Jul 2015
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Jul 2015
Jul 2015
mg78
Jul '15

if the story is short & easy, i write all on a file in notepad.
if the story start to be "big" , i create 1 folder with many notepad files: 1 fo the charas + 1 for the story (for me, so with all the spoilers) + 1 for the REAL story (the one that ll be the comics + 1 for the notes (like: put that spaceship somewhere or talk about x or y)
if the story it s "heavy" i use html programs, where everything s linked. so there re pages for the story, for the charas, images, reference and so on. like a big wikipedia...

Pandastrophic
Jul '15

For my comic, I have a separate A5 sketchbook for the storyboards as well as some sketches and notes of the characters but nothing too much. However I tend to change the stuff in my storyboard so much to the point where it became so messy I had to create a word document with like a summary of what goes into each page (I work in webtoon strips so a lot of stuff happen in a page) and that helped me organize my ideas. I also started writing out in details future scenes so that I don't forget them.

allenthomas
Jul '15

For my comic I have everything stored in one folder. It used to be very unorganized but I took the time to create folders for the various aspects of my comic. (pages, scans, scripts, banners, drawings, etc) I has been a huge lifesaver. Now anything I create something pertaining to my comic I have somewhere to put it without clutter or confusing myself.

zoonland
Jul '15

Scripts, scans, finished pages etc. are stored on my pc hard drive and also on an external hard drive.
Layouts, character designs, original panels etc. are in a -more or less- well organized portfolio.
I need to write down everything, I'll never could keep all in mind. I have a very short memory, like an old grey lady.

SethJH
Jul '15

I've got 3 separate 150pg sketchbooks, a full 3-ring binder, and a folder with 1gb of picture files/text docs on my computer desktop. The content that has been put on paper is shamefully sparse compared to the 10 years of development I've gone through for the story in my head. Not to mention that a lot of things change as I learn more about art style, people, culture, and the world. The story I have today is really nothing like the story I had 10 years ago. I'd love to pull it all together into one big well-organized repository that I can manage. I can usually remember most of what I need while working, but it'd be nice to have for my readers if I somehow end up with a fan-base.

iddqd
Jul '15
mg78

Cool! Can you please give me a few examples of such software? The program I used to use is no longer supported.

winglesscomic
Jul '15

I keep a grimoire of stuff concentrated in a Word doc. That's where most of my info goes. Then, I have a single text file where I write down various small ideas, which is generally snippets of dialogue, a chapter idea or a scene.

My Word doc is my baby though. I keep it neatly organized as I can (well with lots of TODO notes) so the navigation sidebar looks nice... （´＿｀）And so my writer can actually find shit! It pretty much has all info about the world in it.

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Doesn't that look nice? I'm way too into aesthetics of a sidebar. But, that's how I organize my stuff.

My actual concept art though is all over the place. It sits in my general art folder with the 5000 pieces I've done. Not good with that. I've recently started to organize my character design folders so I'm getting there.

nobody
Jul '15

Sketchbooks, notebooks, word documents (and everything digital is on dropbox as well as external hard disks).

I think it's smart for creators to make sure to write things down and have all that kind of information stored elsewhere than just your own head. If you should be very unfortunate and end up in an accident of some sort that would do serious damage to your head, you could be at risk of losing that information. You would probably have bigger worries if something like that happened of course, but it's nice to know that at the very least I have a copy of all comic-related information safely stored outside my brain, so I don't risk losing it forever if something should happen. Not that you should walk around and constantly worry about hitting your head though stuck_out_tongue

jessiepolfliet
Jul '15

I am curently in the making of a book that contains all the information on the world of Stormspectrum, divided in races, countries, laws, foliage etc. Along with that there are pictures to explain everything. It has a index and all, so if I need something but can't remember it from the top of my head, I search in The World of Stormspectrum. Wich I constantly add stuff to.

serenitysquirrel
Jul '15

It's all in my head. Have tried writing the world info out as a supplement for my players for Pathfinder. It's far more organized in my head.

SpavVy
Jul '15

Most of it is all in my head but I do use a website called Charahub to help me not forget stuff.

UzukiCheverie
Jul '15

I record ideas i need to keep in mind, but I'm not neat or tidy about it in any way xD I literally have a libre office filed called "time gate shit" that just has a list of things I don't want myself to forget to do as I progress the story (just important events and interactions that I may or may not forget about). When I'm not in "time gate shit", I just track quick thoughts and ideas in Notepad, then move them to the libre office file where I save the ideas if they're good enough xD

theseasick
Jul '15

I chew it up then spit it out all over the page. Funny you ask. I'm working on a huge idea right now. So huge that I filled an 80 page notebook with lore.

Aloredd
Jul '15

I use google sites to organize my lore. (Partially because I needed to be able to share it with others and didn't know of any other free ways to do it that easily, buuut.....)

https://sites.google.com/site/adestria2/29 is the site. Feel free to look through and see if it looks like something you could do easily

Cielle
Jul '15

I have a jillion word documents filled with notes...it's not very organized but I guess it's worked for me so far. I also have a weird self-socratic seminar file where I list what I know about my world's "lore" and what I need to elaborate on. For example, "Character A does X. But WHY do they do that? Because character B stole their lunch money? That doesn't make sense! You're right. They probably did it because 10 years ago, Character C did blah blah blah" and in this way I flesh out character and plot in a way that informs each other. I nail down the specifics when I do the scripting. I have notes in every medium though--on napkins, in notebooks, on my digital doodles. Everywhere. I'm not very organized >.< but I never have been. I also spend every night thinking through/about my story as I fall asleep. The idea for my comic came from a dream, so I figure my subconscious has all the answers I need.

mg78
Jul '15
iddqd

if u want to do the job as a badass.. go with dreamweaver! u have to do all by yourself, but u can do as u want. and then, u have everythin as u want. if u have not the html skill (& patience!) u can try Scrivener.
(both are NOT freeware)
ps: there re many freeware software like dreamweaver. pick your best.
for a freeware version of Scrivener, there re not good news. alll the programs i tried was quite bad.

an alternative, it s to "draw" your story. in PS or similar.
im doing a big file "*.TIFF" with alll the connection draw on the storyline like in the story. it help, but it s to easy to do a mess.