Not too long ago, Creator Resource reached out to comics creators over Twitter about the best comics advice they’d heard. We got a plethora of great responses, and we’ve compiled some of the more compelling and useful ones below!
Lacey wanted you to know that you will improve, no matter how good you already are:
“Page 100 is gonna look better than page 1 regardless of your skill level.”
page 100 is gonna look a hell of a lot better than page 1 regardless of where you are skill wise when you start so just start it for gods sake https://t.co/3UEecd2lUD
— lacey 🦀🦀 (@byelacey) September 3, 2019
Andy Diggle related the best advice he’d heard, given by none other than Neil Gaiman:
“The second draft is where you make it look like you knew what you were doing all along.”
“The second draft is where you make it look like you knew what you were doing all along” – Neil Gaiman https://t.co/pLjFXP6Mj8
— Andy Diggle (@andydiggle) September 5, 2019
Ryan Burke’s advice is simple but sweet:
Show don't tell
— Ryan Burke (@ryanburkewriter) September 4, 2019
Shawn Daley’s gave this tidbit of info:
“Approach each page as if it were it’s own story.”
Approach each page as if it's its own story.
— Shawn Daley (@ShawnDaley) September 4, 2019
Dood wants you to remember that there’s nothing wrong with going crazy:
“If you feel like going crazy, do it.”
-Ppl are gonna spend very few seconds or less on every panel, so don't overdo it.
-Make a template grid of how much space can the panels take (from the smallest to the biggest possible panel) and adjust to it.
-If you feel like going crazy, do it.
-Fail miserably and learn. https://t.co/cWGD6c2ZRg
— Dood (Girly POP) (@CSPstuff) September 6, 2019
Lucy Sullivan’s advice may be hard to hear but it will save your arms:
“Be economical with your art. Readers will often only spend minutes, maybe only seconds, on it. Don’t spend weeks drawing just one panel.”
Be economical with your artwork.
Readers will spend minutes, often seconds on it. Don’t spend weeks drawing a panel!
— Lucy Sullivan (@LucySullivanUK) September 3, 2019
Alan McMillian related some more harsh but accurate advice he received from Joe Casey:
“Making a comic weeds out the slackers.”
A quote from Joe Casey: "The process of making a comic book weeds out the slackers."
— Alan McMillian (@alan_mcmillian) September 3, 2019
Pete Doree gave some advice I feel too many of us learn/have learned the hard way:
“Speech bubbles are part of the art. Be aware of that when designing a panel.”
Speech bubbles are part of the artwork. Be aware of that when designing a panel. A revelation to me, that was.
— Finding Pete Doree Comics (@PeteDoree) September 5, 2019
Beth Barnett, along with GC Houle, John Cullen, and Natasha Alterici all gave variations on the same bit of advice that I feel needs to be repeated:
“Finished is better than perfect.”
“Done is better than perfect.”
“The okay book that’s finished is better than the perfect one in your head.”
Finished is better than perfect. https://t.co/3lxH9vpkFS
— Ned 🐺 | 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@nedlazaruswolfe) September 3, 2019
Lee Robson gave some wonderful advice:
“Let your collaborators do their thing.”
A friend told me "I'm never going to draw what you want on the page." Took me a while, but I came to realise that he was right: no matter how *I* saw a panel when I wrote it, no artist would ever draw it *exactly* like that. I learned to let my collaborators just do *their* thing https://t.co/AtGCnvNn1I
— The Hills Have Lee Robson (@lee_robson) September 3, 2019
Ryan Dunlavey related some great advice he got from Peter Kuper
“Don’t just learn to draw from other people’s drawings. Go out and see the world, and draw THAT.”
After showing my portfolio to Peter Kuper at a convention he told me to stop looking at comics for 6 months but keep drawing. "don't just learn to draw from other people's drawings – go out and see the world first, and then draw THAT." https://t.co/gegEOQl0DT
— Dunlavey the 13th (@RyanDunlavey) September 3, 2019
Aurea Freniere gave great advice all of us need to remember:
“Create the content you’d like to read.”
Keep on creating. Create content you’d like to read. You are making comics because you LOVE to make comics. You are not here to please anyone but yourself. https://t.co/bB26rhwAyu
— Aurea Freniere ✪ (@milosflaca) September 3, 2019
Tate Brombal dropped some advice specifically for writers:
“Step back and let your artist do their thing. You’re working with them for a reason, so let them bring their unique vision to their words.”
As a Writer: Step back and let the artist do their thing. You’re working with them for a reason, so let them bring their unique vision to your words. If anything, I will shift MY words and script to better suit their pencils. https://t.co/BR0wRMaB2A
— Tate Brombal (@TateBrombal) September 3, 2019
Roger Langridge’s advice is pretty spot on:
“99% of making comics is problem solving.”
99% of making most comics is problem-solving (e.g. how to tell the story clearly, how to draw it quickly without sacrificing anything that matters, how to make static pages dynamic/visually interesting, how to get the story from A to B as engagingly and economically as possible) https://t.co/9LHzI3Jc4a
— Roger Langridge (@hotelfred) September 3, 2019
Joey Esposito’s advice is specifically about contracts:
“Have someone smarter than you read your contracts.”
have somebody smarter than you read your contracts https://t.co/MPduWVeD9r
— Joey Esposito (@joeyesposito) September 3, 2019
John Reppion’s advice is about not only getting work as a writer but getting hired back:
“Ideally, editors and publishers want 3 things from a writer:
1) Be a friendly, pleasant, agreeable person to work with. 2) Be really, really good at writing. 3) Be fast, and never miss a deadline.
If you always do TWO of these things, you can often get away with not doing the third.”
Ideally, editors and publishers want 3 things from a writer:
1) be a friendly, pleasant, agreeable person to work with 2) be really, really good at writing 3) be fast, and never miss a deadline.
If you always do TWO of these things, you will get away with not doing the third. https://t.co/9wbj9W1Wy7
— John Reppion (@johnreppion) September 5, 2019
Tate Brombal’s advice about actually seeing your work on a page is a crucial step:
“If you never MAKE the comic, and see the art from your words your writing will never improve. You need to SEE the finished product and how it operates so you can learn.”
You can write all the scripts you want, but if you never MAKE comics and see the art from your words then your writing will never improve. We’re a visual medium! You need to SEE your finished product and how it operates, then you learn. https://t.co/BR0wRMaB2A
— Tate Brombal (@TateBrombal) September 5, 2019
Simone Guglielmini wants you to keep this in mind when creating a page:
“Storytelling should be your main priority when you draw a sequential page.”
Storytelling should be your main priority when you draw a sequential page https://t.co/0Ovw90dspI
— Simone Guglielmini – spaghetti noir (@SGuglie) September 5, 2019
Stray had some fantastic advice:
“Keep working on fundementals and never stop learning.”
– Keep working on your fundamentals and don’t stop learning
– Remember to maintain good sleep, and good mental+physical health
– give yourself twice or triple the amount of time you think you’ll need to complete the comic (example: instead of 6 months give yourself + 12 months) https://t.co/aCNh8ccV1F
— 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕪 ✨Ɛ💙3 (@StrayBardArt) September 6, 2019
