How hard do you think while deciding what happens next in your comic?

[jamontoast98]

Was reading 'Jiu Jitsu University' by Saul Ribero and this quote came up:

"If you think, you are late. If you are late, you use strength. If you use strength, you tire. If you tire, you die."
The quote is about how Jiu Jitsu is more about 'feeling your opponent' than thinking, recognising situations and commiting them to muscle memory

This got me thinking about the process of making comics. I make the most progress when I barely think at all; for example a character idea just pops into my head. I've never made much progress by 'thinking hard' about something. I'm doing research on the field (fighting games) in the attempt to not have to 'think hard' as much.

[rmdooley]

Musing is the main way that the comic comes to me. More deliberate mental exertions require storyboarding, outlining, a waste basket full of crumpled paper, wailing and gnashing of teeth, etc.

[ar-ninetysix]

Plot-related ideas tend to pop out of nowhere for me, and I try to develop them to a point where I feel like.. if I'd use it then, developing it should come by easily. Thing is, I often go back and work out the kinks so that it works better, sometimes it changes a lo to the point where the original idea is no longer recognizable. So.. there's either no effort, or I think about it a bunch, sometimes it's somewhere in between. It literally just depends on my end xD

[JeanGuillet]

this is why I wrote the entire story out before starting the comic. if you have no idea what's happening next, particularly if you're doing longform, you will hit a wall eventually. and then I will cry because all these good stories are going on hiatus while creator tries to 'regain their joy of making comic' . cry!

[Reign]

It's weird...story ideas and events come easy for me if I'm writing a novel or working on a manga...but when it comes to an actual western influenced comic, like Tom and Shelldon, I have the hardest idea finding what's going to happen next and how to fit it. But I think that's because I overthink, and then the pieces get jumbled. As I've talked to other creators on here and gotten out of my head about certain ideas, suddenly I've noticed: Reign, the whole comic is there! All you have is the in between stuff, which isn't hard at all! So I guess for me it's more of having an idea and then talking it out - getting out of my head and actually realizing the worth of what I have that progresses the creation.

I think I tend to undermine my own work...and that in and of itself is a road block.

[fakey]

I like to have things fairly outlined so I don't run into problems where I can't continue the story in an organic way. I don't think there's anything wrong with writing off the cuff but I would prefer to go back and proof it to check for any problems with what was written. Writing stuff on the fly can lead to some fun plot developments that you might not have considered just by thinking a lot about the details, but I also think they risk being poorly written on their own, at least without reviewing them a bit to fine tune them.

[dawgofdawgness]

Yeah, I can't ever force ideas out. If I listen to music or if I'm feeling inspired after watching a movie/TV show, I'll naturally start thinking about my comic. But I can't sit down with pen and paper and hold my breath until a new chapter appears lol

[Rhonder]

Hmm for me when I sit down to think of a story, or new material within an existing story, I usually can plot out the broad strokes pretty effortlessly/intuitively. Like the bullet point portion of an outline with the major events in order.

But fleshing out and connecting those bullet points always requires a large amount of focused, concious effort. Like when I'm in a writing phase I'll try to use some of my idle brain time to mull over the story in my head, and i can resolve some things that way, but it would take forever to finish. I get a lot more done when i park myself in front of my computer and am like "time to write!"

[Moxxi]

I write my next page based on how much I can advance the plot while also giving my characters breathing room with which to display their personalities. It's tricky when I just wanna do everything at once!

[aqua03]

Oof, I have the problem with DRGN. Advancing the plot in a reasonable amount of pages, coming up with a creative monster of the week fight for the group, and character development and interaction are All difficult things to balance. I recently decided to kind of fade the monster fights in the background and probably save it for the webnovel I'm making for it as well.

[Shanny8]

I dont really put a lot of thought into my comic on a broader scheme- I pretty much now know where my comic is going, where as when I first started a couple of chapters ago, I didnt have much of an idea. I think about the next step as I work on current material and try to figure out what feels right and what I need to toss out idea-wise.

[morcalivan]

I am more writer than artist, so I wrote the barebones story completely and then adapted it for comic. Granted, I am changing things here and there (even introducing an unexpected new character) as I go, but I still know what the main plot points will be.

[SilentHamster102]

I'm thinking hard. But it's not like "brainstorm" when I'm sit and saying something like "now I'll spend half-hour thinking about my story", it's unintended process that can start anytime when some idea pops out in my mind.

[jarklor7]

it depends on how big the comic is. You don't want to put a whole lot of effort into creating a comic only to realize you accidentally created a plot hole. I think the process is different for everyone. But as long as you are working to make something that is all that truly matters. I wouldn't worry too much on how you "should" make a comic, but rather find a way that works best for you.

[jarklor7]

Hey where are you on discord? You've disappeared. But yea, I'm the same because I'm good at thinking of the bigger picture of the story and that it takes me more time to mull over the details.

[skicoak]

I'm a hybrid I guess.

When I'm collaborating, I will put more forethought into pre-production stages. But when it's just me... it's more improvisational, like visual jazz that dances from panel to panel.

Also... and I don't know if this applies to everyone, but when I'm lettering, I always realize spending hours crafting the perfect paragraph is silly when I have to cut 15 additional words to get the word balloon small enough to fit between the police commissioner's head and the top right border.

[punkarsenic]

plotting almost feels like maths to me - maths with emotion. theres a lot of shuffling things around and thinking about dynamic and pacing and structure and set-up and all that tasty shit. so i spose i think pretty hard? formulating the first draft is a strain - though the redrafting is pretty breezy.

and then turning that plot plan into comic pages... also a mental strain.

so i spose i think pretty hard? but all the best moments and stories fall out of me like vomit

[punkarsenic]

Also... and I don't know if this applies to everyone, but when I'm lettering, I always realize spending hours crafting the perfect paragraph is silly when I have to cut 15 additional words to get the word balloon small enough to fit between the police commissioner's head and the top right border.

yeah! one of the weirdest things in transitioning from prose to comics is realising that dialogue has to exist within a visual space, and ive come to leave most of my dialogue pretty fast and loose until lettering day. though it still hurts my soul to have to diddle with a great line to fit the space.

[skicoak]

...though it still hurts my soul to have to diddle with a great line to fit the space.

I think that's a difference in visual approach. It's something that pops up in my debates with collaborators ...if it's a great line, give it a whole panel to itself. Let it have the spotlight.

Writer's burying great lines inside a bulky paragraph ... in a visual medium ... is just madness to me.

[OliviaMerteli]

For me, it's more about thinking about it constantly than deeply. Toilet breaks, showers, that moments I lie in bed before sleepling... all this moments will be used (consciously or not). And sometimes, it can be draining because I feel I just can't have a rest. But often, I'm glad I don't have to sit down and rake my brain because the few time I had to do that, I hated it and found the result kinda forced.