Verne Andru's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
Creating a new comic book
Hi everybody. My first blog post is about my process for creating a new comic book. I'm currently working on Captain Cannabis No. 3 so this is all very real-time.
The first and probably most challenging is to find your story. While it might sound simple it's actually quite a bit more difficult than it seems. I've found the best way to start is to know how your story ends then work backwards to the beginning. It's much easier to get to your destination knowing where you're going than to travel aimlessly hoping inspiration will strike.
With ending in hand look to your main character (protagonist) and see where they are at the end with an eye to developing that character's arc. The arc is the change your character goes through during the story and it is the sequence of events the character goes through that causes that change. Generally speaking once you identify where your character is at the end, casting them as the opposite in the beginning is a great starting place - if they're happy at the end, then they're sad at the beginning and etc.
While there are numerous sources discussing how to structure the story - the events that bring about the change - I don't think you can go too far astray sticking to a basic 3 act structure (beginning/middle/end). I've found John Truby's "Anatomy of Story" and Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat!" to be tremendously helpful as a supplements to the 3 act structure.
Join me next time when I discuss how I apply the foregoing to an actual book - Captain Cannabis No. 3.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.
Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Book: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
The first and probably most challenging is to find your story. While it might sound simple it's actually quite a bit more difficult than it seems. I've found the best way to start is to know how your story ends then work backwards to the beginning. It's much easier to get to your destination knowing where you're going than to travel aimlessly hoping inspiration will strike.
With ending in hand look to your main character (protagonist) and see where they are at the end with an eye to developing that character's arc. The arc is the change your character goes through during the story and it is the sequence of events the character goes through that causes that change. Generally speaking once you identify where your character is at the end, casting them as the opposite in the beginning is a great starting place - if they're happy at the end, then they're sad at the beginning and etc.
While there are numerous sources discussing how to structure the story - the events that bring about the change - I don't think you can go too far astray sticking to a basic 3 act structure (beginning/middle/end). I've found John Truby's "Anatomy of Story" and Blake Snyder's "Save The Cat!" to be tremendously helpful as a supplements to the 3 act structure.
Join me next time when I discuss how I apply the foregoing to an actual book - Captain Cannabis No. 3.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Book: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
Creating a new comic book part 2
I created Captain Cannabis during the nineteen-seventies around the time Canada was considering cannabis legalization on the heels of the Le Dain Commission's report. As a storyteller, that posed an interesting challenge; the go-to place to put a pot-induced superhero is to fight agents of prohibition on a mission to "free the weed" or something similar. The challenge here is that the antagonist changes between a pre- and post-prohibition story, which begs the question: "who is the enemy?"
Another story challenge comes from my general dislike for violence. In traditional comic books action and violence tend to be synonymous; pages filled with senseless fighting (the main reason I've stayed away from mainstream comic work), regardless how well illustrated, leads to stories (and characters) that lack depth. Since pot tends to be a head-trip leading to bouts of munchies and general laziness, focusing the Captain Cannabis drama on the mental rather than physical opens a unique story world allowing for stronger story potential and outside-the-box antagonists.
The biggest story challenge I set was that it can't suck! I've always felt a responsibility to making Captain Cannabis evolve into something special and I've taken that responsibility seriously. But that doesn't mean it can't get silly, which any story about a strain of intragalactic bud turning a lazy pot-head into any type of hero can't avoid.
I was working in animation and hanging with the Captain Canuck crew at the time of Captain Cannabis's "birth," so creating him was easy. I liked the stereo-typical muscle-bound costumed super-hero look for a character that was everything the goody-two-shoed others weren't. Captain Cannabis, the true "anti-hero," came about as the opposite of the usual Saturday-morning "super-heroes" who are generally angry, vengeful and overly violent.
Out of costume Captain Cannabis is a lazy pot-head who goes by the name Hal Lighter. He lives with girlfriend Marion Jones, drives a school bus part time and otherwise doesn't care much about anything other than getting through the day by staying high and playing music.
I liked the name "Hal" because the letters HAL are all 1 character before IBM. While thinking of a surname I decided on "Lighter," as in sparking up a joint, as it plays into the extra-dimensional story-world by framing him as the "light bringer," his ultimate "call to action."
As noted in the part 1 of this blog, it's much easier to write a story if you know what the end looks like. In Captain Cannabis's case, the general story arc is established by inverting the Hal Lighter character from lazy and uncaring to motivated and giving. And with that we've identified the story's beginning and end.
Join me next time as I delve into how to fill in the blanks and develop the arc into a storyline worthy of the Captain Cannabis name.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.
Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Another story challenge comes from my general dislike for violence. In traditional comic books action and violence tend to be synonymous; pages filled with senseless fighting (the main reason I've stayed away from mainstream comic work), regardless how well illustrated, leads to stories (and characters) that lack depth. Since pot tends to be a head-trip leading to bouts of munchies and general laziness, focusing the Captain Cannabis drama on the mental rather than physical opens a unique story world allowing for stronger story potential and outside-the-box antagonists.
The biggest story challenge I set was that it can't suck! I've always felt a responsibility to making Captain Cannabis evolve into something special and I've taken that responsibility seriously. But that doesn't mean it can't get silly, which any story about a strain of intragalactic bud turning a lazy pot-head into any type of hero can't avoid.
I was working in animation and hanging with the Captain Canuck crew at the time of Captain Cannabis's "birth," so creating him was easy. I liked the stereo-typical muscle-bound costumed super-hero look for a character that was everything the goody-two-shoed others weren't. Captain Cannabis, the true "anti-hero," came about as the opposite of the usual Saturday-morning "super-heroes" who are generally angry, vengeful and overly violent.
Out of costume Captain Cannabis is a lazy pot-head who goes by the name Hal Lighter. He lives with girlfriend Marion Jones, drives a school bus part time and otherwise doesn't care much about anything other than getting through the day by staying high and playing music.
I liked the name "Hal" because the letters HAL are all 1 character before IBM. While thinking of a surname I decided on "Lighter," as in sparking up a joint, as it plays into the extra-dimensional story-world by framing him as the "light bringer," his ultimate "call to action."
As noted in the part 1 of this blog, it's much easier to write a story if you know what the end looks like. In Captain Cannabis's case, the general story arc is established by inverting the Hal Lighter character from lazy and uncaring to motivated and giving. And with that we've identified the story's beginning and end.
Join me next time as I delve into how to fill in the blanks and develop the arc into a storyline worthy of the Captain Cannabis name.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Creating a new comic book part 3
Character arcs, or how characters change during the story, aren't your typical comic book fair. If anything, mainstream comic books lack of an arc is one of their distinguishing features.
Debuting in an underground comic series in the seventies, Captain Cannabis dares to be different with extensive use of story structure and characters that do change over time. Just like all great stories!
Character arcs play out in a fictitious story-world that provides valuable context; location, year, and etc. defines the boundaries within which drama unfolds. When done with a well designed symbol-world, our ability to "dispel our disbelief" increases dramatically - a requisite for a story whose central premise is:
Intragalactic weed transforms love-stuck slacker into superhero to save earth from itself!
The book currently under discussion, Captain Cannabis No. 3, is part of this on-going series including:
• Captain Cannabis 1 and 2 comic books (re-released in 40th Anniversary editions),
• the first "420" comic book, and
• "The Ultimate Hit" feature film.
By the time the original nineteen-seventies Captain Cannabis No. 2 was out, Canada's aspirations to legalize cannabis had come to a full stop in the face of the "war on drugs" followed by Nancy Reagan's "just say no" campaign. Notwithstanding my Captain Cannabis being a legitimate artistic and literary work, those events drove significant headwinds; a read of "The Cultural Cold War" by Frances Stonor Saunders provides insight.
The Captain Cannabis story arc starts in the first two books with "The Ultimate Hit" feature completing it; "420," the first of thirteen comics making up the "The Ultimate Hit," is the series mid-point.
In terms of a 3-Act structure, books No. 1 and 2 contain Act 1, "420" is the Act 2 mid-point with "The Ultimate Hit" comprising the second half of Act 2 and all Act 3.
It breaks down like this:
• The first two Captain Cannabis comic books set the story in a post-prohibition coastal city in the nineteen-seventies.
• Protagonist Hal Lighter is a svelte young man sharing an apartment with high-school sweet-heart, the beautiful and talented Marion Jones.
• Hal partakes of a mysterious glowing joint (triggering event synonymous with Spiderman's first spider bite) that unleashes powerful forces transforming him into "Captain Cannabis."
• Captain Cannabis gets his "mission" in No. 2 leaving Hal scrambling to find the mysterious joint needed to complete it.
• We find Hal older, overweight and living alone on a boat with no memory of Marion in "420."
• "The Ultimate Hit" completes the Hal Lighter/Captain Cannabis arc leaving him profoundly changed and the universe a better place - maybe. Sorry, no spoilers!
Our story plays out over a period of time - approximately 20 story-years. In fact when we include the backstory, which starts some 30 years earlier, our story-world covers a much longer span of time!
As can be seen, the latest installment's (Captain Cannabis No. 3) story-line needs to fit between No. 2 and "420." No. 2's ending provides the perfect No. 3 desire-line - Hal desperately needs to find the cosmic joint - to propel the tale of how young, svelte Hal from No. 1 changes into the old, fat slob in 420. That's a big transformation requiring an equally big story.
While the basic 3-act structure is a good way to start a new work, I like Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet approach, described in his "Save The Cat!," to rough out what story "business" needs doing and where:
1. Opening Image
2. Theme Stated
3. Set-up
4. Catalyst
5. Debate
6. Break into Two (Act 2)
7. B Story
8. Fun and Games
9. Midpoint
10. Bad Guys Close In
11. All Is Lost
12. Dark Night of the Soul
13. Break into Three (Act 3)
14. Finale
15. Final Image
I use it for individual books as well as the overall series; Captain Cannabis No. 1 and 2 cover Beats 1 through 5 while "420" is Beat 9 with "The Ultimate Hit" carrying the story to its Beat 15 ending. Having a crystal-clear final image is critical to keeping the story from wandering along the way.
This means Beats 6, 7 and 8 are needed to move the story from Beat 5 (No. 2) to the Beat 9 midpoint ("420") where "The Ultimate Hit" picks up the story and finishes this series arc.
Now that we've got that sorted out, join me next time as I ready Captain Cannabis No. 3 to "Break into 2" on Beat 6 business.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.
Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters
Book: Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Book: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
Debuting in an underground comic series in the seventies, Captain Cannabis dares to be different with extensive use of story structure and characters that do change over time. Just like all great stories!
Character arcs play out in a fictitious story-world that provides valuable context; location, year, and etc. defines the boundaries within which drama unfolds. When done with a well designed symbol-world, our ability to "dispel our disbelief" increases dramatically - a requisite for a story whose central premise is:
Intragalactic weed transforms love-stuck slacker into superhero to save earth from itself!
The book currently under discussion, Captain Cannabis No. 3, is part of this on-going series including:
• Captain Cannabis 1 and 2 comic books (re-released in 40th Anniversary editions),
• the first "420" comic book, and
• "The Ultimate Hit" feature film.
By the time the original nineteen-seventies Captain Cannabis No. 2 was out, Canada's aspirations to legalize cannabis had come to a full stop in the face of the "war on drugs" followed by Nancy Reagan's "just say no" campaign. Notwithstanding my Captain Cannabis being a legitimate artistic and literary work, those events drove significant headwinds; a read of "The Cultural Cold War" by Frances Stonor Saunders provides insight.
The Captain Cannabis story arc starts in the first two books with "The Ultimate Hit" feature completing it; "420," the first of thirteen comics making up the "The Ultimate Hit," is the series mid-point.
In terms of a 3-Act structure, books No. 1 and 2 contain Act 1, "420" is the Act 2 mid-point with "The Ultimate Hit" comprising the second half of Act 2 and all Act 3.
It breaks down like this:
• The first two Captain Cannabis comic books set the story in a post-prohibition coastal city in the nineteen-seventies.
• Protagonist Hal Lighter is a svelte young man sharing an apartment with high-school sweet-heart, the beautiful and talented Marion Jones.
• Hal partakes of a mysterious glowing joint (triggering event synonymous with Spiderman's first spider bite) that unleashes powerful forces transforming him into "Captain Cannabis."
• Captain Cannabis gets his "mission" in No. 2 leaving Hal scrambling to find the mysterious joint needed to complete it.
• We find Hal older, overweight and living alone on a boat with no memory of Marion in "420."
• "The Ultimate Hit" completes the Hal Lighter/Captain Cannabis arc leaving him profoundly changed and the universe a better place - maybe. Sorry, no spoilers!
Our story plays out over a period of time - approximately 20 story-years. In fact when we include the backstory, which starts some 30 years earlier, our story-world covers a much longer span of time!
As can be seen, the latest installment's (Captain Cannabis No. 3) story-line needs to fit between No. 2 and "420." No. 2's ending provides the perfect No. 3 desire-line - Hal desperately needs to find the cosmic joint - to propel the tale of how young, svelte Hal from No. 1 changes into the old, fat slob in 420. That's a big transformation requiring an equally big story.
While the basic 3-act structure is a good way to start a new work, I like Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet approach, described in his "Save The Cat!," to rough out what story "business" needs doing and where:
1. Opening Image
2. Theme Stated
3. Set-up
4. Catalyst
5. Debate
6. Break into Two (Act 2)
7. B Story
8. Fun and Games
9. Midpoint
10. Bad Guys Close In
11. All Is Lost
12. Dark Night of the Soul
13. Break into Three (Act 3)
14. Finale
15. Final Image
I use it for individual books as well as the overall series; Captain Cannabis No. 1 and 2 cover Beats 1 through 5 while "420" is Beat 9 with "The Ultimate Hit" carrying the story to its Beat 15 ending. Having a crystal-clear final image is critical to keeping the story from wandering along the way.
This means Beats 6, 7 and 8 are needed to move the story from Beat 5 (No. 2) to the Beat 9 midpoint ("420") where "The Ultimate Hit" picks up the story and finishes this series arc.
Now that we've got that sorted out, join me next time as I ready Captain Cannabis No. 3 to "Break into 2" on Beat 6 business.
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters
Book: Save the Cat: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Book: The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
Creating a new comic book part 4
The process of turning story into comic art pages has evolved along two general camps (with multiple shades of grey between):
• full-script method: page by page and panel by panel descriptions and dialog provided by the writer. Traditional approach taken by DC and many others,
• "springboard" method (a.k.a. the "Marvel way"): writer provides a story idea (springboard) from which the penciller works out visuals. Once pencils (drawings on 11" x 17" illustration board) are done the writer finalizes captions and dialog.
There are pros and cons to each; by locking creative in at the script phase, the full-script approach can be less fluid while springboards don't allow for much beyond the superficial. Series like Allen Moore's "Watchmen" demonstrates some of the best full-scripted series can offer while, as told to me by Marvel's editor-in-chief back in the day, comic art is "filler between the ads" doing it their way.
Note: I've embraced the value of quality over quantity; the work needs to stand the test of time; missed deadlines are rarely remembered.
Having worked in film I can endorse a third approach I call the animation method. While comic books tend to be on short deadlines leading to some quick and dirty work going to print, animation is so expensive to get on the screen that a lot more time is spent on prep and execution. Pearls of wisdom I gleaned from working with Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson (two of Walt Disney's old men) on the "Rock & Rule" animated feature includes focusing the story's "business" in writing and pre-viz (previsualization using storyboards) to really bring the characters to life.
Taken to heart, I've spent a tremendous amount of work focused on making Captain Cannabis as good as it gets using a mix of all the above; the comics, films, and etc. are about great stories, not ad filler.
Starting with the script-first approach I write in a word processor or screenplay editor like Final Draft. I'm prone to making copious notes, charts and illustrations with pencil on large (18" x 24") paper as I go; quick sketches of characters, locations and props (part of pre-viz) really helps ideas flow.
Working with words frees me from "how am I going to draw that?" considerations as I find it much easier to rewrite a paragraph than redraw an illustration. It takes multiple passes through the words to get the rich interplay of characters and dialog working that's impossible to attain doing springboards.
Some technical decisions, like how many pages to write for, need to be made early. As dictated by printing processes, physical comic books require page counts to be in multiples of four so choices include 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, etc. Marvel and DC stick close to 32 pages while indies are usually less.
But wait, you protest, what about digital comics? They're not constrained by printing considerations. While correct, Captain Cannabis comics are released as physical and digital books so it makes sense to design for print and use that for digital as well.
Other print vs. digital considerations include panel size and placement as odd sizes don't read well on digital devices. Beyond the time it takes to do the work, there's no additional costs for printing a colour digital comic while ink-on-paper uses a CMYK colour space that increases prices considerably over black and white, and, etc.
I like to make it "real" by assembling a physical prototype of the book. By this I mean something I can actually hold and flip through to see what I'm creating as I'm creating it.
My prototype is a dynamic form that changes as I replace pages with more completed versions until it's ready to go to print. It's made with heavy-duty top-loading sheet-protectors (letter size) held together by two screenplay brads (brass fasteners) . For a 28 page book with cover (32 pages total) I use 16 sheet protectors.
Join me next time as I dig into filling those sheet protectors with the words and pictures soon to be appearing in Captain Cannabis No. 3!
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.
Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: Watchmen
Book: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
Link: Sheet Protectors @ Staples
Link: Screenplay Brads on Amazon.
• full-script method: page by page and panel by panel descriptions and dialog provided by the writer. Traditional approach taken by DC and many others,
• "springboard" method (a.k.a. the "Marvel way"): writer provides a story idea (springboard) from which the penciller works out visuals. Once pencils (drawings on 11" x 17" illustration board) are done the writer finalizes captions and dialog.
There are pros and cons to each; by locking creative in at the script phase, the full-script approach can be less fluid while springboards don't allow for much beyond the superficial. Series like Allen Moore's "Watchmen" demonstrates some of the best full-scripted series can offer while, as told to me by Marvel's editor-in-chief back in the day, comic art is "filler between the ads" doing it their way.
Note: I've embraced the value of quality over quantity; the work needs to stand the test of time; missed deadlines are rarely remembered.
Having worked in film I can endorse a third approach I call the animation method. While comic books tend to be on short deadlines leading to some quick and dirty work going to print, animation is so expensive to get on the screen that a lot more time is spent on prep and execution. Pearls of wisdom I gleaned from working with Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson (two of Walt Disney's old men) on the "Rock & Rule" animated feature includes focusing the story's "business" in writing and pre-viz (previsualization using storyboards) to really bring the characters to life.
Taken to heart, I've spent a tremendous amount of work focused on making Captain Cannabis as good as it gets using a mix of all the above; the comics, films, and etc. are about great stories, not ad filler.
Starting with the script-first approach I write in a word processor or screenplay editor like Final Draft. I'm prone to making copious notes, charts and illustrations with pencil on large (18" x 24") paper as I go; quick sketches of characters, locations and props (part of pre-viz) really helps ideas flow.
Working with words frees me from "how am I going to draw that?" considerations as I find it much easier to rewrite a paragraph than redraw an illustration. It takes multiple passes through the words to get the rich interplay of characters and dialog working that's impossible to attain doing springboards.
Some technical decisions, like how many pages to write for, need to be made early. As dictated by printing processes, physical comic books require page counts to be in multiples of four so choices include 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, etc. Marvel and DC stick close to 32 pages while indies are usually less.
But wait, you protest, what about digital comics? They're not constrained by printing considerations. While correct, Captain Cannabis comics are released as physical and digital books so it makes sense to design for print and use that for digital as well.
Other print vs. digital considerations include panel size and placement as odd sizes don't read well on digital devices. Beyond the time it takes to do the work, there's no additional costs for printing a colour digital comic while ink-on-paper uses a CMYK colour space that increases prices considerably over black and white, and, etc.
I like to make it "real" by assembling a physical prototype of the book. By this I mean something I can actually hold and flip through to see what I'm creating as I'm creating it.
My prototype is a dynamic form that changes as I replace pages with more completed versions until it's ready to go to print. It's made with heavy-duty top-loading sheet-protectors (letter size) held together by two screenplay brads (brass fasteners) . For a 28 page book with cover (32 pages total) I use 16 sheet protectors.
Join me next time as I dig into filling those sheet protectors with the words and pictures soon to be appearing in Captain Cannabis No. 3!
Bye for now,
Verne taught comic book production and animation at the Vancouver Film School. An award-winning designer, his career spans illustration, animation, writing and directing with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Phantacea, Charlton, Marvel, Hanna Barbera, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." He created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: Watchmen
Book: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
Link: Sheet Protectors @ Staples
Link: Screenplay Brads on Amazon.
Creating a new comic book part 5
For this blog I'm going to dig into some of the lecture notes I used while teaching comic book production at the Vancouver Film School. While in point form, they should give you an idea of the types of issues a comic book creator needs to consider during the writing phase.
As discussed previously, storytelling is generally broken into these 3 parts or acts:
1. Beginning - Act I - 5 art pages with ads, 6 without
2. Middle - Act II - 8 art pages with ads, 10 without
3. End - Act III - 5 art pages with ads, 6 without
Ads, which run in many of the larger publications, often appear as “act breaks” similar to TV shows. Indies and graphic novels generally don't contain ads relying on the selling price to cover costs.
Plot-points [turning point] are events occurring at the end of acts that “spins” the action in a completely different direction. Generally speaking the three acts will cover the following:
Act I – Establishing
• Where and when is the story being told?
• Who is the protagonist, what do they want and will they get it?
• Who/what are the antagonists?
• What the story is about – establish the central question the story will answer.
Plot-point 1 – an event happens that sends the protagonist on a new pathway into…
Act II – Development
• Tests and trials – the protagonist is exposed to a series of tests and trials that must overcome/mastered to get what they want.
• A new “development” raises doubts about protagonist’s ability to achieve the goal.
• An event “educates” protagonist that they may be getting something different from what they set out for. This “learning” changes the character [something that doesn’t usually happen in comic books].
Plot-point 2 – Point of No Return/Lock and Load –central character commits, against all odds, to the goal.
Act III – Climax, resolve and out
• Protagonist is close to achieving the goal.
• The stakes are raised. Protagonist sees the goal but is faced with a final, overbearing obstacle.
• Faced with all-or-nothing, protagonist gives up everything for the goal.
• Point of deep shit – crisis point where everything is in jeopardy of being lost.
• It all comes down to the final moment and because of the protagonist’s final action they win or lose.
• Resolution and wrap-up. Tie up loose ends and “The End.”
Drama occurs when 2 or more characters are in the same circumstances with diametrically opposed reasons. Understanding the role they play in the story is key to creating a compelling dramatic work. Types of characters include:
• Protagonist – The main character. The person who undergoes the most change/progression.
• Modifier – functions to force and/or promote change and growth within protagonist. Used to create drama.
• Antagonist[s] – initiate plot events that create conflict and result in success or failure, dominance or submission, and life or death.
• Catalyst – Introduces a new situation or new information that demands a response from the protagonist, but who does not enter into face-to-face conflict with the protagonist.
• Thematic Spokesperson – a character who personifies a thematic issue and becomes the thematic spokesperson.
• Supporting – other characters that function as vehicles to illuminate and color in the main characters.
• Lesser Roles – characters with limited functions who contribute to the reality of the situations and provide necessary plot information.
Some of the physical attributes to consider:
• Are their names common or unusual?
• Are they attractive? Unattractive?
• Any disfiguring marks? Physical handicaps?
• How do they dress? Fashionable or not?
• Are they neat and clean or sloppy and dirty?
• How do they walk, sit and gesture?
• What is their body language?
• Do they have any unique mannerisms? Quirks?
Drama plays out in physical locations and characters interact with a number of items or props. Considerations on Sets & Props include:
• Script should establish set requirements.
• Review drafting/finishing styles to establish “look.”
• Camera, swipe file, and/or google – it’s not cheating if it works.
• Always have an eye on merchandise-ability.
There are a few good books available for comic creators including Alan Moore's Writing for Comics and Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. The following notes reference these two as sources.
The comic writer needs an understanding of how their words will be rendered on the art pages by the artists. Anatomy of a comic book page is composed of some or all of the following:
• SPLASH PAGE – the first page of a story, with a large introductory illustration.
• OPEN LETTERS – letters drawn in outline, with space for color to be added.
• BLURB – copy which relates to a title.
• TITLE – the name of the story is.
• SPLASH BALLOON – an outline around lettering done in a jagged shape.
• PANEL – a single illustration on a page.
• GUTTER – the space between panels. A lot happens here – see Scott McCloud.
• SOUND EFFECTS – words like ZAP, POW, BAM, etc.
• THOUGHT BALLOON – copy that represents what a character is thinking.
• BUBBLES – the little connecting circles on thought balloons.
• DIALOGUE BALLOONS – the regular speech indicators.
• POINTERS – the connecting arrows on dialog balloons, showing who is speaking.
• BOLD WORDS or BOLD LETTERING – the words in balloons which are lettered heavier than the other words.
• CREDITS – just like the movies – where the names of those who made the book go.
• INDICIA [pronounced in-deé-shah] – the technical stuff showing who publishes the magazine and when and where – usually found on the bottom of the first page.
• CAPTION – copy in which someone is talking to the reader, but which is not within dialogue.
• ETC. – this medium remains fluid with new elements being introduced all the time.
While comic books contain elements of novels and film, they are a hybrid of the two:
• Film is about visuals - i.e. show it don't say it
• Novels are about the narrator’s voice
• Comics are about visuals matched with the narrator’s voice.
Aspects of Communication - the choices you make determine the difference between clear, convincing storytelling and a confusing mess:
1. Choice of MOMENT – you have to decide which moments to include and which to leave out.
2. Choice of FRAME/SHOT – see below.
3. Choice of IMAGE – what to show and what to leave to the imagination.
4. Choice of WORD – above all else, err on the side of keeping the story moving.
5. Choice of FLOW – guiding the reader through and between panels on the page/screen. Determined by page grid, panel layout, shot choices, use of positive/negative space, use of color, choice and placement of words, etc.
Clarity of communication is paramount. Scott McCloud’s 6 Transitions include:
1. Moment to Moment – a single action portrayed in a series of moments. Slows the story down – good for detail and suspense. [Winding up to take a punch]
2. Action to Action – A single subject [person, object, etc.] in a series of actions. Efficient way of telling a story. You can only include one action per frame. [A series of punches or a man running]
3. Subject to Subject – A series of changing subjects within a single scene. Think of television and film. [Two people punching back and forth or a conversation]
4. Scene to Scene – Transitions across significant distances of time and/or space. Helps compress a story. [From the fight to the surveillance satellite to league of doom headquarters.]
5. Aspect to Aspect – Transitions from one aspect of a place, idea, mood, etc. to another – basically a montage. Used to create a sense of space and mood. [Prepping for a flight, meditating, dressing, gathering weapons…]
6. Non Sequitor – A series of seemingly nonsensical, unrelated images and/words. [Family Guy gags]
Types of Frame/Shots you use go a long way to helping or hindering your storytelling.
• CLOSE-UPS – the “camera” or reader’s eye has moved as close as possible.
• MEDIUM SHOT – reader’s view of the scene enables them to see the figures head-to-toe.
• ESTABLISHING or LONG SHOT– generally used to show the environment where the action is being played out.
• BIRD’S-EYE VIEW – by placing the viewer above the scene you psychologically “diminish” the object being seen.
• WORM’S-EYE VIEW– by placing the viewer below the scene so they are looking up you psychologically make the object being seen more powerful.
• SILHOUETTE – a drawing in which the details are obscured by solid black [or any other single tone or color].
Choice of Frame/Shots
• Depends on what story element the script calls for.
• Must work visually in the grid, 2-page spread and single page contexts.
• Choosing the right distance and angle from which to view the moment.
• Importance of establishing shots – gives the reader a sense of the place the action is happening in.
• How much detail is important?
Choice of Image
• Rendering the objects, characters and environments in frames clearly.
• Can the reader easily determine what the picture is?
• Can you tell from the characters expression what they are expressing?
Choice of Word
• Selecting words that add valuable info and work well with the surrounding images.
• Let words say what pictures can’t. Don’t duplicate words and actions.
• Don’t be afraid of silence … or narration.
As you can see, there's a lot going on that's beyond the scope of a simple blog post so I encourage you to check out the following books for more information:
Alan Moore's Writing for Comics by Alan Moore
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
Until next time
An award-winning designer, I'm best known for my illustration, animation and directing work with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." In addition to teaching comic book production and animation at the prestigious Vancouver Film School, I created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.
Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: Alan Moore's Writing for Comics
Book: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
As discussed previously, storytelling is generally broken into these 3 parts or acts:
1. Beginning - Act I - 5 art pages with ads, 6 without
2. Middle - Act II - 8 art pages with ads, 10 without
3. End - Act III - 5 art pages with ads, 6 without
Ads, which run in many of the larger publications, often appear as “act breaks” similar to TV shows. Indies and graphic novels generally don't contain ads relying on the selling price to cover costs.
Plot-points [turning point] are events occurring at the end of acts that “spins” the action in a completely different direction. Generally speaking the three acts will cover the following:
Act I – Establishing
• Where and when is the story being told?
• Who is the protagonist, what do they want and will they get it?
• Who/what are the antagonists?
• What the story is about – establish the central question the story will answer.
Plot-point 1 – an event happens that sends the protagonist on a new pathway into…
Act II – Development
• Tests and trials – the protagonist is exposed to a series of tests and trials that must overcome/mastered to get what they want.
• A new “development” raises doubts about protagonist’s ability to achieve the goal.
• An event “educates” protagonist that they may be getting something different from what they set out for. This “learning” changes the character [something that doesn’t usually happen in comic books].
Plot-point 2 – Point of No Return/Lock and Load –central character commits, against all odds, to the goal.
Act III – Climax, resolve and out
• Protagonist is close to achieving the goal.
• The stakes are raised. Protagonist sees the goal but is faced with a final, overbearing obstacle.
• Faced with all-or-nothing, protagonist gives up everything for the goal.
• Point of deep shit – crisis point where everything is in jeopardy of being lost.
• It all comes down to the final moment and because of the protagonist’s final action they win or lose.
• Resolution and wrap-up. Tie up loose ends and “The End.”
Drama occurs when 2 or more characters are in the same circumstances with diametrically opposed reasons. Understanding the role they play in the story is key to creating a compelling dramatic work. Types of characters include:
• Protagonist – The main character. The person who undergoes the most change/progression.
• Modifier – functions to force and/or promote change and growth within protagonist. Used to create drama.
• Antagonist[s] – initiate plot events that create conflict and result in success or failure, dominance or submission, and life or death.
• Catalyst – Introduces a new situation or new information that demands a response from the protagonist, but who does not enter into face-to-face conflict with the protagonist.
• Thematic Spokesperson – a character who personifies a thematic issue and becomes the thematic spokesperson.
• Supporting – other characters that function as vehicles to illuminate and color in the main characters.
• Lesser Roles – characters with limited functions who contribute to the reality of the situations and provide necessary plot information.
Some of the physical attributes to consider:
• Are their names common or unusual?
• Are they attractive? Unattractive?
• Any disfiguring marks? Physical handicaps?
• How do they dress? Fashionable or not?
• Are they neat and clean or sloppy and dirty?
• How do they walk, sit and gesture?
• What is their body language?
• Do they have any unique mannerisms? Quirks?
Drama plays out in physical locations and characters interact with a number of items or props. Considerations on Sets & Props include:
• Script should establish set requirements.
• Review drafting/finishing styles to establish “look.”
• Camera, swipe file, and/or google – it’s not cheating if it works.
• Always have an eye on merchandise-ability.
There are a few good books available for comic creators including Alan Moore's Writing for Comics and Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. The following notes reference these two as sources.
The comic writer needs an understanding of how their words will be rendered on the art pages by the artists. Anatomy of a comic book page is composed of some or all of the following:
• SPLASH PAGE – the first page of a story, with a large introductory illustration.
• OPEN LETTERS – letters drawn in outline, with space for color to be added.
• BLURB – copy which relates to a title.
• TITLE – the name of the story is.
• SPLASH BALLOON – an outline around lettering done in a jagged shape.
• PANEL – a single illustration on a page.
• GUTTER – the space between panels. A lot happens here – see Scott McCloud.
• SOUND EFFECTS – words like ZAP, POW, BAM, etc.
• THOUGHT BALLOON – copy that represents what a character is thinking.
• BUBBLES – the little connecting circles on thought balloons.
• DIALOGUE BALLOONS – the regular speech indicators.
• POINTERS – the connecting arrows on dialog balloons, showing who is speaking.
• BOLD WORDS or BOLD LETTERING – the words in balloons which are lettered heavier than the other words.
• CREDITS – just like the movies – where the names of those who made the book go.
• INDICIA [pronounced in-deé-shah] – the technical stuff showing who publishes the magazine and when and where – usually found on the bottom of the first page.
• CAPTION – copy in which someone is talking to the reader, but which is not within dialogue.
• ETC. – this medium remains fluid with new elements being introduced all the time.
While comic books contain elements of novels and film, they are a hybrid of the two:
• Film is about visuals - i.e. show it don't say it
• Novels are about the narrator’s voice
• Comics are about visuals matched with the narrator’s voice.
Aspects of Communication - the choices you make determine the difference between clear, convincing storytelling and a confusing mess:
1. Choice of MOMENT – you have to decide which moments to include and which to leave out.
2. Choice of FRAME/SHOT – see below.
3. Choice of IMAGE – what to show and what to leave to the imagination.
4. Choice of WORD – above all else, err on the side of keeping the story moving.
5. Choice of FLOW – guiding the reader through and between panels on the page/screen. Determined by page grid, panel layout, shot choices, use of positive/negative space, use of color, choice and placement of words, etc.
Clarity of communication is paramount. Scott McCloud’s 6 Transitions include:
1. Moment to Moment – a single action portrayed in a series of moments. Slows the story down – good for detail and suspense. [Winding up to take a punch]
2. Action to Action – A single subject [person, object, etc.] in a series of actions. Efficient way of telling a story. You can only include one action per frame. [A series of punches or a man running]
3. Subject to Subject – A series of changing subjects within a single scene. Think of television and film. [Two people punching back and forth or a conversation]
4. Scene to Scene – Transitions across significant distances of time and/or space. Helps compress a story. [From the fight to the surveillance satellite to league of doom headquarters.]
5. Aspect to Aspect – Transitions from one aspect of a place, idea, mood, etc. to another – basically a montage. Used to create a sense of space and mood. [Prepping for a flight, meditating, dressing, gathering weapons…]
6. Non Sequitor – A series of seemingly nonsensical, unrelated images and/words. [Family Guy gags]
Types of Frame/Shots you use go a long way to helping or hindering your storytelling.
• CLOSE-UPS – the “camera” or reader’s eye has moved as close as possible.
• MEDIUM SHOT – reader’s view of the scene enables them to see the figures head-to-toe.
• ESTABLISHING or LONG SHOT– generally used to show the environment where the action is being played out.
• BIRD’S-EYE VIEW – by placing the viewer above the scene you psychologically “diminish” the object being seen.
• WORM’S-EYE VIEW– by placing the viewer below the scene so they are looking up you psychologically make the object being seen more powerful.
• SILHOUETTE – a drawing in which the details are obscured by solid black [or any other single tone or color].
Choice of Frame/Shots
• Depends on what story element the script calls for.
• Must work visually in the grid, 2-page spread and single page contexts.
• Choosing the right distance and angle from which to view the moment.
• Importance of establishing shots – gives the reader a sense of the place the action is happening in.
• How much detail is important?
Choice of Image
• Rendering the objects, characters and environments in frames clearly.
• Can the reader easily determine what the picture is?
• Can you tell from the characters expression what they are expressing?
Choice of Word
• Selecting words that add valuable info and work well with the surrounding images.
• Let words say what pictures can’t. Don’t duplicate words and actions.
• Don’t be afraid of silence … or narration.
As you can see, there's a lot going on that's beyond the scope of a simple blog post so I encourage you to check out the following books for more information:
Alan Moore's Writing for Comics by Alan Moore
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
Until next time
An award-winning designer, I'm best known for my illustration, animation and directing work with some of the best including Captain Canuck, Universal, Ikea and Nelvana's animated cult-classic "Rock & Rule." In addition to teaching comic book production and animation at the prestigious Vancouver Film School, I created the "Simply Accounting" name, designed Pigtronix's flagship musical effects pedal and launched both into successful brands.Author: Verne Andru
Link: www.VerneAndru.com
Link: www.CaptainCannabis.com
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 1 - 40th Anniversary
Book: Captain Cannabis: No. 2 - 40th Anniversary
Book: 420
Book: Alan Moore's Writing for Comics
Book: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
