Drawing comic books is a great way to express yourself and create an interesting piece of art. If you want to bring your ideas to life check out these 5 simple steps on how to draw comics.
Before you get started, prepare your equipment. You will need a ink, pencil, a pen for inking and bordering, a brush for inking, illustration paper (about 10”x 15”), a drawing board, pushpins (so you can keep the illustration in place) and a panel. You can make your own from a matte board by cutting 2 or 4 equal boxes. Make sure you have some white opaque paint and an eraser for covering errors. A rapidesign lettering guide template is optional, but it helps.
Step 1
Come up with an idea. Make sure you always have a notebook with you so you can write down any idea that pops into your head. You can also brainstorm and research older comic books to get inspired. Draw a rough sketch of your idea and characters.
Step 2
Preparing your workspace is an important step. Use as many light sources as necessary and place the paper on the board in front of you. Put your picture together so that it is pleasant to the eyes. A simpler composition is easier for the reader to understand. That doesn’t mean it can’t be exciting and powerful.
Step 3
Draw the boxes using the panel. After you finish use your sketch as a guideline to start shaping figures with a pencil. The important thing is to think in terms of cubes, spheres and cylinders when you sketch an object. If you are just learning how to draw comics you might not succeed at your first attempt. Spend all the time you need and don’t try to complete the drawing at once. For a better understanding of face expressions study your own face in the mirror while mimicking an emotion.
Step 4
Use the lettering template and the pencil to write your character’s lines. Ink over the pencil lettering with a pen. Ink the characters and background and then finish using the brush. Brush heavier on the outlines and the undersides of the bodies and use the eraser and white opaquing paint to cover up possible errors.
Step 5
Scan your comic as grayscale so intermediate tones are preserved. If you drew two boxes up and two down you can rearrange them in Photoshop or other program as a regular strip. Adjust the threshold to 128 or 140 for bolder lines. Now you can convert from a grayscale image to RGB mode so you can color it and add any other effects you desire. A true comic artist must know how to draw the old fashioned way, but a little help from modern technology saves you lots of time!
