Making Comics Progression: Script to Final

Want to see how a comic is made? Here’s a step-by-step progression of the process using a two-page spread from WAYWARD #4 as an example:

Script:

Jim writes the story for Wayward, guiding the team through the major moments and visual beats along with dialogue, sound effects and other text.

Page Rough:

Steven roughs out the overall composition, checking positioning and making sure all the important visual information is conveyed. On pages with a lot more text he’ll also double check that there’s enough room for that text along with the visuals.

Pencils:

In the case of Wayward, the line art is scanned in straight from Steven’s pencils.

Final Linework:

Jim resizes the art for the final page format, digitally darkens the lines, cleans up any smudges or dirt from the scan and blocks in large areas of black indicated in the pencils.

Colors and Final Lettering:

Tamra digitally adds mood, texture, and light and shadow to finalize the page art.

Marshall adds word balloons, captions, and sound effects as needed and sends back a final print-ready file.

Want to read the full issue and see how it fits into the story? It’s included in WAYWARD Vol. 1: String Theory, available from your favorite local comic shop, Amazon, or available digitally on comiXology.