Script, Storyboard, or just flat out winging it?

[gearpunk]

How do you plan out your comic? What tricks do you have up your sleeve?

I'm doing a little bit of scripting and storyboarding. I have a pretty big number of chapters that are pretty word heavy, such as a narration chapter and a few one on ones with the characters. Some of them can only be expressed through a visual drawings like a storyboard!

What are some of your tricks for the 'behind the scenes' building of your story? Do you have someone helping you or are you a lone wolf?

Or are you just taking your idea and hitting the ground running?
(I probably won't be able to respond to everyone, but I'll definitely read your replies!!)

[keii4ii]

For my previous comic, I typed out very bare bones scripts in Word. They were extremely minimalistic in terms of descriptions (they barely contained any), to a point where they almost looked like chat logs with just spoken lines. No information on panel/page breaks, either. Then I would do some thumbnails (thumbnails = storyboards, but for non-animated works ).

I found myself unable to work that way when I started working on my current comic, though. I could not separate scripts and thumbnails. What I ended up doing is typing out the dialogues straight into PSD files in Photoshop. During this process, I not only figure out the exact words being spoken, but also the text placement... as well as a vague idea of what the panels would look like. (If you have no idea what the panel looks like, you can't figure out text placement.)

I would get the entire chapter finished that way, and then move onto the drawing part of the thumbnailing process. Finish thumbnailing the whole chapter, and then start working on the actual art.

Planning on doing a detailed step by step thingie with visuals at some point. It's not super educational, but it's still interesting to see how we all work differently!

[AnnaLandin]

Oooh, I love these topics!

I have an outline for the entirety of my comic. It's not super-detailed - it's very much the big-picture view of the story - but it's got a beginning, a middle and an end, with the most important events noted, and when they're supposed to happen. It's just got enough air in between those notes that I've got space to tinker and change stuff that needs to be changed.

To turn all of this from a list of babbling words into an actual comic, I pick a bunch of scenes from the outline (enough to constitute a reasonable chapter, in terms of pacing; I don't set page-limits), and break them down further into what happens on each page - still just in text form. This isn't so much a script as it is a description. Like, "Page 1: main characters arrive in a city. Page two: they run into a pickpocket. Page three; they start chasing the pickpocket" - or something like that. No dialogue, no specific stage-direction.

Then, I take that list, and I brew myself a big pot of tea, pull out my pencil and paper, and get to work turning those vague descriptions into actual storyboards. My storyboards look something like this:

These are storyboards for a Christmas-themed comic I made last year, and each page-layout is about an inch and a half tall - this is to keep me from spending too much time fiddling with details. The text below each thumbnail is the dialogue+some short descriptions of what I've actually drawn, in case I forgot and find it hard to tell. And yes, it is only here that I begin actually writing my dialogue.

The next step is to do a full-sized rough draft with dialogue digitally - I use Manga Studio 4EX for this, because I love its Story-function (which I believe is also available in Manga Studio 5EX). Which looks like this:

These are from a one-shot comic I made a while back.

... and after that, it's off to clean sketches, inking and colouring, and final dialogue-adjustments.

The reason I do the initial storyboards on paper instead of directly in Manga Studio is because storyboarding needs to be a very focused process for me to do it properly - and working digitally is distracting. I mean, the internet is right there. If I sit down with pencil and paper and a pot of tea, I'll only have to deal with distractions from my cat, and those are easier to handle.

As for the groundwork that went into the outline and planning and visual design - I tend to draw turnarounds/lineups for my more important characters, so that I know what they look like from every angle and don't have to make stuff up on the go - and I tend to design floorplans and interior/exterior views of important buildings and settings, too. The less important stuff - random houses along city streets, people passing by in the background, etc., - gets designed on the fly.

[UzukiCheverie]

I'm actually hoping no one in here says they're winging it, unless they're doing like, a gag comic or something that doesn't require actual plot.

For Time Gate, I use spreadsheets in LibreOffice; it lets me sort of "graph out" page numbers, scene descriptions, and dialogue in a way that works for me and lets me know in the future, "hey, this is what panel 1 will look like on page 3, and this is what the spread on page 7 and 8 will be like, with this dialogue..."

For my gag comics, I just copy down the jokes panel by panel in Notepad. So I don't forget them, especially when I come up with the good ones

[mg78]

ive got the script, as basis. when ready, i start with an easy storyboard. just to see what's going on, how fit what where. then i do all the corrections + i put some notes to remeber what didnt work in the storyboard. if all is ok, im move in the finale sheet...

example. this is the storyboard:

some panels needed some notes for the final draw. as i did in the final work here:
http://tapastic.com/episode/181373

[Kayke]

I script and then thumbnail! But my thumbnails are basically just for panel layout so that all my pages don't end up looking the same.

When I first started my comic I used to plan things out a lot more, but now that I've been doing it for years I can kind of just jump into it without a lot of sketching and laboring over it.

[iddqd]

Back in the day a read a few books by Linda Seger, a Hollywood script consultant, and her approach was very helpful for writing for comics. I often check in back with the books to troubleshoot some parts of the story. My script is on a very short side, outlining only the key events: I have my 3-act structure, two turning points, a midpoint, climax and resolution planned and described in a sentence of two for the main plot and each of the subplots. I then copy and rearrange these sentences into a complete sequence of events to see if they flow and generally make sense.

Past that, I sometimes do a storyboard for the next few pages I draw with no description, then a couple of thumbnails for the page itself. Then it's time to do the necessary research (how do you draw ship rigging or what does a basement in an Early Modern manor look like?) and draw the actual page. I often write dialogue after everything else is finished and it's time to add speech balloons in GIMP.

I guess in the end my approach is half-winging it: I draw (and sometimes write) more or less on the go, but I have a very tight story structure to check in with. I find this way is pretty cool because each page I draw, I have to still think of creating a story on the go, rather than being a slave to the script. It led me to some moments of inspiration where I decide to use some foreshadowing I haven't thought of before, or add some details I haven't thought of when writing the script. I guess it only works if you're both the writer and the artist, though.

[KSlinger]

As far as plot goes, there is a plan. I know exactly what's coming in West and when it's going to happen, and I visualise each chapter from start to finish before I begin. There's nothing written down, though. and I don't thumbnail. I feel the page out as I go, so in that sense I'm winging it, but I always strive to make each page as independent and interesting in it's own right as possible, so that someone jumping in generally gets what's going on. I also design characters on the page for the most part. I know the 'feel' of each character as well as their backgrounds, so creating an outfit and appearance to match is easy and fun.

I only do it this way because I've tried the meticulous planning method and it really hindered me. I'm definitely a gardener, not an architect.

[AnnaLandin]

I'm definitely a gardener, not an architect.

This is a good way to put it! I'm somewhere between a gardner and an architect, in that I need a certain level of structured planning, but if I plan too much, I lose interest and my brain wanders off elsewhere. I need a bit of making it up as I go for me to stay interested in making stuff at all.

[ZelEnkora]

i write the script and the draw the storyboard!! after that i draw the actual page!!

[Strontium]

I actually do my storyboard first, then my script. It's a backwards way, but it works for me! I'll explain.

Whenever I'm not occupied with something - a moment when there's just empty space in my head - I fill it with my stories. It's like putting a Book on CD on in my head. So I tell myself the various chapters of my comic over and over again as I'm doing menial things like getting ready for bed or walking from my dorm to class. I have a really excellent memory so remembering scenes that I come up with from different play-throughs of the chapters is easy.
When it comes time to start working on a new chapter, I put that "track" on and go over it for a day or so. Then I sit down with some computer paper and transfer the images in my head to thumbnails. The way I organize thumbnails already separates scenes into pages, so when I go to write the script, all I'm putting in is the dialogue, and occasionally the tone of the character while speaking the dialogue.

As I'm actually working on the pages, I change up my thumbnails and script from time to time, either to reorganize space - because how I organize a page isn't always the best in my right-from-my-head thumbnails - or to cut out/add in parts.

I don't really recommend this model to anyone, ahah, it's just the way I've always done it.

[Kamikaze]

I'm an unashamed architect when it comes to writing our story, though I do a little bit of gardening at the very end to spruce things up.

I do a lot of screen writing, and script writing so I just keep to that ideal when working in comics. I'll think about what absolutely HAS to happen in the episode, so what are the big story points? I'll beat out the story, and then head to Trello! (Side note: writers, if you aren't using Trello IT WILL CHANGE YA LIFE! Fly my pretties!)

I use a 5 act structure for every episode of Kamikaze, so I'll take my beats, write them onto the little cards and move them into different acts to see how the flow feels. Sometimes acts are MUCH longer than I anticipate and things can get shifted around. The shifting can happen at any time, especially considering Trello makes it so easy. When I'm happy with the beat placement, I go into each card and write out bullet points for thost specific scenes. When it's all done it generally looks like this:

I'm crazy and write out the first drafts of each Beat in the little default notetaker/text document thing that most computers come with. It's archaic but it keeps me focused on getting the story down. As I write each bit out, I'll head to Trello to mark off which ones are finished and approved for insertion into the script, which ones are being written and which ones are still left to do. It really helps me stay organized.

Once I have each scene approved and finished, I throw everything into Celtx (a free scriptwriting program).

And then from there, we do a read through. This really helps us tighten the dialogue, fix continuity all sorts of stuff. Once that's done, we take the final script, print it out and break it down into individual pages and panels. That's what Alan's doing here:

Once everything's broken down we'll still fenagle it a bit. Even at the last second if there's a panel which feels confusing or we think there needs to be a bit more punch added (background environment, conversations, sound effects etc) we'll throw that in at the last second. When pages are done, I send off another text doc break down of the page to our partner Havana which she uses to add in lettering!

...It's an involved process. >.>

[ErithEl]

I always like hearing about other creators' processes for building their comics.

For me, when I write anything, I always have a clear visual in my head of how I want it to look. That means I have a script written for Burning Bright, but it's mainly just the dialogue with a couple notes thrown in their for personal reference.

Since my comic is going to be a long project, I took some time to make a bullet point list of the plot. Very vague points just to keep everything on track:

1) This and That character meet.
2) This and That character fight.
3) The Other character shows up, and stops them...

Laying it out like that really helped me plan out the chapters so I could really focus on what was important, and what I could do without.

From there, I do work page by page, without using thumbnails or storyboards. This is the only way I can work, because if I had several pages storyboarded, I know I would just want to work on the pages I found exciting and certain pages would fall to the back burner...and then I would try to update on e week and realize I haven't finished the next page!

[gearpunk]

HHHHHH I AM SUCH a sucker for these kinds of things! Just look at that thumbnailing, it's beautiful~~
I really like how you approach your comics, it's so organized! I've always wanted to get my hands on Manga Studio, but lack the funds. I've played with it before and loved it. I'm definitely getting it as soon as I can.

I've been doing my concept art for the majority of FP all traditional for those very reasons (only i don't have a pet to distract me from, sads).

Sorry for not giving a more in depth response, I lack the time and social skills, but thank you all for your responses. Tapastic is full of such insightful people, I love it!!

[Aspie_Gamer]

I've found that having a script is really the best option for your comic story wise. Granted, its not the be all end all of the writing process, but I've found through trial and error that its easier to write down any dialogue you might have trouble recalling later on your own than to just let it sit in your head where its likely you might forget it.

[fighterxaos]

For Mixtape I wing it. Since, you know, that's kind of the point for that series. Has been since 2005. For New Courage
I make thumbnails. I did write a story map and a document for the rules and history of the world so I know where it's going and try not to contradict myself in the story. Now for the comics I'm looking to get published I of course write a script. Mainly because I'm looking for someone else to draw it and I need to know they know what I want to see.

[joannekwan]

I have all the scripts written in Word. I don't actually thumbnail/plan out the panels though until I actually start work on the page, because I'm partial to changing them to fit with text flow and it's an organic process.

[SpavVy]

I write my rough draft by hand with a pen and I write it like as if it's a novel. I go into detail as much as possible to help me get an idea of the scene and sometimes I even doodle certain character's expression or pose on these pages as a reminder to what I might want to add in the final draft later on, sometimes I add little notes to the side saying I may change this idea in the future. I like to start with writing in a notebook because it feels more natural to me like as if I am drawing so it gives me some sort of satisfaction because I'm a very hands on kind of person.
Once I'm done with all of that I type it out and make all sorts of changes, I trim and edit a lot until I'm satisfied.
Then I do my storyboards I also prefer writing 10 chapters ahead of time because I want everything for the first volume fleshed out plus as we write our writing styles are always changing so lets say if you just start with writing 1 or 3 chapters and then work on the finals you may regret that in the future >_<' because what you like today you may really hate the next day... I've lost count on how many times that has happened to me in the past.
I've had a published author tell me that writing at least 10 chapters ahead will do a lot of good so that's what I'm doing, she was right so far and I've grown more confident in my writing.

[Simon_M]

I write a two page summary of the story, then break it into panels. I let it simmer and reread it, change panel compositions, change dialogue, etc. until I give it to Atana, the artist. I usually do four or five revisions before she starts to draw it, basically I wait until it feels "right" and harmonic to what I want to show in that episode. Other than that, I plan the story by seasons, like in a tv show, so I know all the basic stuff that needs to happen in around 18-22 episodes and it's just a matter of seeing how the tone and rhythm allows it.

I'm talking about Upsurge, my main comic (right now it's only in spanish, but we're in the process of translating it), which I don't upload to tapastic.

The comic strips I upload here, when I got an idea I draw it and that's it.

I'm new, by the way. Hello everyone

[bsienk90]

It's pretty straight forward

After all the character development, background, plot and setting is established

• I create an outline of events
• Then write out the script
• do small thumbnails
• Then I go straight into the computer where I rought sketch the entire page, into lineart, shading and dialogue and panels

Overall I'm following a script outline I had written out. I know the general plot of where I'm going. Sometimes I have ideas for scenes off of what the outline and I just wing the dialogue. Dialogue ALWAYS changes for me. it depends on where the thumb takes me and sometimes even the thumb doesn't translate the way I want to in the final and then that gets changed.

(Click the gif to make it play)

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