How to Start a Comic

• What is hard about comics?
• The very beginning of the idea of a comic.
• Cat’s comic about an antiques shop.
• A huge part of making a comic is research; Cat spent time in antique shops to research the subject.
• Alex creates a comic to tell a broader story than you can tell with a single image.
• Writing is a major part of creating a comic.
• The best way to improve your writing skills is to have other people read your writing and get feedback.
• Alex’s one page comic that he created from art school.
• What is the difference between a comic and a graphic novel?
• The difference between using digital and traditional media for comics.
• The more you draw your characters, the more they will continue to visually evolve.
• You can never have too many reference photos for research.
• Balance between a single panel vs. the way the entire page reads.

• The word “comic” is sometimes looked down upon by critics.
• Don’t start a comic without having a solid foundation of your story and writing.
• Alex’s regret of skipping the thumbnail sketches in his comic.
• How far in advance do you plan the comics panels?
• Break down your comic into manageable segments.
• There are similarities between storyboarding and comics.
• Sometimes using someone else’s story is better than writing your own.
• Writing a script can be very useful.
• Printing hard copy comics.
• A comic can begin with an image. In Cat’s case it was a swimming pool.
• Cat’s nib pen drawing for inking.
• Think about a character’s personality: what is their posture like, how do they look from the side?
• Consider how to visually guide your reader through the way panels are organized.

Artists mentioned

• Junji Ito
• Satoshi Kon