How to create a comic: developing a script and drawing. How to draw comics How to draw characters in comic style

When you draw a face, the first thing you should do is prepare the base. Is that what you do? If yes, what does it look like?

I use circle and line. Now the important question is: why?

Well well. Still simple. The line and circle represent a skull divided in half! “Nooo,” you say, “anatomy sucks!” Yes you are right. But listen to me.

Important features of the skull that you should definitely know are the relative proportions of the skull and jaw, as well as the position of the eye sockets, nose and teeth. Remember, a circle represents a sphere.

I draw horizontal lines mainly to show where the eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth will go. Since the skull is a sphere, then the lines will be curved, no matter what angle you look at them from. Notice in which direction the lines are curved in this and other examples.

It is very important to understand where the eyes, nose and teeth will be located because they determine the position of the main facial features.

I often use a rule that says: the eyes and nose form an isosceles triangle.

GREAT. So, at this point it's a good idea to go over the most important parts of the face. Remember their geometry!

EYES

They are spherical. The sphere penetrates your face (romantic, I know).

Sorry, the pupils turned out small.

What makes eyes old, young, wary, surprised? How can eyebrows help convey different emotions?

To check whether your eyes are looking there, simply remove the iris of your eyes. If the pupils look where they need to, then everything is fine! Hooray.

NOSE

Noses are usually pyramids with the nostrils located on the bottom surface! The line running through the center of the pyramid corresponds to the meridian in the sketch.

There are a huge number of variations on the theme of the nose! Consider length, roundness, pointiness, nostril size, etc. You might want to look for other tutorials that focus specifically on noses!

The shape of the lips also depends on the shape of the mouth. The shorter the length of the mouth (closed, with elongated lips), the fuller the lips will be. The longer the mouth (in a smile, when screaming), the thinner the lips.

The mouth is quite difficult to work with, but it is quite possible. You need to remember the position of the teeth in the skull! And the fact that the mouth is connected to the pharynx.

The shape of the lips also depends very much on many factors. It is necessary to differentiate between thick and thin lips. Straight and curved. Full top or full bottom. Oh.

Fortunately, you already knew all this. Now let's move on to the fun part: let's transfer everything to the face! Oh yes, you can even make your face shape whatever you want! If you don't want to bother yourself, you can go the anime route and stamp out identical faces as if they were spanked with a shovel. But if you respect yourself, you probably know that all people have different face shapes.

The only difference between a thin and fat face is where the fat is deposited! When working with facial fat, pay attention to the cheeks, jaw and neck.

Other places to pay attention to: cheekbones, eyebrows, chin, and the distance between all these details...

You did it! :D Now you need to take all your knowledge and apply it to create a living, breathing face. This means that we need to add angle and emotion, we don’t look at one point like robots. Well, most of us.

When you tilt your head, remember to curve all the lines in the direction of the skull!

The same circle and line rule applies when viewed from behind! Just imagine that you can see right through them.

When the head turns upward, the lines follow the same path. Conversely, when the head is tilted, the lines are directed downward. The most distant parts (forehead and, accordingly, chin) fall under foreshortening.

latest comments

1. The face is all about geometry. It doesn’t matter how cool you think you are, but if you try to do everything at random, I’m sure it will turn out badly. So no need to guess! It only takes a couple of seconds to draw a circle and a couple of lines. And don't even think about the details until you've built a good structure. Make sure that important elements line up exactly along the lines of the skull and face.
2. Avoid similar faces.
3. If you are not sure about the proportions of faces, transfer the drawing to Photoshop, and if the face looks normal when you rotate the drawing horizontally/vertically, then you are damn cool.
4. There are different faces. Study your relatives, for example (your own or others). Take a closer look at what they have in common and what is different!

First details

Any creative process should begin with an idea, and it is important not only to come up with the main character, but also the plot in which the events will develop. You should also pay attention to the locations - the places that will surround the character during the course of the action, and, importantly, the ending of your story.

Professional authors, talking about the process of creating comics, talk about the possibility of changing details, the plot line and completing the story, directly in the process of creating drawings, however, for a novice artist it is better to follow a pre-thought-out course of action.

The first stage of creating a comic can be roughly divided into the following sub-points:

1. Creating the image of the main character;
2. Thinking through his character traits and appearance;
3. Creation of minor characters;
4. Drawing the place where the plot unfolds;
5. Determining the duration of the story;
6. Highlighting the purpose of the story;
7. Determining the events that will lead to final actions;
8. Final events.

Creating characters

Creating a key character is an important part of developing a comic. Thanks to his unique character traits, memorable appearance and manner of communication, the reader will be able to experience all the events together with the main character and begin to see him as a real person. You can choose those features that you like, the main thing is that every little detail of his image allows readers to recognize him as the plot progresses.

The background element will be the supporting characters, who are no less important. It is important to create not just fleeting images, but fully detailed characters who will play a special role - helping the character, entering into dialogue or conflict with him, and perhaps addressing the reader directly - in a humorous manner.

The main plot will be developed by an opposing person - an antagonist, who will not only create difficulties for the main character, but will also add more colors and interesting locations to the comic.

Pencil drawing structure

To begin with, it is important to understand that a comic has a certain structure:

1. A cover with meaning - the title, main characters and author’s marks should be reflected here;
2. First page or frontispiece with additional data;
3. Title - a sheet that reflects the brief content of the story, as well as information about the people who participated in the process of its creation;
4. The basis is the whole story;
5. Variant covers or other drawings that may be additional information about the characters, but are not included in the main body.

Let's start drawing

At the initial stage of creating drawings, you should indicate the layout of the sheet. Dialogues will take up a lot of space, since they are where the main plot is expressed. It is also important to determine the place of the main character and draw him first; the background and other faces will be created only later. Frames on the sheet should be placed from left to right. All these details should be placed in a frame, which in itself will determine the type of narrative - important events, memories from the past, thoughts of the character. For action-packed elements, the frame is made in a strict geometric form, while reflections, on the contrary, are shown in smooth frames with rounded borders.

Character details

In order to learn how to draw comics, you should adhere to a number of basic rules,

namely:

Drawing a dialogue

Text information is extremely important, and here it is also important to adhere to a number of rules:

1. Words and sounds enclosed in a strict frame will be loud;
2. Quiet conversations, memories or thoughts should be fenced off with wavy lines;
3. The sequence of dialogues is from left to right;
4. The text is short and succinct;
5. You can choose different fonts for different characters to talk to;
6. Punctuation marks (exclamation marks, interrogative marks and additional marks - lightning, explosions) will help to strengthen the emotion;
7. You can place additional (non-dialogue information) that serves for detailed explanation in separate places.

It is important to create a full-sized realistic drawing that will be rich in shadows, shading and smooth transitions - pencils of different tones will help with this. If you are confident in your artistic skills, you can leave the comic in graphic form, but even here you should not miss the details. Paints, felt-tip pens and pens will help you make colored images. Dialogue fields should not be painted over - this will make it easier to perceive the information reflected in them.

After your creation is ready, decide for yourself what to do with it - send it as a gift to friends and acquaintances or try to publish it. The main thing is to also create a digital copy, using a scanner and editing on a computer. The programs will allow you to add colors to your drawings, change fonts and remove imperfections. A successful comic will be one that is drawn from the author’s personal thoughts and carefully worked out. As a basis, you can look at the types of presentations of different incidents in films. It is not always possible to create a beautiful and interesting material the first time, but you should not despair - practice will allow you to complement the original version and present a real masterpiece to the world! In addition, working with computer programs such as Write Comics, Chogger, Comics Master, etc., will simplify the workflow, if the author has enough experience and can create a full-fledged drawing and plot there!

Step 1. Script

School Survival Rules
Before drawing, you need to make notes on the visuals, plots and dialogues. Think about what emotions the characters will experience, what they will look like, what tone they will speak in, what stylistic features of speech each of them will have.

Here is an example and finished illustrations from the comic:

Pippi, dramatically: “I can’t-o-o-o-o-o-o-o... He probably hates me... I’m afraid to look him in the eyes-a-a -A…"

Mr. Ramirez leans on his desk and says irritably, “Miss Torres, I didn’t call everyone in the art group to discuss your problems!”

Jenson, horrified: “About spots on the Sun?!” They finally..."

Mr. Ramirez, irritated: “No, not about sun spots, Jenson! Sit down!”

Step 2: Storyboard

As Svetlana says, she makes it very approximate, sometimes it’s just sketches of people with stick-like pens. During this stage, the illustrator designs character poses, panel layouts, speech bubbles, and the script itself. Usually he draws on A4 printer sheets - they are easy to find.

Step 3. Pencil

First draw with a pencil. You can draw on plain paper. Try not to get too attached to your tools in case they get lost. Paper and pencil are easy to find at any office supply store, at home or at school.

Step 4: Stroke

Many artists prefer to ink their penciled drafts. Svetlana does things differently - she scans the drawings and applies a non photo blue filter. Then he prints it out and inks it (this is how the illustrator saves pages in both pencil and ink). The good thing about the stroke after non photo blue is that when scanning in Bitmap/BSW mode, the blue does not appear. Therefore, you won't have to erase the pencil lines.

Step 5. Tinting

Once the outlined pages have been scanned, you can color them in a graphics editor. Try using a drawing tablet and graphics program.

2 more tricks

1. When you draw a setting, think about how it relates to the characters.. Thus, in the comic book “Rules of Survival at School,” the classrooms of the drawing and science clubs correspond to the character of the teachers.

Here is the office of Mr. Ramirez - a handsome, absent-minded, fickle, creative man.

And this is the natural sciences room. There is order and cleanliness here, which matches the character of Miss Tobins - the most rational and organized person you have ever met.

2. Think about the secondary characters: their stories, problems, dreams. In this comic, we often see children from two clubs and employees of the school newspaper. So, Maribella Samson is a talented and confident student who is ready to fight for the right to participate in the school clubs festival. And Jenson Graham is a funny, quirky guy who's troubled by sunspots and a story about school cafeteria robots gone rogue.

A comic that will teach you how to draw
If the young artist has not yet developed his drawing skills, it is worth spending time on this. For example, you can learn with David, the hero of the book “A Comic Strip That Will Teach You to Draw” (from artist Mark Crilly). Here are some quick tips:

• Pay attention to the shape of the object you are drawing.
• Maintain proportions.
• Measure by eye. For example, when drawing a watch strap, think: how many dials could fit on one side and the other?
• Notice mistakes.
• Don’t press too hard on the pencil (then you’ll be tired of erasing it :-))
• Pay attention to negative space - the space between or around the object/objects of the drawing.
• Show volume with shading (when you need to add shadow, take the tip of the pencil and tilt it at an acute angle to the paper, speed up to make the strokes look more confident).
• Do not draw the outline right away, but make a sketch - no need to go into details, draw the basic shapes. Starting with details is risky: you can depict them accurately, but the proportions will be distorted, or the technique will change during the drawing process and the upper part will be different from the lower. The point is to work on all elements of the drawing at the same time.
• To draw shadows, find a light source. The shadows will be where he cannot reach. Pay attention to the saturation of the shadows.

Here's another tip: you can easily draw your first comic without computer programs or scanning. Trace the outlines with a gel pen, color the illustrations directly on paper, use colored pencils or felt-tip pens. And when you feel that things are going well, use professional tools.

The cover of the post is an illustration from the book “Rules for Survival at School”

Create a framework. Use a ruler to create a frame. Use suitable paper. For panels with unusual angles and those that do not fit into the overall context, use separate sheets. You can merge them after scanning.

Start adding content to the frames. Draw in such a way that it is easy to erase or correct details later. Continue until you reach the final conclusion.

• Make sure you leave enough room for dialogue. Label bubbles, rectangles, and other test designs.

Choose a drawing method: classic or on a computer. In the first case, you will need blank sheets of paper, pencils of different hardness, a ruler and a good eraser. If you are serious about creating comics, you can purchase a special tilting table. You will also need a lamp and an automatic sharpener.

If you want to draw comics on your computer, you'll have to shell out for a graphics tablet. This device allows you to use a special pen to create images directly in a graphics editor. You can use both regular programs that allow you to simply draw (Photoshop, PaintToolSAI) and specialized applications for comic book authors (MangaStudio).

Characters

The basis of any comic is the characters. You must not only think through the smallest details of the hero’s appearance, but also create his character. What are his main motives, how does he look at the world, what kind of people are he and so on. It's best to make separate cards that list the character's background, their favorite and least favorite things, and their approximate role in the plot.

It is recommended to create at least two main characters: a protagonist and an antagonist. This will add interest to the plot. Confrontations and difficulties always attract more attention. Also, don't make all characters the same gender. Pretty girls who play minor roles often become much more popular than the main character.

Plot

It doesn't matter whether you draw funny or - never draw until you come up with a plot. This will allow you to arrange your shots more correctly and accurately depict the feelings of the characters.

Particular attention should be paid to the surroundings. In the book, the author himself describes the location of the characters using metaphors. You will have to depict a dark forest, an interrogation room and much more. Therefore, it is better to first describe each scene in words (you can write it down or dictate it into a voice recorder), and only then start depicting it.

Remember the components of the work: prologue, exposition, plot, development of actions, climax, denouement and epilogue. You don't have to include them all, but they will help develop the story properly.

Composition

Remember that comics cannot begin and end with spreads; these parts are allocated a separate strip. The first frame should always contain the surroundings in great detail, this will allow the reader to immediately immerse themselves in the atmosphere. Each separate spread should contain a complete action, like a paragraph in a text.

It is better to place the main events and actions in the corners, and give minor ones the middle of the page. It's best if the last frame of each spread contains some phrase or action that will interest the reader and make him turn the page. Remember that wide horizontal frames slow down the action, while vertical frames, on the contrary, speed up the action.