For all you out there who are looking more to writing comic scripts than drawing your own comics, this is the place for you. I'm no script writer myself, but I know we have those who are, and the whole point of a workshop is to ask questions and bounce ideas off each other.

To get you started, I'll post some things me and Catalyst Productions thought up that we felt would be good guidelines for scripts.

First of all, be thorough, the more you tell the reader the better. You aren't just telling a story in a script, you are telling an artist how to tell your story. Remember that with a script we dont know what your comic will look like, so you have to explain before you even get started. What format is the script? Provide a list of characters and a description for each. Describe the setting as much as possible before each scene change, but then emphasize what the important elements are. Anything that will help the artist bring your story to life.

Second, dont overload panels. Think of your script in terms of how the final comic should look. You aren't limited by your artistic ability, so you are free to dream as big as you like. However, keep things realistic. Dont have the same character wake up, brush his teeth, and then get dressed all in the same panel unless you explain how it should work (it can be done, but you have to explain it). Know the limitations comics have and work them to your advantage.

Third, Direct your artist (and audience). Try thinking in terms of cinematography. Play with camera angles, make not of focal points. Dont just say an action, explain how it will look as a comic. If a person is picking something up, how is the audience seeing this action? Are we closed up to the hand? Are we looking birds eye view over his shoulder? Are we looking up at him from the object's point of view? What is his expression like? Does he do it slowly? Quickly? We cant know any of this unless you say it. If you want your artist to use their creative freedom to work on a panel, you still have to deliberately say so. Dont leave anything up for question. But you still have to remember not to overload your panels. Keep the most important action in mind.

Fourth, full dialogue. This is a script after all, write the character's words as they would say them in the comic, also providing the type of bubble and how they are saying it. Anything you give the artist in a script is up for change but the dialogue will most likely stay just as you have it. Dont cram too many words in too little space. If a character is going to talk a lot, try breaking it up into different panels (you can simply indicate "spread dialogue across necessary amount of panels, character speaks while walking down the hall".


If anyone has other tips and things they would like to share feel free to post.