2D comic process

[sohta123]

For some reason when I read this I heard William Dozier's voice in my head saying "Meanwhile at the Gotham Museum..."

If the panels star spinning I'm outta here.
I am however ok with made up words for sound effects. Bam! Boffo!

[Tecknophyle]

I do think that less is better, when it comes to narration, and to a lesser extent word balloons. If I can show something as opposed to say something, I try to show it. Usually my scripts start out realtively wordy, then as I put the comic together I figure what is unnecessary and can be cut to make the narration and dialogue more economical.

A lot depends on the artist, especially their ability to convey expression (whether in 2D or 3D). It's similar to directing actors, really. Paul Eddington, who played Jim Hacker on Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister had a brilliant ability to convey things merely through facial expressions, so much so that eventually the writers simply annotated the script with things like "Paul doesn't have to say this" because they knew that he didn't have to say, for instance, that he was completely confused about what was happening because you could simply look at him and see that he had no idea what was going on.

But it also depends on your characters. using the same show as an example, Nigel Hawthorne (Sir Humphrey) couldn't get away with what Eddington did because Eddington was better at facial expressions and because Humphrey was supposed to be a more tightly-controlled person: he needed to say things to get the message across. To use an example appropriate to here, the snarky Apex security robots need dialogue because that's where their humor comes from, since they don't have facial expressions. You can show a person rolling their eyes in disgust: the robot will probably have to say it's disgusted.

For an example of what can be done with minimalist text, I'd point to several issues from the classic Larry Hama-written GI Joe comics from the 80s, specifically the "ninja issues". They have no dialogue, no text boxes, and if some information needs to be conveyed to the reader it gets done by signs the characters pass, or some other writing in the environment.

[Mr. Cryptic]

I don't try to be too economical when I'm writing the original script. I figure it's better to have too much at first, then when I get to the point of making the scene, I try to find ways to non-verbally convey the information in the narration or dialogue. I imagine it is like having a block that you chisel down and sculpt to the optimal size and shape.

[Ghosthand]

Is it possible for one or more of the writers to post a few pages of a comic just to show general layout and what it looks like that can be compared to the actual pages? Not anything unpublished yet, wouldn't want you to give away any secrets of future comics

[Doctor Robo]

Is it possible for one or more of the writers to post a few pages of a comic just to show general layout and what it looks like that can be compared to the actual pages? Not anything unpublished yet, wouldn't want you to give away any secrets of future comics

I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for. Do you mean a page of script, or a comic page without the text and effects?

- Doc

[Ghosthand]

A page of script. I'd like to see how you, or another writer formats it for ease of understanding for the artist. Is there a generally accepted format for comic scripts?

Also how much detail is put into describing the visual scene and how much is left up to the artist. Do you detail where you want text ballons or the location of narration boxes if any, or do you let the artist put them where they think would look the best? Do you describe a scene; "Ms. Matrobay screams angrily at Ted Twist while he cowers from her." or do you give exact poses?

[Doctor Robo]

A page of script. I'd like to see how you, or another writer formats it for ease of understanding for the artist. Is there a generally accepted format for comic scripts?

Also how much detail is put into describing the visual scene and how much is left up to the artist. Do you detail where you want text ballons or the location of narration boxes if any, or do you let the artist put them where they think would look the best? Do you describe a scene; "Ms. Matrobay screams angrily at Ted Twist while he cowers from her." or do you give exact poses?

I pretty much devised my own hybrid style, borrowing from mainstream systems like the "Marvel Method". There are dozens of books on writing for comics if you are really interested in knowing how the mainstream professionals do it.

For each new story I typically start by writing up a broad overview (treatment) of my idea, highlighting the most basic plot points. I send this to the artist to make sure it is something he or she is interested in working on, and if it is feasible given some limitations of 3D rendering software like Poser or Daz Studio. I then refine the overview into an outline, consisting of page-by-page explanations of how I envision the action. The amount of detail I put into each page of the outline is dependent on the artist. Some artists prefer the freedom to freelance and use their imaginations (which I support and encourage), while others like to have specific directions for each scene. The artist will then render the pages according to my outline, and send them to me so I can write up the dialogue, narration, and special effects. I then send the final script to the artist (or postworker, in some cases), who adds the text and effects. Finally, I receive the finished pages which I proofread for errors and flow before uploading to the website for public view.

I generally leave it up to the artist to decide exactly how the characters and scenes are posed, and how the balloons and effects are added. On occasion I will offer my input, but it is usually to clarify who should be speaking first or where I feel the effects will have the most impact.

Any questions?

- Doc

[Tecknophyle]

A page of script. I'd like to see how you, or another writer formats it for ease of understanding for the artist. Is there a generally accepted format for comic scripts?

I pretty much devised my own hybrid style, borrowing from mainstream systems like the "Marvel Method". There are dozens of books on writing for comics if you are really interested in knowing how the mainstream professionals do it.

Just to unpack that a bit: the Marvel Method (really the Stan Lee method), or Plot Script, involves sending the artist the plot synopsis, allowing them to interpret it, then doing the dialogue and such based both on the synopsis and what artwork you got back. The synopsis can be very vague (depending on the artist to be the one who is the primary driver of the final product), or more detailed, but in the end the writer isn't telling the artist everything that's supposed to happen.

A real-life example would be films that depend on a lot of improv, like "Best in Show", or professional wrestling. The writers provide what's supposed to happen but how the performers get there is mostly up to them.

The method DC Comics primarily used was Full Script, which is exactly what it sounds like. The writer provides detailed instructions on what's going to be on the page: "there will be five panels, panel 1 will be an overhead shot of the characters talking while standing in an office, they will say this..." Real life equivalents would be films and TV shows by directors who don't allow their actors to improvise.

The Kurztman Style is one typically used when there's a single writer-artist, so the script will often be rough drawings of the pages with the dialogue and such already entered into it. Using the roughs, the artist adjusts everything as a single piece: dialogue might change because it works better given the visual, or a visual might change because it works better with a bit of the dialogue.

Many writers and artists will tend to mix and match depending on the situation. For instance, the writer who normally does a full script might say, in one issue "Draw brutal fight scene between X and Y that lasts three pages". Someone who does Plot Script might require that there's a speech a character has to say, and it can't be altered so the art must accommodate it.

[Ghosthand]

I like the full script style as I can't seem to wrap my mind around the art comming first and then the text added later. In my mind the text and art are together. I might have 20 things I want to put into text but I don't know if it would take 3 pages or 5. I don't like the full script style as I think directing exact poses and camera angles would limit the artist as to their style or creativity. What may look right in my mind might not look good on the page.

I have done some writing in the past (and I will admit majority of it has been on Addventure style sites) but I have a couple story idea that are fully formed in my mind. I could easily turn them into test stories but would so love to see them in comic form. Truthfully I'm kind of scared to send a overview to one of the artist in fear that I might be jumping in over my head. Perhaps I should just write the text story and if someone with more skill and knowlede likes it they can turn it into a comic

[Mr. Cryptic]

I used to write pretty complete scripts before doing any art. For better or worse, I've moved toward writing more rough scripts, and fillling in the dialogue more or less at the same time that I'm doing the art. That may have more to do with time restrictions than anything else. I guess I have moved to that approach (the Marvel way) since it's better to show things than to say things, so once I have the art I can figure out what needs to be said and what can be left unsaid.

More so than having a complete script, knowing where the story is going is more important. If I have a big story planned, I think about what the end will be before anything else. It's a lot easier to set up the middle and the beginning when you know where they need to go. For example, in the Ultra Maxima storyline (spoilers ahead) I knew that Ultra Maxima was going to seduce Brickhouse to get her powers. I had written and rendered the Ultra Maxima/Brickhouse scene in VIctory City #17-18 months before I wrote and rendered Victory City #8-16. I'm not far enough ahead to do that anymore, unfortunately (but I put out more updates so that's good .

In my recent comics at HIP Comix, I've been tending to have a lot of pages with little or no dialogue. E.g., Ishtar just waling down a corridor. The idea there is, you get to see more of Ishtar (:) ), and it builds up tension as she walks into a trap . So, yeah, I've pretty much adopted the Marvel method for better or worse.