Comic Prep: How Do You Do It?

[Zpreader]

I'm curious about how other people do this. How long does it usually take you to get prepared before publishing a new series, and what kind of work do you do when preparing? Character designs? Location concepts? Scripts? Storyboards? How many just go to it without much prep at all?

Also, I know alot of people try to work ahead. If you do, how many chapters/pages do you draw ahead before publishing and how how far ahead do you try to keep the cushion?

[starsyscomics]

Usually when we work, we start out with a concept and move to a script. If I can't bang out a good script, the idea gets tabled, because I don't want to write myself into a corner and then have tons of plot holes, etc a couple chapters in, or just half a story that suddenly stops. So, finalized script is necessary.

While that's happening, the artist works on character and location designs as well as some collab on the story writing. Once everything is settled and we like what we've got, we storyboard things out and then get on the pages. At the beginning of Finite we were rolling with a full chapter of buffer, but we got a good amount of freelance work in the past month, so now we have...no buffer. Which is really hectic around the holidays.

Never run out of buffer. It's a harsh lifestyle.

[Chopythes]

Eh, I kind of just do it?
If I have an elaborate story, I don't need much details when I get starting when drafting the first idea. Everything kind of rolls with it?

However, I do design characters after I need them and not the other way around. It's to prevent unnecessary plotpoints and plot holes. I try to keep it as simple as I can.
When I know the basics, I start thumbnailing the first chapter and when that's finished, I upload it onto the web.
It ranges widely from 20-50 pages before I post them, it depends a little on how quick I was when I made them and how many breaks I've taken.
Also, it depends a little on work as well. Trying to combine work and comics (if drawing's not your full time job that is) is pretty much difficult.
Ever since I got my full time job instead of the old, part time job, I'm only able to finish like 1 or 1 1/2 half page every week instead of like... 5-6?

But like, basic idea, creating characters, thumbnailing basics and add details and then sketch the pages and ink them later.
I enjoy sketching chapterwise, and ink page by page later.

[YamamotoRyuunosuke]

For me, my main series Nana-Hon no Ken was something I started in order to improve my skills at writing and art so I went ahead without much preparation (I didn't know much about that stuff anyway). I had a general idea of the whole plot and I improvised the small details of the story and character design as I did the first 3 chapters (hence why they are so crap).

As I was doing chapter 4, I rebuilt the whole plot and added more complex and mature themes and learnt how to do scripts (I use screenplay scripts, I don't like comic scripts). I also started doing storyboards, I predesigned the layout of every page based on the script before doing the actual chapter.

And I don't really work ahead at all. I do the script for this chapter→I do the storyboard for this chapter→I draw this chapter→I type set this chapter→And I open the tapastic uploader as I proof read this chapter.

So when I upload something, it means I just finished it less than 10 minutes ago.

[mariusthered]

I'm a little different to the norm as I have drawn figures in a 3d world using Poser 10. ( but people have been saying that for years!)

I don't sketch or thumbnail. but I do have to work out my "sets" some rooms can take up lots of time to set up such as the bedroom of my Character Zoe Williams that took me three hours to sort out. but after that the set is saved for the next time I need it.
so like everyone else I do write a script and story arc paths . after that it's working out the scenes in poser using the sets and my 3d "cast"

every character in talesfromswipecity has a 3d actor. depending on the scene it can take me hours or days to get the shots.
once I have all the shots and the background shots (empty backgrounds)
I put my page together and write in all the talk bubbles.
then ink and color the figures.
the resize
and that's a page done. next! (life on a loop)

this shows the difference.

this scene was done on an empty stage and the background dropped in on the page it is sometime quicker. other scenes need the actors in place on a set.

when I have the script and poser shots it can take me a few hours to put a page together but the whole process can take three to four days depending on the story. but it's fun to make a comic this way.

[AnnaLandin]

Depends on the size of the comic, really.

Grassblades took me literally YEARS from when I first got the idea to when I published the first page. I got stuck figuring who my antagonist was, how all the different pieces fit together, etc., etc. So I just let it sit for a couple of years, bubbling away in the back of my mind. Once I had my big breakthrough - i.e: finally figuring out who the antagonist was - I outlined the whole thing in 2 days and started storyboarding/sketching Part 1 almost immediately. Most of the major character designs were settled on before I started working on the pages, but some have been designed as I reach the introductions of new characters, etc. Concept art for locations/settings are drawn up while preparing for the individual chapter they are in, and kept around for reference.

With Wishlight, I started thinking about doing a holiday calendar comic - which is something I do every year - at some point in July, and sort of kicked around a few ideas for a while, until I settled on one. I spent about two months drawing the actual pages in between all my other projects, and finished all of them in late November, for posting now in December.

Also, I know alot of people try to work ahead. If you do, how many chapters/pages do you draw ahead before publishing and how how far ahead do you try to keep the cushion?

As I said, with Wishlight, all 24 pages/episodes were finished before I started posting.

With Grassblades, I had a buffer of 52 pages when I started, which I've pretty much kept up since - I was even up to 56 at one point. It's been getting smaller lately, because I have been juggling ALL THE THINGS during November/December, but it should be somewhere 48-50 pages ahead still.

Those 52 pages were all of Part 1 and Part 2, covers included, and I'd started working on Part 3 by the time the first page went live. Since I update twice a week, and each page takes a lot of time to make, I need a buffer to be able to keep that up.

[phen]

Every artist works differently and it depends on how you plan on presenting your series. It seems to me the more organic, even-flowing comics are the ones that have been in pre-production for a year or so. Building up a solid couple of chapters by rounding out your main character(s) and making the first arc as concrete of a thing as possible in your mind is important for a new series. Research of the setting, behaviours, community, and world elements (among other things) of your new story often assists in the narrative itself, so it's like two birds, one stone!

I'm currently working on a new series myself to be released next month (Candour is Going Mad) and so far, I've scripted the first 50 pages and am finishing up the introduction as we speak. Page buffers are SO nice to keep you from agonising over the next page -- it seems like you can focus on the story and work carefully with your art if you have a safe buffer!

Never run out of buffer. It's a harsh lifestyle.

I have a couple of friends who work for the adrenaline rush of a night-before-release schedule and I do not understand it, either! Having that buffer is the one thing that keeps shreds of sanity within reach, haha~

[Doubtcent]

The best thing to do is be as prepared as you can.
If you want to make a full length comic that tells a coherent story, you should go in with the basics or at least something to work with those basics: (and this is just from studying other comic creators who do this sort of thing for a living)

1. A premade plotline - so you know which direction your story will go. This does depend on your personal writing style and skill, but having an outline of your overarching story is a blessing to have before jumping in and finding out you hit a wall.

2. Character turnarounds - sort of a reference that you can have at all times, that way your characters always look like your characters, rather than have them sort of look like them. These can change, but having all of your characters fully realized makes things easier.

3. References - for everything you are making, be it backgrounds, inanimate objects, hairstyles, lighting, etc., having tons of ready to look up references at your disposal can help when you just don't know what you're drawing...

4. A plan of action - Before you even start uploading or publishing, have the first chapter done and see how long it took to make. If it took a long time, find a schedule to push your boundaries (without ruining the quality of course) and see if you can stick to it on your own time. Unless you have a team of artists behind you, you're most likely doing this part-time and alone, so you have to manage the workload yourself.

5. A clear idea to stick to - Whatever your comic idea is, make sure your concepts are clear to you, not "i'll figure out that plot point out later". That way it'll be clear to your readers. I've been polishing an idea for almost a year now, and it'll be some time before I decide to go full throttle with it. But that way it has time to grow into something awesome.

These are the points that I'm going to stick to before I even begin my own long form. I'm personally planning at least 2 one-shots in the future and 1 committed series once I get my skills up to how I want it. Each of those one shots are so I can narrow down which concept or idea I should stick to and which one would be more fun to expand. Experimentation, trial and error, and then coming out with an idea that could lead to bigger things... It all takes careful planning and preparation.

[shazzbaa]

Runewriters was in the works for about 4-5 years before I finally posted the first page!

Before I started, I had developed the main characters' designs, and I'd done some expression-sheet-type exercises with them, but I hadn't done Official Turnaround Reference Sheets or anything -- just made sure I was comfy drawing them consistently.
I had done a bunch of sketches and I thiiiiink one full ink drawing of the city-state that the story starts in, making sure I could draw the sort of architecture I had in mind for this world, and I'd started working on sketches of some buildings that would come up in Chapter 2.

I had a basic idea of how the story would go -- like @AnnaLandin, my story finally solidified once I'd figured out who the antagonist was and what they were doing. I had a rough outline of things I wanted to happen and the order I wanted them to happen in. I had a basic "in chapter one Severian has to escape town, in chapter 2 they meet Jonan," type summary of the first 5 chapters, I had what I call "page breakdowns" for all of Chapter One (a sentence describing what happens on each page), and I'd done a full script for the first ten pages.... and that's when I got started. I scripted in chunks as I went. I think I finished the first 5 pages before I started posting, just to make sure I could make pages on a weekly schedule.

A looooot of the stuff I had planned got tweaked and changed as I went, but I was glad there was a basic idea there TO change.

Half-way through Chapter 1, I started scripting Chapter 2. It's usually a little bit before we get to the chapter that I'll start doing some sketches of the environments and "NPCs"/background characters I know I'll need for that chapter. I would usually start drawing the chapter before I'd finished scripting it -- Chapter 4 will be the first chapter I've scripted fully before I started drawing it, and so far, I think that's a really good change.

I've never been able to keep a buffer. I recommend starting with one, since having some detachment from your first pages is Really Important, but I didn't hate working without one once that ran out. There's something really cool about being able to bounce off of reader feedback.
On the other hand, I've also noticed that I work a good bit faster when I'm not working one page at a time, and you need at least a small buffer to work in batches like that, so I'm gonna try to keep the buffer I have now for as long as I can!

[eagle1]

I've gone from idea to developed script in 3 months, but that's pushing it, unless I am playing with an existing product. The background and world building can't be rushed without it showing in the final product.

On the visual end, character designs, the look and feel of the book, and the sets can take as long as the actual world building did, and there is bound to be some back and forth to make sure what's created matches the intention.

Lead time for a new book should probably be at least 4 months, and closer to 6. With spinoffs, you can cut those times dramatically, since a lot of the prep work is already done.

Eagle
(I cheat, since all of my own stories take place in the same world)

[dsandoval3]

I dont prepare for nutin I just publish what I got. Aint nobody got time to prepare

[mg78]

i start with an idea. so this mean to write a lot about it and then do an analyzation, like understand where to go. in the same i start to draw the charas.
when i end to write the idea, i start to plan the story and think where to begin with my comic.
here i can do in a short time, dunno how much, but for all that im really quick.

when even that is done, it's time for an easy storyboard. if all it's ok, i move to the comic. (then there s some post production for tones and lettering).
at this point i can do some little variations to the story (or put something new, details/scene never thought before)(i can get a some ideas everywhere) but in the end, at this point, all i have to do it's to follow the script/story while i draw every page.

at the moment i dont remeber how much im deep with the full story scripted... i ended the 1st volume with the comic while im am at the 3th volume full scripted.

the funny situation in all this: im very slow to draw and extremely slow with the ink, while to write the story/script im quite fast. so now ive got 3 stories, and only 12 pages done, damn

[Kamikaze]

The comic the team and I work on took several years of prep work. We created Kamikaze as an animated pitch, and while we still want to go that direction, we do our best to stick to that 'look' in the comic form. A lot of time was spent getting the characters and world to look right.

In the actual creation of the comic we have the ENTIRE script finished before we even start drawing the comic proper. Once that's done, we go through the script and break the whole thing down into comic pages. The roughs are thumbnailed out and THEN and only THEN do we really start drawing the pages out proper. :3

Also, for puppies sake please, please, please, PLEASE create a good buffer of material before you even release your comic. Once you release keeping on a consistent posting schedule is super important, and it can be tough to do that if your comic takes a week+ to create like our pages do. Keep in mind how long it takes you to create a single page that you consider a post. That's what going to make or break your comic. A realistic deadline that you can balance with work/school/obligations is incredibly important. Planning FOR that is going to be more than a boon to you, it's entirely necessary to succeed.

Good luck, my dear!

[Silvo]

I'm new to this writing thing, but here is what I'm picking up through trial and error.

Draw a line, write your starting point in brief form, then your ending points in brief form.

'Jim discovered his mother's body'
'Jim imprisons his mother's killer'

Write out as many ideas as you have for the story and arrange them sequentially on the line in this short text.

'Jim finds the murder weapon in collins house'
'Jim confronts collin'

Expand on these bits with parts that link them together.
Start writing inbetween those parts.. if you get stuck at one point jump ahead to a different point.

'Jim breaks into collins house well he is asleep'
'Jim confronts collin'

Write inbetween these gaps in short burst sessions as your readers will likely be reading in short bursts. End on a hook where possible.

Rewrite your work.. pass it through someone else.. it will have flaws.

[agentfink]

I feel very fortunate to have my husband as my partner for writing The Pale-- not that it doesn't have it's difficulties! A lot of planning and discussion went into the first issue (or chapter). Because we plot our story structure around a typical trade format, I'll just say issue.

May 2013 - I had this idea and I did a lot of sketching/exploring the Protag. My husband wanted to help, and shared some inspirational material that are in the same vein and had similar themes.

Dec 2013 - I tried thumb nailing the story myself, with no real direction or script-- and it was awful. My husband said that he wanted to help out with the story, but wanted to learn more what I had in mind. We had a jam session and together we finally found some good motivations with the Antagonist.

April 2014 - I relocated for a job, so that delayed things a bit. Because he wanted to write, I concentrated on finding reference photos. My husband was being very secretive with what he was working on in terms of the script... which caused some friction.

When my husband finally showed me the script for issue one, i didn't like it. He was also trying to write out the entire story arc, right to the end... which I didn't agree with. I mention this because collaborating with a partner is very much a team effort, but communication and being on the same page is essential for finding the right voice for the story. I felt the lack of communication has delayed us, but would we have what we currently have if it didn't happen? This is out first venture into comics--- there's some growing pains.

For the 2nd draft, I told him a few moments I wanted to see happen and what I thought could be stronger. When he came back with v2, I was grinning ear to ear. He found the tone and voice of the characters.

We plan to print (I feel like it's not real unless I can hold it) so there was a lot of research into page planning... what falls on the left and right of a printed page as well as the affect of turning the page etc.

Nov 2014 - started rough layouts based on V2, editing along the way
March 2015 - we finally came up with a title and started sharing it as The Pale
May 2015 - we did a week long road trip exploring the area where the story takes place
June 2015 - finished the layouts, lettered and then started inking

Aug 2015 - brought on some major restructuring, as our first issue was 42 pages... but there was a natural cut off to make it into two issues. A lot of redrawing during this time, as my husband goes over my pages and makes suggestions. Playing off each other has improved the story and presentation tremendously.

Oct 2015 - With a maybe an 8/10 page inked buffer, we started posting on Tapastic and Tumblr

We have posts planned up to February Valentines day that should give us a nice buffer for us to finish this issue and address some editing for issue 2 and beginning issue 3.

I feel that a rough outline of major moments in the story is all you need to get started. We want to explore the characters and see where they take us and try to have the story grow organically-- inspiration can strike at anytime, and we want to be able to play with that.

Seeing the WIP and the effort is something I like seeing, so I post a lot of snap shots on our facebook page

Sorry for the long response, but hopefully it shows how much goes into planning and the difficulties and successes working as part of a team. Here's a cookie.

** I like seeing how everyone else goes about their comics very inspiring.

[jacintawibowo]

We had roughly 10 weeks of preparation before publishing Tales from the Well. The first week we got the important things figured out: story (elevator pitch), genre/theme, summary (of the first act/episode/etc.), Character Designs (of main cast/protagonist), target audience, format, release schedule, and projected page count. We had two days to figure all this stuff out =P
The next 4-5 weeks, we cranked out as many pages as we could. By week 5 or 6 we check in on our progress and see if we're keeping up to date. If we're not, then we need to adjust our release schedule so it matches our production schedule and we don't overwork ourselves! I originally wanted twice a week updates, but with the pace I was creating pages, it was much less stress-inducing when we took a once a week update schedule. With that in mind, we work off the next 5 or 4 weeks finishing up as many pages as we can (ideally, a 3 month buffer of updates)!
Then we release the comic online and throw a launch party!

Cake!

[TheArgoNinja]

I prep by doing absolutely nothing all day and punish myself by staying up all night to make a piece of art/comic page. I'm even doing right now.

[Starfestival]

I design characters and go from there pretty much. I come up with locations and such things during instead of pre meditating them. I just have an idea pretty much and start.