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Posted by:

DROC

Date:

May 9th, 2007 8:46 PM

Header:

Working hard...

Bulletin:

Working on new installments of DROC
I was right Spidey 3 is breaking ALL kinds of records;
next strip will be back Memorial Day weekend!!

Couple of friends/ students have been asking HOW to make a webcomic
soooo...Here goes it:

The Process:

A. WRITING
First I might have an idea in my head I've been toying around for a few months.
[DROC was conceived in 1985!!! and I kept it in the brain for all those years!!!]
My ideas/concept come from reading books, magazines, newspapers, tech journals.
Being an art teacher/ college instructor I may find a lesson plan or two that gives me ideas for stories.
I watch TV drama. Plus I look at cartoons,
read comics, sci-fi, etc but that's
NOT where I get most of my ideas.

Once I have an idea for a story arc I do several things to get started:

I do VERY loose script; based on a simple basic plot: beginning, middle, end with various sub-plots for continuity.
Then I will create visual breakdowns of story with script changes.
So I basically combine the Marvel/DC/Harvey Kurtzman creative processes together.

Many times I draw and write a script/plot on the back of the Bristol board.

B. PENCILING

I start to layout the story, sketching VERY rough trying to get
the story arc to flow. I use non-repro blue pencils; at times I
even get real detailed before I go over it with # 2 mechanical pencil.

C. INKING

Once I am satisfied with the drawing I begin to ink. There are several approaches to the way I think based on
techniques I gleaned from various inkers that I highly admire:

Dick Giordano, whom I met a few times @ conventions; plus I bought a few pieces of Dick's original art.
Murphy Anderson, a master at feathering
Terry Austin: 'Nuff Said. Well he DID put John Byrne on the map!!
Klaus Jansen: his work with Frank Miller is amazing
Since the strip is based on the "Fusion" style which is a cross of Anime and American animation; I keep the inking simple:

Foreground to background. Make outlines thick and contoured to create dimension as well as depth. Since this is a webcomic; most of my texture is done in the coloring stages in Photoshop. So I do not feather as much.

D. SCANNING

I scan my art work twice. Once as a JPEG that shows all the sketch marks, ink lines, etc. I use these as process shots on this blog.

Then I save the artwork as TIFF and BITMAP files 600 dpi. I res down to 300 dpi when I get to Photoshop.

E. LETTERING

I do all my lettering in Illustrator. I make 4 layers

SFX
Lettering
Balloons
Art
This order makes it easy for me to change things. The art layer is dimmed to 30% so I can concentrate on WHERE to place balloons, captions, etc. Once lettering is done I change art layer to 50-70% making it darker. Then I save art as a TIFF/BITMAP/JPEG and PDF file.

F. COLORING
I cannot take credit for this: but I gleaned this from SEVERAL sources by on-line research, talking with colleagues, etc:

I found the easiest thing for me is to create 5 simple layers:

1. Artwork top layer
2. Highlights
3. Cuts
4. Flats
5. Artwork bottom layer
I lay my flat colors down, then add my cuts, then in the highlights layer I add shadows/ highlights. After that I keep a top layer of the original art work just in case something bleeds through. My top and bottom artwork layers are in multiply mode; the other layers are set to normal.

**I used to do the channels/flats method initially;
but that took too much time, hard drive space and is primarily for print [one day....]. Since these are webcomics the sky is the limit to what you can do. You can color/ render is SO many ways!!

Once I am satisfied with my results;
I save them as high quality JPEGS.

Go to "Save on the Web"
Save one MAXIMUM Jpeg
Save one HIGH Jpeg.
I then store the files in a
"Web Upload" file on my PC hard drive,
and several USB maximum hard drive devices.

Keep SEVERAL backups: I have 2 Jump drives and one 60 GB mini-drive for backup. I also keep a "Works In Progress" folder; with one for Illustrator and one PhotoShop files.

MATERIALS:

a. Bruce Blitz Comic strip layout boards

[These are 8 1/2 x 11 and come with ruled bluelines
for lettering. I Use Adobe Illustrator to letter so it does not
matter. My point is these art boards are VERY good to do art
with becuase it fit my scanner. Plus, this size makes scanning
EASIER. But after talking to couple of artists; I decided to work
on 11 x 15 board. I scan the art in two halves and book-matched
them in PhotoShop.

b. Black India Ink [I mix Higgins with Sax Black Magic]; mostly to
fill in black areas since I primarily use Copics now.

c. Sakura Micro pen/ brush markers and

Copic multiliners w/ brush nip on one end

d. Raphael 8002 #2/ Lowe-Cornell # 2 brushes

Windsor Newton Series 7 #2s are REAL expensive
the brushes I mentioned are GOOD alternatives and
work just as good. I like brusn & ink but I'm getting used to
using Copics and they save time too!!

e. Rotring Sketch pen with ink bottle converter

f. Blue pencils / Mechanical pencils for sketching

BOOKS

a. The DC Comics Guide to:

Writing

Drawing

Inking

Coloring/ Lettering

All are GREAT books

b. Drawing Dynamic Comics by Andy Smith

c. Drawing Comics the Marvel Way

d. Comiccraft's Guide to Lettering

e. Digital Colors for Comics [Blueline Pro]

f. How to Color Comics [GuruFX]

Books by SCOTT McCLOUD!!
Understanding/Reinventing/Making
C O M I C S

ANY Book by WILL EISNER!!!!!

Hope this helps...
Webcomics offer EVERYONE a chance to get thier vision[s] to a WIDE audience. No matter HOW crazy you may think your strip is...DO IT!!

We are NO longer at the mercy of publishers: you can create your own door to walk through.
Remember: HAVE...FUN!!

L. D. Adonis, M.Ed
IADT-Tampa

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