Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

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What if I can’t afford a studio space?

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I often give aspiring artist the advice to get a studio space with peers, to help boost your creative skills and work ethic. But an office in town is pricey and what if you live in a place where there aren’t really any studios that fit the bill?

Sitting in a room full of people working, is a great way to ensure you get some work done too. And an inspiring work environment with people who are better than you, will certainly make you up your game!

Investing in a studio space is actually an investment in your skills and your productivity, not to mention the network of other artist who may become your job entry. I personally think going all in on a studio space I couldn’t afford at the time absolutely made my career. And remember: it’s tax deductable!

If a studio is still out of reach, see if you can’t find some peers to connect with online. Commiting to post a certain number of pages each week or check in every Friday with a report of your progress and next week’s goals, can easily make up for lack of an actual studio spot. Hold each other accountable and try to be constructive in your critiques.

An online peer group should not be too big or to ambitous in terms of tech solutions. A Facebook group or a Skype call should suffice. Find just a handful of talented and dedicated peers with a common interest and start from there.

A lot of creators make good use of coffee shops or the local library for working, especially in the writing phase. But you can also do rough sketches or character designs in a cafe or the like. For some, the noisy public space is where they do their best work. And experts will tell you, that changing location is a proven way to kick your creative brain into gear.

Hope these few tips to beat the procrastination and gain some momentum without the actual studio space. But if you CAN get a spot, even just for a week or a month, give it a try and see if it doesn’t boost morale and skills tremendously. I know it did for me!

Related podcast: Working from home

ProFile: Vince Hernandez

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Vince Hernandez has worked in the comic book industry for over fifteen years and is currently the Editor-in-Chief for Aspen Comics. He has created and written the comic book series Charismagic, Trish Out of Water and the upcoming Damsels in Excess. He also has worked as a writer for Electronic Arts, Def Jam Entertainment and Marvel Comics.

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

Actually, working in comics happened rather coincidentally for myself. When I was eighteen years old, I was looking to take on a second job and my brother mentioned a position that was available with the comic book publisher, Top Cow. Since he was already employed there, I certainly had a great start and after interviewing there, I became the assistant to the Director of Marketing, Kate Sherwood. I worked at Top Cow for four years before I took the position with Aspen where I’ve been Editor-in-Chief for the past decade. It’s not the usual route to get into comics but I certainly think I’ve made the most of the opportunities I’ve been presented with.

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

Editing comics in general is a very demanding and oftentimes frustrating position. It encompasses scheduling, talent management and crisis control while also maintaining a professional level of creativity necessary to make a product fans will enjoy. I think if I had to pinpoint one aspect which usually ends up more frustrating than any other, it’s dealing with talent’s schedules and their understanding of meeting a deadline. I can literally name off the small list of creatives that understand this process. The more frequent response I get from artists is that the quality of their work will suffer if they rush, which I have found is little more than an excuse because they can’t meet a deadline.

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

One thing I would tell aspiring comics creators is to be realistic with their work. This is a broad tip of advice, but it’s something that a lot of aspiring artists and writers haven’t yet learned. Realistically look at what professionals are doing and judge your work accordingly. There’s no shame in admitting that you’re not on the level yet, but there are consequences when you put yourself out there prematurely. It marks you as an amateur before your career even begins.

http://www.aspencomics.com/

Seth Kushner and Nathan Schreiber – Comics for Beginners podcast episode 18

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Seth Kushner (http://www.sethkushner.com/) is a photographer and writer, known for his awesome portraits in Leaping Tall Buildings: The Origins of American Comics and his Schmuck series and photocomics on Trip City. Nathan Schreiber (http://www.nathanschreiber.com/) is an Eisner and Harvey Awards nominated artist, whose own book Power Out won a Xeric award in 2009.

I talked to both Seth and Nathan about the art and craft while I was in New York this fall, only later realizing what a great double feature the two interviews would make, as they worked together on Seth Kushners Schmuck! Their collaboration on the Schmuck series can be found at http://welcometotripcity.com/2013/10/schmuck-14-size-11/

Seth Kushner and Nathan Schreiber's collaboration on Schmuck : Size 11
Seth Kushner and Nathan Schreiber’s collaboration on Schmuck : Size 11

Drawing Every Day – Comics for Beginners podcast episode 17

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In this episode I share some tips and suggestions for becoming a better artist. Drawing every day and everywhere is one thing, but what if you find yourself hating the end result? How do you get good at drawing and make it a habit? Well, click play and find out!
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ProFile: Jeremy Barlow

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Jeremy Barlow is an Eisner Award nominated writer and editor whose graphic novel credits include Mass Effect Foundation,Dethklok: Metalocalypse, and R.I.P.D. City of the Damned. He lives in Portland OR, and is a member of famed Periscope Studio.

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

Comics have always been my first love. I grew up reading whatever comics I could get my hands on, and that passion has carried through my life. There’s something about the way comics work on your brain that’s totally unique; how the visuals and the text interweave, how your mind creates motion and context in the juxtaposition of static images — it’s like a magic trick. A great graphic novel can punch you right in the heart.

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

The stupid, unjustified self-doubt. Despite all I’ve accomplished, I still approach every new project feeling like I have no idea what I’m doing, that I’ve forgotten how to write a script, that I’m gonna blow it and it’ll be the last job I ever get. Typical impostor syndrome. I know it’s not true, and I always push through it to get the work done, but, man — it wastes a lot of time.

Beyond that, my professional life would be so much easier if I could draw my own stories. Working in a visual medium without a visual skill set is a little bit crazy. I have stories I’m burning to tell — and I can see how great the graphic novels would be if they existed — but without an artistic partner to help me execute them, they’re just folders on my hard drive.

It’s just a fact of being a writer in this medium, and I’m not alone in it, I know. It’s all worth it when you do finally establish a collaboration and put it all together. It’s totally worth it.

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

Give yourself permission to be terrible. For a while. Getting good at anything takes time — you have to put in the hours and get the crap out of your system, because we’re all terrible when we start out. I know when you’re starting out the drive is to make it a career as soon as possible, but you’re better off in the long run to spend the time developing your voice and your point of view. And the only way to do that is to do a lot of crappy work and to learn from your mistakes. God knows I’m still learning.

It’s okay for your first drafts to be awful. They should be! No one’s going to see it, so stink it up! Because no one gets it right the first time, and the real magic happens when you’re editing or revising your work, so just get it out. You can’t fix something if it doesn’t exist.

However, don’t lean on that on an excuse not to up your game. It’s okay to start terrible, but don’t stay there!

website: jeremybarlow.com

Twitter: @Jeremy_Barlow

Periscopestudio.com

ProFile: Arvid Nelson

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Arvid Nelson lives in Western Massachusetts with his loving wife, an angelic son, and a large television. He’s written for all the major publishers, he believes in the Oxford Comma, and his biggest claim to fame is Rex Mundi. Follow him at arvidland.com.

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

I worked on a couple of movies after college, and I quickly discovered film wasn’t for me. Movies involve a lot of logistics and fund-raising. The artistic process inevitably gets garbled. Comics seemed like a great “shortcut”, a great way to tell a big-budget story for practically no money. So I guess it was a cynical, calculated decision in some ways – I mean, I can’t say I have a burning passion for comics – but at the same time, it was in pursuit of telling the best stories I could, without making compromises.

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

Depending on other people! For instance, a key team member on one of my stories fell ill and stopped producing for a year. A year, Palle! He’s okay now, and that’s by far the most important thing, but it really hurt our momentum. Imagine waiting for a year in between episodes of The Wire or whatever. It breaks your heart.

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

Well, two things, and they’re related – persistence and forgiveness. By “forgiveness” I mean “forgive yourself for failure”. The more you forgive yourself, the more you’ll improve. And that leads to the other thing – persistence. You will pour your heart into a comic and then let it loose on the world with hope bubbling in your soul… only to be completely ignored. That’s okay. It happens to everyone, or, at least, I hope so, or I’m a total jerk. But if at first you don’t succeed, fail, fail again. Failure never gets any easier, but if you keep at it for a few years and then look back at where you started… you’ll say to yourself “Wow, I have really come a long way”.