Comic book freelancing tools and resources
Quick Links for all the software mentioned here: Freeware and/or Open Source: PS: GIMP | Krita | Photopea | MyPaint | Paint.NET | Sketchbook | Fire Alpaca | Medibang Paint AI: Inkscape | Vectr IN: Viva Designer | Scribus AN: Blender | Open Toonz | Pencil 2D | Wick Editor | Synfig* LR: RawTherapee |…
Color with Kurt Kurt Michael Russell has an instructional web site as well as an instructional YouTube channel to help colourists at any level better navigate the field. While Kurt’s YouTube channel allows you to watch videos for free, there are options available for “memberships” ($4.99/month USD) that come with exclusive perks. The full courses…
One of the most common questions among creators in any field, but especially writing, ask How do I get started? It’s common because not a lot of folks really talk about how hard it can be to break into the industry and land published work, especially if you’re not able to draw your own stories. It’s marginally…
Whether you’re here because you want to be a comic book editor or whether you’re just curious about what exactly it can entail, welcome! For this piece, I’m going to speak about my personal experience as a freelance editor, which can differ from what is expected of an editor at a comic book publisher. Maybe…
Recently, we received a request to help creators navigate the world of comic book collaboration. More specifically, we were asked to help compile a list of the most common red flags to watch out for when you’re approached by another creator for a project. In this list, you’ll find red flags that our peers have…
About a year ago, I wrote this article on colorists. It was as much to educate people new to the comics medium as it was to educate myself, who had recently decided to start reviewing comics with little to no knowledge on how the things get made. While researching the coloring process, I heard about…
We’ve covered conflict and exposition. Now it’s time for the rising action. Rising action is the majority of the story. Everything that happens between the inciting incident (introduction of the problem) and the climax (solution to the problem) should be rising action. What does rising action mean? It means that the events are moving toward…
Last time, we discussed what a story is. A story is the life of a problem. It starts when the problem is first encountered and ends when the problem is solved. When the problem is first encountered, it’s called the inciting incident. When the problem is resolved, it’s called the climax. However, the telling of…
You may have noticed that more of trade book publishing is finally catching on to what so many of us have known for a very long time: comics are amazing. Imprints are actively acquiring graphic novel projects like never before and the influence of highly illustrated books can be seen in every category and genre…