Framed and hung the new poster
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Comics and the iPad →
Nice article on digital publishing.
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The Process Part 2
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Once the idea and the story is there, a creative team is required to bring to the comic book form. A typical creative team in comics consists of the following professionals.
1. The writer
2. The Penciller/Artist
3. The Inker
4. The coloris
5. The letterer
6. The publication designer
Sometimes the common creative team can expand to include even more people. Co-writers, plotters, background artists, assistant colorists to name a few.
Other times the creative team can be as small as 1 person doing all the work. This isn’t necessarily uncommon. Jeff Smith did all the work on Bone and is now doing all the work on RASL. RASL is a black and white book however, so there is no need for a colorist (aside from the covers). Johnathan Hickman did all the work on his two image books Nightly News and Pax Romana.
What this boils down to is that every creative team is different. If you’re a writer and you need to tell a story, you need to find an artist, if that artist does not ink or color his own work, then you need to find those counterparts. There are plenty of creative people on the internet looking to connect and collaborate.
Digitalwebbing is one such place. Dedicated forums exist for hopeful creatives to discuss, share and collaborate.
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The Process part 1
We’ve covered the idea. That lingering need to create something in comic books. But what’s next? Some of that is covered in the link I posted earlier. How to publish a comic book. That article is outdated. The whole reason I started comixwerk is to be able to follow the comics creation process. What is the process?
I am not an expert by any means. I am a hopeful creator. One of many. I’ve done the research and I do have a process that I’m using. Whether it leads me anywhere remains to be seen.
FROM IDEA TO STORY
Once you have an idea that you’d like to turn into a comic book you need to create the story around it. Many decisions need to be made at this stage. Is it an ongoing story (much like most of Marvel & DC books), is it a finite story with a clear beginning, middle and an end (Watchmen), or is it a short story (one that can be a part of an anthology like Flight)?
Once that decision is made the story can be fleshed out. It’s important to begin to note done the ideas at this stage. Whether or not you’re an artist, putting ideas or scribbles on paper will help your ideas materialize and leap to the next step. Everything important should be noted down, and as the process continues, new ideas should be added to that list. Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter talks about the importance of putting ideas on paper here.
To be continued… -
This is my current background!
I know that there are artists out there who refuse to accept this concept, but I choose to live it. This, of course, does not mean that it’s right to trace or outright copy another artist, this is something else entirely. It’s inspiration!
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The Idea
Comix is all about ideas. It’s the concept. If you remove all the pretty coloring and the art, you’re left with the idea. What’s the idea behind the comic?
This is a key part in creating your own book. I’ve had “the idea” for ages. And it evolved and changed as time went on. The changes came from influence and from constant thinking. A lot of the ideas on my end were visual. I wanted to draw a certain part for the reader/viewer to see, and thus I would adjust the story to fit that new idea. Sometimes new ideas sprang up, making the old one seem dated, and at times several ideas merged into one.
The key here is to have an idea you’re excited about as a creator. Whether you really want to tell a story or to draw a certain scene (or both), you need to be invested in it. The right idea is necessary.
*Saga is my current idea. I am working to bring to the printed page.
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cover work.
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Current work on the main character. Meet Jiminy.
“And thus he rose, above the waters and above the clouds. Banished from his own kingdom, he arrived as a thunderous storm, to make his place here…”
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Progress.
