Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

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Eating a Whale

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When you set out to write a novel, record an album or draw a graphic novel, it can feel like having to eat a whale. You don’t know where to start, you don’t see how it can ever be done, you wonder why you ever said yes.

I felt this every time I started on a longer comic. I felt like it would be impossible, I felt like I didn’t know how. So I had to look at my book shelf and the pages pinned to my wall to remind myself that I did it before. I sat down with a cup of coffee calmed myself down and opened up my calendar. I looked at the deadline and the number of pages I had to do, then divided that number with the number of weeks available to work on it. It’s stupendously simple when you think about it.

Large projects can be harrowing to tackle, even the ones you yourself set in motion, even the ones that don’t have a clear deadline (especially those!). You need to break it down into manageable chunks. Make a plan but be open for the deviations that will undoubtedly arise. Start with the end goal in mind and work backwards. Plant some goal posts along the way, cross every little task off on a list if that makes sense to you, time yourself if you can.

For my graphic novel STILETTO I decided the book would be 120 pages long. So I created a large sketchbook with 120 blank pages in it and started rough sketching. I had a script, mind you, and I had already broken it down into pages so I sort of knew what I was doing. Still having that sketchbook made it painfully concrete, very easy to oversee the entire book and see how far I was.

As I’m translating this book (which was originally published in Danish in 2017) I just started somewhere one fine morning, and then looked at the word count at the end of the work day. I’d managed to bang out roughly 3000 words so that became my standard. As long as I keep at it, and manage to swat away the swarming thoughts of inadequacy, I’m able to hit that word count almost every day.

I find that when I’m writing a book, it helps me to set the goal of creating a shitty first draft. It can always be edited later. If I set out to write a great book, I’ll never finish anything. In the words of Elizabeth Gilbert: 

“A good enough novel violently written now is better than a perfect novel meticulously written never.” 

For your own projects it’s equally important to set goals and deadlines or you’ll see it constantly get moved back when other, seemingly more important things come up. If you have all the time in the world, that’s exactly how long it will take. You need to make a decision. Saying to yourself: “I’ll do it when I get the time,” is basically the same as saying you’ll never do it.

Time is not something you get. It is something you take.

This post is an excerpt from my book SOLO – Survival Guide for Creative Freelancers – Order now on Amazon.

The Art of Selling – and Selling Your Art

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I recognize the need for an artist to be more mindful of the business aspect. But I’m feeling a lot of resistance to the whole product/market lingo and finding it hard to implement in my own life.

If people want to sell you something, you’ll notice that they all more or less follow the same model of proposition.

First they describe a problem that – maybe – you have. If it’s targeted marketing and not just the random (and annoying) TV or radio commercials, they’ll often get it right.

Then they will tell you who they are and their unique value proposition (USP), what they offer. And ultimately how they solve your problem.

Here’s an example: “Tired of spotty wifi? We here at TeleWhatever have 50 years of experience and a unique global network. We know how annoying it is to not have wifi. That’s why we offer 24-hour wifi for only 9.99 a month, that includes blah blah blah. Make sure you never miss out on an important cat video and sign up today with 25% off!”

This model is used almost everywhere. It is especially gag-inducing when used in selling medicine or insurance, where first they mention all the ways you could die horribly or lose all your stuff in a fire. That would suck, right? Luckily they happen to have a product that will save you from all this disease and disaster. Phew! A plan that most likely ensures their survival rather than yours, but that’s another discussion.

What I want you to take away from this, is this model for selling anything: Problem -> unique offer -> solution.

Whoops, did I say “anything?”

If you are reading this, you are either an artist or an aspiring artist. I’m taking a wild guess that you would eventually like to make money on this and not just have it as a hobby.

And here’s the problem:

Art doesn’t solve any problems.

No. Really. It doesn’t.

As Oscar Wild put it: “All art is quite useless”.

In other words, the sales tactics you can find online or read in books are invalid. You can’t use the above model to sell art.

You can’t focus group art either. Knowing what your customer wants makes total sense in the business world. In the art world I believe the opposite is true. Thinking too much about the wants or needs of the end user derails the artistic process and/or makes for boring art.

I’ve created this little Venn diagram (very marketing biz, right?) to illustrate the three overlapping elements of a creative career. Without the product (your art), nothing to sell. Without the audience, no one to sell to (And I’ve added the passion element, because it’s darn hard to produce art that you’re not passionate about).
What you CAN learn from business, is finding the right people to put your art in front of. I’d start with surveying whatever little audience you already have and figure out who they are and where they hang around online and offline. That way you have a better idea of where to market your stuff.
Art is a product just like any other. But it doesn’t solve a need or a problem. Rather it touches people in ways they didn’t know they wanted (that sounded inappropriate, but you know what I mean). Which is why normal sales tactics don’t really work.
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Any other artists out there feel the same contradiction or dilemma? Let me know how you think about marketing your art in the comment section!

Tiny Habits and Baby Steps

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Hey, it’s a new year! Maybe you made a resolution that has to do with your creative craft, like write the script for your graphic novel or draw a page a day. A big goal, something to strive for! That’s the way to go, right?

Turns out 80% of new years resolutions fail by February.
There’s a better way to achieve your goals: Little habits, that can build skill and confidence over time. Small steps towards your big goal, instead of the big goal itself.
Making things a habit is a great way to get things done. Because a habit means it’s something you do without thinking about it. The more you rely on inspiration for your creativity, the less likely you are to be creative.
Being more creative is no different than trying to eat more healthy or getting fit. You need to make it super easy for yourself. Set the bar for success really low. Like “sit down at my desk and look at my comic every day for ten minutes.” You can do that, right? You don’t even have to work on it, just sit there. But I’ll bet you can’t helping doodling a little once you plant yourself in front of it. Maybe those ten minutes will turn into a good productive hour. Maybe not. The point is to set yourself up for success by lowering your expectations.
You also need to make it hard to fall into whatever traps you tend to fall into. I had a TV addiction once. I had this tiny little TV that fit inside my cupboard, so I coiled the antenna cable around it and put it in there. Every time I wanted to watch TV I had to pull it out from the cupboard, unwrangle the cable and plug it in. Bit of a hassle but totally doable. Here’s the thing; just making it a little harder to watch TV and putting the damn thing out of sight made me forget I had the option.
The same goes for Facebook. I deleted the app from my phone, so now I have to open the browser to check my feed. Again, totally doable. But you bet I go on Facebook a lot less since the app is no longer right there reminding me of it’s existence every time I look at my phone.
There are several apps for monitoring iPhone usage, I never tried any of them. I know the result would make me feel ashamed and miserable, even though my notifications are off and it’s always on silent. But we all check our phones more than we need to and it’s stealing precious time from us. Time we could spend flexing our creative muscles, even if just for a few minutes.
Waiting at the bus stop?
Instead of checking your phone, how about pulling out a small sketchbook and just draw what you see. Pick some small detail, like the window in the house across the street, the telephone pole or the old lady on the bench. Just look and notice the lines, understand the three dimensional object. Try to copy it on your notepad with as few lines as possible.
Bored on the train?
Draw one of your fellow passengers. Don’t judge your drawing, just make it. Then do another.
Standing in line at the post office?
Try to think of the main character in your story. What would he or she be thinking about right now, what would their posture be like, their look on the world around them.
There are many small things you can do that over time will move you towards your big goal. Try listing 3 things you can easily do, maybe a daily or a weekly thing. And then list 3 things you can easily stop doing, something that’s really taking you away from your goal. Commit to doing or not doing ONE of those things for a month, see if it sticks. If not, then maybe that strategy wasn’t built for you. You still have 5 other things to try out.

Steal With Intention

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In his great book Steal like an artist Austin Kleon recommends stealing from various sources in order to create your own unique artistic expression. I wholly endorse this message! But how do I practically implement this advice?

I recently tried out another form of stealing. I’m writing a YA novel in between other gigs and interruptions and often find it hard to get back in the groove, when I finally have the time to work on my story. It’s easy to feel stuck or disconnected from the story.

So I started stealing with intention.

Every time I watch a movie, read a comic or a chapter in the kids book I’m reading aloud to my daughter, I look for one thing I can lift for my own story. It could be anything; a particular conflict (mom vs. daughter), piece of clothing (someone wearing a Nirvana t-shirt), an activity (building a treehouse or playing cards), a tic or a trait. I’ll ask myself what this could be in my story. And like the kids in the story building a tree house out of old planks, something new will start to take shape in my story, even though some of the raw materials is from somewhere else. It also keeps my mind sharp and awake, not just consuming a tv-show or a museum exhibition. I’m looking for something to steal.

You too can try setting this as a sort of dogma rule for yourself, to always look for one thing that you can implement. Treat it like a game! If you can find just one thing to steal from a movie, it can be a bad movie and you still win.

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Found this article inspiring or helpful? Why not steal share it with a friend?

Are You Good Enough for a Career in Comics?

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good-enough

We all look for approval, as people as well as artists. We want to be told we are great, that everything will work out for us. The truth is, no one can really give us that validation.

We might get lucky and meet some peers who can give us guidance, tell us where we need to improve or tell us not to worry so much. But we all worry. And I bet you we all ask the same question: Am I good enough? Do I have what it takes to make it as a comics artist?

No one can tell you for certain, if you have what it takes. A portfolio review only tells you if you have the basic talent for drawing. What goes on inside of you is far more important. Are you willing to put in the time and effort to get to the level you want? To confront your own shortcomings and tackle them head on? Are you prepared for the insecure lifestyle of a comic book artist? The solitude? The long hours? The lack of money and lack of respect from your friends and family?

Are you ready for critizism, fair and unfair? Can you muster up the guts to consistently put yourself out there and be judged? How do you handle taking notes and being told what to do? Do you freeze up when you have to perform under less-than-optimal circumstances? How well do you work under the pressure of a deadline? Do you get anything done if there’s NO deadline, or do you end up wasting your days playing World of Warcraft? Can you forgive yourself for producing less-than-perfect art? Do you endlessly beat yourself up if you’re not productive enough, good enough or succesful enough?

What does “making it” even mean for you?

Have you set a specific and measurable goal, and if not, how will you know if you get there? And have you set a time limit for when you want to have “made it”, knowing that it will probably take years longer than you expect?

And guess what – no one has ever “made it” in comics. Because you’re only as good as your last job. Because even the artist you admire the most judge their own success in a totally different way than you do. Because no matter how succesful you are, you still strive for more. There’s always room for improvement.

All this may sound like I’m trying to get you to give up, which is not at all true. The only thing I want you to give up, is asking the wrong questions. Whether you are good enough, time will tell. Time, effort, courage, persistance.

And you know when you are “making it”?

When you are making the most of the skills you have.

Bonus Video: Choose Your Own Adventure

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Time to make some tough choices!

As an artist you often have more ideas than you have the time and resources to complete. How do you decide what projects to do next? How do you make sure you’re not just mindlessly taking on all incoming work but stay true to your creative vision? Is strategy even a word in the artist dictionary? And what does a walk in the woods have to do with making comics? Watch the video to find out!

Let me know if this video helps you in any way or what method you use to decide what to work on. Do you even have a method or do you just follow your gut?