Loading ...
Before you start YOUR graphic novel…
By Jason Brubaker on November 14th, 2009Posted In: Making Graphic Novels
Here is a list of important things I have learned while making a graphic novel.
1) Read Understanding Comics and Making Comics if you haven't already.
2) Make a Model Sheet or Turnaround. Or even sculpt your characters in 3D or clay.
3) Start with an idea that you really believe in and want to share with others. This is important. It takes dedication to make a graphic novel so you really need to love and believe in what you are trying to say or do.
4) Write your story before you start drawing it. This may sound like a no-brainer but I have a bad habit of doing this. It always ends in disaster. You don't want to spend 10 years of your life on something that has no ending.
5) Develop a style that is doable and wont take you a gazillion years. I learned that I didn't need to ink my pages because I can just boost the contrast on pencil lines in Photoshop. That alone saves me hours every page. My main character is simple (the cat) and easy for me to draw. If I were to draw a Mech robot GN it would take me forever.
6) Focus on your strengths. Draw what you love to draw. Don't make a story about the army if you suck at drawing tanks. Unless it's your mission to learn how to draw tanks while making a GN. But I'd suggest not using this medium to learn how to draw something. It will just look different from start to finish and you'll constantly want to go back and fix old ugly tanks.
7) If you plan to draw realistic human characters, make sure you know anatomy. Take some classes or buy some anatomy books FIRST. Practice your anatomy for a good year or two before starting your GN. Trust me, you will waste a lot of time if you don't.
8) Make rules for yourself to follow for your book or it will look like a different book at the beginning and end because you got inspired along the way with some new technique. My rules are pretty simple.
- I only use the paint textures that I made.
- Only 4 panels per page unless it's a sequence of frames where the camera doesn't move.
- I draw everything on paper and scan it. No digital lines except for subtle changes.
- All my pages are planned out as double page spreads so I can control the mood and story better.
Those are my rules for reMIND. My next book will probably change as I figure out what's important to me then.
9) Work in RGB mode but print in CMYK mode. Simply flatten your page and convert it when your finished but alway save your master RGB file with layers if you need to change it. All printers print in CMYK except for some Print-On-Demand (POD) places.
10) Work in at least 300 dpi. That's what all the printers I've talked to print at. Most Marvel and DC guys create their pages at 450 to 600dpi but it all gets reduced in the end to go to print.
Good luck! Feel free to leave comments on what you think I should add to this list.
These are right on. The only one I'm not 100 percent sure about is working in CMYK from the start. I tried it, but I quickly discovered that there are some operations that are only possible in RGB mode. A lot of guys work in RGB and check periodically to be sure their colors will work in CMYK, then hold off until the end before doing the final conversion. On my project, it turns out I just naturally use CMYK-friendly colors, so I don't need to adjust too much after converting from RGB. Food for thought!
Okay Nate, you win. I have finally converted to your process after being clueless as to why I couldn’t get the colors right on a few files in CYMK. After converting to RGB it was super easy to dial the colors around. I have changed my list now for anyone confused at this comment.
Some fantastic tips. Nat Gertler's Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel is a great read too. Been checking out your site . . love your work!!
I'll have to pick up that book. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment and suggestion. It looks like you have a great blog on graphic novel creation which I'll have to spend some time digging through! And thanks for the compliment on my work too!
Great blog post. Very spot-on! I'm one of those artists who suffers from getting inspired along the way to the end of a project so that it changes from page one to page fifty.
I hear you, James. It takes me forever to complete a project because I keep fixing older stuff as my style changes. Hopefully I can finish this book before I see any old things that start bothering me. Thanks for stopping by!
I've learned from a Marvel colorists that its best to work in RGB and change it into CMYK.
Some of filters & transfer modes don't look as good while you're working at CMYK.
Even worse – some of them don't work AT ALL in CMYK mode.
I usually switch back and forth from RGB to CMYK but working in RGB and only changing to CMYK in the end sounds perfectly logical.
Nice blog by the way. Found about it today!
theory_of_everything – I think you guys are right. I didn't need any of the features that don't work in CYMK before but this last week I have been noticing the difference. In my interview with Ian, who works on all the Marvel and DC books, he said he also works in RGB. It seems like the majority works this way.
Aviv-really – Thanks for the comment. I think it's time I updated my list a bit now. I really like your approach of switching back and forth. I've been doing that lately and it seems to help keep everything manageable as far as what colors work in CYMK. But I only switch when I run into a problem in CYMK. I'm still learning what's best I guess.
I'm glad you found the blog. Hope some of this helps.
Really nice, concise suggestions here. Some of those are deceptively harder to accomplish than one might think. Particularly having an ending to your story. There seems to be a balance between having everything scripted to the last detail and just making it up as you go that usually works best, at least, from what I’ve observed. Too much detail and the work gets stagnant and the artist can lose interest. Too little detail and you burden the person in the artist role.
I agree with you about having just enough information in the script to be able to make up many things as you go to keep interest in the process. I believe that is what I’ve done with reMIND. I have about a written page for every chapter of the book. Each chapter of art is about 35 to 45 pages so there is lots of room to breath while I’m drawing. Thanks again for the comment. Do you have a blog or website I can visit?
I’m working on getting a website up for my graphic novel project Exigency, but really I have no idea what I’m doing. Until that’s up, you can visit my Comicspace profile at http://www.comicspace.com/randylbishop/ or my art thread over at CBR http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=213405&page=8 or maybe drop by my latest project Privateer http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=290520
I think you’ve got a superior product here and it’s obvious you’ve worked very hard on it. I wish you good luck with it!
Thanks man!
Thank you very much for sharing these personal tips with others. They’re very clear and simple, and, even though I have followed (or am currently following) suggestions two through six, they were most helpful to me, particularly the seventh statement.
I wish you all the best in completing your graphic novel!
Thank you for your comment. I’m glad these have been helpful.
Okay, I wanted to say that I updated my list here a bit. I added in a new number 2. Making a Model sheet. I think this is important if you are working on a GN in your spare time for a number of years just to keep your character consistent.
After much debate and thought. I decided to change my working mode to RGB instead of CYMK. People have told me that it’s harder to control CYMK’s filters but I didn’t believe them until just a few weeks ago. Now I truly see the difference and apologize for leading you in the wrong direction. It will still be fine if you are working in CYMK but it’s just harder to manipulate things.
Hi…just started looking at your blog and man, there are some very good resources. As for books…I have read making comics but I think I should check his other two. On the other hand, I recommend How to Make Webcomics…by the authors of Starslip Crisis, PVP, Sheldon and Evil Inc…. True their comics are more comic strips but I think that has been also quite helpful as well.