How to create a comic that you can continue writing?

[awesome_sugar]

I have in the past for fun made short comic pages. I am waiting till i can get a better graphics tablet and practising my art bit by bit as art is hard. Especially drawing people is.

I find that the will to carry on a comic is hard however and creating something with a sustainable story/recurring idea.
That comics require quite a lot of planning? And forming the characters

I have made a few practice sketches and comics that I never got to develop which I still might develop as ideas in the future.
I wondered if anyone had any tips to share also I am jus curious to get to know people here so dun be afraid to say hi lool

[Miss_Dork]

I guess I can say I'm in the same situation you are in. With me I am also developing a comic, I got the cover page and page one done, out of the six pages I've sketched so far. I started off with a small idea and plan and just drew. Everything so far in my comic is trying to plan out what exactly will happen as I make my comic. What I would suggest is at least get your first five characters of your story done, and as you're practicing keep in mind of a storyline. Nothing that's permanent, but a base line you can change up as you go. Like how Rebecca Sugar did with Steven Universe, she knew what story she wanted, but she added on other stuff and different things.
As you create, keep planning and drafting different things. That's about all I can suggest since I'm new to comic making.

[awesome_sugar]

Aaah thanks ^^
Yea I suppose flexibility is always good too

[beccaw15]

I guess are a variety of ways to go about developing a long running comic and everyone will do it differently, but I shall speak from my expereince

It took me a long time to develop Solaris - I started with a vague premise and a bunch of scenes and different characters and sort of went from there. My script went through at least six or seven different drafts as I refined the story (which took well over a year) til I got to a place where I was happy with it. I still edit it now and then but it's at a point now where it's pretty much set in stone. I'll tend to thumbnail about 10 pages ahead but before I start a new chapter I'll read it over and do any last minute editing.

As for characters for some I started with designs in mind for others I wrote bios first and designed their look afterwards.

I hope this helps! As I say this is just my probably overly complex way of doing things, it's by no means for everyone but I just thought I'd weigh in. XD

[isabelleArne]

I will only talk about my experience because ... well someone else will probably talk about it differently ...
So the first comics I mad were rather wild in the way I wrote the scenario wich was basically as I drew the pages I invented the scenario at the same time .... it was rather risky but it worked, I had a few ideas of where I wanted to go on a notepad and that's all.

A bit later I worked with a writer and I still had a say in the comic scenario but basically we planned a book at a time ( around 90 pages ) and we went as far as 3 books but wrote it to the end so I just had to follow the scenario as I drew.

For that last one I am doing, Radiant I am alone both at the drawing and scenario and I wanted to plan ahead of course but also keep some liberties. So I wrote down a list of things that will happen, from the begining to the end, I have everything planned, but I have no details. meaning I can still change some things. but I know where I am going so it's kind of a security.

[SiriusLeeLost]

It might not be the most practical way of doing things, but it worked for me, is to try being your character on an online role playing chat room. Try places like Second Life or IMVU and you can expose your character to different scenarios. Me and my girlfriend made up or own characters and world and always go back and forth with our story ideas. like improv, your character can be thrown in a situation from someone who has a different way of thinking then you are, and it's your duty to try and get your character out of it.

Again, this method isn't for everyone but it does get the gears turning when faced with unexpected situations that you have no control over.

[beccaw15]

Oooh I'll vouch for this method too! It's how I came up with a couple of my characters

[Michelle]

If planning is still intimidating, it sounds like it might be best for you to start small!
Rather than planning an intimidating novel-length comic, try telling a story in 10 pages or less. You'll learn a LOT more about sticking with a story and making comics by completing a short project, rather than embarking on a massive project and potentially abandoning it.

Maybe one of those mini-comics will develop into a larger story, maybe not. But finishing 1-2 mini comics is worlds better than having a ton of abandoned comics (your readers will appreciate this too!).

[joannekwan]

Yeah, start with a shorter story!
For me, planning out the plot doesn't come until I get the inspiration for it. Because if I force the story along, it doesn't come off as well. It reads disjointedly and the characterizations aren't as good. This is especially so for stories I know will have more than 30 pages.

But I think the best advice is pick something that excites you. Work on something that you really love so even on those slow days where you don't feel like doing it, you still work on it just to see the story through to the end.

[awesome_sugar]

Thanks for all the replies which are all helpful and interesting, I read through all.
I think I will plan for a shorter story first, I have an idea for something that could be short and good. It's gonna take some time to develop though and make good.

And yup I know getting into your characters help. I never been a fan of roleplaying though heh but I do like to act out stuff sometimes XD

[Mari]

It really depends. Sometimes you have ideas for stories first, and then start to develop characters for it, sometimes you have characters in mind who you want to give a story to. Comics require quite a bit of planning, as if you make it up as you go, making foreshadowing scenes is nearly impossible, and readers enjoy finding subtle hints in previous chapters when they re-read the story. A clumsy example could be the sixth sense, when you watch it again the ending is hinted in every other scene, that you probably missed during the first watch. Not that I mean a comic should have a shamalamadingdong twist ending, but dropping hints and foreshadowing requires the author to know to some extent what is going to happen within the story arc. Also if the biggest conflicts are not foreshadowed before they happen, it usually feels forced/tacked on.

It's good to be enthusiastic about making comics, but first you should come up with a story that you are enthusiastic about! Rather than going in with a feeling "I really want to make a comic" you should go in with a "I really want to make this story into a comic". If you're not enthusiastic what you are writing about, it's likely you'll end up dropping the project sooner or later. So my advice would be not to rush into things, just think about what kind of stories you would like to make and go from there. Making comics is a long process (especially to non-pros like you or me) and the best way to keep yourself tied to a specific project is to make yourself invested in multiple fields. When you write characters, don't just write them into the story, think about what they do before and after it, etc.
Before going to sleep is a good time to daydream about your stories!

[hushicho]

I both agree and disagree with what's been said so far, but my agreement and disagreement generally hinge on what kind of story approach you're going for.

If you're just wanting to do an indefinitely ongoing comic with some characters you like, then just come up with a cast of characters, a setting where they can do their thing, and a unifying premise that lends itself well to repeated cycles. These aren't very hard, in my experience; naturally, the characters will need goals, as well as motivation to reach those goals. They will need some antagonist or problem. Just come up with a theme for the episode or chapter and go with it. With practice, you'll soon not only have the characters down, but you'll also be able to start coming up with little things that you can indicate and then develop later. This can be foreshadowing or not, it's up to you. This is a formula that has worked for ages.

Make sure it's a premise you like. To that end, develop it over a period of at least a week or two, to be sure you'll have the requisite dedication to it. If after, say, a week you're bored of it...you probably won't be able to do an ongoing comic based around it. Enthusiasm is usually ephemeral, but if you can maintain some level of interest at least, it can be a good experience that is viable.

The other approach to a comic is to just come up with a story that has a distinct beginning, middle, and end (as opposed to the cyclical/episodic approach), which can be either better or worse, depending on how it's realized. In my experience, these tend to be shorter, which may be ideal for a first foray into comics. Maybe you should do a short story along these lines and see if you enjoy it.

Ultimately, doing what you want to do most is probably going to be your best bet, especially for a first try at comics. Make sure you have the continued interest in it by making yourself take the time to develop it and work on it. But have fun!

[sefra114]

Oh, I know this feeling! This is something that I considered when creating my first webcomic. In the beginning, I had no idea if I could stick to just one story and keep it going. So I ultimately went with a very loose story structure that had enough variety that it'd be hard to get bored of.

For example, my first webcomic, Oni x Fox, is about two feuding samurai clans. I focus on them both with about 11 main characters that keep me from getting tired. The story itself is very open, with plot points scattered that I can fill around however I want.

In short, I'd go with something fun and let loose! Fill it in as you go. I find it a lot less stressful than some other ideas that I had, but soon realized they needed more time to develop. That's my two cents, but most importantly, work on something that makes you happy!

[punkarsenic]

i guess.. you have to find a character you really like. a few, that have good chemistry. feel free to draw from real life to get them. heck, allison bechdel wrote two autobiographical comics and they rocked.

it also takes a lot of planning. when was 14 or so, i started a webcomic with very little planning or preliminary character design or aaaaaaaaaaaaanything. while i did figure out a lot as i went, the anxiety of not knowing how i was getting to my ending was what made me drop it in the end. generally, id say let a story idea stew in your head for at least a year before you start even consider posting it.

id also recommend doing a lot of revisions to your character and world designs during this time, and really work on them. not because your original design wont be good, but you dont want to suddenly change your mind half way through your comic and be stuck with something you like less.

similarly, do lots and lots of style tests until youve found something youre comfortable enough with to draw an entire comic in.

it sounds like a lot of work, but this is the easy stage, no deadlines yet. if you love your story, which you should, otherwise you wont have much fun (most important part), itll feel like play instead of work.

[nelmathyria]

Before going to sleep is a good time to daydream about your stories!

I second this! I do this all the time! I wonder how much sleep I've lost because my story ideas keep me up, haha.

For me, my characters have been around for over ten years and even though they’ve gone through a ton of different iterations, they’ve always been very close to my heart and I’ve been determined to get their story out in the world one way or another. I know not everyone has a story burning intensely inside them that they must tell at all costs, but being passionate about your story and characters is vital to being able to commit to working on a comic long-term. I definitely have days where I don’t feel good about my art and don’t want to work on my comic, but if my desire to tell this story has lasted for over ten years, then I know it’s not going to fade anytime soon.

Years before starting Heroic Shenanigans, I did two other short comics. One was a ten page comic based on a short story I’d previously written. I thumbnailed each page in detail before starting the comic, so I knew exactly what was going to happen, down to the panel layouts on each page. (You definitely don’t have to plan this thoroughly for a longer comic, but for one this short I’d recommend at least having rough thumbnails of each page.) Even though I made this comic years ago, I’m sure it was great practice and influenced my comic work today (although my main takeaway from that project was that comics were exhausting and I didn’t want to do one…guess I changed my mind!) My second comic project was totally different; I had a notebook of ideas, but as far as the actual drawn pages went I made it all up on the fly. I’m not working on it anymore but I guess it’s technically unfinished, since I didn’t have a plan for the ending. It was based loosely on a playthrough of Pokemon Sapphire though, so I had the game’s story and events as a guideline. Both comic projects were totally different from each other and from the comic I’m working on now, but they were really valuable as practice and in helping me figure out how I want to make comics.

I actually did write a version of my current comic’s story for a short story class (which ended up being more the length of a novella actually) and while a ton of things have changed since then, it was a great starting point that helped me come up with a lot of the main story elements that I’m still using.

I don’t know how you feel about novel/prose writing, but I believe that having some version of your story written out before you start drawing comic pages is immensely helpful. Nanowrimo would be a great opportunity to write a story you’d like to turn into a comic. In fact, you don’t even have to write a novel, you could do more of a script if you’d prefer. Next month’s Camp Nanowrimo is a great opportunity to try something like this! Personally, I feel like having a specific event like this to give me a goal and keep me accountable really helps my story-writing productivity.

[zappit1234]

My best advice is to review the very concept you're exploring. Ask the traditional questions:

What is the creative goal of this work?
What format will it require?
What kind of time investment will this require?
Etc...

Then ask yourself one more - How will this concept limit me creatively?

Most ongoing comics flame out simply because the creator hits a wall, or finds they can't do things they would have liked to do because of the rules of the world they created.

When I started Supervillainous, I took time to plan for all of my major characters. I cannibalized a number of other planned projects, picking out the best ideas and material to work into one cohesive universe. Heck, my main character was never even intended to be the lead; I originally plotted out a superhero comic. I found the first villain I intended to use had way to much potential to be a throwaway character. I retooled the while thing and never looked back.

You maintain interest and passion if you allow yourself to run with not only your initial ideas and concepts, but provide a way to introduce and explore other ideas within the work as well.