Anyone having a hard time hurting your character in the comic?

[Herofeeder]

im only trying to make a funny comic so i have this idea where Jenny( girlfriend) suddenly gets hurt while lifting a box in the air .and the box falls on her face .
but when i draw her with the bruise she looks like a victim .
and it kind of feels awkward bcs i cant make it as funny as it is sad .
is there a special way you can draw bruises that it looks goofy or is it always like this FeelsBadMan feel: P

[eleoza]

aw I hope Jenny will be ok ^^
I'm currently drawing a backstory for a charcter in my comic, it involves emotional and psychical abuse. It's necassary to understand the character and why he did certain things in the present but it's quite a stuggle to draw it.

[Kura]

If you're going for comical maybe try a bump (with or without band-aid out of nowhere on it) instead of a bruise.

Aside from that yeah sometimes I have a hard time hurting my characters (depends on the character... as bad at that sounds). Killing them is even worse. I know some authors love doing it, but when I'm writing or drawing the scene, it's pretty difficult.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

From what I know about comedy, it's all about exaggeration. My recommendation is to look at how the classics did it and use that as a reference point. I'd try looking up classic Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, or Popeye because I know all those cartoons are famous for portraying pain in a comedic light so things like bruises and black-eyes don't look so sad.

[Herofeeder]

@Down_the_Rabbithole
@kurapikasuki
@Lucazu

i think it's sad and hilarious at the same time..
but you are right i will need to fix the bruises
if its ever going to look just funny.

[indagold]

I guess you've never seen slapstick or dark comedy before because that stuff is brutal and unforgiving haha...
You should watch a lot of that and see how much it's done.

As for me I don't give a damn if my character has to suffer. Story and plot comes first and if there's no conflict what good of a story is it? I don't relate to my characters the way I expect my readers to who I expect will get some emotional reaction and attachment to them. I say you're holding yourself back if you're too afraid to let your character go through something bad or you get too attached to them. Let them go and realize they aren't real and you have a story to write.

[respheal]

Huh, it's kinda funny seeing comic creators' perspectives on this, because it's almost completely the opposite of what I'm used to seeing on writing forums. In writing forums, authors are complete sadists--yesssssssss destroy that character! I guess needing to actually draw the harm rather than just describe it brings it a little closer to home and makes it more emphatically painful.

Personally I'm coming from a writing background, so some of my characters are gonna get wrecked. When it comes time to draw those injuries...welp, we'll see, but even if it makes me uncomfortable, the injuries happen for the sake of the plot.

[shaneoid77]

Aww I totally know what you mean bud, I'm actually pacifist and I really have to push myself to create scenarios where people get hurt, but I guess it's the nature of these good vs. evil comics. In my latest Night Twink story I had to do something a little heartbreaking and that was tough to do too lol.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

I guess I'm one of those sadists no matter what. The more I like a character, the more I torment them.

But as much as I love torturing my brain-babies, I like seeing the protagonists come out on top. The harder they struggle, the more satisfying it is in the end.

Then again, this guy is doing a gag strip, so the rules are different.

[Herofeeder]

id cry if i had to punish my character on a daily basis idk how korean manhwa artists do it

[Shanny8]

I have no issues having my characters being hurt in my comic. It happens...

[NickRowler]

I am someone who hates hurting people and I do feel really bad when I show people in pain in my comics (and that happens a lot in my comics). I also felt bad when someone killed a flower.

If you really want to write pain as being funny, then you need to have a good reaction to the injury. Things tend to be funny if it is the opposite of what people expect. Which could mean having a character overreacts or underreacts to what is going on.

Superman takes down bad guys with no sweat but then he stubs his little toe and becomes paralyzed by pain, that's funny.

When you make things more realistic, it tends to be less funny. Homer abusing Bart in the Simpsons is funny because it is ridiculous. But child abuse in real life isn't funny.

[shazzbaa]

Yeah, I feel like there's a big difference between "all my favourite characters must suffer, there is no story without conflict!!" versus "how do I do major injury and make it read as funny instead of sympathetic." Like... it's true that suffering is necessary and important, and that's definitely a worthwhile conversation because some storytellers struggle with that, but I feel like this question is more trying to figure out how to get the tone of that suffering right.

I feel like the key to funny injury is honestly exaggeration? Exaggeration and facial expressions. Like...

The person on the left I feel sorry for. The person on the right is easier to laugh at because the bruise and swelling is way more exaggerated AND because her facial expression doesn't look victimised -- she just looks sort of mildly annoyed that this has happened.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

It's always a roller coaster ride, so it's really a balancing act of suffering and triumph. I believe Walt Disney put it best when he said "for every laugh, there's a tear". I live by that rule.

I don't really know a thing about gag-comics, but I know in long-running plot, there are rules. If everything is goofy and silly, it becomes boring. If everything is suffering and torment, then it's emotionally draining.

It's important to remember that after a character's lowest point, they can only go up (if they live of course). I think that's how the Korean manga artists do it.

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

That's how the classic cartoonists did it!

[JessJackdaw]

I'm with @indagold on this one. I think it's important to disconnect yourself as writer and make sure what your doing is best for the story and not necessarily the character. Isn't that how Mary Sues happen? No conflict and the main character always wins?

I don't even mind killing a character if it works the best to guide the plot and give rising action to the story. The thing is, I feel worse for the audience than the character, because I know how it ends. I strategize how moments will affect readers, and if I need a certain emotional response for the story, I won't hesitate to have the character be severely injured or even crippled.

[VermillionWorks]

Anyone having a hard time hurting your character

AHAHAHAHAHAHA-....ahem.

Uh, everyone else gave good advice. ^__^;

[eleoza]

I heard Oda, the One Piece creator cried when he drew the scene where Merry was set on fire. (I don't think it's a spoiler, been so long ago now)

[Herofeeder]

i dont watch one piece sadly

[Tieback]

I think drawing a character that is injured or drawing a scene where a character gets attacked can be emotionally difficult. Fortunetly, my current comic The Archer and the Squirrel doesn't contain much physical conflict, but rather a few altercations. My next two comics, however, will caintian violent scenes. The violence is necessary for the story, but I'm nurvous about drawing these sceens. I don't even like watching stories that depict violence, hate or torture. Drawing violence, and injuries will be a challenge I need to face and overcome as a comic artist.