Script writing for comic ;-;

I'm confused. What exactly are you looking for here? Help with the action between the dialog?

Drama script works fine. You may want to add descriptions for what each panel looks like, but it's not necessary unless you're collaborating with an artist.

Also, 40 pages for 6 weeks is a LOT. O_o Are you sure you can complete that many?

You can probably use Celtx on an iPad. Try it. It'll help if line spacing and character identification are issues you've got to worry about.

I agree with Keii, 100 pages is A LOT of work, especially for new creators. It's advisable to start with smaller projects like 8 pages, this way you also can bump up skill for projects you really care about.

Hey! I hope I can give you some help. I am a writer that writes a script for an artist. My goal is to make sure that my artist understands my vision, invisions it, and draws it. Since, the story line and characters were completely made by myself. It was a bit tricky at first to collaborate but I found my ways! And It's especially harder since she lives in another country from me so we can't communicate in person (you have this advantage).

When I'm writing a script, I format it like this.

Panel 1: Description
- (additional information or speech)

example from my script.

Panel 8: Then we see him with crossed arms, he completely shifted his body to face ahreum. The same arrogant facial expression is on his face and his mouth is opened to speak. Ahreum’s head is turned towards him (since he said something to her), and we can see the back of her head (not the full back of her head though, she’s not completely in the panel. Just the end).
- Mu-yeol: “Are you seriously reading a stupid book like that?”
- The angle is quite confusing. It’s sort of like this: https://png.pngtree.com/element_origin_min_pic/16/08/23/1557bc022010e99.jpg15

I write my script as if i'm writing a story to her. In the panel information, I write all the details she needs to draw and how the characters feel and think so that she can draw it more accurately. I also add angle references.

OF COURSE, this is after you outlined your plot and have written character descriptions (since your partner needs to understand your characters as well)

That way, your script is tight and your partner and YOU can invision it in your heads. But of course, everyone has their own styles, and you don't need to do it exactly like me. But I think it's one of the easier ways from experience!

Okay, don't worry. There is literally no industry standard for drafting comics. A lot of authors do it the way you would: they make a script, then they do thumbnailing (drawing a small version of your page just to get the idea out so you can tweak it) and then they draw the full page and ink and whatnot. Just because your teacher says it's not what they want doesn't mean it's outright wrong.

The problem is when doing comic scripts, you should have an idea of panel division and what each panel will look like. So you're going to need to either hop straight to putting it on paper in comic form, or rewrite the script with panels included. I'm currently writing my script on Scrivener using a template by Antony Johnston and my scripts look like this:

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Basically you name the page, then you name the panel, describe what is happening or how the panel looks, and then you add SFX, character dialogue, captions, etc. I'm a little odd because I was a writer and novice animator BEFORE I started working on comics, so I describe the panels as actions that are happening, rather than still images, which is how a lot of people do it. (I did start using the EXT./INT. location tags a little too much in the later pages though...) There's no limit on how short or how long your panel descriptions have to be, as long as they make sense to you, the people who will be drawing it. Unless you have to show it to someone, then make them clear. Some of my pages look like this:

image.png844x723 103 KB

So go whichever way you want. Good luck with your project, and hopefully you'll be able to finish in time! And if not, then maybe ask your teacher for an extension and let them know how far you are.

okay, so im in a similar situation right now in terms of making a comic on a deadline for school.

roll with that scripting format - theres no industry standard for comic scripts, everyone works differently. because youre working so close with your partner on the art, youre fine. the only thing id recommend adding is an environment description at the start of the scene, that includes the placement of characters and props youll be needing. saves confusions down the line. but if you work together in drafting up the pages, that shouldnt be too much of a problem anyway.

how many pages can you make a week? i work quite fast, so for me six weeks feels lush, but that might not be the case for you. if you make one page a day, you cant make forty pages in time starting today. estimate (reasonably) how many pages you can make in four weeks (a week to get started, a week of faf time at the end) and make up to ten pages less than that. edit the script to fit, do not worry about imperfections

a comic is not a play, or a book, or even a film. graphic novels aside, serialised comicbooks are closest in writing conditions to tv - you have several deadlines, you're writing as you go, and sometimes finished needs to come before perfect. honestly, just get yourself stuck right in.

As someone who has written scripts, novels, and comics (alongside doing the artwork myself) I can tell you that only two out of those three things required a format and it wasn't comics. Ultimately, you just need it to be understandable for your artist so they can interpret what you're doing. (If your teacher has given you any specific guidelines you will want to follow them, of course) I will give you this bit of advice that's worked across all the mediums I've mentioned: Know how and what to pair down. The thing is, a comics length doesn't matter if the substance is all over the place. Even if your project is ambitious, if you have things going on that don't move the plot, you can lose points on that basis. Since your comic is short, make sure that each thing that happens is plot relevant, each conversation will have a use and isn't there as filler.

This will make the writing easier on you and the art easier on them. Also, do not be afraid to shorten your project. I don't mean drastically but, 40 pages in 6 weeks is a LOT of work (particularly if your artist is using color in the medium). So if there are entire scenes that can be cut and the story still makes sense, cut them. If there are conversations that don't have an endgame, you can cut them because, again, your project is short. You also want to avoid walls of text within the comic itself, so any dialogue that is too long, you could cut down or split between panels, etc. This will help give your work a professional look and can help with narrative flow.

You've got a lot of work ahead of you but, I hope you enjoy the project. I wish you luck.

Dialogue can be tricky business. I've learned that, in the visual medium, visual cues are mainly used to get across subtle points. Not everything needs to be said. To that end, cutting down word count REALLY helps so that your comic can have a pace that doesn't overwhelm the reader. Here's some dialogue4 tips just in case you need them.

Well this is pretty typical of any class. Essentially, think of it like mathematics. In math class you have to show your work by writing out your process. That's exactly what this teacher is asking of you, only she's asking for drafts. I say, red ink the hell out of your original drafts/outlines, then rewrite, and anything you have to cut in the interest of time, include as part of your project with the drafts, that way she can see your work and know the time you've put in. It's good that you're already pairing down too.

This is something that gets pretty intense when you get to college (depending on your major, I suppose), so you're getting some good practice turning in all of your work and learning where your good points within your work are. (Though college classes usually have you turning in your progress pieces on the regular and not all at once included with your final but, eh, c'est la vie.) If you run into some major time constraints I'd shorten the story as much as you can. Again, 40 pages in 6 weeks is an intense workload.

In the end, you need to find the best way for you. I hate writing a script to any thing. What I do is writing my ideas as simple as I can put effort on the dialog and do thumbnails of the scene. for me it's easy to draw so I draw my scripts.
you don't need to conform yourself to "standards" script writing. find the best way you can to convey your ideas to your partner.

I love writing dialogue and I've actually been writing my scripts this way for the past few years, just keep it simple, write them in a way that's the most comfortable for you. You can write dialogue like this but also add a small description of what's happening since you're collabing with someone it's important that they also understand your format.

Just a suggestion: If you use Google docs to write your scripts you'll both be able to access the document at anytime. By you creating the document and sending your partner the link to it, your partner will be able to add notes to the document and even edit and access it anytime.
It's a very useful tool if you're collabing with someone.