In this post, I’m going to walk you through the steps that you want to take to create your first graphic novel. Basically, your start from the earliest conceptional designs… all the way to the finished result.
Now the very first thing, you’re going to want to do, is start with the story idea. The general overall idea. At this stage in the game, whether you plan to be the writer or the artist of the novel, is to sit down and just get the story down on paper. Write it all out. Create the characters, create the world.
Right now, it’s just the blank page. There’s absolutely nothing. It’s all up there in your brain – it is that story you have been imagining for awhile. So you’re going to want to start with some conceptual sketches. Get them down on paper. It doesn’t matter if they’re not perfect. You’re going to use a pencil. You’re going to go over them, you’re going to change them. Simply, just let the ideas start to pour on to a white piece of paper. And get these ideas down.
Slowly, the story and the characters will start to come together. You’ll write the back stories, the reasons for each episode. You’re going to want each character to have a story arc. You’ll start to break up the story into chapters. And you’ll see the characters evolve through the chapters. Basically, take as much time as you need to develop the story – it will take on a life of it’s own, and become unique and interesting.
Or it just falls flat on it’s face and dies. And is completely boring. And not even worth anyone’s time, and you have to start over. And that is okay. So take your time, find a really good story before you even jump onward to the next steps.
One thing, it’s very important, when you’re drafting your graphic novel from scratch. Find a style that’s your own and stick with it. Comic book artists and comic book writers are known for their distinct styles. It’s a community of people and everyone’s got their own look. And most fans can spot an artist. Just by looking at one or two panels of his or her work. Find your style and stick with it throughout the entire run of your novel series.
Creative time has passed and you have done the basic prep work. You’ve made out a list of characters. You designed them from head to toe. You’ve created the world these characters inhabit. At this point, I am assuming you’ve got your entire cast of characters created from head to toe. And you’ve created also the worlds that each one of them inhabits. You’ve done all the scripting, all the writing. It’s all down on paper. All that you have to do now, is actually put the pieces together in their final format.
You might be doing the whole project yourself, but chances are you are working with someone else. One is usually the artist and the other is usually the writer. You both want to sit down together and look a a whole new set of blank pages – the ones that will become your formatted graphic novel. Thee first thing you are going to want to decide is how many panels are going to be on each page? Literally, break it down. One, two, three, four panels… The standard is six to eight, but you are the artist. And you are the creators. You can literally do as many or as few, as you like.
The next step after that would be describe to the artist. This is now speaking as the writer. Describe to the artist, exactly what you want to see within each frame. The artist will then go off and start sketching the early, rough designs on their own. And kind of, get a feel of what it’s going to look like.
While they’re doing this, what you’re going to want to do. Is start to actually fill in and create each individual panel. Whether you do this, as the writer or the artist. It’s up to you. It can really be done by either. Or an entirely different person. But create each individual panel and clearly line each one of them up. Within each panel, this is where each bit of the action’s going to be. Then give that page to the writer. And they’re going to go in. And they’re going to write everything, that’s going to go in each panel. From the dialog of the script to the notes on what happens in the action. Or a person’s inner thoughts. Which are usually in a separate box, entirely. Go in and basically get all the written material done in each individual frame.
After that, you’re going to give the pages to the artist. And he’s going to go in and sketch in the action. Every single panel, one by one by one. And that’s the process that you’ll take for the entire creation of the graphic novel.
After you’ve got all the sketches down and all the dialog and written words put in, it is time for the graphic novel to go to the person who will be doing the inking. And that person will go over everything, literally with a fine tooth ink comb. And just fill in all the final details. This is assuming that you’re doing a black and white graphic novel. If you decide to go color, more power to you, but then you have to color in all the pages, too. You’ve got that much more work to do. But you know, I’m sure you can do it. You’ve got the talent, but I would suggest, for your first graphic novel creation, to keep it simple.
Get the story down from A to Z. Write out the script, write out everything as it’s supposed to be seen. Sketch it in, ink it over. Put it together. Rejoice and be happy. You’ve just created your first graphic novel..
As found on Youtube
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel, 2nd Edition
- ISBN13: 9781592579426
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher.
Product Description
Graphic novel guidance from two experts in the field.
Here is a clear, beginning-to-end guide to creating a graphic novel-from developing a concept to getting it to readers. Heavily illustrated, this book explains the tools used, demonstrates techniques, and offers tricks of the trade. Writers and illustrators alike will find it the best overall introduction to the world of graphic novels.
•New edition features a larger format with expanded… More >>
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel, 2nd Edition
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