in touch with the writer (so i didn't do layouts), I did very loose pencils and I was doing b+w instead of full color. I spent about 5-7 hours per page on that project, and it kinda shows :(
The best thing you can do to speed up your process, is work on a team. Find a colorist and letterer to work with.
Hi there!
My name is Toben Racicot a.k.a. Letter Drone. I’m a comic book letterer looking for more projects to collaborate on. I am skilled in Illustrator and InDesign. I am emailing to inquire if you have any in house lettering positions available. I’ve included links to samples of my work. I would be more than happy to do sample pages for you as well.
https://www.facebook.com/PrimalInstinctComic/posts/240331353010576 http://www.artstation.com/artist/letterdrone
Thanks so much!
Hi there!
My name is Toben Racicot a.k.a. Letter Drone. I’m a comic book letterer looking for more projects to collaborate on. I am skilled in Illustrator and InDesign. If you need pages done fast, I am your best option for high quality pages.
See examples of my work:
https://www.facebook.com/PrimalInstinctComic/posts/240331353010576
http://www.artstation.com/artist/letterdrone
email me for rates and availability: letter drone @ gmail [dot] com
Thanks so much!
This sounds great. I know I'm late but maybe someone would like a writer for their team?
I normally write fiction and action but I know my way around suspense and gore as well. I like to challenge myself so I write about most anything. You can find some of my work here. I have a couple of short stories I've been saving for a rainy day that are already written and ready to draw, but would be willing to write something completely different if asked.
I have one idea that's been tempting me for a while but haven't written much of it. It's about a psychic serial killer and his process and reasoning behind each killing. Being a psychic he would know how his victims futures would be before killing them and he would take pleasure in killing those whose actions would affect the world most.
I anyone is interested pm me.
For my project, Morgan's Organs, I was thankful to be able to run a successful Kickstarter campaign. All the money raised went to my artist, as well as a bit left over to cover additional rewards, shipping and printing. I could've walked out of the project almost at break-even, but that felt like a cop out. So I made the personal investment to order additional books and have also purchased an Artist Alley booth at the upcoming Fan Expo in Toronto, to try to grow the audience further.
My best case scenario is that a publisher picks me up. Worst case scenario is that I can't sell books and I decide to stop this after the one book. And my realistic scenario is that I will aim to run another Kickstarter to fund an Issue #2.
Yes, comic writing is difficult to make a living off of, but I didn't get into this business just to be financially successful. As long as I can continue to break-even on my costs going forward, I'd be happy doing this for another 30 years, while continuing to have a full-time job. Being creative is fun, especially when you don't have to make financial sacrifices to do it.
It's like being able to jump around in a pool of those plastic balls at a playground without paying admission. Even better if we get paid to jump around in there ;)
I'm glad you appreciate it. I was trying to be as constructive as possible. You are basically in the same boat I was in a few years ago, so I sympathize. The reason you got such hostility is that, well artists can be a little hostile about these things. If you read some of the horror stories out there though about artists who decided to take a chance and work for cheap or on spec, you'll understand why they get so defensive.
Saving up as you write is definitely the right choice. If you get a tax refund, put that towards your goal. And when you have some money, shop around a little bit. Sure they have what you want (art), but you also have what they want (paying work). Also, if you're self-publishing, the costs beyond the actual art will pile up. I did a 100 copy run of my half-length issue zero and it cost me about ~$200 to print. Then I had to spend money to go to conventions, so there's another $50-70 per con. I have also done a pay-what-you-want model for the digital version and I had decent success there, which really helped offset the physical cost.
There's a lot to learn, but you'll get there. When you get your script together, and if you want any insight from a fellow writer, I'd love to read it. If you'd like to check out my comic, here's my plug. Like I said above, it's pay-what-you-want, so it's essentially free.
Good luck!
Kickstarter is weird because some of the approval board is laxer than other parts of it. Bigger named creators have gotten everything produced via Kickstarter but they are less likely to let people without names do it because it is easier for them to take the money and run that way. "Oh I want $1600 to hire an illustrator to draw a comic I wrote and then print it" is much riskier than "I need $200 to print a comic and ship it out".
You can certainly try and see what happens but not being approved is something to be prepared for and in that case you are left with incomplete pieces which has happened to me before. Creativity has costs and expenses and sadly there isn't an easy way around it. IndieGogo may work but they have weirder and laxer rules which can come back around and bite people.
And as for my stuff I have a few comics up on Gumroad. https://gumroad.com/koltreg
It's a little difficult to view on dropbox, but those manga pages are really good.
There's the Tezuka Manga Contest on at the moment, so I definitely think there will be people looking for manga artists
It's a virtual white board you can share and work on in teams. Like Google docs where multiplier people can work on a style dic at the same time, but a white board with lots of tools.
You should check out a book on this topic. "Making comics" by Scott McCloud is a good starting place for how to structure these things:
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Comics-Storytelling-Secrets-Graphic/dp/0060780940/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=making+comics&qid=1618952504&sr=8-1
Your inks are very sharp, so I'll wager that you're already good with Photoshop and did these inks digitally. It also sounds like you've got a clear idea of what you want this book to look like. Have you thought about coloring it yourself? I learned from a guy named Brian Miller, who has written a few books about it. The latest one, Hi-Fi Color for Comics, is on Amazon and is easy to follow. You'll have "big 2" colors very quickly and you know your book will get the treatment it deserves if you decide to color it yourself.
1) I work digitally from the start using CLIP STUDIO on a MacBook Air, connected to a UGEE drawing monitor.
2) Canon CanoScan LiDE220 is lightweight and portable. The resolution is 4800x4800, which should do the trick. $110 on Amazon
3) I think if you are ink-phobic, move as quickly as you can to digital art. You can get a digital drawing tablet for the price of a scanner. The learning curve is high, but that's how life is. The benefits are too numerous not to switch over. If you absolutely have to stay with traditional pencils, then make copies of your art and ink them yourself with the idea of "well, it's a copy of the original, so if I make a mistake, no big deal.
Creating whole worlds but not being able to realise them is how many/all writers start out. Read this quote in the easily digestible form of a comic:
It starts, “Nobody tells this to beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap..."
http://zenpencils.com/comic/90-ira-glass-advice-for-beginners/
Have you read it? Go read it now because my next bit is gonna be a downer.
Sorry but no companies hire pure ideas men, larger or smaller. There are so many potential creators that they can hand-pick those who can deliver their stories unaided. Also, it's possible to find free/cheap artists but to be blunt they won't be great. Even still-learning artists, the page rates stack up very quick. Say, you're paying $40 per page. That's dirt cheap. But one issue of 20 pages comes to $800. That probably won't even include revisions, lettering, colouring or inking either. And kickstarter is hard. There are a lot of skills that go into it, like marketing and social media, budgeting and community management. Plus, you probably need that initial fanbase unless you're appealing to an already-existent market that is under-served. Like I said, it's a downer.
But I really believe that you have killer ideas! The truth is, you can get them out there, too! It's just, the only way, really, is to get those skills up! And you can only do that by making a pigs ear of it at first. And second and third. Embrace mistakes. Google fixed mindset vs growth mindset. Read Stephen King's book On Writing. Most importantly, get writing every day! Even just a sentence! Good luck!
Oh so you’re testing out new mediums. Well you’re good with the color for sure. I think too sometimes it’s all about the blending. Maybe get a blending stumps.
Something like these would work starting off. Depending too on the type of color pencils you have it may be hard to do blends.
https://www.amazon.com/Blending-Tortillions-Sandpaper-Sharpener-Extension/dp/B07TBY2MNN
I looked into it, but in the end, for this project, I decided not to.
Here’s why:
My takeaway after doing some research into it is that not having a contract just means you share ownership with your team. That can get messy if the project blows up and gets media deals (TV, movies, merch, etc.).
But I don’t foresee that happening here.
This comic is pretty weird (yet awesome) with a premise that would only works for comics IMO.
So fingers crossed all goes well.
But this project is owned by the team. And I didn’t want to complicate things to much on my first go around.
But I’ll probably change my approach for the next one. I think it makes sense to have things on paper and have it very clear. Just to keep things clean.
So yeah, you should probably do one.
Oh, and if you’re looking for some good resources I know of a couple:
Blog post about this from comic book writer and lawyer, Charles Soule.
And The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators.
Give them a read and you’ll be in really good shape.
I looked into it, but in the end, for this project, I decided not to.
Here’s why:
My takeaway after doing some research into it is that not having a contract just means you share ownership with your team. That can get messy if the project blows up and gets media deals (TV, movies, merch, etc.).
But I don’t foresee that happening here. This comic is pretty weird (yet awesome) with a premise that would only works for comics imo.
So fingers crossed all goes well.
But this project is owned by the team. And I didn’t want to complicate things to much on my first go around.
But I’ll probably change my approach for the next one. I think it makes sense to have things on paper and have it very clear. Just to keep things clean.
Oh, and if you’re looking for some good resources I know of a couple:
Blog post about this from comic book writer and lawyer, Charles Soule.
And The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators.
Give them a read and you’ll be in really good shape.
Tumblr is great, there's even a webcomic theme you can use: https://www.tumblr.com/theme/39018
There's also ComicFury as well, which is a free service that gives you a lot of freedom
Finally after sacrificing a ton of time, Mickeyangelo is out on Amazon! Had an offer from an indie publisher but I needed the book printed quicker so I chose Amazon in the end.
Price wise it should cost the same for you. Even when I set my profits to zero it's still expensive. So use the free version haha, it will be free forever on Webtoons.
There's a funny story behind this book. I had to hire a freelancer because I'm bad at technology and I dunno how to upload to Amazon. Was super stressful but in the end I had to learn how and teach the freelancer haha and he thank me.
https://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-stickmen-Mickeyangelo-littlepinkpebble/dp/B0BCSDQ3Y2/ref=sr\_1\_3?crid=1D39PLVBA83FE&keywords=littlepinkpebble&qid=1663228866&sprefix=littlepinkpebbl%2Caps%2C422&sr=8-3
I was never really one to read books or watch videos back when I started, but a good book I came across is Drawing for Older Children & Teens. I read it when I was 9. The most common problem when finding learning material is people having a "do this not that" mentality. But this book teaches the basic building blocks all while having a "no right way" approach, often expressing that an artist needs to build off of them and develop a unique style.
If you cant buy the book you can always borrow it from Archive's online library for free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.magicposernew&hl=en_GB&gl=US
Magic Poser app. Great for making reference poses
There a lot of books that talk about creating great characters. I personally liked this one a lot: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Character-Creating-Memorable-Characters/dp/014312157X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IDPCZAPUPAR5&keywords=the+art+of+character&qid=1656788102&sprefix=the+art+of+characte%2Caps%2C140&sr=8-1 if you don't want to buy anything I'm sure your local library has a few in their catalog
Currently making a horror/sci-fi comic called Adaptid.
First 3 issues are available at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09J597S6H
Issue 1&2 are free...ish
Currently working on issue 4, hope you check it out.
DM me and I can send you a digital copy of this one. My full length OGN, Heavy Kill, is available digitally through Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QLTXDRQ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_T207M67XEN9S1MFFA2AV
I'm still learning, too. All about the process and growing as you go.
Thank you, Vesper!
Working on Black Mariah and Five Graces has been great!
A preview of Black Mariah #1, for everyone interested: https://www.amazon.it/Black-Mariah-Electric-Presents-English-ebook/dp/B09H65FVNM
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B3575ZPJ
Patchwork Family is a 4 panel slice of life comedy series, taking alot of inspiration from stuff like Azumanga Daioh, and Yotsuba&!
It follows the everyday lives of Sarah, her younger brother Sammy, her girlfriend Tiffany and two cat girl sisters, Neko and Nia.
Started this webcomic back in 2007, working on it off and on between computer issues over several years, in 2018 I managed to complete the story arc and published the first 63 pages as Vol. 1
I began work on vol 2 soon after, but ran into another delay after finishing page 70, finally getting back to it 3 years later, when I completed up to page 86, wrapping up the arc for Vol 2
Mysticcoco - I'd be interested in working with you on a story or two. I'm a self-published comics writer (you can find the first two issues of my current comic on comixology: https://www.comixology.com/Fringe-Science-The-Big-Man/comics-series/90965
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I have also recently edited a book of my late friend's art. In other words, I have some experience in writing and publishing and, if it ever gets that far, Kickstarter.
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If you are maybe interested in working together, send me an email at [email protected], and we can discuss further.
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Look forward to hearing from you!
Hey there! I write comics and collaborate with artists around the world. My comics are all self-funded (not through Kickstarter or anything...). I'd be willing to talk about my comics and my collaborators, etc.
Here is my current series: https://www.comixology.com/Fringe-Science-The-Big-Man/comics-series/90965
You can email me at [email protected] for more info.
Thanks!
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This is the seventh page of my current comic, and i'm posting it for free on Tapas. (https://tapas.io/episode/1700537)
I want to thank you guys for the help you've been giving me, specially to u/hedington666 which gave me a good source of tips about lettering.
Nobody complained 'till now about posting here looking for this kind of help, but i know this isn't exactly the "focus" of this subreddit. Is there any specific community on the site where i can ask specificly for help/tips about MAKING comics?
I’m pretty interested in this. You can read my work here: https://tapas.io/series/Bradathon-Nus-Short-Fiction/ https://tapas.io/series/The-Brothers/ I write in pretty much every genre and I have been writing short scripts for a long time now. If you’re interested you can PM me here or on Instagram @bradathon_nu Hope to hear from you soon, thank you very much!
my rate is 10$ a page, no hourly fee.
if interested pm me, ill leave my portfolio link here:
https://www.deviantart.com/vih-urah/gallery/
edit: specification- colorist
Set in England 10 years from now after an epidemic known as the red death has brought the country to its knees, a scientist heralded as its savior goes missing. Her husband is blamed for her death, is jailed and begins to lose his mind.
Due to lack of evidence he is released and starts to investigate his wife's disappearance. He finds the partially completed cure, a miracle drug she was developing before she disappeared, the proof that could clear him. However, his distrust of the world he lives in convinces him he has only one option, he injects himself with the serum she created.
He gains strange and unique powers and will stop at nothing until he finds his wife and uncovers the truth. With the whole world still wanting nothing more then the end of his existence.
The closer to the truth, the deeper his insanity.
Hope you like it, Thanks Rob
https://instagram.com/rob_arnold_replicator/
twitter @robreplicator
facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100009274923595&__nodl
There are a lot of premade themes on tumblr good for hosting webcomics- here's a simple one. You can "tag" your comic with topics you think will help people find your work (similar to twitter or instagram hashtags: for example, "#comic #webcomic #titleofcomic #fantasycomic" etc.)
If you have other specific questions I'd be happy to answer as best I can!
Everything she thought she knew was a lie. Despite being a tiefling, Vallista's life had been a peaceful one full of love and support. However, when a dark family secret is revealed she discovers the people she trusted may not be who they seem. Even worse, in order to discover the truth, she may need to leave behind everything and everyone she's ever loved.
"Locket of Devise" is now available on Comixology. To check it out, simply click on the link below: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PRW2PY6/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_86P19RCRH6X7KNC9PATP
Art by Koyuki Panda Story by Aziza The Graphic Novelis
https://tapas.io/series/The-Power-of-Stardust
Check it out! This was a fun collaboration. I got about 12 ads in this issue from different creators.
Hello! Lucas Benedine here!
I'm a Graphic Designer working as an Indie Comic Book Artist, doing my own comic right now, a Sci-Fi Thriller.
My rate is 30$ per page.
My independent comic, where I do the script, Pencils, Inks, Colors and Lettering. https://tapas.io/episode/1419327
More of my work, Covers, Posters and such. https://www.deviantart.com/lucasbenedine/gallery/69404248/posters-illustration-design
Feel free to check my other works on DeviantArt!
I might be interested in helping out. I need the accountability to keep my skills sharp and growing. I've got an art-blog and a behance account you can check out. I'm a student so my time is not as flexible as say a freelancer, but I don't mind no pay.
I recommend Renato Guerra. He lettered my 7-page story, Goodbye and God Speed, published in <em>Caliber Presents</em> #2. He's fantastic and does a great job.
Thanks. Ken's got a really cool project in the works right now called, "Wretched Things."
I do also want to mention that I had a previous collaboration to show Nic, and that Nic had his own comic displaying his storytelling abilities. So we didn't go blindly into this collaboration, we could predict what the finished comic might look like.
I think we'll let it remain black and white for now, but if you want to see some of Nic's colored work you should check out his sci-fi comic Heads!
What's a good web font for mixed upper and lower case? Currently using Google Short Stack font, but it's very similar to comic sans. Is there a better alternative?
Hi there,
My name is Davi Comodo, I’m a comic book colorist. I would love to work on your project!
Here is my portfolio:
Some previous works include:
• Katie Greaven and The Engine Men (Motionworks)
• Battlestar Galactica: Starbuck (Dynamite)
• Mage Inc (Space Goat Publishing)
• Evil Dead (Space Goat Publishing)
• Soul Power (Space Goat Publishing)
• Starcaster (Ctrl+Alt+Del)
• Starcraft Battlegrounds Posters (Red Bull/Blizzard)
• Mirror’s Edge: Exordium (Dark Horse")
• Heroes of House - Album covers Illustration (Origins Rcords)
• Power Rangers Poster (BOOM! Studios)
• Plus several jobs for personal clients and indie projects worldwide.
If my work interests you, please let me know.
Thank you for your time.
Best regards,
Davi Comodo
[email protected]
Hi there!
My name is Toben Racicot a.k.a. Letter Drone. I’m a comic book letterer looking for more projects to collaborate on. I am skilled in Illustrator and InDesign. If you need pages done fast, I am your best option for high quality pages.
See examples of my work:
https://www.facebook.com/PrimalInstinctComic/posts/240331353010576
http://www.artstation.com/artist/letterdrone
email me for rates and availability: letter drone @ gmail [dot] com
Thanks so much!
Hi there!
My name is Toben Racicot a.k.a. Letter Drone. I’m a comic book letterer looking for more projects to collaborate on. I am skilled in Illustrator and InDesign. If you need pages done fast, I am your best option for high quality pages.
See examples of my work:
https://www.facebook.com/PrimalInstinctComic/posts/240331353010576
http://www.artstation.com/artist/letterdrone
email me for rates and availability: letter drone @ gmail [dot] com
Thanks so much!
I remember I tried colouring a Naruto page but, like this page, the raws had come from a cheap manga magazine print so the line work is a little bit dirty. I would totally recommend looking for takabon raws (the book printed format) to try colouring with. ( I think nyaa torrents might have some)
If you're interested in how comics are used for public policy debate, a good place to start is the Nib, or read this book Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250316960/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_GE20T3FFCHM77T7CT159
I know indie book are priced higher; 3.99 from the looks of Image books, but I wanted to make my book as cheap as possible to make them approachable by everyone. I think my biggest hurtle is printing cost at low print run; I don't see myself selling 1000 copies hence the low print run. Honestly all I want in profit is a nickle for every book printed. As for quality of my art... I think my art is awesome, but I'm bias. I am posting each page on Tapas as I complete them. Some pages have been touched up. See here if interested. https://tapas.io/series/Swarm-Book-of-Fear I only have 11 pages of what is looking like will be a 32 page story. Like I said I have time until printing day comes.
Hello.
I might be interested.
I am Emily Riesbeck. I've been writing comics for a few years now, most notably i write the superhero webcomic The Blue Valkyrie, which you can read here: http://bluevalkyriecomic.tumblr.com/
Although I try to avoid over-the-top violence and sexuality, as i find that imagery is a bit overdone in superhero comics already, The Blue Valkyrie skews towards an adult audience.
For all ages, I wrote the short comic Howling Night: https://tapas.io/series/Howling-Night
I'd say that these two comics represent the way I write fairly well, although I've grown quite a bit since writing them and I am always eager to improve.
If you look over my writing and decide you're interested, please feel free to shoot me a message on here. We can coordinate further from there.
Tell me a little more about the story idea. I'm a writer that is willing to help if you need me. Here's my wattpad page for some idea of my writing:
http://www.wattpad.com/user/JorgeOrtiz9
I'm open to writing about most anything.
You have a point, I'm just wrapped up in this vision of really beautiful artwork, stuff that I like to see when I read a comic or GN, and it's hard to find that for a price that isn't super professional it seems.
I'll link his page, it looks like the $100/hr is only for major projects. I'm not sure if what I'm doing is considered a major project or not.
It looks like smaller projects are more negotiable, I'll probably just do the cover and the first 6 pages so I can start a kick-starter and I'll have enough work done to send to a publisher as well
>Small projects are estimated by the project. >Ideally I prefer half payments up front and half upon completion.
https://www.guru.com/freelancers/holaso70
Some of his more realistic looking art is really eye-catching.
like This
In working on my comic book, Morgan's Organs, I (the writer) was very hands off with my artist. I had written a detailed page-by-page script, as well as drew my own shitty thumbnails of each pages' layout and content. Super high level and terrible drawings, but enough to support my script.
I tried to only intervene in the art production where the artwork did not support the core telling of the story, or was misleading or against some greater vision for the concept I had not fully shared with my artist in the past.
I think the best artwork comes when you let your artist shine and put their own spin on details in the book. The story lives on the page, but the quality comes from the details. I remember one specific page where my artist added small, detailed visuals of video game titles that actually existed, that i had no idea about (it's page 3, second last panel if you check out my comic preview). It was a really cool addition for a reader who is really into that stuff.
It would be a head-ache for a writer to describe every small detail they want to see in a panel. I try to only focus on the writing that is core to the telling of the story, and let my artist take it from there.
You can check out a preview of my comic at http://morgansorgans.com/comic-preview/. It's also available here - https://gumroad.com/morgansorgans.
Great question.
If you're looking to sell through your own site I would check out gumroad for selling digital issues. https://gumroad.com/
If you're looking to sell physical and digital through your website, then take a look at the Shopify plug-in and integration for WordPress and other sites. https://www.shopify.ca/pricing
Here’s mine: it’s called The Astral Steppe it was done on super short notice in a month and 2 days for a competition that wasn’t won by any American creator 😂. Was a great experience, and I would love to create more in the universe, but I need a partner for the art!
I had two problems with this article:
they only link internally - even when mentioning the competition. so this is the link to the competition: https://medibang.com/contest/jumptezuka100th/?locale=en
they also state:
>The Shonen Jump publication has become so popular that stories such as Dragon Ball and Naruto has been dubbed "Shonen"
but that's not true - shonen was used before shonen jump and just refers to the target audience "young boy"
ic... but doing a spread like this might crop some of your letters and drawings, which might not be a big issue because of the text size.
You can try this out, it says to be a free alternative to Microsoft Publisher
https://www.lucidpress.com/pages/tour/free-microsoft-publisher-alternative
:)
Hey there, I'm Hayden Davis, an illustrated novelist. I am currently working on my personal graphic novel, Phaneron, published by Austere Books 2015. I'm also penciling and inking PJ Martinez's "The Suicide Clubs" submission issue.
You can view my work here: https://www.behance.net/haydendavisbooks
Also, here is my linkedin account: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=284992577&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
my email:
feel free to email me if you like my work. I'm looking for a commission right now that will pay fairly. Thanks!
Hey there, I'm Hayden Davis, an illustrated novelist. I am currently working on my personal graphic novel, Phaneron, published by Austere Books 2015. I'm also penciling and inking PJ Martinez's "The Suicide Clubs" submission issue.
You can view my work here: https://www.behance.net/haydendavisbooks
Also, here is my linkedin account: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=284992577&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
my email:
feel free to email me if you like my work, thanks!
Hey there, I'm Hayden Davis, an illustrated novelist. I am currently working on my personal graphic novel, Phaneron, published by Austere Books 2015. I'm also penciling and inking PJ Martinez's "The Suicide Clubs" submission issue.
You can view my work here: https://www.behance.net/haydendavisbooks
Also, here is my linkedin account: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=284992577&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
my email:
feel free to email me if you like my work. I'm looking for a commission right now that will pay fairly. Your story was very interesting and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it. Thanks!
Hey there, I'm Hayden Davis, an illustrated novelist. I am currently working on my personal graphic novel, Phaneron, published by Austere Books 2015. I'm also penciling and inking PJ Martinez's "The Suicide Clubs" submission issue.
You can view my work here: https://www.behance.net/haydendavisbooks
Also, here is my linkedin account: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=284992577&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
my email:
feel free to email me if you like my work. I'm looking for a commission right now that will pay fairly.
Hey there, I'm Hayden Davis, an illustrated novelist. I am currently working on my personal graphic novel, Phaneron, published by Austere Books 2015. I'm also penciling and inking PJ Martinez's "The Suicide Clubs" submission issue.
You can view my work here: https://www.behance.net/haydendavisbooks
Also, here is my linkedin account: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=284992577&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
my email:
feel free to email me if you like my work. I'm looking for a commission right now that will pay fairly. From the looks of your description it doesn't look like you're interested in paying but if you get funded on kick starter let me know!
Looks good!
If you plan on continuing to hand letter, I would recommend investing in an Ames lettering guide.
Procreate and Clip Studio Paint have good options for tone work if you don't want to have to do all that cross hatching by hand. Another layer of gray can really help stuff pop more and sell the darkness of this cave. This is something I made recently with CSP as an example of what I am talking about.
In that final panel I would have the scanner be casting some dark shadows since it is in the intense light of the flashlight, but that is a minor thing.
You have a good enough grasp of everything that I think you just need to draw a bunch more comics. You are going to learn so much by just DOING.
Side note, Nate Peikos (blambots human name) just put out a book on lettering
Okay, I completely understand what you're saying here. I get it. It's just like the sitcom model. Makes perfect sense and does put shape to my project going forward.
After I polish my script for the first chapter, I'm going to get put together a comicbook that is completely blank and give it a soft format treatment(stick figures etc) to see how I manage the space and practice the sticking points that you mentioned here.
Thank you for the books recommendations. That'e exactly what I needed and I will start there. You've been super helpful. I'm putting them on my amazon cart now. This is the Peter David book, https://www.amazon.ca/Writing-Comics-Graphic-Novels-Peter/dp/1600616879, right?
Let me bother you with something: Should I figure out how stretch out my story with in the 22 page model? I could easily tell the first 'volume' (Maybe 66 pages of work) in one chapter just by getting rid of 'fun and games bits,' 'power demonstration bits, 'exposition time bits' and any excess bloat. I could move the story along at a faster pace, but should I? This is why the page count was something I was wrestling with initially. What's your advice here?
In the US, I believe that's how it works. Every contributor shares the same nonexclusive rights.
But I'm not a lawyer; your best bet is to pick up The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators and find the steps needed to protect all the contributors.
No. It’s the name of my series. First two issues already out. https://www.amazon.com/Meth-Immortal-1-Kevin-Miller/dp/1981454500/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=meth+the+immortal&qid=1552176732&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull
I know this may be late, but I'm a writer with thirteen books under my belt. If you still need someone, email me at .
Here are some links to my books: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BFWMYFA (Dungeons and Diamonds) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X4WWQNK (War on the Rolling Plains)
I can't say for certain if money had anything to do with it, but Maus by Art Spiegelman would be a very different book if it was in color. The b&w tone fits perfectly and elevates the historical feel and dark atmospehere to contrast the usage of the animals in place of humans. Will Eisner's Contract With God is another one that greatly benefits from b&w art, as it seems to lend to the moral struggle the characters are experiencing. I feel it depends mostly on what kind of story you're trying to tell. Best of luck with your project!
Stephen King's "On Writing" has a good section on dialogue. He does make an observation that even good writers can struggle with dialogue.
In acting as an editor, one of the big dialogue problems I often see with new writers is not letting the art speak for itself. For example the art is of two people running into a building. The dialogue is, "Come on. Let's go into this building." Every word balloon must earn its place.
I highly recommend picking up Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice by Ivan Brunetti amazon link. It will ease you into making comic pages, while giving you some great tips on techniques and tools.
That being said, just start making comics. You will learn naturally as you go. Just make sure that when you run into a wall, or problem, you spend the time it takes to find the solution. You will have more problems than comics at the beginning. Slowly you will have fewer and fewer problems, and more comics.
The single best resource I've found for comic writing is Denny O'Neil's dc comics guide to writing.
Personally, I set objectives and let the organically come out over a set number of pages. Example: I need to add A, B, and C over the next 22 pages. This gives you enough wiggle room to make changes along the way.
I host the Comic Book Creator Podcast that you can check out for more tips.
Hello, I'm a self-published author who would be happy to work with you if the project was interesting enough. Here is a link to my books. Check them out, and let me know what you think.
http://www.amazon.com/Copic-Markers-Multiliner-Set-Replaceable/dp/B001GY1GXO Copic Multiliner SP, replaceable nibs and ink... so awesome. These are the pens that Marc Silvestri uses. http://www.bleedingcool.com/2016/01/25/dc-comics-rebirth-marc-silvestri-on-batman/
Most of the time with comic pages, I go from traditional pencils with blue Col-Erase, whatever 2H/HB pencils I have lying around (mostly Lumographs, some Tombows) on prelined comic boards, scan, and digitally finish in Photoshop.
If I do want to blow up a smaller sketch to 11x17/traditionally ink though, I have an Epson Workforce 1100 printer that I bought several years ago, it was on sale at Amazon for some absurdly low price (like $99-149ish). It's not advertised as being able to do 'artist quality' prints, but for putting something on paper that's going to get inked over anyways, it worked just fine for me.
This printer may be its successor, but I don't have any experience with it.
Oh, and I remember my earliest comic stuff, I printed the sketch on two 9.5x11" on a normal printer (college's printers=all I could print, ha ha), used a lightbox to align the pages, taped them together, stuck them back on the light box, and then did the final inks on bristol over it. So there's that lower-tech way too?
I'm certainly willing to give you a try. If you're looking for a project that I won't neccessarily feel bad if it doesn't turn out so great, the teenage vampire school one would be okay. I've already released the story as a novel, so if you fumble it I wouldn't be too heart broken. Still have my definitive telling of the story.
That said the one I would love3 to see made is Dakotah Slade. Takes place in the same universe as my novel, but tells a side story that kinda compliments the novel, and specifically ties into the next book I'm working on now, so if you wanted something more fitting within everything else I'm doing. I have another artist doign Adrift, and I was gonna do a similar situation where After I write the sequel to my book (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I4ESUS8) the sequel will be called Urban Fantasy, anyway after I write it I think I'm gonna write Adrift Homeless as a novel. Then I'll have Adrift Homeless come out about the same time as my artist friend finishes the Adrift comic. Could be a similar situation with Dakotah Slade and Urban Fantasy, but it's of course up to you. They would all be difficult I imagine, and I know you aren't totally confident in your abilities. I look forward to watching you grow and improve as an artist. And if everything falls aart, it's okay. I've worked with like 20 different artists in the ast three years and they have all fallen through eventually but one, so if things don't go well it's not your fault. But yeah, You can pick what you want and run with it.
I'm also a first time comic script writer. I had a basic idea but had a hard time fleshing out all the details. Here's a few things I've learned 1) Read this book http://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009 It's for screenwriting but it's essentially how to tell a successful story. I found it incredibly useful 2) Writing partner - See if you can find someone just as excited about your idea as you are. If you can find that person they will be invaluable for bouncing ideas off of and helping make your story more well rounded. 3) This is the cliché piece of writing advice but WRITE ALL THE TIME. Even if you think what you're writing is garbage, the more you write the better you'll be at it. They say you should write every day, I don't follow that advice but I try to.
Anyway I hope this helps
Anything worth doing is worth doing well. The most important thing you can do is work on your craft. If that craft is writing, write every day. Read/watch a lot, too. Both comics, and other forms of media. Think about what makes them work, like taking an engine apart and rebuilding it.
As far as finding collaborators, the stronger your work is, the more inclined others will be to go along with you in helping you achieve your vision. And the more complete and professional your work is, the better off you'll be.
As far as how to present it, well, a fully finished comic is better than a few pages of a finished comic. A few pages of a finished comic is better than an outline with a script. An outline with a script is better than an outline without a script. And so on.
I think at this stage, you're probably more in need of a primer for how the industry as a whole works, big picture, right? Go to your local library and get Words for Pictures: The Art and Business of Writing Comics and Graphic Novels by Brian Michael Bendis. (http://www.amazon.com/Words-Pictures-Business-Writing-Graphic/dp/0770434355) It's geared towards writers, but he talks to artists and editors and everyone down the line, and once you've read it, you'll have a pretty clear picture of what the creative process is like and what it involves. And there is TONS of great full-color art all throughout. (I recommend this book to every new person that asks what is involved in creating comics because it paints the most clear, concise, complete picture of any book I've read BY FAR.)
Try reading this: http://www.comicvine.com/hunter-killer-scriptbook/4050-32545/
and this: http://www.amazon.com/Alan-Moores-Writing-Comics-Volume/dp/1592910122
These are very concise and will help you in writing a pitch and script for comics. These helped me a lot when it came to writing for comics. Everyone tends to find their own formula over time, but it helps if you know where to start!
Not an artist, but I work with both designers and computers on a daily basis. Computers are a tricky thing to recommend (especially in regards to specs) because it all comes down what they personally do with it and what they enjoy.
That being said, for this sort of thing you would be correct, go with a Mac. More specifically, I would recommend a Macbook Pro. Mac's are, of course, a bit pricey but if you do some savvy shopping you can get a refurbished or used one for cheaper.
Software, you really can't beat the Adobe collection. Photoshop and Illustrator being the main ones. I believe Adobe offers a subscription based model for people that don't want to buy the full version outright.
Beyond that, you could look into a drawing tablet, like a Wacom Bamboo Pad. I have an old one myself, but I haven't done much with it/don't know much about that area in general.
I was incorrect about center-justifying the captions, that is only for speech balloons. My friend just let me borrow Comicraft's book on lettering, it's pretty short but will teach you everything and is full of great examples and art. http://www.amazon.com/Comic-Book-Lettering-The-Comicraft/dp/0974056731