How are writer/ artist relationships supposed to work?

[Luminosophy]

I'm having issues concerning teamwork at the moment. But to really sort it out I think I need an idea of how the relationship between a writer and artist is supposed to work. In a traditional setting, how is the work divvied up between the two and how involved are they in each other's area of expertise? For example, If the artist has little to no experience with story telling, should the writer be more heavily involved in the story boarding/ panelling work? Or is it solely the artist's job?

[DeadAccount]

I think you'll find that there's no one right way to do something - everyone works in a different way. I remember reading a script for Saga, and everything was split into panels by the writer. But the way me and my collaborator work is that they write the script and I break it down into panels myself - then we kind of figure out what works together. We're both new to comics, so figuring out how much dialogue is acceptable was one of the biggest challenges for us. But yeah, I get involved in the writing and my collaborator always gets to make suggestions on the art. It might be different if the writer's the only one developing the story, though.

[Kayke]

In my experience, anything art related (thumbnails and page layouts included) is the artists job. If I'm working with a writer, I personally prefer to have some level of creative control and hate getting over worked scripts. A lot of people want to describe EVERY little thing in every panel and that makes me feel like they're treating me like an art-making-robot rather than an artist.

In my best writer-artist relationship, our workflow went like this:
1. He would send over the script with page breakdowns, but no panel breaks. So basically just dialog and key action points. I'd give him notes at this stage if any of the dialog felt forced to me.
2. I'd thumbnail it out to see if his page breakdowns worked. Sometimes he would want to put too much action or dialog onto one page (which is a common problem for writers) and I'd notice the pacing wasn't flowing, so I'd ask if I could break things into two pages, which he was usually cool with.
3. Once he approved my thumbnails, I'd go to sketches and show those to him. If there was anything off about the characters or settings, like someone's outfit wasn't what he imagined or he wanted something specific in the background, he could tell me at this point so I could fix it.
4. Then I'd pretty much finalize the inks and colors. Luckily we never needed revisions past this stage since we took care of that during the sketch phase.

It's a lot of back and forth, but that was the best way for us both to be proud of the finished project. The work load is obviously skewed, since drawing is more time consuming and intensive than script writing, so I was paid a page rate for my work. I wouldn't feel comfortable illustrating someone else's story for free under any circumstances, since it takes so much time and you are providing a service to them... but that's another topic for another day.

Basically, art stuff is traditionally the artists job, but you should feel comfortable having a dialog with your writer. You can both work together to divide the pages and panels. You're a team!

[PotooGryphon]

Yeah, each experience is unique and different. Important things are open communication, trust/reliability, and compromising.

I work with my husband and we both have an equal part in everything, however, I do most of the script writing.

Our process is,

1. We both brainstorm the story and make lots of notes on scenes and plot points to add.
2. I take the notes and organize them into a script
3. I take the script and thumbnail out my vision of each page
4. Jeramy takes my thumbnailed pages and fine tunes the layout for better readability and dynamic paneling
5. Jeramy adds his backgrounds to each page
6. I add the characters to the page
7. I letter it, finalize it, post it online, and promote it.

lol our processed is very layered, however, it's worked the best for us, and funny enough you can see the progression in our series as we figured out our process.
Issue 1 was just Jeramy doing the art as I wrote
Issue 2 was Jeramy doing most of the art and me just drawing Plague
Issue 3 is when we tried this our current process.

[foervraengd]

If there's something I'd recommend is to know the person you're working with. I've made comics with my friend as the writer for a few years and we know each other well enough by now. I really can't imagine working with a writer whom I barely know who they are.
Keep an active communication with each other, and by that I mean almost on a daily basis.
My writer isn't that good at drawing - but that's not an issue since I'm the one who's doing that part. And while he does write his scripts panel-by-panel, he's totally fine if I tweak the pacing in the pages if it makes the end result better.

It's a good idea to take part in the process of making the script, help the writer come up with ideas to solve a plot-hole or other things.
If you've never worked with a writer before, it's prob a good idea to show each other how your creation process looks like. Read some old scripts and stories they've done earlier.

And of course most importantly: never hesitate to ask your writer about anything you're not sure about with the script.

[tableflipstudios]

I believe the dynamic is always different with different people.
L and I are balanced with our creative control. I tell her the idea and I write it or we brainstorm together. She reads the script and storyboards it herself or together or I have an idea on how the panels can be laid out, etc. If your artist has no experience in storytelling, you could work together on how the pacing and dialogue flow. In the beginning, I didn't give much thought on panels but I get that now, thanks to L.
Sometimes, we do have different views on how it's supposed to 'flow' and as much as we disagree on a panel - in the end, it would be about how the story is going to be read by the readers. Don't be afraid to disagree on things once in a while.
It will take time, lots and lots of revisions and each comic you make will be a different experience from the other.
It is going to be hellish but it's a great feeling when it's done.
Enjoy!

[Luminosophy]

The writer actually happens to be my boyfriend, which is why this is becoming pretty stressful for me. I would sooner draw my own bad stories than work with someone I don't know or trust. We both created the story, characters and world together. However he makes it into a cohesive story that works. The issue is he drops off his involvement at anything art related like storyboarding from the novel format (which I like better than a script) and then will come back later to say something like "The transitions are too jumpy" or "The pacing is too fast" or even "This will ruin my reputation". I get that this is traditionally the artist's job buuuut if it's this bad I don't get why he insists he can't help me storyboard.

[foervraengd]

oh that kinda sucks.
And like if he srsly say stuff like "THIS WILL RUIN MY REPUTATION!" then I honestly wouldn't want him as a writer, that's srsly really egocentric thing to say tbh.
It's not just his work, it's also yours. I'm not too sure if it's a good idea to have your partner as the writer if there's not a good vibe going on between each other. It's really important to separate private relationships from the project; don't make it just because he's your boyfriend, when it comes to the comic see each other as colleagues. Otherwise it can mess things up probably. And if this is your first time working together, it might be better if you both tried to make a short and simple one-off as a start just to find a working routine together.
And like if he honestly just walks away and expect you to do the work just like he imagined, then he might as well draw the comic himself.

[joannekwan]

@spudfuzz I think in that case, just start with thumbnail sketches and show those to him before committing to more work. Spot-check every stage to make sure you both agree on how the page is coming along.

But coming from my own experience, the closer you are with the writer, the easier it is. Especially when you're not sure about something, you can send them a quick pm and they won't be annoyed to answer. I work with a guy, we became facebook friends and we mainly chat through the messaging system. I get a script from him and I panel it out myself. Most of the time I'll just do the whole page and he's happy with it.

[eagle1]

In general, the writer writes and the artist arts. This is rarely the way it actually works out.

A script is the main point of communication between a writer and an artist, as it is the written guideline to how the story appears in the writer's mind.

Then comes the hard part. Comics are a collaborative medium. You have two creative types working on one project, and the output of both will surpass the quality of the output of one if the two people work together. This is not always as easy as it seems, and the main thing that gets in the way is Ego.

When I am writing a script for someone else to draw, I treat it as if I am the screen writer and they are the director. When I am working on art for a script someone else wrote, I treat it as if they are the director and I am the actors. Slightly off balance, I know, but it gives me the focus to see the story from the other point of view, and to make the changes that are going to make the most difference, and still let the other person exercise their full creative skills.

But the most important thing is for both parties to drop the egos and work together.

Eagle
(And the hardest thing as well)

[fishscribbles]

Although I can understand that if he doesn't want to involve himself deeply in something that isn't his specialty but he should at least be more clear with what he wants. For example when he breaks down the writing into the particular scenes for you to storyboard, he should leave footnotes of what type of feel/mood he wants to convey in each scene. i.e like whether he wants the scene to be fast paced or slow. Or if he wants it to be intense and suspenseful or relaxed and easy going.
In short, as the writer he should be clear in what he wants and be more involved in the storyboarding process or at least check in with you every so often, so at least the two of you are on the same page.
- Scribbles

[JigokuNeko]

Boy, oh boy. Collaborations. I've been on both sides; artist and writer. One as a paid gig for a total stranger and one for a big pile of nothing with a friend. The stranger was ideal to work with. He sent me a script and I sent him thumbnail sketches, he said yay or nay and I completed the page with his corrections or suggestions. Most of the time he just approved. The friend...well, we're no longer friends. I think a lot of times people will think that just because there is a personal relationship they can drop the professionalism...and they often do. I know this depends on people but my experiences have been very bad (and costly) and I won't be collaborating that way anytime soon.

[EiraQueenofSnow]

I know what that's like my sister and I are working on a comic and she always drops off her involvement in the art part and it can be a little frustrating because she doesn't give much criticism on what to change either so i sometimes sit there wondering is anything I plotted out even reads moderately well. THe slightly bratty part of me is tempted to say that if he get's upset about the pacing you could just say that that's too bad because he didn't help out with the storyboarding...

I say try and ask him why he doesn't want to story board or help out with it, and then try discussing a solution to his lack of assistance. Like maybe you make a bunch of thumbnail sketches and then he can comment on suggestions for what to change and then you like edit them until you both are happy.....?

[Luminosophy]

Thanks everyone for the replies by the way! We talked and smoothed it over, now we're pulling equal weights.

[concepcionbrothers]

It really depends on how well you two work together. When it comes to me and my brother, and our comic, what we usually do is...

1. I will write the script, breaking down panels (but not detailing them). What this means is that I write down the image in my head (like, the character smiles, and then says something). This is one panel. I don't mention where on the page it goes. I leave that to my brother, the artist.
2. I don't break down panels into pages. I discovered that this makes me write the script faster, because then I don't have to worry about where to position panels, or how they should look. Plus, when my brother finishes the pages, I'm often pleasantly surprised. So, this means then, that I just write panel after panel without dictating which page they should belong in.
3. My brother then takes the script and does what he wants with it. I actually asked him how he wanted to work together, right from the start. He said that he wanted more creative freedom, and I just gave it to him. After all, he's the artist, and I'm the storyteller.
4. I still control the pacing. If you've read Scott McCloud's Making Comics and Understanding Comics then you'll know what I'm talking about. There are certain techniques on how you can slow down the pacing of scenes, and how you can speed it up. And so, knowing this technique, I still control the pacing of the story without me having to try and make thumbnails and storyboards for my brother. If I want to focus on a certain emotion, I just multiply the number of panels focusing on that, just so it slows down the pace.

Anyway, that's how my brother and I work.
I get to write faster.
He gets more creative control.
I think that in the end, it really depends on where your strengths are at, and if you're both confident enough to just have faith in one another's work

P.S.
Just in case you're curious about how I write my scripts, I usually offer our comic's full script as a free download in exchange for subscribing to our email newsletter.