How to use Mastering Comics:
Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, Continued…..x
Who is this book for?…..x
Do I need to have worked through Drawing Words & Writing Pictures
to use this book?…..x
Organization of the book…..xi
Special Features…..xi
Companion website for students and instructors, www.dw-wp.com…..xii
Acknowledgements for Mastering Comics…..xiii
UNIT 1: BUILDING STORIES…..xiv
How can you develop ideas, and then build them into stories? We begin with drawing warmups, idea-generating strategies, and writing tools.
Doodling, freedrawing, and sketchbooking as warmups and essential stages in preparing to make comics.
1.1 Doodling as a warm-up …..4
Activity: Freedrawing…..4
Sidebar: Keeping a Sketchbook…..6
Homework: Sketchbook Comic…..7
Extra credit: Drawing prompts comic…..8
Developing story ideas using a variety of strategies and tools.
2.1 Hey! Ho! Let’s go!…..12
2.2 Where do stories come from?…..12
Starting somewhere…..13
Character…..13
Personal History…..14
Theme…..15
Genre…..15
Creative constraints…..16
Start however you like—just start!…..18
Activity: Word ladder comics…..19
Sidebar: Narrative arc…..20
Homework: Brainstorm for a short story…..20
Sidebar: Comics short stories…..21
Extra Credit: Finish Word Ladder Comic…..21
Writing comics: working an idea into a framework for a story, understanding story atoms, and using script format
3.1 Getting a handle on things…..24
Mapping out your scenes…..24
Identifying the climax of your story…..24
Creating a page chart…..25
3.2 Scriptwriting 1…..26
Atoms: pacing, timing, and clarity…..26
How do you decide what to call an atom?…..26
Step 1: Think visually…..28
Step 2: Write a script…..29
Running into trouble adapting prose to comics…..30
Activity: Scriptwriting in the atomic age…..31
3.3 Fighting creative blocks…..32
The blank page strikes again…..32
Do research…..32
Keep moving…..33
Sidebar: How to be a pro…..34
3.4 Scriptwriting…..35
Script format…..35
Dialogue and quotation marks…..35
Basic format considerations…..36
Activity: Police questioning…..40
Homework: Begin thumbnails…..41
Extra credit: Police questioning: the deposition…..41
UNIT 2: SHARPENING FOCUS…..42
A closer look at aesthetic and formal considerations that come to bear on developing a comic, including perspective, composition, and drawing style.
An introduction to the use of and rationale for linear perspective.
4.1 Healthy relationships…..46
4.2 Definitions…..48
Perspective…..48
The station point…..49
The picture plane…..49
The horizon line, or eye line…..52
Vanishing point(s)…..54
4.3 Getting the point of linear perspective…..55
One-point perspective…..55
Two-point perspective…..55
Three-point perspective…..56
4.4 Linear perspective in action…..57
One-point perspective…..57
Two-point perspective…..59
Other two-point perspective considerations…..62
Distance between vanishing point(s)…..63
Angle of an object relative to the reader…..63
Placing VPs outside the image area…..63
Three-point perspectivev…..64
4.5 Finding centers and making series…..65
Finding centers in perspective…..65
Making series…..66
Activity: What’s wrong with this picture?…..67
Homework 1: A comic with no people…..70
Homework 2: Finish your thumbs…..72
Extra Credit…..72
Visual composition as it works at the page-spread and whole-work level, as well as an introduction to the issues involved in choosing and preparing your work for different publication platforms.
5.1 Comics on screens, comics on paper…..76
The comics of today…..76
Comics in books…..76
Where to start?…..76
Size and shape…..77
Comics on screen…..78
Size and shape…..78
What to do…..81
5.2 To build a better comic…..82
Panels, pages, book…..82
Making your blueprint…..82
Architecture of the comic…..84
Reading rhythm…..84
Building from the page up…..85
Spreads…..87
The turn of the page…..90
Symmetries and contrasts…..91
Guiding the eye…..92
Motifs and repetition…..94
The architecture of a comic to be read on a screen…..95
Activity: Book-length attentive reading…..96
Sidebar: Film terminology and comics…..97
Editing…..97
Camera movements…..100
Homework 1: Take a book’s eye view of your story…..101
Homework 2: Revise your thumbs…..102
Extra credit: One minute, ten years…..102
A look at how style and visual choices work as storytelling tools.
6.1 Marks and lines…..106
Seduction of the innocent…..106
Refining your visual approach…..109
Doing it comics style…..110
Caricature and distortion in figure drawing…..112
Tone and texure…..114
What kind of meaning can tones and textures bring to your story?…..114
Style: homage, parody, sampling…..115
Style tells a story…..115
Activity: Exercise in style…..117
Sidebar: Methods of work 1: Penciling.….117
Out of your head, onto the paper…..117
Matt’s process…..117
Jessica’s process…..121
6.3 Alternate perspectives…..124
Different views of things in space…..124
Chinese scrolls and video games: parallel projections…..124
Variations on point perspective…..125
Curvilinear, or five-point, perspective: The fish-eye lens effect…..125
Theatrical: The proscenium effect…..125
Universal perspective…..126
Representing space without pulling your hair out…..127
Size…..127
Overlapping objects…..127
Diminishing detail…..127
Atmospheric perspective…..127
Putting your work in perspective…..128
Activity: Reconsider your perspective…..129
Homework: Lay out and begin penciling…..130
Extra credit: Drawing catalogs…..131
UNIT 3: BLACK & WHITE AND COLOR; ON PAPER AND ON SCREEN…..132
Hands-on considerations that go into making comics: using tone, color, and ink, and then getting it all seen online.
7.1 Lettering and ruling lines by hand…..136
Lettering comics by hand…..136
Why hand-letter?…..136
Lettering is not handwriting…..136
Setting the Ames guide…..137
Hand lettering and ruling lines with various tools…..137
Nib pen…..137
Brush…..138
Speedball nibs…..139
Ruling pen…..139
7.2 Lettering on the computer…..140
Computer lettering…..140
Choosing fonts for lettering…..140
Making a font of your own lettering…..140
Using an existing font…..140
Placing computer lettering in your comic…..142
Creating a document in a vector art program…..142
Step 1: Set up your document…..142
Step 2: Paste text into your lettering document…..143
Step 3: Select your font…..143
Step 4: Place text on the page…..144
Step 5: Adjust the placement of lettering…..144
Step 6: Fine tuning…..144
Sidebar: Positioning text on the page…..145
Making digital balloons and boxes…..146
Step 1: Make a balloon…..146
Step 2: Make a tail…..147
Step 3: Crop balloons along the panel border…..148
7.3 Webcomics…..150
What is a webcomic?…..150
Why make webcomics?…..150
Ingredients of a webcomic…..150
Common features of successful webcomics…..150
7.4 How to make webcomics…..152
Materials…..152
Process…..152
Digital Inking…..152
Content…..152
Activity: Make a webcomic, part 1…..153
Homework: Continue penciling long story…..154
Extra credit: Varieties of narrative: not my genre…..154
Approaches to inking and a bit about unusual inking tools.
8.1 Sinking deeper into inking…..158
Old-School Inking…..158
Approaches to inking pencils…..159
8.2 Inking tools: brushes and beyond…..161
The basics…..161
Other brushes…..161
Chisel brush…..161
Sumi brush…..162
Hog bristle brush…..162
Brush pen…..163
Other pens…..163
Reed, or bamboo, pen…..163
Neither pen nor brush…..164
Q-tip…..164
Cotton rag…..164
Toothbrush…..165
Pencils as ink…..165
Digital inking…..166
Digital inking with a graphics tablet…..166
Digital inking using vector art…..167
Activity: Trade pencils with a colleague to ink…..167
Sidebar: Methods of work II: Inking…..168
Into the inky black…..168
Matt’s Process…..168
Jessica’s Process…..171
Activity: Webcomics inking…..174
Sidebar: Penciling tips & troubleshooting…..175
Consistant eyeline…..175
Continuity…..175
Tangents…..175
Homework: Continue penciling long story…..176
Extra credit: Varieties of narrative: researched nonfiction…..176
A look at using hand-drawn graytones, including wash, and an introduction to digital toning—the basis of digital coloring.
9.1 Why use tones in comics?…..180
The middle area…..180
Sidebar: Print history I: offset printing and halftones…..181
Offset printing…..181
Halftones…..181
9.2 Using tone: noncontinuous tones…..182
More ways to add grays…..182
Soft pencil, Conté crayon, and other soft media…..182
Screentones…..182
Sidebar: Values—Shades of dark and light…..184
9.3 Continuous tone: ink washes…..185
What is an ink wash?…..185
Why use an ink wash?…..185
Materials…..186
Mixing grays…..186
Applying a flat tone…..186
Freeform…..187
Gouache, acrylic, and other materials…..187
9.4 Reproducing continuous tone…..188
How to get your handmade tone images into digital form…..188
Cleaning up your scans with Levels and the Clone tool…..188
Setting Levels…..188
Step 1: Make an adjustment layer…..188
Step 2: Set black and white points…..189
Step 3: Fine tuning…..189
Step 4: Finishing up…..189
Using Levels to clean up scans of straight linework…..190
Spot corrections with the Clone Stamp Tool…..191
Step 1: Identify an area that looks like the one you’re correcting should
look…..191
Step 2: Draw over the error…..191
Step 3: Fine-tuning…..191
9.5 Toning on the computer: set-up…..192
The whys and wherefores of digital toning…..192
Document set-up…..192
Step 1: Choose your method for digital toning or coloring…..192
Step 2: Decide your print size…..193
Step 3 (option 1): Setting up your art using the one-file method…..193
Step 3 (option 2): Setting up your art using the sandwich method…..193
Step 4: Finish preparing your working color/tone document…..193
Sidebar: Why use aliasing?…..194
9.6 Toning on the computer…..195
The first step in toning and coloring…..195
A few overall tips for toning or flatting…..195
Toning or Flatting…..195
Choose your tools and dive in…..196
Don’t use the Paint Bucket, Magic Wand, or Pencil Tools to flat (as a general rule)… …..196
…use the Polygonal Lasso…..197
Using other tools to flat…..197
9.7 Prepping for print and the web…..200
Going from a bunch of files to finished art…..200
Prepping toned art for print…..200
One-file…..200
Sandwich…..200
Sidebar: Image size and file formats for webcomics…..200
Image size…..200
Prepping for the web…..201
Webcomics activity: Tone…..202
Homework: Finish penciling long comic, ink lettering/panel borders…..202
Extra credit: Varieties of narrative: autobiography…..203
The whys and wherefores of color, and the basics of computer coloring.
10.1 Color: what is it good for…..206
Thinking about color…..206
Uses of color…..206
“Realism”…..206
Symbolic color…..207
Color for readability…..207
Nonrealistic color…..208
Preparing to color…..208
Inking for color…..208
Coloring: order of work…..208
10.2 Basic color theory
Green = MC2…..209
Color wheel…..209
Hue/saturation/value…..209
Hue…..210
Saturation…..210
Value…..210
Warm/cool…..211
Sidebar: Print History II: Process color printing…..211
Registration…..212
Coloring comics the old-style way…..212
Color guide…..213
10.3 Computer color: prep and flatting…..214
Getting ready to color on the computer…..214
Making a palette…..214
Creating and picking colors…..215
Restrictios on pickig colors…..215
Document setup…..215
Coloring on the computer: flatting…..216
Final colors…..217
Hue, saturataion, and value…..217
Calibration and color matching…..217
10.4 Computer color: Modeling and effects…..218
From simple to elaborate…..218
Step 1: Shadows…..218
Step 2: Highlights…..219
Step 3: Gradients…..219
Step 4: Color hold…..220
10.5 Prepping for print and the web…..221
A few more steps to make your color perfect…..221
Color trapping…..221
Backing up your blacks…..221
Step 1: Add CMY to your black areas…..221
Step 2: Prepping for print and web…..222
Activity: Webcomics computer color…..223
Extra credit: Varieties of narrative portrait comic:…..223
Homework: Begin inking long story…..223
A discussion of coloring by hand.
11.1 Coloring inside the lines…..226
Thin blue line: traditional European comics coloring…..227
Coleur direct…..229
Painted comics…..230
Individual hand-tinting…..230
Sidebar: A Closer look: Alex Ross’ painting method…..231
11.2 Spot colors and other traditional options…..232
Spot colors drawn by hand…..233
Dual spot colors…..234
Using digital spot colors…..235
11.3 Retouching hand color…..236
Calibration…..236
Scanner quality…..236
Retouching your scan in Photoshop®…..236
Levels and the Clone Tool review…..236
Using curves…..236
Activity: Webcomics hand color…..237
Activity: Post your webcomic online…..238
Homework: Continue inking long story…..238
Extra credit: Varieties of narrative: adaptation into comics…..239
UNIT 4: SELF-PUBLISHING AND GETTING YOURSELF PUBLISHED
This last section of the book has fewer step-by-steps and how-tos. It is really more of a professional handbook embedded in our textbook, full of infor- mation and advice to help you find your way as a cartoonist.
The next steps. An introductions to cover and book design, and how to choose a next project. Also, a look at a comics-centric writing technique that doesn’t require drawing.
12.1 Pretty face…..244
Covers, websites, and book design…..244
Minicomics and professional printing…..244
Shape (ratio) and size…..244
Cover design and titles…..245
Interior book design…..247
Book design in action…..248
Web/screen design issues…..250
12.2 What exactly is a minicomic?…..253
Why make minicomics?…..253
What should you include in your minicomics?…..253
Activity: Decide your minicomic’s format …..254
Activity: Design your cover and interior…..256
12.3 The future: Setting your feet on the right path …..257
Where do you go from here?…..257
How to begin…..257
A checklist for starting a new work…..257
Getting going…..257
Tips for getting going…..257
Sidebar: Methods of work: Alison Bechdel’s approach to writing visually without drawing…..258
Collaboration…..264
Activity: All together now…..264
Homework: Finish inking long comic…..265
Extra credit: Varieties of narrative: Wordless…..265
Proofing, preparing to go to print, and designing a plan that will help you meet your creative goals.
13.1 Check yourself, don’t wreck yourself…..268
Getting it right the first time…..268
Proofing is for everyone…..268
Proofing your minicomic…..268
Proofing your professionally-printed comic…..268
Your webcomic…..268
Activity: Make the final decisions on your mini…..269
Activity: Imposition guide for your minicomic…..270
13.2 The future: How to make it happen…..272
Set a schedule with clear goals…..272
How will you subsidize your creative work?…..272
Working in collaboration…..272
Serialization…..272
Sidebar: The professionals I…..274
The publisher…..274
The editor…..274
Marketing and publicity…..275
The graphic designer…..275
The printer…..275
Homework: Get ready to print…..276
Extra credit: Poetry comics…..277
Print technologies, printing, and marketing your work to editors, publishers, agents, and the world.
We have the technology…..280
The photocopier…..280
POD: Print-on-Demand technology…..280
DocuTech…..280
Inkjet POD…..280
Why use POD?…..280
Offset…..280
Electronic publishing…..283
Activity: Master of the minis……283
14.2 The future: You’ve drawn it, now who’s going to read it? …..286
Getting your work seen…..286
Word-of-mouth, using social media…..286
Putting together a portfolio…..286
Serialization or excerpts as a portfolio…..286
Strategies for approaching publishers…..286
Sidebar: The professionals II…..288
The agent…..288
The lawyer…..288
The accountant…..288
Finding and working with an agent…..289
Self-publishing…..289
Grants and alternate forms of funding…..289
Homework: Printing and binding…..290
Extra credit: Bookbinding and innovative book design…..292
A look at distribution, as well as contracts, copyrights, and career paths.
15.1 Follow through…..298
Once you find a publisher…..298
Negotiating a page rate, fee, or advance…..298
Contracts…..298
Sidebar: A few facts about copyright…..299
Distribution…..300
The “direct market”…..300
Bookstore distribution…..300
Finding a distributor…..300
DIY distribution……300
Marketing and publicity…..301
Conventions…..301
Career paths in comics…..301
15.2 Time to celebrate…..302
Things to do with your mini…..302
Activity: Hold a comics convention…..302
Appendix A: Supplies…..304
Appendix B: Homework critiques…..305
BIBLIOGRAPHY…..308
INDEX…..312
Buy Drawing Words & Writing Pictures and the sequel, Mastering Comics, from us directly, or from your favorite vendor, via this link.
"A goldmine of essential information for every aspiring comics artist. Highly recommended."
-Scott McCloud
FIRST SECOND is an imprint of Roaring Brook Press / Macmillan USA. Macmillan owns some of America's most prestigious publishers, known for great integrity and literary quality. These include Henry Holt, FSG, St Martin's Press, Tor and Picador, all of which have garnered the most coveted prizes in publishing.
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