The Developement of Comics

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The Developement of Comics

Postby Inexoh » Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:21 pm

Is anyone familiar? I have an idea all planned out, but I'm not sure where to start.

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Postby Wind Swept » Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:06 pm

"All planned out" is a little on the vague side. You have an outline of your story? You have a script? You've got a rough idea that you think would make an awesome comic?

I'm in the process of creating a graphic novel with a couple friends. We're in the very early planning stages. We've stumbled upon a fantastic setting with a lot of potential and have spent most of our time thus far fleshing out that world. We started a collaborative mind map which has spiraled out of control with a lot of crap ideas, plenty of good ideas, and a few great ideas.

Our next step is to find a story worth telling inside of this world we're building, while continuing to build it. We're a long way off from a finished script, let alone a finished graphic novel.
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Postby Inexoh » Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:20 pm

I should probably call it a rough idea, though it is a rather detailed one. I know who my characters are going to be, what role they are going to play, and how they're going to interact with each other just as much as they are with the story. The plot is there, though I am expecting it to change at least slightly. Someone did some concept art for me as well, though he suddenly disappeared out of nowhere.

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Postby CezeN » Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:37 pm

I should probably call it a rough idea, though it is a rather detailed one. I know who my characters are going to be, what role they are going to play, and how they're going to interact with each other just as much as they are with the story. The plot is there, though I am expecting it to change at least slightly. Someone did some concept art for me as well, though he suddenly disappeared out of nowhere.
They killed him/her off so they could steal your idea? :shock:
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Postby Inexoh » Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:44 pm

They killed him/her off so they could steal your idea? :shock:
While that would be quite unfortunate, he worked with the two less original characters I have. So they wouldn't be stealing much. : P

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Postby Mich » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:06 pm

I highly, highly, highly suggest picking up two books if you're planning on making a comic. The first is Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud. The guy knows his stuff, and he goes over a history of comics, why they're an important medium, and why they succeed where other mediums fall short. It's in a very fun to read, comic format, and it made a rather large impression on not just the comics community, but on the literature community, as well. You can't really talk about the history of comics and their importance without bringing up McCloud anymore (whether you like him or not).

The second is Making Comics, also by Scott McCloud. This is really the important one to get if you want awesome, good advice on the process to follow, general tips, and things to think about. The first one is just such an important book overall. :D

I have worked on three different comics. The first was a very stupid lame webcomic, where I was the writer, that thankfully fell apart due to the laziness of the artist. The second was my way of working out some college angst, was going to be a webcomic, of which I drew and wrote it. It was too much work to do during college. The third is my current project, and is full comic size, with no real plans on what we're doing with it, other than making a story. I'm the artist. And, erm, it's falling apart due to me not working on it very much...

But do you have any specific questions? A lot of us here read comics of all shapes and forms, and a couple of us have worked on home comic projects. The best place to start would probably be a solid outline. If you want it to be a webcomic you don't have to follow form as much as for print, but I'd still suggest forming it into story arcs or issues. Concept art is great, but you need a final artist (yourself or otherwise) that you can work with to flesh out your characters and the world.
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Postby Inexoh » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:24 pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have no idea.

Sometimes I think I'm crazy for trying to create a comic, when I don't have a -lot- of experience in reading them. I've admired them my entire life, and have recently finally indulged myself in the pleasure of reading them and going to comic-cons. But I'm still definitely a newbie.

In terms of solid outlines, what's a good place to start? It may seem obvious, but I'm definitely overwhelmed. I'm completely on my own in this and I have no idea how to find some partners.

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Postby Mich » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:11 am

Well, there are a lot of basic story outlines to follow, but it really depends on how your comic is going to play out. Is it an ongoing story, where you don't have any real idea where it's going to go, but have an interesting plot and characters? This is the classic, Silver-Age style of comic that most people think of, where each issue is a self-contained arc, sometimes stretching out to multiple issues. While there may not be a main storyline that ties everything together other than the characters, there is definitely character development. Think of this as the Sitcom style: lessons are quickly learned, but each story is generally an individual part that doesn't have much to do with the rest, other than sequence. A major outline is less necessary for this, as the parts don't affect each other that much: you could probably just sketch down some notes for what you want each "issue" to cover and get started on storyboarding.

If you want a self-contained story, then we talk outlines. Self-contained stories (which is just what I call them, although most comics are technically self-contained) are more like novels: there is a definitely story that the comic is telling that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Like a three act play: First an introduction, in which all of the major players are introduced, we get a feel for the world and the action, and things are set in motion. Then the second act, in which the characters encounter some drawbacks or tribulations on the way to their goals, although they possibly believe they have achieved what they wanted. Finally the third act, in which all is thought to be lost before a climax and a lovely epilogue.

This is just one example of the classic story structure, and there are many more, but they're all built around having these major points in the story. If you separate those points into I, II, and III, then start adding notes underneath in the form of A, B, C, viola! An outline.

The word "novel" to describe this approach is important, because that's what constitutes a "graphic novel": a comic that is written with an end in sight.
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Postby Inexoh » Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:25 am

There is definitely an end in sight. I know my beginning, and I know my ending. There isn't really a middle and I'm not really planning on making one. There's the main plot that's the big picture, and then what happens along the way. What happens between point A and point B isn't really a big deal. Though yes, there is definitely character development along the way. Pretty major.

I guess your second paragraph does kind of imply what I'm going for more than the first.

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Postby Jayelle » Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:29 am

I highly, highly, highly suggest picking up two books if you're planning on making a comic. The first is Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud.
The second is Making Comics, also by Scott McCloud.
Just wanted to chime in to say I really recommend those two books as well. Scott McCould is great and really breaks down comics well. I love what he has to say about the "gutter" between panels.

You could also check out Neil Gaiman's advice as well: http://neilgaiman.com/p/FAQs/Advice_to_Authors#q2
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Postby Inexoh » Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:33 am

Just wanted to chime in to say I really recommend those two books as well. Scott McCould is great and really breaks down comics well. I love what he has to say about the "gutter" between panels.

You could also check out Neil Gaiman's advice as well: http://neilgaiman.com/p/FAQs/Advice_to_Authors#q2
Thank you :) I've already read some of Neil Gaiman's advice, he puts it rather well. I've already discovered some kind of direction. Much needed.

And I'll definitely get on with looking for those two books by Scott Mccould.


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