How far do you plan your seires?

[Chopythes]

I usually plan like this:

Invent characters.
Get the general idea of their story. Goals, etc.
Try to think of a beginning, middle and end.
After that I work chapterwise, detailing it with doing thumbnails.
It's more or less seldom that I write stuff down, unless I've got a dialogue I really want to have in it.
But usually I focus on drawing the story, dialogue almost always comes last and I tweak it a few times before I hit the submitbutton. ;D

[deceriacomics]

This is random, but I like your icon

[shazzbaa]

My fantasy comic is planned to be 15 chapters long. When I started posting the comic online, I had:

• a description of the basic gist of what would happen in each of the first ten chapters
• a rough idea of how the whole story was going to end
• a rough outline and list of scenes that were going to happen in chapters 1 & 2
• half of chapter 1 scripted
• a buffer of five finished pages (that disappeared startlingly quickly)

Now, I have a rough outline of the whole story, and while I'm working on one chapter, I try to get the list of scenes for the next chapter put together, and get it scripted before the chapter I'm on is completed. Due to the hiatus I took last year, I'm about 20 pages ahead of the pages that are going online right now. The chapter that I'm working on now is completely scripted and thumbnailed.

I like having the basics planned, so I can foreshadow and build towards certain things and such, but still giving myself room to create new ideas as I go, so that as I'm finishing a chapter, the one that's coming up will feel fresh and exciting since I Just Wrote It!

I'm always curious about the planning process of other gag comic creators. Like do most people just come up with an idea the same day they draw it, or does everyone have a mile-long list of ideas from which they work...

I did an autobio comic before this one, and my process was kinda a cross between the two. I basically kept paper with me that I'd jot down a list of things that happened that could possibly make comics ("grocery shopping with brother" "dropping rice on the floor" "friend's argument about grammar" "cats are too excited") and then when I would sit down to make a comic on update day, I'd look at that list and try to kind of write out an idea of a strip and see which one had the most promise, and then I'd start making thumbnails and fussing with the best way to set it up.
I didn't want the strip to fall too far behind my actual life, so my schedule stayed pretty tight, but all of the lists of ideas and rewriting a silly joke 10 times to make sure the timing works definitely resonates with me as well. xD

[JessJackdaw]

That's actually pretty similar to where I'm at right now. Haha! I'm experimenting with coloring the first 20 pages now, and since I'm using a style I don't normally use, it's taking awhile. The whole story is outlined and first 100+ pages are scripted.

[Mharz]

For me, I knew the start and end but I'm still figuring out the middle along the way. I go with a per volume basis where I'll write, storyboard and actually draw the pages every 5 chapters.

Before I actually started uploading my webcomic on Tapastic last year, I actually drew the entire volume one (135 pages total) so I have a huge buffer in case I can't work on it for a while, I won't go into a hiatus. It also gives me the time to think of what happens next because I'm a super slow thinker. I have like one year's worth of buffer until now since I already finished the second volume. So I have some time to work on a new webcomic and plan out and draw volume 3 before the buffer runs out.

I initially plan this at like 5-6 volumes (around 30 chapters) but I'm starting to think up complex plots that it'll probably extend up to 10 volumes.

[tophersmith21]

I have the series planned out as to what will happen in short blurbs for each chapter. Yet I only go as far as writing a chapter at a time since you never know what small adjustment you might do on a single page that might change the course of your story later on. My plan right now is 10 chapters and around 36pgs each. First chapter alone I've done about 8 revisions ha Overall I would like to use this comic as a storyboard to a potential animated series of 10 episodes. (that will even have more revisions probably)

[nessiefynn]

I have an outline of the series planned out to the end, but I haven't decided on a lot of the details yet. I used to have much more detailed plans for my comic, but I kept changing them and being dissatisfied with them so eventually I decided to just gun it for a little while.

[Ambat]

I plan almost everything ahead, especially the major beats because my comic is pretty story heavy and I like to make sure that the foreshadowing and build up is appropriate for where I want the story to go. I come up with ways to strengthen things along the way too which is useful but generally I like to have a really strong idea of the direction I'm heading before I get started in any project.

[Michelle]

I plan for my comic to be 9 or 10 chapters total. I'm not 100% certain because I might cut some plot points shorter or expand on other ones. But I do have an outline for the whole story from start to finish.

I like to write out the script for the next chapter as I'm working on the current one, because I know if I tried to nail down everything from the beginning I'll inevitably want to make changes. So it's easier to just have a basic idea of what needs to happen, then finesse things when it comes time for the next chapter. It's the same with thumbnailing; I've tried thumbnailing a whole chapter before doing the pages, and I inevitably end up changing everything.

... also I hate actually writing so I take a super long time to finish a chapter script. >u>; so it's best if I work it in stages.

[ahkwardkat]

My comic Naor is about 80-90% planned. I have all chapters except a few in the middle. I have my beginning and ending, I'm just not sure if I want to do a certain arc or not, so that's kinda sitting on hold The first 105 chapters are confirmed and settled though. I started planning it about 6 years ago when I created the first character Ahk for my animation classes in 2010. We needed a dummy to animate for assignments and I thought I was cool using a dog/wolf/canine thing. A year later I took the class again just because I had the free time and created Koko in 2011. I started drawing them together for fun and people were asking about them as far as friends or enemies... and that started it! XD

Since then, so the last 5 years I have been scripting it and doing all the visuals and planning. It was kinda hard since I was at art school (Ringling College of Art and Design) and most of my projects weren't determined by me, so I snuck it in as an assignment whenever I could. lol I ended up using Naor for my senior thesis and was able to get the first 16 pages roughed out and a 48 page concept art book done. So while I have a lot of characters planned and drawn out, the story is the part that is mostly done. I focused on that more because that matters more I think. Plus, I know so much more about the characters, their actions, motives, personalities. I can design a character quicker than a script.

As far as drawing it, I've only been starting the pages in the last year or so, starting to post them in March, so I spent a lot of time and effort planning the comic so that I would not have to take a hiatus or anything to plan stuff and I won't be under time constraints.

However I wrote more than a script, I planned out:

• language and culture (it's world building you know and I have two cultures to do)
• mythology (same as above, but helps explain the past of the Island, I plan on posting this too)
• Architecture, tools, weapons, etc (important for battles and conflicts)
• cuisine (Goes in with culture, but not super extensive, just basics and some special cultural dishes)
• geography/climate and geology/oceanography (since it's an island and I need to understand currents)
• Most of my character designs are roughs out or solid

For me, world building and comics is something to take seriously. However it should be said that this comic is VERY long, at my rough estimates, it is 250 chapters (9 pages each so about 2200 pages total)... I have and will take about 8-10 years to produce. It's a long time commitment and I have happily worked on it nearly every single day and I still do! Whether I'm doing character art, enviros, culture, whatever, I am working on it every single day and I have for about 6 years now.

[isaacfriedman]

My stories all take place I a multiverse (exactly six universes, two pocket universes, and a core simularity) that I defined when I was in eighth grade so I'd never create some McGuffin or voodoo shark or monkey paw that would make everything moot. The specifics of each universe and their relationships to one another are defined to varying degrees at this point, but I do have a good chunk planned out. For example, one universe is home to an alien race called the Muto, who are a zerg-like hive mind descended from a slime-mold (an amorphous fungus that lives in rainforests). They got to their "homeworld" through a very complicated series of events that goes like this:
They started as slime-molds that lived on Earth in Africa in the universe the Muto live in. When the Muto attempt to devour Earth, an experimental weapon is detonated by the Sentient Alliance, which simultaneously takes a chunk out of each of the six universes and converts these fragments into the pocket universe inaccurately referred to as "Hell," where the slime molds and thousands of other entities were exposed to radiation, mutagens, carcinogens, viral bombs, magic, and multi-dimensional technology that, over the course of 2 billion years, transformed them into a couple dozen sludgemold hiveminds, each of which contained the proper DNA sequence to produce a full hivemind. In "Hell" are hundreds of portals that open and close thanks to malfunctioning technology that has been maintained by several races of surprisingly intelligent drones that do not know of anything else they could possibly do with their time. Most of these gates lead into a universe in which North Korea is a formidable global threat because it has been taken over by some of the being from "Hell", but that's a story for another day. Some of these gateways lead to the other universes, but are less powerful and open less often. A sludge-mold runt falls through a portal back into the universe where the slime-molds originally came from and lands on a planet covered in life that is not carbon-based. Fortunately, sludge-molds can devour anything, break it down into its basic components, and use every material for something within their bodies. In addition, the Architect, one of 21 dimension hopping scientists from a universe in which scientific progress was never hindered by doubt or blind faith, used his trans dimensional abilities to transport thousands of bombs to this exact planet from a version of earth where WWII weapons technology was very different (USA dropped dozens of nukes, Britain and Germany had GMO super soldiers, Italy produced viral bombs that messed with DNA, Japan and China both had mechanical armies). The mutagenic properties of the nuclear fallout and viral bombs caused the sludge mold to rapidly evolve into a new hive mind which was later dubbed "The Mutational Singular Multitude of Entities", or Muto for short. Then the Muto attacked Earth and the cycle begins again.

I also have plans for two characters to meet each other in reverse (one's first time meeting the other is the last time the latter is seeing the former) and thing with the races in the magical universe being traceable to mutated humans form the messed up WWII universe. So basically, all my lore is planned out, but the story itself is still under construction.

[kazukitakamura126]

I write two comics actually, Seishin Patona and In The Midst. I have all the chapters for both comics all planned out. This way I know what path this story is taking. How things happen and what they will say I leave up in the air until I start storyboarding the next chapter. I think if I were to estimate I thing 3 years from now I will finish Seishin Patona since I am working on it alongside In The Midst. That maybe will be complete a several months later.

[vanillios]

For the plot, I start off with the basic skeleton: the beginning, middle and end, then I add in events in between. I like to have one big event per chapter and one solution to this event. I also try to think of a few plot twists and funny moments to spice things up idk. When I can't sleep, I'll sometimes put myself in the place of one of my characters and continue from where the story is and If the outcome's interesting I'll make a note on my phone--usually ending up with a list of quirky filler moments at my disposal.

For importing things though (such as backstories) I'll put a little extra effort into fleshing out the concept

When it comes to characters I'll write down their traits and will play around with them (doodles and expression practices) until I feel I have a good grasp of
their personality. I'm a big fan of character development so I try to give them a few negative traits that they can adapt from as the story progresses.

Page wise I don't bother using thumbnails, but I do sketch out a few rough pages on paper before I start working on one.

[robertsienicki]

If this is a closed story, then I plan whole story. Beginning, Middle, Plot twist, Ending Also in my head I also have a plan for sequel.But I try (not always succesful), that story don't have to get a sequel, but the doors are open just in case.

If it comes for a serialized stories, like comic strips then I have a rough idea where I want to go, but the single strips/pages are being developed as I go. But i like to divide my comic strips into 'seasons'. It works like a agreement with myself. One season is about 40-50 pages/strips. Then, If I deliever on this i will expand my agreement onto more seasons. It works for me, cause then It doesn't feel like a infinite job. I have exit moment that are not dropping the story because I feel like it. I have to 'finish the season', hence I have time to finish the storylines.

My previous webcomic was run like this and I was doing it for 9 years. My latest one is a bit trickier, cause it's sort of autobiography, but I 'signed' an agreement with myself to complete the first season (40-50 pages) till the end of the year. And the I will decide if I want to expand this further. I think I probably enxpand this for two more years, cause three years worth of material will be at least 150 pages, and that will make a nice book That's how my weird brain works.

https://tapastic.com/series/Under-Pressure

[katverwho]

Meat&Bone is planned to be 350 pages, tho I tend to add and delete scenes as I work, as well as adjusting pacing as I see fit, so the final page count isn't set in stone.
Originally I had a point for list of issues/scenes I wanted to cover since it's a disguised autobio about body image, and I finished writing the working draft of the script earlier this year! It's been a lot of work.

[Sleepyowl]

Aww, thank you! I made it myself lol.

[Sleepyowl]

Wow nice job! Overachievers unite!

[AnnaLandin]

I have an outline from start to finish, so that I know where I'm headed with the story. I write out a more detailed plot chapter by chapter, so that I can edit and change things that need to be changed, and add new scenes when they're needed, but I still know in which direction I should be going.

I've done character designs of all main characters, but I also do designs for minor/secondary characters ahead of the chapter in which they turn up in.

I also built a big buffer before I started posting the comic, and I'm still at around 50 pages ahead of my readers, which is nearly two chapters.

[PurpleGround]

To be honest, I planned 10 pages grew to 25 and ultimately ending at 63.... If I am not going to add anything else. I plan from A to B but nothing in between. That's how I planned. XD

[matsutoshi]

Might not be any help but I just listen to music and ideas flow in. Then I review the ideas to make sure they're good and it usually just builds up from there.