How Do They Do It?

[Killbert-Robby]

Pet peeve : Having this awesome idea for a comic, but not being able to draw it because I suck. How d'you people deal with this? Besides the obvious practise and you'll get it

[Noise Monkey]

Heh, well, I don't know, I was the mom in that situation, so I was more than happy to put the kid down for a change.

I think it might be a bit different after you've already had to hold them for 9 months without a break.

[Turnsky]

Pet peeve : Having this awesome idea for a comic, but not being able to draw it because I suck. How d'you people deal with this? Besides the obvious practise and you'll get it

well, i've had my fair share of ideas, i gave the cream of that crop to somebody to develop further 'cuz i haven't the free time to develop it myself.

[Noise Monkey]

Pet peeve : Having this awesome idea for a comic, but not being able to draw it because I suck. How d'you people deal with this? Besides the obvious practise and you'll get it

well, i've had my fair share of ideas, i gave the cream of that crop to somebody to develop further 'cuz i haven't the free time to develop it myself.

Usually, I place them on the backburner until I think I'm up to the task.

My backlog is ungodly.

[Jkandra]

I first wanted to do a comic way back (I'm dating myself here) in the late 70's. I read "Backstage at the Strips" by Mort Walker. I thought, “What a great job!” Did the college paper cartoon strip, and then life interrupted. Job, marriage, kids, the whole deal.

I got into computer graphics back when the Mac and PCs were “toys” and have done the corporate graphics route since then. I still wanted to do a strip. I could come up with gags and stories, but could never come up with a theme that was different from dozens of existing strips.

A light dawned when I was looking through old sketchbooks last year and “One Small Step” started to evolve. It was different enough for me to think it was worth a shot (and this whole new-fangled “internet” thing might just catch on). I don’t know how long it will last or where it’s going right now, but at east I’m doing it and learning how to do it better.

If you want to do it, it will come.

[Nanda]

Heh, well, I don't know, I was the mom in that situation, so I was more than happy to put the kid down for a change.

I think it might be a bit different after you've already had to hold them for 9 months without a break.

Yeah. I also breast-fed and did the whole family bed thing, so I had to have him attatched to me almost constantly. So cute as he was, baby's nap time was time to sneak off and do other stuff.

[Noise Monkey]

...did the whole family bed thing...

I'm WAY too afraid of rolling over and smothering the boy for that one. Warnings from nurses and the story of Solomon and the two mothers set that fear in deep.

[Nanda]

...did the whole family bed thing...

I'm WAY too afraid of rolling over and smothering the boy for that one. Warnings from nurses and the story of Solomon and the two mothers set that fear in deep.

We used a co-sleeper until he was old enough to climb/roll out of it (about the same age you have to stop using a bassinette), and then we pushed our bed against the wall on one side, and I slept as a barrier between him and dad. The reason you don't roll over on the baby is because you never reach a level of sleep deep enough to not be aware of where that child is. It's not the deepest sleep, but it is continuous sleep, and it's better for the baby, who, unlike you, sleeps much more deeply. To avoid another debacle like the circumcision discussion, I'll say just this on the matter, and nothing more: People tend to be intimidated by what they're not used to, and what they don't know much about. I strongly recommend reading more on the subject. "The Family Bed" by Tine Thevenin is an excellent start.

[Siabur]

Pet peeve : Having this awesome idea for a comic, but not being able to draw it because I suck. How d'you people deal with this? Besides the obvious practise and you'll get it

When I get these brilliant ideas, I write them down flesh them out. Doodle some characters. Begin the drawing process. Put them in a file and find them 10 years, or 20 in some cases, and remember why they were such awsome ideas in the first place. Of course i'd follow through on more of them if I was getting paid. Being done for fun or sanity, allows for more of the fun stuff to get done. unless i can find away to cheat at it...

[TRI]

Pet peeve : Having this awesome idea for a comic, but not being able to draw it because I suck. How d'you people deal with this? Besides the obvious practise and you'll get it

Usually, I place them on the backburner until I think I'm up to the task.

My backlog is ungodly.

If the idea is for a whole comic series I'll do that: I've got a few ideas sitting around until I think I'm ready for them.

But if It's a single panel or a single comic and I'm just can't seem to get it right. Then I break out the reference tools: For humans: a posable wooden homunculus, The Human Figure In Motion by Eadweard Muybridge, Gray's Anatomy, and a mirror. For animals: Animals In Motion by Eadweard Muybridge, and and the internet--Google, Deviantart, stock photo sites, etc.. For objects: again the internet, usually catalogs of whatever kind of object it is.

If it's not a specific thing but the whole scene... I go really slowly and try to break the whole thing down into pieces: fix the position of the objects by drawing object shaped blobs and moving them around until it's right. Draw a grid of perspective lines. Draw the scene from a different angle, like above or from the side, and use measurements from that to figure out perspective and foreshortening. Draw objects separately until you get them right and then put them in the scene. Draw people first as skeletons, then add muscle mass, then draw them naked then add clothes. Lots of drawing lines only to erase them later.

Fortunately I do that on the computer so I don't have to worry about erasing through the paper and I can draw things like the grid on their own layer.

And yes, it can take a long time.

[Noise Monkey]

Nanda: Between the time that I get up and the time that my wife gets up (mostly 'cause the boy refuses to lay there anymore and sleep becomes impossible for her) he actually lays in the bed with her. She's a lighter sleeper than I and tends to sleep in a position that creates a pocket for him that is always undisturbed. I was just saying that I, in particular, am afraid because I, much like your husband from the sound of it, sleep rather soundly and after getting used to having my wife in the way, I don't think I'd be able to recognize the difference between rolling over on a limb she's put out in the way and the boy.

K-R (and everyone else): And when all else fails, fake it!

[Nanda]

I was just saying that I, in particular, am afraid because I, much like your husband from the sound of it, sleep rather soundly and after getting used to having my wife in the way, I don't think I'd be able to recognize the difference between rolling over on a limb she's put out in the way and the boy.

It's a very common fear - which, as you pointed out, is why I slept between my husband and the baby. But don't underestimate the baby, either. They have a way of making themselves known.

[Sharkfin]

I've found that sometimes you can think that a comic is really funny, but after you draw it and post it you find that it's a dud. No one gets it and the ones that do don't think it's funny. But, now you've already wasted all that time.

Is there a good way to find a sounding bored to bounce your ideas off of without spoiling the comic?

[Jesusabdullah]

I would just use my friends, like over MSN. Yeah, you spoil it for THEM, but they get enough of your humor anyway.

[Alschroeder]

I write pretty well.

I have pretty original ideas.

I color pretty well, and my art's egetting better.---Al

[Redtech]

Yeah, but you rule though, that is CHEATING!

Okay, on topic and +3 to thread necromacy.

To everyone who cares:
What do you feel works better, characters who talk and interact together frequently, or those that have actions louder than words?

[Noise Monkey]

Yes.


In almost every type of comic, you need healthy helpings (alliteration!) of both. Show, don't tell.



Unless of course, you need to tell.