• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

  • Contact
  • About
  • Faqs
  • Log In
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Comics Crash Course
  • Blog
  • Videos

DC comics

ProFile: Ron Randall

by Palle Schmidt 1 Comment

ProFile-Ron-Randall

Ron Randall has been drawing comic books and graphic novels and storyboards for over thirty years. He has worked for all the major comics publishers in the United States, including Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Image, Dark Horse and IDW on properties as varied as Spider-man, Supergirl, Predator and Star Wars. His own science fiction adventure series Trekker is his signature project. Ron is busier than ever these days, producing new Trekker stories, serialized at www.trekkercomic.com and in print through Dark Horse Comics as well as serving as artist on several other comics projects and various commercial clients.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

I read comics as a little kid, like everyone did back then. But when I met a buddy back in second grade who was already an active “fan”, who follows certain artists and books, I suddenly realized that people actually did this for a living. From then on it was on my short list of careers. It was comics artist or jet pilot. I started drawing my own characters and stories then and never stopped.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

Hm. Right now, it’s the coloring on Trekker. Color is a whole new world for me. I have a pretty good sense, usually, of the feel I want the colors to have and the color choices. But I know there is so much I don’t know about color and digital techniques that I feel I could always to better and more with that step of the process.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Keep drawing. There is no set way to get into the business, no formula or process that works for everyone. You find your own way. And the one thing that works is to keep at it.

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: Dark Horse, DC comics, IDW, Image, Marvel Comics, Predator, Ron Randall, Spider-Man, Supergirl, Trekker

Making Comics with Patrick Yurick – Comics for Beginners Podcast episode

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment


“I find that art is 90 percent fear!”

Artist, teacher and CEO of MakingComics.com, Patrick Yurick, visited Copenhagen and I got to show him the better parts of the city. We also managed to record a podcast on his view on the craft, career, his experiences with teaching comics to teens, his zombie buddy comedy Hipster Picnic and the future of making comics.

Links to stuff mentioned on this episode:

My video on lessons I learned from working on Thomas Alsop

GutterTalk podcast interview

ThomasAlsop.com

Webcomics Underdogs

TheHeadComic.Com

@patrickyurick

MakingComics.com

StoryForgeProductions.com

Patrick-Yurick-in-Copenhagen
CEO of MakingComics.com Patrick Yurick (left) hanging out in Copenhagen with Palle Schmidt.

Filed Under: Podcast, Pro Tips Tagged With: Adam Greenfield, Anime, art, artists, Comic Con, comics industry, cosplay, craft, DC comics, fear, Gutter Talk, Hipter Picnic, Illustrator, Little Fish, making comics.com, Manga, Marvel Comics, online, overwhelm, Patrick Yurick, Photoshop, podcast, publishing, reference, social media, StoryForge, storytelling, talent, teaching comics, Thomas Alsop, webcomics

Can Marvel do no wrong?

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

marvel_s_the_avengers__age_of_ultron___banner_i_by_mrsteiners-d74vpuj

When I was growing up, the superheroes I knew where two-dimensional four-color characters in comic books. The live action superhero was the cartoony Batman TV show but even as a kid I realized the tackiness of it. It wasn’t until Tim Burton’s 1989 movie Batman that it felt like they at least tried to take it seriously.

Kids today have a much wider access to the characters in both comics, movies and computer games that let you fill the shoes of your favorite heroes. And it’s not just because CGI has improved that the movies have gotten better. It’s because really smart people are involved in making them, from script to screen.

Getting Christopher Nolan on board for the Batman trilogy was no doubt a smart decision. But no sooner had the Dark Knight died (at least that’s my interpretation) before DC Comics dropped the ball again, leaving the field wide open for Marvel to score big with Guardians of the Galaxy – a completely left field choice that won over even the harshest critics.

While DC seems to alienate fans with their new dark and gritty reboot of Superman and the casting of Ben Affleck as Batman, Marvel keeps surprising us with smart and funny movie versions of fan favorites. Apart from the third instalment that is widely regarded as a misfire, the X-Men movies have been pretty great, both faithful to the comics and smartly adapted for the big screen and a wider audience.

In the original X-Men from 2000, there is a great line where Wolverine bitches about the costumes they are prompted to wear in the final confrontation. Cyclops replies: “What would you prefer, yellow spandex?” A great tongue-in-cheek reference to the costumes of the comics, which undoubtedly would have looked ridiculous in the movie, and a great example of fan service while still having the guts to change things for the better.

The strategy has often looked far from obvious. From Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man to the complete surprise hit of the almost unknown Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel have taken bold choices both in casting and in characters, and pulled off the impossible of bringing together a band of heroes from different movies in The Avengers. They have managed to make us all interested in less known characters, at least from a non-fan perspective, and seamlessly woven together intricate plotlines while juggling dozens of characters at the same time.

This week the news that Marvel have cast Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. strange and new movies will feature heroes such as Captain Marvel and Black Panther. And at the same time this new clip and trailer from the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron aired, sending chills down my spine – and I don’t even know who Ultron is! Didn’t know I cared!

From my perspective it looks like Marvel can do no wrong and it even made me want to read some of the comics again. What do you guys think? Excited for the future of superhero movies? Or just sad that no one knows these blockbuster franchises are based on comics?

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Age of Ultron, Avengers, Batman, Ben Affleck, Benedict Cumberbatch, Black Panther, Capatain America, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Christopher Nolan, Cobie Smulders, Cyclops, DC comics, Dr. Strange, Elizabeth Olsen, Guardians of the Galaxy, James Spader, Jeremy Renner, Joss Whedon, Man of Steel, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel, Marvel movies, movies, Paul Bettany, Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Spider-Man, Stellan Skarsgard., superhero comics, superhero movies, superheroes, Superman, The Dark Knight Rises, Thomas Kretschmann, trailer, Wolverine, X-Men, Zack Snyder

ProFile: Justin Jordan

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

ProFile-Justin-Jordan

Justin Jordan is the writer and creator of The Strange Talent of Luther Strode. He has also worked on Shadowman, Deathstroke and Green Lantern for DC comics.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

I’d always loved comics. And I really do mean always; my earliest memory is reading a Popeye comic when I was maybe three years old. Well, looking at it, anyway.

And I’ve always loved telling stories, so it became a pretty natural fit for me.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

Probably getting everything to work to my satisfaction within a 20 pages per issue format. I’ve not yet done an OGN, so I have to make sure that each of the however many issues I am using to tell a story each have their own narrative arc and are satisfying in themselves.

Telling a story for me is a relatively easy, telling a story in six chunks with each chunk being something people want to read is a lot more challenging, kind of like writing poetry.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Finish stuff. People have a bad habit of starting writing something and abandoning it halfway through. Heck, I do this. I have at least ten novels in various stages that I have never finished.

Finishing what you start obviously isn’t enough to build a career, but it IS something you need to be able to do.

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: career, comics, comics format, comics industry, DC comics, Deathstroke, Green Lantern, Justin Jordan, making comics, Shadowman, storytelling, The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, tips for making comics, Writing, writing for comics

ProFile: Kody Chamberlain

by Palle Schmidt 2 Comments

ProFile-Kody-Chamberlain

Kody Chamberlain spends most of his time creating comic books and graphic novels, but also works in film, animation, video games, and television. Credits include DC Comics, HarperCollins, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, LucasArts, Marvel Comics, MTV, MTV Comics, Mulholland Books, Sony Pictures, 12 Gauge Comics, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. In addition to his work in entertainment, Kody also an inspirational keynote speaker and consultant on the subject of creativity. Credits include CTN Animation Expo, HOW Design Live, INNOV8, Modbook, Macworld, iFest, Wizard World Comic Con, as well as AdFed groups and major universities throughout the United States.

You can find out more about Kody at his website: http://kodychamberlain.com.

His latest book SWEETS: A New Orleans Crime Story:

Print edition: http://tinyurl.com/amazonsweets

Digital edition: http://tinyurl.com/digitalsweets

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

As high school was wrapping up, I had no plan on what to do next. I was interested in a few different things but no real goals so I decided to go to college and figure it out along the way. I thought I might try engineering because I was doing very well in math so I signed up for an advanced math class that was part of the engineering program. I also signed up for a lot of the usual classes you have to take early in college including basic art classes. I was already doodling a bit here and there, so I thought the drawing classes would be fun.

I quickly realized that I hated the math class, and really enjoyed the drawing class. It was a dilemma because I was good at math and bad at drawing. I discovered graphic design somewhere along the way, thinking it might be a nice combination of the two and I picked it as my focus. After a few months in, I started hanging around with a few guys that were serious about comics and that’s what got me hooked.

I was also writing a bit, and thought it’d be fun to try getting into comics. I sucked for a lot of years but I was making slight improvements here and there, and slowly, things got better. I don’t recall ever having a big breakthrough where everything clicked and I made a big jump. I know that happens to artists sometimes, but for me it was a slow grind over many years. I was having a lot of fun and I knew if I kept pushing forward I’d eventually get to a professional level, so I stuck with it.

I started drawing around 1990 or 1991 and started sending out submissions around 1994. In 2002 and 2003 I started to get favorable replies from publishers and editors and I got my first paid work in 2004. Basically, it took me about 15 years of practice to get paid work.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

The toughest part for me is letting go. I have to constantly remind myself to stop and move on to the next thing. I’ve talked with enough people to know that it’s a very common problem, and I think it’s one of the main reasons many aspiring creators never actually become professionals. I know plenty of people that have been talking about a project for years and claim to have something done on it, but I have yet to actually see anything from it. They’re stuck in the “loop” of reworking material and they never get out. I’m able to work past it, but I’m always a little grumpy when I have to let something go. In reality, if I were to keep reworking it I know I would kill it. Letting go is a daily struggle, but after an issue of a comic hits the shelf, I always feel good about the work. A little distance solves most problems.

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Stop sending out scripts, drawing sample pages, and mailing out submissions. Make a comic. You don’t need a team or a publisher, just make it. Write it, create some artwork, letter it, and then put it out. Then do it again. Even if you don’t end up doing every job when you get into the industry, you’ll have a detailed understanding of the process, and that’s an asset. You don’t need permission from anyone to make a comic, and you don’t need much money. The cost of making comics versus film, animation, etc is incredibly low. Once you’ve made a comic you are now a comic book creator, not an aspiring comic creator. You’ll find the industry treats you differently.

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: 12 Gauge Comics, comics, comics industry, creativity, criticism, CTN Animation Expo, DC comics, drawing, goals, HarperCollins, HOW Design Live, how to, IDW Publishing, iFest, Image Comics, improving as an artist, INNOV8, Kody Chamberlain, learning, LucasArts, Macworld, making comics, Marvel Comics, math, Modbook, MTV, MTV Comics, Mulholland Books, pro tips, Sony Pictures, Sweets: A New Orleans Crime Story, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Wizard World Comic Con, Writing

ProFile: Aaron Alexovich

by Palle Schmidt Leave a Comment

ProFile-Aaron-Alexovich

AARON ALEXOVICH’S first professional art job was drawing deformed children on Nickelodeon’s Invader Zim. Since then he’s been deforming children for various animation and comic projects, including Avatar: The Last Airbender, SLG’s Haunted Mansion, DC’s Fables, Kimmie66, Confessions of a Blabbermouth, and three volumes of his own horror/comedy witch series, Serenity Rose. Aaron currently lives in Southern California, where the bright light makes him sneeze
for mysterious reasons.

What made you decide to work in the medium of comics?

There’s something incredibly personal about making comics, you know? It’s just you sitting there alone building a whole world up on a page. Almost like making an entire feature film single-handedly. Not every art form can compete with that kind of control. I love it. Kind of feels like dreaming when I’m really into it.

What part of the process is the most challenging or frustrating to you?

Every part feels frustrating most of the time. I sort of live for those little moments when things seem to come together. If I had to pick one especially tough part I’d have to choose inking. Still trying to find a way to ink stuff without killing all the energy in my roughs…

If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring comics creator, what would that be?

Always be working on something you love. Even if you have to take iffy jobs just for the money, it’s important to have a project you love on the side. Otherwise you’ll forget why you got into comics in the first place!

Aaron Alexovich’s site is heartshapedskull.com

Filed Under: Pro Tips, ProFile Tagged With: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Confessions of a Blabbermouth, creativity, DC comics, drawing, Fables, Haunted Mansion, inking, Invader Zim, Kimmie66, making comics, Serenity Rose, SLG, storytelling, Writing

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Hours of Premium Content

ComicsCrashCourse

Try the FREE 7-day Comics Course

Creator Profiles

Interviews with Creators

The CFB Podcasts

Find them here.

Comic Creators eBook

The Comic Creators eBook

Footer

Check out more resources

Bundles of quality content available, check how to write comics and how to make your comic book artwork look great or find tips and tricks on the blog.

Latest from the blog

  • Video: How to get Story Ideas
  • Video: The Benefit of Being a Nobody
  • Video: Why Creatives Hear Voices
  • Digital Tools for 2021
  • The Most Badass Tools for Inking Comics
  • Why Creative Restrictions are Good for You!
  • How to Write a Great Story – and Stick the Landing

Contact us

If you have questions or issues please contact us.

Official mail: mail(at)comicsforbeginners.com

Feel free to connect on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Copyright © 2023 · ComicsForBeginners by Palle Schmidt Log in