Sep 2015
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whydocowsfall
Sep '15

I hate having to describe too much with words but I draw out thumbnails for each page with what's going to happen and make sure I write down at the very least whatever dialogue I want to appear on the page. Though I also write out a summary of all the chapters and I think that when I start storyboarding the next one (which is going to be pretty plot and dialogue heavy) I'll definitely want to put much more detail in the page plans... So it sort of depends what you're doing but as most people have said, it's good to get structure and I'd say it's best to do as much scripting as you can bear. It will help you a lot!

natchevil
Sep '15

I've tried to use scripts. I lose interest fast.

Instead I've found my footing by writing an outline, writing the dialogue as I pencil, then after I ink, I fix the spelling and edit the text as needed to sound natural. I do this at least 10 pages at a time, usually 20-30 pages. Never from one page to the next.

It's a very by-the-seat-of-my-pants approach, but it keeps me interested in the story because I love not knowing exactly what will happen.

feldiarts
Sep '15

Scripts only make sense, when you're creating a long paste story.
Stuff like shortstorys are better when you just write/draw a little storyboard.
In some cases Storyboards can help for longer stories too, but I wouldn't recommend it.

jmhenry
Sep '15

I tend to do small summaries of the main points in the chapters before I get into the thumbnailing, usually 1-2 sentences per scene. Just enough to have it in memory long enough for my imagination to fill in dialogue, transitions, etc.

Ex:
[morning] Bikkel the clown wakes up and gets ready for another round of scheduled birthday gigs. Bikkel, bored out of his mind, wishes something interesting would happen before leaving his house.

Bikkel chats with some old friends and then grabs the train to his first gig, Bikkel arrives at the location after some personal monologue and gets off the train.

Bikkel the Clown explodes.
[End Chapter]

After I've got all that down, it's usually in memory and I never really have to look at it again. How well this works, though, depends on the person, and maybe your ability to improv a bit.

Menbung
Sep '15

It totally depends on the artist, I have done scripts, but mostly to have an idea of the dialogues for each scene and to write some ideas of what I want to draw. But you can go without them.

If you're not going to make em, yeah, some sort of thumbnails is a must. There are a lot of pros that work this way, they do rough thumbnails of the scenes they want to draw, adding the dialogue and word balloons on those rough panels.

Scripting is more of a western method, you have a writer that makes it, and then the artist translates it to drawings. But if you're the one that writes and draws, mebbe you could skip some steps to optimise your game plan.

Either way is fine, like I said, it depends on the artist =P

qcbl
Sep '15

Thumbnails and no script can work if you still work out a plot summary before beginning thumbnails. If you can break the story down page by page at least. This helps with pacing of the story so you get an idea of how fast plot points will move and can avoid cramping a story or dragging it out. Then do the thumbnails then dialogue that could work for you.

chacsan
Sep '15

I think it's hard to write a script and follow it. I know where the story is going, so I usually think of rough dialogue and stuff as I come closer to a scene and by the time I get to those pages I know how I want it to pan out, but the exact dialogue is really hard to get down without the images. It's hard to think with words instead of images, it just becomes a mess to me.

Shiori_Saku
Sep '15

Day to day gag comics dont really need scripts or outlines as they are ONE SHOT pieces but for stories that are going to last more than a handful of panels it's best to have some idea of where your beginning, middle, and end are.

This doesnt mean that your story cant evolve and change as it goes but you want to know where your going to end up so your creative juices dont piddle out halfway through a story arch. I've read to many stories that either were NEVER finished or they had really weak, disappointing, endings because the author/creator didnt know where they were going with the story when they started and either got bored or just tried to wrap it up quickly when they hit a rough patch. This kind of disappointing storytelling leaves your readers hangry for more.

Here's an example of the script I wrote for my comic Star Watcher. You'll notice that whats written in the script and what actually makes it into the panels is a bit different. That's a good example of script evolution. Your script need not be super-detailed or lengthy. In most cases creators use it as a guide to make sure they stay on track with the major themes and plot of the story.

“What do you want, no name?” The tiger asks, yawing.
“I found a star. How do I get it back to the sky?”
The tiger sits up. It looks at the puppy. The puppy stares at it.
“Where would you find a star? You are not lying are you?” The tiger frowns

Starwatcher3pg1.jpg940x1440 194 KB
Starwatcher3pg2.jpg940x1440 255 KB
Starwatcher3pg3.jpg940x1440 240 KB

VaoMamago
Sep '15

Never use scripts.
Just because the story is in my head already. I have one more reason actually, if you have prepared script and you drawing and want to change something in the story - you must change the script.
Too inconvenient =/

kazukitakamura126
Sep '15

I believe you should a script to lay out the groundwork for your story that way the information in the story all connects and you can refer back to it. I have made some changes to my comic but I don't change it in the outline because that is a rough idea of what it is and allows for flexible when a certain element must be changed.

Hug_Mug
Sep '15

If it's a long story and without a script then the story will descend into complete garbage fairly quickly. It will be full of plot holes, most likely lack decent character development and be devoid many literary techniques such as foreshadowing. I doubt there is any writer in the world who could pull off a decent long story without planning it properly.

If the comic is a gag comic or a comic with recurring characters that are in different situations every week and has no continuing plot then a script is unecessary.

However, I see so many SPG mistakes on comics here that could have been fixed with a simple spelling check in word. So, for that reason it probably is always a good idea to have something written down.

Vikiro_Hop
Sep '15

RIght now I do a gag comic, but even on the story stuff I don't really script much. I dont know if i would ever fully script things out, maybe a quick summary for each page but even then I probably wouldn't follow that closely anyways. When I actually sit down to make something I usually end up with way more ideas and structure than I could ever get by trying to plan it out.

allenthomas
Sep '15

I'm amazed at people who don't use scripts at all, even for a gag-a-day. It think I would go mad after a while LOL. I don't understand how people with story driven comic can execute their comics without scripting or storyboarding. Amazing!

carloswebcomic
Sep '15

My first online comic which ran for 4 years (or so) was made with no scripts. I simply had an idea, drew it and only then worked out the dialogue. Used to get pretty decent traffic too! About 10,000-15,000 hits on update days.

I was wreck though, trying to figure out what to do for the next page and it nearly give me an ulcer. I had to give up for my own sanity.

These days I make sure I have lots of scripted pages before I put pencil to paper.

kazukitakamura126
Sep '15
carloswebcomic

Before 2011 I made stories without writing anything down. All I have to say is the story were messy and plot holes would form when you are not expecting them.

AlkseeyaKC
Sep '15

The only time I use Script is to send the text to someone to look over my spelling and grammar.

Other wise I sketch out thumbs to make the comic page.

igneriss
Sep '15

I don't really use a proper script, but I use thumbnails/storyboard with all the dialogues written down, so it's something in between ( :

Pandastrophic
Sep '15

@Tani2691 Have you tried making a storyboard? like making small thumbnails of the page with the dialog next to it. Scripting doesn't help me that much either but when I storyboard and write the dialog too it helps me organize the page as well as the comic better. It helps with paneling, speech bubbles, angles, organizing dialog etc and you wouldn't have to re-draw panels and erase as much because you already have a small visual reference of how the page is gonna look.

I tend to storyboard + write the dialog next to it for pages waaay ahead of where I actually am, it gives me a better perspective of how the story is gonna go and leaves me with some space for change if I needed it.

L4213
Sep '15

as a more visual person, i rarely use scripts in my comics mainly because i have an attention-span of a dog when it comes to reading @^@ to compensate though, i just use a variety of thumbnails with annotations to get my story, sequence, and structures out well and intended.