Ideas for comic strip

[ueae6e82a0c88426]

how do you guys get ideas for your comics?

[joannekwan]

Usually from other media, (movies, games, other people's art), it gets me thinking like if I were to create something along the same vein what would it be like? Then I just shoot off and create a whole bunch of characters and plot lines. Often times I'd see something and not like particular parts of it (character design, plot holes, etc.) and I get inspired to try and do better than them by creating my own version. By the time I have characters and setting down, it's pretty different from the inspo material, so that's good. The last thing any artist should do is rip-off someone else's work.

[VermillionWorks]

I look up tons of inspiration material and just brainstorm. Look to the things you find the most interesting and see what you can build off of them - using themes that you freakin' adore is important, IMO.

[fighterxaos]

Music and dreams. Music starts up daydreams so I guess really it's dreams. Other than that it's work that I get really attached to and I start to basically come up with my own fanfiction and then I keep transforming the idea until it becomes more and more my own original story.

[DynamoToon]

For my series I wanted something basic. Its always important to start simple. For coming up with stuff though, you cant force it. You need to get inspired or something. What I do is that I take time to just think. Nothing else, maybe listen to some ASMR to relax and just think.

[zelkats]

For long-ass stories:
Aside from getting inspiration from movies, games, comics, books, etc. I sometimes present myself with some "what if" questions.

Like, what if you've found a way to connect with another version of yourself in a parallel universe? What if you're indestructible? What if you're immortal? What if your whole life is nothing but a dream/fabrication of your mind? What if you find out you're an android? What if statues could move and talk? What if before the complete destruction of the world, aliens barely managed to pluck you from Earth, making you the sole surviving human being? Etc. etc.

.... Then I take one or two of the what ifs and make a story out of it.

For short (gag) comic strips:
Pfft. I dunno. I don't do these much. As it is, it's hard to think of something that's not been done yet or not overdone.

[Amymone]

I hope I'm not the only one who does this, but I keep a list of things that make me angry. For some reason, my art seems to be very anger driven- and not just anger for anger's sake, but a burning passionate anger.

What I end up doing is taking the inspiration of things that I genuinely enjoy and slamming together with it all the inspiration of things I enjoy hating or being angry about, and that's how I get a project rolling.

[fighterxaos]

Funny enough back in the day up until about 4 years ago maybe 3, my art was anger driven. Just seemed to be what drove me. That's changed now but it really can be as good a motivator as anything else.

[zelkats]

I don't think hate/anger is necessarily a bad thing if it gets translated into art.. As long as no other person is experiencing the wrath of it.

The best kind of art is always made up of passion and passionate hate and anger can be used for that. Someone always tells me to make good art when I'm absolutely pissed or sad. I realised that my personal favourite stories are written when I'm at my worst.

[AnnaLandin]

Oh, lots of ways!

1.) By reading a metric ton of other stories - comics, novels, watching movies, playing videogames, etc., etc. - and letting my subconscious mind work away at that stuff until it comes up with something.

2.) Finding some theme or idea I want to tell a story about (personal responsibility, how to handle unexpected turns in life, growing up, the consequences of lying, etc., etc.) and then inventing characters and plotlines that work with that theme.

3.) I collect reference pictures. Not always for specific projects (though I do that too), but just in general. See a photo of a neat-looking house, or shots from a fashion show with really cool clothes? Nab them and file them away in the reference folder. The well-organised, cross-referenced reference folder, with subfolders within subfolders within subfolders. I, uh, I take my reference-photos seriously. Because at any moment, any of those pictures may - together or apart - spark a story, and then I need to know where the damned things are.

4.) When all else fails, scribble in my sketchbook and see what I come up with. I am pathologically incapable of drawing something that does not eventually end up having some sort of backstory to it. I am in awe of anyone who can just draw "random characters", because I just can't. I feel like Oprah sometimes - "You get a story! And you get a story! And you!"

[konori]

For gag/slice of life comics, I think most ideas come from transforming ordinary/mundane stuff into something fantastic, silly and/or exaggerated. If I could give an example, it can start off with a guy in a cafeteria dropping a meatball from his table. Then someone comes to save his meatball from touching the floor by swatting it into the air. However, the meatball is still not safe, it is still on its way to the floor in another part of the cafeteria. A third person goes to save it, and it gets swatted back to the second person. The meatball then continuously gets swatted back and forth between the 2nd and 3rd person, escalating into an epic game of meatball ping pong. The original intention is lost, but it doesn't matter, because the situation has turned fantastic!

I hope this helps. 8D;
(This example was somewhat inspired by Daily Lives of High School Boys, a fantastic gag anime/manga.)

[Jrej]

I get inspiration from movies, daydreaming and inspirational lyricless music.
Most of the time, I just think about a cool action scene and try to find a plot around it!
Other times it's a real life scene. I try to imagine what led to this situation!

Lots of thinking... People looking at me must find me weird!

[Doubtcent]

Since my comic is a "gag a day", I try to looks at everyday things differently that could potentially become a joke or have a sense of irony. By adding a small difference to something small could make an every day object funny or more interesting.

A good habit to start is asking yourself the question "what if" often. Like, what if instead of a spork we had a spife? What would happen if someone would use such a thing? (heck this is a good idea on its own. DIBS!)
Or what if time was easy to travel but space was not? Bam. Instant idea for a story. Just keep asking the question and the ideas will flow out more naturally.

Anything that peaks my interest I will write down for later or sketch a thumbnail for it, just so I can have a better idea for layout when it comes to actually making it. So keeping a notebook on hand or keeping notes on your phone is a good idea as well.

[Doubtcent]

The hard part of gag strips is that everything HAS been done. The only way to make it different is to not care about such things and go 84115 out with your own style and go for broke! Not every joke works, but there is a saying that no one can write about the same streetlight. Even if two men were from the same background, if they both describe it, you'll get two different streetlamps.

[abbastudios]

I leave offerings in the woods nearby for the Idea Fairy. I can't tell you whete it is, sorry.

[Cielle]

I get inspiration from everywhere. For example, today I was watching a special on Rome through the ages and every 5 minutes I had to pause it because something gave me an idea. Man, those Romans. So #inspirational. In a similar vein, I get ideas from history, philosophy, and psychology. When in doubt, I head over to TV tropes and watch all my time get sucked away.

[tsukin]

hmmm many of my ideas come from dreams and philosophical ramblings. If it's something I'd like to explore more then I start to make a plot of it.

[serenitysquirrel]

I think alot on the way to and from work. It often happens then. Then it's just a matter of building on it.

Unfortunately, it's hard to go "I want to make a webcomic" or the like with no idea of the story and just make ti all happen.

[TristanJensen]

I sit down and I draw whatever comes to mind... Its worked so far

[AnnaLandin]

@Cielle Yes hello hi, may I interest you in the History of Rome-podcast? It's got more whacky Romans than you can shake a stick at. Like my favourite super-obscure Roman Emperor Elagabalus - the bisexual Syrian 14-year-old who dressed like a woman, married a vestal virgin, switched lovers all the time, and thought he was a sun-god.