If you want to make comics and you haven’t yet, I hope you will set some (simple!) goals to make it happen in 2019. You don’t have to be flawless in your craft. You can and will make mistakes. Each one makes you stronger. And each win lasts forever.
You can do it. Be your voice.
You can do it. Be your voice.
Some things to consider;
Show your work.if it sits in a drawer, you will miss everything wonderful about putting your art out there.
Small goals. Give yourself every opportunity to succeed.
Let the visuals breathe and bear as much storytelling tonnage as possible.
Show your work.if it sits in a drawer, you will miss everything wonderful about putting your art out there.
Small goals. Give yourself every opportunity to succeed.
Let the visuals breathe and bear as much storytelling tonnage as possible.
Do not be afraid of advice, criticism, or critique. How much weight you give them is up to you, but you shouldn’t start from a point of fear. Very little worthwhile is created without some courage in the mix.
Taste varies. Every piece of art is loved by some and hated by others.
Taste varies. Every piece of art is loved by some and hated by others.
Finish projects. To an editor or an audience, a finished, successful one-page story will usually mean more in half a dozen ways than a sketchbook full of half-begun ambitions that went nowhere.
Remember why the three act structure works. Let’s boil it down to the simplest possible recipe.
1) Hey, look at this character (or characters!)
2) Oh, my god, he’s so screwed
3) Explosion
Silly, but those are the goals. Draw your cast, put them in trouble, stick the landing.
1) Hey, look at this character (or characters!)
2) Oh, my god, he’s so screwed
3) Explosion
Silly, but those are the goals. Draw your cast, put them in trouble, stick the landing.
And I say this every time, but don’t hide your quirks, don’t aim for some inauthentic voice. Nearly every memorable writer brought their pain and joy and personal freakshowto the page in some way.
You feel alienated? Good, so does the readership.
You feel alienated? Good, so does the readership.
Remember, your biggest enemy is not editors or readers or publishers.
The biggest obstacle to your success will almost certainly be you.
Second-guessing, paranoia, inertia, over-sensitivity and more have destroyed endless artists. Be aware of your mean, trickster self.
The biggest obstacle to your success will almost certainly be you.
Second-guessing, paranoia, inertia, over-sensitivity and more have destroyed endless artists. Be aware of your mean, trickster self.
And finally, especially writers. do your homework on the language of the medium. In a great comic, thought is put into every panel and word of dialogue. We are always trying to build castles in a glovebox. Learn how to use the real estate of a page.
That’s it. And for the record, I only talk about this stuff completely from experience, from having made every possible mistake and taken every possible wrong turn.
Biggest message: screwing up is okay. It’s how you recover that makes a difference.
Good luck!
Biggest message: screwing up is okay. It’s how you recover that makes a difference.
Good luck!
