How to Draw Comics

How to Draw Comics How Can You Draw Comic Books? ChaptersHow to Create Your Own ComicsFinding Inspiration for ComicsCreate a Detailed Outline of Your Comic’s PlotCharacter Design: Designing Characters for Comic BooksCreating a Storyboard for Your ComicCreating Your Comic Book“By believing in his dreams, madn turns them into reality.” - HergéWhile there’s been a decrease in printed media, comic book stores in the UK reported little or no decrease in sales recently. It just goes to show that people still love comics. Whether it’s kids’ comics, manga, or non-fiction comics, a lot of people are interested in comics.If you want to join the growing family of comic strip creators, here’s how you can get started creating your own comic book. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free! Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SabrinaDrawing Teacher 4.33 (3) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsHow to Create Your Own ComicsComics, as we know them today, came into being towards the start of the 19th century. After the first comic, l’Histoire de monsieur Jabot by Rodolphe Töpffer in 1827, comic strips crossed the Atlantic and became hugely popular in the US, especially those with superheroes. Today, Japan is the biggest producer of comics in the world. In fact, manga accounts for a huge part of the global comic book market.Check here for the best drawing classes now.Comics are very popular all over the world. (Source: JenDigitalArt)No matter what type of comic art you’re trying to make, most of them follow the same steps. Be it Franco-Belgian co mics like Tintin and Asterix, American Marvel and DC comics, manga, or graphic novels, the starting point for most comics is an idea.Each comic book author needs to start with an idea, a theme, a story, or a plot. From there, they can create the comic in their own style.You don’t necessarily need to have studied art and illustration or have taken art lessons to start drawing your own comics. Most comic book authors are self-taught.To get started with your comics, it’s important to not get discouraged the second you run into any difficulties.You can also learn how to draw your own manga.Finding Inspiration for ComicsAre you dreaming of creating a comic that you can show your friends and family? Would you like to publish or sell it?Before you start drawing it and approaching publishing houses, you need to find the right idea.Some creators get it straight away whereas others need to plan out their ideas.Head to a bookstore or comic book store for inspiration! (Source: emiliefarrisp hotos)When it comes to inspiration, you can always look to other comic books and comic book artists. Try to work out which books and comic book series you like, the themes covered in the comics you read, the comic book art style you like, and why the visual storytelling works so well. Of course, we don’t mean copying another author! Your comic needs to be original and not guilty of plagiarism.However, looking at other comics is a great way to get your imagination and creativity going. You could always head to a library and read some books there or borrow the comics you like and take them home. As you’re reading them, make a note of your ideas and start structuring them.If you like futuristic comics, make a note of all the backgrounds you like or the plots you find interesting.Heading to a comic convention is a great way to explore comic books. There are plenty of conventions up and down the country and around the world.There’s also a comic book museum in Brussels if you fancy a trip abroad for inspiration. You might even get some inspiration from the city itself. After all, Belgium has a rich tradition of comics. You should also decide what your comic’s going to be like:ComedyRealismFantasyScience fictionNon-fictionWebcomicsAutobiographicalBlack and whiteIn colourEtc.Find out more about creating a caricature. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SabrinaDrawing Teacher 4.33 (3) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsCreate a Detailed Outline of Your Co mic’s PlotOnce you’ve established the universe that your comic will be set in, you’ll need to think of a plot. Just like in cinema, creating a synopsis will help you create a story for your graphic work. Here’s a quick definition of synopsis:“a brief summary or general survey of something.”Creating a synopsis can be useful for organising your ideas and is essential if you’re going to be presenting your ideas to an editor. You’ll often present this with some samples of the comic’s visuals.  Even if you’ve decided you’re going to do it all yourself, a synopsis will help as it can act as a guide for your story.A synopsis can be between one and six pages but there are no rules. Your story needs to be understandable and detailed enough so that you don’t have to keep thinking stuff up on the spot.  You also need to consider the plot, characters, the Spatio-temporal framework, the outcome, the twists, the length, etc.Taking time with this step will save you time in the long run. While it might seem tedious, thinking about the key details right at the beginning will save you so much time later on, especially if you can refer to them in your synopsis.Character Design: Designing Characters for Comic BooksJust like the plot, character design can save you a lot of time when it comes to drawing your characters. Character model sheets show how characters should be represented visually. You don’t need to describe a character’s physical characteristics but rather represent them visually.Make sure your characters are expressive. (Source: coyot)Each character can be drawn in different ways with different expressions: standing, portrait, profile, while moving, etc.  The goal is to capture the character in most eventualities so that it can act as a model when you need to draw them again. This can be really useful if the writer or illustrator isn’t the same person as the character design process will allow you to agree on the big picture and also the finer details.You should start the model sheets with a sketch of the character. It’s easy to start off vague and add more details. Doing several different characters will also help you to establish the style. Whether you’re drawing on a graphics tablet or using traditional materials, it's much easier to create the first few pages of your graphic novel if you’ve already learnt the fundamentals of drawing.Find out more about drawing faces and portraits.Creating a Storyboard for Your ComicOne of the first things you should do when creating a comic is your storyboard. A storyboard can be used to outline, panel by panel, the dialogue and scenes in your comic. To do this, sketch out the visuals and the speech bubbles. Start by segmenting the story into pages.Storyboards are there to outline what's going to happen. (Source: geralt)Storyboarding is a long process when it comes to making comics and you need to ensure that the speech bubbles or coherent and understandable and avoid wast ing panels. You also need to ensure that everything adds to the narrative and brings something new to the reader.Creating Your Comic BookNow you’re ready to start making your comics. From the synopsis to the storyboarding, everything’s ready. Now you just have to draw, colour, and maybe publish your comic book.Drawing in the PanelsWith the help of the storyboard you created, you can now draw the details into each panel. Your storyboard should effectively outline the composition for the panel.Inking: An Important Part of Creating ComicsInking is going back over the sketches with ink. Once the inking is finished, the illustrator can erase all remnants of the sketches.ColouringColouring is sometimes done by a specialist but the illustrator can do it themselves. Whether it’s with markers, watercolours, or coloured pencils, this process is essential if you don’t want your comic to be in black and white. Colouring can also be done digitally with programmes like Inkscape, Illustrat or, Photoshop, etc.Now you just need to put it all into practice!You could also learn more with private tutorials from one of the many talented tutors on Superprof!There are three main types of tutorials available: face-to-face tutorials, online tutorials, and group tutorials, and each comes with its pros and cons in terms of learning and cost-effectiveness. What's right for one student may not be right for another so take your time to find the right kind of tutor and tutoring.Face-to-face tutorials are taught with one student and one tutor and they tend to be the most cost-effective type since every minute in the lesson is spent focusing on you as the student. Additionally, the tutor will also spend time outside of the lessons finding resources and planning the time they'll spend with you.Online tutorials are similar to the face-to-face tutorials but take place either on a call or via webcam. Since the tutor won't have the travel costs to worry about and can fit more students into their schedule as a result, online tutorials are usually cheaper than face-to-face tutorials.Finally, group tutorials are classes with one teacher or tutor and multiple students. These tend to be the cheapest per student per hour. How to Draw Comics Everything You Need to Know About Comic Drawing ChaptersDrawing a Comic: Start by Laying the GroundworkHow Do I Create a Comic Book Character?Which Style Should I Use to Draw My Comic?The Main Steps for Drawing Your Comic  Can I Create a Comic Without Knowing How to Draw?Comic books have a huge history all over the world. From the famous characters who we grew up with to new interpretations today which have almost become cults, every year we discover more about comics.The world of comics is very dynamic, with unique styles such as Japanese-originating manga which has a huge international following.Do you find yourself having ideas or dreams of how to create your own comic strip?It’s a complex project of storytelling, containing many rigorous steps to create a story and characters, and then bring them all to life in your drawings.We’ve put together the main steps of comic drawing from start to finish…very interesting tattoo designs on their skin?Character traits: the style of each character must reflect their deeper character istics, so it’s crucial to be as precise as possibleTheir personal history: what is their past, their current situation, their experiences and skillsTheir behaviour: determine your character’s specific attitude, reactions, disposition and opinionsTheir goal: each character has a purpose in a story. Start by asking yourself this question for each of your characters.To help you define all these elements, simply take a look around you, and draw inspiration from people you know â€" there are many sources of inspiration.Once you’ve completed this step, you can move onto learning how to draw your characters. You will have to evolve them in the course of the story according to the situations they encounter.Think about working on your facial drawing techniques, and also techniques to represent body expression and attitude. Be careful though â€" inspiration doesn’t mean reproduction. Your characters must remain unique and mustn’t be copies of existing characters.Don’t hesitate to show your drawings to friends and family, as this can help you gauge how your characters are perceived by others and if they really reflect the characteristics you imagined. FernandoDrawing Teacher 5.00 (8) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EmmaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £75/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors DavidDrawing Teacher 4.75 (4) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NatashaDrawing Teacher 5.00 (7) £37/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors LorrenDrawing Teacher 5.00 (2) £18/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors SabrinaDrawing Teacher 4.33 (3) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Julia janeDrawing Teacher 5.00 (5) £60/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors EvelinaDrawing Teacher £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsWhich Style Should I Use to Draw My Comic?Major Marvel heroes are referenced in the comic book world. Photo credit: Luis.Vieira on VisualhuntThe important thing to remember when creating a comic is that you should find your own style. Traditionally, there are three main categories of comics:Comics: Comic books originating from the USA which narrate the adventures of a character, but unlike some forms of comic, the main character is usually the property of a publishing house and there are different designers who take the character forward and continue to create new episodes.Manga: Born in Japan, this comic is inspired by cartoon characters and is typically characterised by sleek drawings, most often in black and white.Franco-Belgian BD: BD, or Bande Dessinée, originated in France and developed in Belgium, and is now distributed in the form of albums of in specialised press. BD styles and formats can vary greatly.Today, artists take advantage of the many influences that the world of comics has to offer so that genres can be mixed up and revisited. Comics aren’t so codified these days, so with a little talent it’s completely possible to create your own unique style.We see it toda y in many comics: graphics have evolved and so have the styles of drawing too. This means we can opt for really realistic drawings â€" which we see prominently in Franco-Belgian BD â€" for which we need to know how to draw realistically and in perspective, so that each comic book author has talent enough to develop their own style from the basics.Digital tools and the internet also offer new possibilities in terms of graphics and distribution. Digital comics flourish on the internet without necessarily being edited or published in paper format.The Main Steps for Drawing Your Comic  You now have your storyboard and your characters, so all that remains is to move on to the drawing phase!Do you prefer the traditional pencil and paper method, or the digital approach with a graphic tablet? Or maybe even both! In any case, you can choose the material that works best for you to create your comic.It’s possible to create a comic entirely on paper, or conversely you can use a computer and d rawing software as you would with graphic design, just as if you were designing a great logo.If you want to draw your comic in pen, start by preparing your comic strips and plotting out your boxes, also called thumbnails. You can then start filling them in one by one. Make sure your frames are well structured and executed to get the best drawings possible.You can create comics either with pen and paper or with a graphic tablet. Photo credit: wuestenigel on VisualhuntYou can of course start drawing in pencil so that your lines can be erased until you get the desired result. Inking a comic strip is that stake where the lines are made permanently in pen to obtain a clean finish and hide any underlying pencil marks. Find pencil drawing lessons on Superprof.If you need to add narrative text for clarification, you will need to put it in a side bar at the top or bottom of a picture box. You will also have to fill the speech bubbles with dialogue, without forgetting the characteristic onoma topoeia of action comics!When it comes to the colouring and the text contained in your boxes and bubbles, you have two possibilities:Do everything by hand on your sheet, the good old-fashioned way!Scan your comic boards to finalise them on a computer. You will then be able to choose a suitable font for the text in the bubbles you have created, and you can ensure the colours are vibrant and polished.If you choose to scan your boards, make sure you choose a good resolution (600 dpi, for example). This will improve the quality of your drawing on digital media, and you can then work easily from software like Photoshop. It is also an great solution if you want to put your comic online.  Can I Create a Comic Without Knowing How to Draw?With online software, you don’t need incredible drawing skills to create a comic.Even though the best approach to comics is learning to draw, it’s still possible to have fun experimenting with online software while you make you own comic and cultivate y our skills. There are all sorts of digital tools and software to try out!Whether you are an accomplished drawer or a beginner, comics are a really interesting format to work with. Unlike a single drawing, it also allows you to experiment with narrative techniques.