Consider this a rant over n00b webcomics. And a helpful guide, maybe.
I apologize in advance for the huge links and sloppy drawings and handwriting. I'm not particularly good at making stunning examples.All right, so I've had it up to so-high with bad paneling in comics, particularly those of idiots in the Comic Creator's subforum. I see a lack of this kind of tutorial, so I decided to go out on a limb and make my own. Knowing my way of explaining things, this will only confuse you worse. If you have a question, please ask. I like to help. Usually.
A better tutorial/guide than mine can be found here and here, which was made a while back by the awesome Mayshing (same person on Gaia who made the wondrous Artists Hospital). Her new guide is here, but she recommends taking a look at this guide as well.____________________________________________________________________
Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4[I may type this one out if my handwriting is that hard to read...]Misc. Tips- When drawing a scene/pic/other, I usually listen to music that fits the mood. It's a good muse, and I can't work in the quiet. lol
Find what gets you in the groove and stick with it till the job is done. Or until you realize you have a major test to study for instead.
- Look at other comics/manga/graphic novels. Tear yourself away from the two-bit manga webcomic wannabe
"Mahou no Neko no Shoujo" and see how the successful professionals do it! And not just Naruto and all them, either. Many not-as-popular manga are great resources and inspiration, like
Dragon Knights by Mineko Ohkami.
- USE COMMON SENSE. The probability that your first webcomic will impress the publishers in Tokyo are infinitesimally small, so you're best bet is using the language and layout of your native tongue and country. If you can understand this then it's probably English, so go with that. That's not to say you can't make your own cultural study using a comic layout, but don't think it'll get the largest fan base...
-Expand. Japanese is not the only option! A comic about a European country would be new and refreshing, or perhaps a comic on the history of Africa. Korea, Russia, Brazil, Germany, Australia, Tanzania, Jamaica, Ireland, Poland, Romania, the list goes ON AND ON.
- Do your research. Whatever your plot, culture, language, at least get some of it correct. Polish don't say "Ohaiyo! How are you?" and sushi, contrary to popular belief, is vinegar flavoured rice. not fish.
- Stock up. If you want to start a webcomic, or plan on publishing in another manner, make a whole bunch of pages before posting them. I've heard that building up 3 month of comic pages in advance is ideal, and it makes perfect sense to anyone who started a comic and lost motivation after the fifth page. >_>
But it's also good if you're improving your style as you go, as you can more easily rectify old pages before posting.
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Character Shots and Paneling - Based on friends from another forum.
This is for demonstrating the general use of character shots in comics. Remember that these are basic; most artists will focus on different things than the head and face. Hands, feet, eyes mouths, and anything else are all good things to use, and they don't even have to be perfectly fitted into a panel for effectiveness. Plus, this can also be applied to objects and not just people.
Long Shot- [Not shown] A wide angle shot that shows a variety of things, it establishes the location and often the individuals in a scene. Some examples would be a grand sunrise, someone walking from/into a great distance, someone surveying the landscape of a kingdom from a cliff, two people standing far from each other as an introduction or pre-positioning of a fight, and so on.
Full body shot- [Dark character on right] Good for establishing a character and their importance. Often used when introducing a character and showing off wardrobe changes.
Medium body shot- [Top/First panel] Good for expressing general body language and mood without taking the space of a full body shot. Most common when progressing a story, but is not limited to showing the head and torso.
Head shot- [Third panel row] Good for showing expression and who is talking, without grabbing the focus of the page. Often used for small talk and quick comments.
Don't cut them off at the base of the neck, like the second example! See how awkward that flowting head looks?Close up shot- [Bottom panel face] Excellent for making a point or bringing attention to something. It's an attention-grabber amoung the rest of the panels, so it must be clearly visible and not used in excess.
Extreme close up- [Not shown] Focuses one ONE thing or pair of things, such as an eye, tear, toe, anything. Great for expression an intense emotion or feeling, a part of an object, and so forth. Use VERY sparingly, or it loses all impact.
And that second panel doesn't really have a name, it just shows setting and location of characters. Setting is very important, so it should be used in most panels. You don't think your hard-drawn characters should live in the Land of Air, do you?
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