Do you plan comics with an end in mind?

[YangKoete]

So far most of mine that are planned are just slice of life, but I do have one massive story comic planned that I want to draw.

[trace]

Definitely. It's getting the plot interesting while getting there is the hard part, though.

[TheRabbit]

I have an ending planned, but haven't written down the nitty gritty of it. Since it will be aaages till I'll be there, I will probably have much better ideas then than I will have now.

[arushiangelica]

I write a poetry comic Existentialist Crisis. So this comic is something that can go on forever. And I don't mind. I might take hiatus maybe once a year or something to take a break.

As far as my novel Beautiful Rebellious Brainiacs is concerned, I have a clear ending in my mind. My story starts from the ending and then works backwards.

[pistolshrimp77]

I kinda have majorit of everything mapped out vaguely in my head. but during the making of the comic I add in stuff and characters to make its more interesting. But the main plot and mostly the ending is already mapped out for me. sometimes its mapped out what happens but you don't know how your gonna show that.

[joe_galindez]

Old threads are weird. So many faces that we don't see around anymore. Are they gone, or merely lurking?

I definitely write with an ending in mind. Sometimes I find a better ending along the way but usually I'm working toward a particular image.

[DiegoPalacios]

Yes, my actual comic has an end in mind. I have a lot of what will happen planned. Even some of the jokes. I write a script before drawing the pages and if i get a new idea, i check to see what works setter for that scene. I make sure i know where my story is going.

[kklekc718]

All my series (in planning or in development) have an ending.
For an example, Chronicles of the Last Century. Obviously, there will be an ending, as the name implies. I separate each book by a decade, (shall start with book 4 first and then later, do 1-3. Don’t worry, it won’t be like the Hobbit or the SW Prequel saga).
Another example is Legend of the Crusade (although this is more of a game idea). You finish the main story of the RPG game, so even that shall end.
My current series (release date TBA), Hero University. Every student are expected to graduate, so their will be a graduation for my characters.
I do have two series that does not have an ending in mind, but when the time come, I shall end that as well.

[monotone_ink]

I think manga artists that work for other magazines such as seinen magazines most likely have a specific direction to go towards that has been approved.

But I agree, that the artists that work with weekly magazines, especially Shonen Jump, are pretty insane in their own way. I think the way they write their stories has to be done in a way that it can be built on or retconned easily in future chapters. Otherwise, mad respect for these people.

[kklekc718]

If you guys look up Bakuman, you can see a pretty solid view in the mangaka world. With ratings and/or health, they multiple things to worry about.

[Nivardy]

I do try to plan out an outline, at least for a overarching plot.

That being said, it's the magic of maybe just doodling a scene kinda charms me into seeing if I can incorporate those silly/exciting developments in. Planning every detail in a narrative makes me a little obsessive, and my perfectionist side tends to suck up all the fun, until I make the realization that I've been planning more than doing anything substantial.

Still, I'm pretty much like you.

If I were to start a weekly autobiographical comic, I wouldn't plan for an end, but of course there would be someday.

Dark joke aside, love your art. Can't wait to read the backlog.

[dawgofdawgness]

Oh HELL yea, in fact the end is where the true message of my story really comes out
Without the end (and buildup to the resolution), my story would be pretty shallow and uninteresting I think

[Jenny-Toons]

I share that same struggle

Like, the moment I get the idea, as vague as it is, this scenario plays out:

Me: This is a COOL idea. So now onto ending this story --".

Brain: What Story??? You barely have the characters mapped out??

Luckily, I've found a way to work around this -- using music. You know how you listen to music and you end up creating this complex, well thought out music video in your head? I make a playlist for the story I wanna shape up and just listen to those songs. And as I do, I write out everything that comes to mind in the context of my story. Then I edit later. XD

[KoreanTacos]

I have my last ten strips already rough draft for whenever I feel like my series can peacefully end.

[OliviaMerteli]

Yeah, personally I'm using Mike Oldfield musics for that. They have that kind of mood that I like to (try to) create for my stories.

[Jenny-Toons]

That's cool! For me, I often try to use music that matches characters/feelings or the setting of the stories. For instance, one of my comics stays place in the 80s, so I'm using a lot of 70s/80s music, along with psychedelic rock (mostly with a few Tame Impala songs ^^)

[akemikae]

Ending? What's an ending??? I don't know why, but I find it difficult to even end a chapter, let alone the whole story. I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go along, but thankfully, my comic is working fine without a definitive ending thus far. I have basic story points I have to hit, and I'm just working to hit those right now. I've only hit one out of like, 8 I have planned (and I've drawn this comic for like a year) so I'm sure I'll be fine without a solid ending planned quite yet. I just know what relationship status I need the two main's to be at. So long as I get that done, I'll be fine.

In theory.

[Hexigate]

With the way i create stories, the ending is one of the first things i create.
I guess that i think of an ending to a story as super-important; the final note, the final stroke, the final thought to the questions that story explores. So yeah, a conclusive statement, as you said.
It's weird because i'd have a premise, a start, and an end, but no body or in-between. For the actual bulk of the story, i'll just be making it up as i go along.

[advertisingmerc]

I've found writing something without an ending in mind really gives me a bad case of writers block, and can leave many plot holes in your story.

[GASTONSGIMENEZ]

Oh this is my first time ever on tapas forum.
Now, on topic:
I think it depends. Sometimes I do have a clear end goal, sometimes i concentrate on closing a chapter, with the premise that, while It might not be final, it always has to have a selfcontained story.
I can't say it's the first thing that comes to mind though. Usually, my trigger is a particular scene. From there i Start to build reasons and meanings behind (and in front of, below and above too) that scene. But I think I am going off topic here.