So You Want to Make a Comic_ – Replicator

4/29/2015 So You Want To Make A Comic? Replicator

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Replicator

So You Want To Make A Comic?

April 29, 2015April 29, 2015 robxaraHi my name is Rob,

I am the writer/creator of Replicator, an upcoming comic that is yet to be released.

How did I get to this point? With lots of reading, researching and determination, hopefully you can

find something useful from what I have learned along the way.

Ok you are at square one, you have just come up with the next super harry dinosaur wars all in one

and its going to be massive but where do you go from here?

Well I hope you know how to write a story and assuming you do, you are going to need to break it

down into a comic format.

There are many ways to do this, personally I like to storyboard my comics before I script them just so Ican clearly determine what is happening on each page to ensure I can describe that easily so that the

artist can translate into what I require.

Other people can just write panel to panel, find what works for you.

So you have the basics of your 1st page, you have lets say 5 panels and a rough idea of what you want

in them. Keep it simple, you are not writing a story in the panels you are explaining what is happeningin the panel.

So how do you make it readable for everyone else? My suggestion would be to follow thisexcellent guide: http://blambot.com/comicscript.shtml (http://blambot.com/comicscript.shtml)

This is how I script all my comics, its neat has all the relevant details on there and can be followedeasily by anyone who is a part of the comic process from penciller, inker, colourists andletterers/editors.

The following is an example of how it looks.

Replicator NO.1/Arnold
http://replicatorcomic.com/http://replicatorcomic.com/2015/04/29/so-you-want-to-make-a-comic/http://replicatorcomic.com/2015/04/29/so-you-want-to-make-a-comic/http://replicatorcomic.com/author/robxara/http://blambot.com/comicscript.shtml



Page 2

Panel 1/(Day)Diagonal split panel with 2.

Cut to a view of the docks, a container ship full of cargo sits at the docks and assortment of

military vehicles and personnel are scattered around.

1. CAPTION: Trade and Travel are shutdown

Panel 2/(Day)

Cut to an external shot of an airport, planes are still parked in their bays, a makeshiftfence surrounds them an assortment of military vehicles and personnel are scattered around

Panel 3/ (Day) long panel, zoomed in.

Cut to a scene of the United Nations, they are gathered around a circular table, a name plate lies infront of each member with a different nation named on it. The looks on the faces on the members are amix of anger and concern, 2 men in the middle of the shot of the table are arguing furiously. There areperhaps 5-6 members, there should be a mix of ethnicities to be a representation of the UN.

Centred behind the 2 men arguing is a map of the world.

2. CAPTION: The Country Is Left to rot.

3. Man 1: This is not right!

4. Man 2: Its too dangerous, if it spreads to Europe, it could all be over.

Panel 4/ (Day) vertical split panel with 5.

Cut to the prime minister of England an older man, distinguished, clean shaven. Standing in front of apedestal, in front of a government building, in front of a group of press.

5. CAPTION: the government fractures

6. Prime Minister As your Prime Minister for the ongoing safety of thenation Im invoking Marshall Law.

Panel 5/ (Day)

Cut to a news anchor, sitting at a desk, smiling talking facing us. He sits on the left side of the panel tohis right and behind him is a TV showing a solider handing out food to a young girl.

7. CAPTION: The media is heavily censored

8. Reporter Why Marshall Law is good for us.

You can see from my page how it turned out following this process. Now obviously the text sound



You can see from my page how it turned out following this process. Now obviously the text soundeffects and colors havent been added as of yet but Ross the colorist and Jamie the letterer will follow theabove script.
https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg



(https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg)

So congratulations you have done this multiple times and now have a complete script for the first issue

and you can now say you have a working script which brings me to my next part. (https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg)

Pitching (https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg)

No I dont mean to publishers, I mean to everyone. I say this a lot in comic forums and on podcasts.

You are selling yourself and your idea to other people, be it fans, artists or publishers you want to be as

professional as you can at all times. Have a clear pitch, spend time reviewing and re-reviewing it until

you get to a stage where you are happy with it.

Why do this? If what I have said hasnt convinced you as to why writing a clear pitch is important,have a look at the following pitches who would you want to work with? The person whose idea comes

across like this:

I have this wicked idea, its sorta like a cross between scott pilgrim and batman, where this kid is like aloser u know but then he has had enuf and starts fighting bad guys.

So this is obviously a really bad example and I bet youre thinking yeah no one would write anything

like that, it happens often I read it multiple times a week.

Or something along the lines of: (https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg)

http://www.jimzub.com/wayward-the-original-pitch-redacted/


He may have given a certain someone a shout out in there . Now obviously Jim Zubs level ofpitching is quite high but it gives you an idea of what a near perfect pitch can look like.

Finding an Artist (https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg)

Ok you have a rough pitch, scripted pages its time to find an artist.

This can be a steep learning curve and probably the hardest part I found as an outsider looking in,

where and how do I do this?

Now before I continue, there is one thing I need to make clear. Artists need to be paid, depending on
https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpghttps://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpghttps://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpghttps://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpghttps://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpghttps://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg



Now before I continue, there is one thing I need to make clear. Artists need to be paid, depending on

your ultimate goal which thanks to this wonderful day and age of self-publishing, web comics and the

internet there are multiple ways to get your comic out there.

There are many different forums and ways to find an artist but the place I had the most success findingartists is Deviant Art, this where I found both and Armin and Ross.

http://forum.deviantart.com/jobs/offers/


I would advise that you put the following in your ad:

How much the artist charges per page

How long they require to do each page

What role they can fulfil (penciller, inker, colourist etc.)

This was the original ad I placed on deviant art quite a while ago now, and it netted me about 60 odd

replies.

Im looking for an artist/artists to work with for a minimum of 5 pages most likely more for a comic Ihave been working on for quite some time.

The comic is scripted and story boarded. I am looking for full colour pages.

I require the following things

Minimum of 5 pages work.

Possibility of a cover. If required you to be available to continue to work on the project depending on the direction it goes

in.

What role you can fulfil i.e. penciler, inker, colourist or ideally all of the above. What rates you charge.

I would also be happy to work in collaboration with someone. The art style i require is mostly dark but

also contrasted with rich vibrant colours of the inner city.

If you are able to satisfy the above criteria send me a note.

Set in England 10 years from now after an epidemic known as the red death has brought the countryto its knees, a scientist heralded as its savior goes missing. Her husband is blamed for her death, is jailed

and begins to lose his mind.

Due to lack of evidence he is released and starts to investigate his wifes disappearance. He finds the

partially completed cure, a miracle drug she was developing before she disappeared, the proof thatcould clear him. However, his distrust of the world he lives in convinces him he has only one option, he

injects himself with the serum she created.
https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg



He gains strange and unique powers and will stop at nothing until he finds his wife and uncovers the

truth. With the whole world still wanting nothing more then the end of his existence.

The closer to the truth, the deeper his insanity.

Is it perfect? No but it was pretty good.

Obviously its up to you who you select to do your work, based off your budget.

Final Advice (https://replicatorcomic.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/page00021.jpg)

One final piece of advice and thats start small, make comics get them out there and work your way upfrom there.

If you want to read more about starting out I would recommend Jim Zub, I linked his pitch for

wayward earlier, he is excellent and has probably the most useful website I have come across for

newbies and professionals alike. http://www.jimzub.com/ (http://www.jimzub.com/)

If you found this helpful you can support and find out more about Replicator here on the website andon Facebook/Twitter I appreciate it.

*I get the impression from a lot of what I read that people are concerned about other people stealing

their work, Im sure every now and then it might happen, but the sheer amount of work that goes intoa comic book its extremely unlikely. Most people would rather work on their own ideas then steal

someone elses.

Thanks Rob

armin ozdic, art, comic, comics, draw, drawing, drawing sketch, indiecomics, makecomics,replicator, ross campbell, writing

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So You Want to Make a Comic_ – Replicator