Comics for Beginners

How to Write & Draw Comics

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Case study: HARD EVIDENCE

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In the year 2000 my friend Malik Hyltoft and I published FUSION the roleplaying game, the first two books from a major Danish publisher and a third was self-published. This was not just a niche product, but a niche within a niche.

I’m super proud of what we put out there, but I found myself wanting to do something something a non-roleplayer could pick up and enjoy. But at the same time, I knew I had something of a fan base in the RPG underground. What to do?

I think it was at some convention a guy showed me a White Wolf comic, based on the Werewolf game, and encouraged me to do something similar with FUSION. I completely dismissed the idea (because I’m an idiot that way). And then changed my mind less than 24 hours later.

The plot for Hard Evidence (in Danish “Skyggen af bevis”) came from a roleplaying game session. Well, two actually. My friend Thomas Bjerregaard came up with the story of a man who seemingly murdered his wife, and a sinister conspiracy beneath it all. First time around, the setting was America in the 1950’s and the investigators FBI agents. I re-hashed the plot for our FUSION campaign, the setting now a near-future Copenhagen and private investigators on the case.

We took turns as game masters in our campaign, like different directors on a tv-show. My character, ex-con Hauge, wasn’t in the session as it played out, but took the stage for the graphic novel. I enjoyed playing this guy so much, I thought he could use his own show. I toned down his thick-headed personality and made him a bit more articulate for the graphic novel. I wanted the dialogue to be zinging and tough, like Raymond Chandler at his best.

In a way, this project was a stepping stone for me. It got me back into comics, when I thought it too hard. The Devil’s Concubine was scripted and thumbnailed and just laid there, like a mountain waiting to be climbed. Hard evidence seemed like a less daunting task. Drawing it got me back into shape and rebuilt my confidence. The story originally ran as a weekly web comic on the FUSION website, thus forcing me get the damn pages done in time. I can highly recommend this method. Only downside is that everyone has read the book before it comes out. I coerced a few of my peers into doing art for a pin-up gallery in the back, so byers would get something new for their money.

Lessons learned: 

Sometimes it’s a good idea to do a smaller project, almost like a throw-away thing rather than trying to tackle the most ambitious thing you can think of.

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

Working from Home versus Getting a Studio

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As I’ve mentioned before, I wouldn’t have had the career I have today, if it wasn’t for my time at Gimle Studios. This is where I learned from the best, grew my network and got the jobs that laid the foundation for my business. Most importantly, being surrounded by other hard working professionals was how I built my work ethic and self-confidence as an artist.

Later on I got a spot at the larger co-op Republikken, which was as far from what Gimle was as I could get. I needed to shake things up a bit and sitting with designers, photographers and other types of creatives as well as entrepreneurs certainly helped me get a new perspective. This is where I came up with ComicsForBeginners.com and where I started to really focus on my own projects. 

After working out of my house for a year while I studied at Film School (yet another way I started to think outside the box) I’m not back at a studio space. I have my own room which is perfect for when I’m writing and need to concentrate, when I have people over for podcast interviews or I’m doing videos. In hindsight, I would probably have benefitted from isolating like this sooner, as I tend to get involved in conversations if I’m in an open office environment. I love having an office in town as it helps my focus to have a dedicated workspace and just a good reason to get out of the house every morning.

If you want to work from your house, an office space or the local coffee shop is up to you. Of course it depends on what you do, what area you live in and what your economic options are  – and what kind of set-up your work requires. I’m sure an opera singer will have a harder time working from a café than a blogger.

Pros and cons

To help you decide where to work from, here’s a list of some of the advantages and disadvantages.

Home office pros:

  • A pretty quiet work environment, no office chatter or ringing phones besides your own
  • No extra rent (and maybe even a tax deduction – check with your relevant authorities)
  • You always have all your tools and files at hand and can work anytime – even after the kids are put to bed
  • Speaking of kids, you may find it convenient to be able to take care of your young ones at home, while you’re running your business
  • Speaking of kids, you may find it convenient to be able to take care of your young ones at home, while you’re running your business

Home office cons:

  • Lonely lunch hours and probably nothing interesting in the fridge
  • Work habits can be hard to maintain and things can start to slide
  • Working alone no one will notice your procrastination

Office space pros:

  • Getting away from your house chores can do wonders for your productivity
  • You can take longer days and not be interrupted when the kids come home
  • Your friends tend to leave you alone and not lure you out for drinks if you’re in an office
  • No obligation to do dishes or laundry, you can focus on the work
  • Procrastination is harder to fall into when everyone around you is working
  • You have a support group of peers handy if you get stuck creatively or run out of work

Office space cons:

  • Commute
  • Rent
  • Other freelancers can be noisy and/or lazy too
  • Water cooler chatter can eat up your days

Alternative working spaces

More and more business hotels and co-ops are popping up, where you don’t have to have a desk but rather just plop down where ever is available. A lot of freelancers take their laptops to the local library or set up office at the Starbucks. Some people find it hard to work with a noisy espresso machine going on in the background, others find the buzz of people inspiring and appreciate the constant supply of coffee availabe. The coffee isn’t free though. You could end up spending more money on lattes than you would on an office space – and gain twenty pounds!

If getting a spot at a studio or a co-op is out of reach, try finding a peer group online that you can check in with on a regular basis. Committing to a weekly hangout or uploading new art every Wednesday can help you stay on track and keep you motivated. Accountability and moral support is solid gold for a struggling, self-doubting creative.

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

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?

The Cost of Feeling Inspired

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Something I’ve been thinking about lately, is how much we as artists (in whatever media or form we work in) are dependent on our own mood and mindset to be prolific or even just get a little something done. Call it tenacity or grit or simply lying self talk that allows for us to continue working on something that the rest of the world deems useless. But what if you’re just not feeling inspired?

Here’s the thing: Inspiration is rare. It’s fleeting. You can’t sit around waiting for it, you’ll end up waiting forever!
So here is a list of things you may find helpful, to avoid having to rely on inspiration to be the driving force of your work:
Habit and routine
I have a studio space about a 15 minute bike ride from my house. So every day pretty much without fail, after I drop off my kids to school I just keep going. I’m already up and dressed and halfway to work. Well not quite, but you get the idea. The idea is this: I don’t have to debate myself of whether to stay in and watch Netflix or get to work. I just go. And having other people at the studio makes me feel slightly guilty for the occasional day off, I’m sure that is a factor as well.
Allocated time
And it needs to be time enough to actually make a dent in the work. This depends on the type of work of course. If I only have a few hours, there’s no way I’m going to get any writing done on that novel. I’ll just mindlessly scroll through the document, correct a spelling here or there but it doesn’t feel like progress. For me, I’m probably better off not even opening the document at all, since it always tend to leave me feeling like a s**tty writer.
Deadlines
The best thing you can do to make sure you have exactly the right time for the work, is for someone else to decide when they need it. You know of Parkinson’s Law? Basically it’s like this: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. So if you have a week to do something, that’s how long it will take. If you have a day however, you could probably do it in a day, whatever “it” is. Deadlines are a great way to beat the feeling like you need to be inspired, because you simply don’t have the time to sit around and wait for it.
Preparation
I can easily sit down and sketch a few pages if I already know what’s going to be happening on them, if I already made thumbnails or roughs. A blank page and no script? Not so easy. So mental preparation is in order. The same goes for tools of course. If you spend the first half hour looking for stuff you need and getting the canvas ready, there’s less time to do the actual work. As described in this post, the best productivity hack I can give you is decide the day before what to work on, so you can jump right in.
Shut up your inner critic
You know that voice in our head that tells us it’s a piece of crap we’re working on, that nobody would want it, it’s a waste of time? Yeah, not really helping, is it? Steven Pressfield calls it The Resistance, an almost metaphysical force trying to stop us from what we want and need to do. I sometimes manage to shut that voice up by listening to the same soundtrack over and over. Like telling my brain we are in work mode. I’ve also recently found that Synthwave really put’s me in the zone and makes me keep moving. If I’m drawing, I listen to audiobooks or podcasts, mostly to battle my anxiety/boredom/need-to-check-my-email-or-Facebook-every-5-minutes.
I’d love to know what works for you! Leave a comment below.

Step-by-Step Guide: My Comics Process

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This is my next graphic novel project! Filling in the blanks should be no biggie, right? Well, there’s a little more to it than that.

I recently posted this picture on Instagram and Facebook that got a lot of likes – and a lot of questions! So I thought I’d elaborate a bit on how I actually tackle the creation of a comic or graphic novel. I go into detail with certain elements in my premium 10-video tutorial series, but these are the basic steps I go through every time.

1: Script

Having a finished script before you start drawing increases your chance of actually finishing with about 3000 percent. The first 2 videos of the premium series covers this (and those episodes are free). Sometimes I’ll get a script from another writer but I often work off my own or have to break the story down into pages.

2: Thumbnails

This is little scribbles just to get a grip of the page breakdowns. I don’t neccesarily do it for every page but it can be very helpful. The more I plan before I start drawing, the more smoothly the rest of the process. There is a podcast episode about making those hard choices here.

3: Rough sketches

Once I know sort of what the layout of the page will look like, I can start rough sketching pictures. As you’ll notice, this is bare bones storytelling, just enough for others to make out what is going on. No more, no less. I usually sketch on half pages, not full size. No need for bigger format when I’m not doing details – in fact the smaller format often helps in creating a clear layout.

4: Borders and lettering

After scanning my rough sketches, I put them in an InDesign document. If it’s an issue of a comic, I’ll make seperate 22-page files that stick to the same template. I’ll start by creating a standard border for the entire project and just plunk that in between all the frames. Then I’ll put the lettering in where it needs to go. Please note, that this is not the final document! I can adjust the lettering once I have the finished art. For full breakdown of this process go here.

5: Borders and balloons

Using a print-out of my now lettered rough sketches, I am ready to draw the actual pages. BUT, since I might need my borders and speech balloons in a clean format, I do the boring work of inking that part first. This is what the image I posted on Instagram portrayed – I can see why there was some confusion as to how I actually worked!

After I’ve traced the borders and balloons on the board I intend to do the rest of the artwork on, I scan the whole thing. Why? I’ll explain in step #8.

6: Sketching

Using my rough sketches as a guide, I’ll sketch the pages going into more detail, especially on backgrounds and stuff. A picture might change from my original ideas, but I always stick within the frames I already decided on. There’s a video of that process here.

7: Inking

Using a lightbox I trace my skectched pages on the boards that already has the borders and balloons. I can adjust the images a bit if needed. Sometimes I do painted art and other times I ink with black markers. There’s a video of me inking a page of Thomas Alsop here.

I don’t need to worry about paiting outside the borders in this stage because I’ve already scanned the clean pages with just balloons and borders, and no art.

8: Scanning and clean-up.

Remember when I said I might need the borders clean? This is the step. I used to I scan my inked pages and clean up mistakes where I painted outside the frames or over speech balloons. Now I just use the already scanned borders. I just smack my clean borders over the finished art in Photoshop, turn the opacity down a bit so I can see what I’m doing and adjust the corners. It took me a while to figure this out, because sometimes a scanner will skew things a little bit. But I discovered that if I do a “free transform” and focus on the four outer corners of the borders, the rest will sort itself out.

Once the two layers match up, I’ll select all the white within the frames on the top layer and delete that. Then I turn the opacity of the layer back up to 100% and viola! I now have a layer with nice, clean borders and balloons on top, and whatever mistakes (painting outside the borders) I made are hidden underneath. I flatten the file and export it, usually as a high-res tiff file.

8.1: Coloring (optional)

I’m not gonna go into detail here, but you might want to check out this post on coloring in Photoshop.

9: Repeal and replace!

Admitted, I don’t really call it that. But I do have to go through my already lettered InDesign file and delete all the border blocks and replace my rough sketch with the finished art. Some adjusting to the lettering is usually neccesary but then I have the entire book or issue ready to send to the graphic designer or export as a PDF directly for print.

10: Celebrate

I usually skip this step, honestly. But having typed up this post and seeing how much work goes into creating a graphic novel, I feel like I should make a point of this going forward.

Hopefully this answered some of your questions and gave you a few ideas to implement in your own process. Please share this post if you found it helpful!