SHORT STORY/ONE-SHOT/ONE CHAPTER/COMICS 101 CRASH COURSE RAPIDPUNCHES’ STYLE
I’m NOT an expert but I have some working experience I can share. You need experience to become great. Here is my set of instructions, tips, and notes towards making a 12-page comic.
My method is to work backwards. Personally I work “backwards” because the end is the only wholly necessary page or set of panels in the story. Everything in between is open to editing and hacking as the most important moments are emphasized and chosen.
I even plan/draw the end page first. The end is the last page a reader sees- so spend your freshest energies on making it as epic, memorable, poignant, and beautiful as #$%^&.
If you draw the pages from 1 to 12 sequentially you run the risk of fresh to burnt out- an uneven distribution of drawing skill. (treat the first page and the 2-page splash as you would the last).
Roughly… the steps to making your comic is
WRITE
PLAN THUMBNAILS
DRAW
…BEGIN THE WRITING (DO NOT SKIP NO MATTER WHAT) like this, in this order:
How does it end?
Does the protag succeed or fail?
What is the turning point of their story?
What the protag do that led them there?
Where does it start?
Who is this protag?
EXAMPLE:
Guy gets mauled by a bear.
This is a fail on the guy’s half.
The bear must eat something or he’ll starve to death.
It’s the guy’s fault the bear can’t find other food. He caused the avalanche that buried all the cabins.
The guy is yodeling in an avalanche zone.
The guy is some guy.
CREATING “THE BEAT SHEET” Take the above stuff and reorder it to make sense.
This guy yodels.
Echoes roll.
Snow slides down.
Avalanche buries the mountain.
Cabins are engulfed.
This bear has no access to cabin food and garbage.
Bear eats this guy.
Expand. Blow up important beats for emphasis. Keep less important beats brief.
This guy is hiking in the snowy mountains.
He comes across an avalanche warning sign.
There is nobody around but him.
A dumb expression forms over his face and he yodels.
Echoes roll but nothing nearby is moved.
At the top of the mountain the snow drifts twitch.
Guy, satisfied, hikes away from there still yodeling.
Frozen snow cracks.
Snow puffs billow and great slabs of ice crash down the mountain side.
Guy sees this and hightails it to safer ground.
Animals, people, are all panicking and getting pushed over by the rushing snow.
Cabins are destroyed.
The guy takes cover by an outcropping of rocks, fastens himself securely to the rock face, and waits for the avalanche to die down.
Avalanche dies down.
A lone bear shambles over from the other side of the mountain.
The bear goes to where a cabin used to be (only roof tiles are left). Bear sniffs a dish satellite.
Bear forlornly eats a food wrapper.
Bear tries to dig.
Guy comes down from the rocks he as climbing and sees bear.
Bear stops digging and sees him.
Guy runs.
Bear chases him down.
Bear eats the guy.
BEAT SHEET COMPLETED!!!
After the beat sheet, write up all the sound effects and speech bubbles and conversation/dialogue you want to be in your comic.
Since comics are a visual medium, highest priority is given to the beats. If a story can’t be told with the art without the dialogue– you messed up and it’s time to rethink your life choices.
Try to keep all your text chunks as short as a tweet. Professionally you don’t want more than 25 words per speech bubble and no more than 250 words per page.
Next is translating the beats to pages…
STRUCTURE OVERVIEW:
[1] point of entry, in media res, hero intro
[2][3] conflict. establish conflict, setting, and mood by the third page. [4][5] rising action/false resolution to conflict/investigation
[6][7] turning point/plot twist/epiphany (this one epic image, to page spread is pivotal, spend a lot of effort into creating this)
[8][9] aftermath/“darkness before dawn”/struggle [10][11] recovery/“rise and conquer”/“fall”
[12] resolution/final end/cliffhanger
[front cover][interior] [interior][back cover]
——————–
My maximum per page is nine panels but I’ve seen pages that have way more. I like to have about 3 to 4 panels per row or less but I’ve seen the “rules” broken before. Advanced comic book artists manipulate time with the number of panels and the size of each panel.
remember, DIAGONALS!!! open up an issue of batman, superman, spider man, deadpool or whatever youre reading theyre everywhere.
———-
…DRAW IN THIS ORDER:
Page 12,
Page 6 and 7 (this is typically one large image that takes up the space of two pages),
Page 1,
and then the rest.
ONLY “DEVIATION” ALLOWED:
Page 12 and 1*
Page 6 and 7,
and then the rest.
*Draw the first and last page as a spread in situations where the beginning of the story mirrors the end of the story.
Cover is dead last.
———-
(If at the very end you find out you need more pages and it’s absolutely unavoidable and totally necessary you have to add them in fours. Try to stick to 12 pages for this crash course.)
——————–
FURTHER NOTES:
Plan and draw the pages in spreads (the twos) since this is how it will appear in print and when you submit them to an editor for review guess what, the pages with an exception to the first and last will be reviewed as spreads.
You at most only need one establishing panel of the setting and environment (scene) per page.
Forget “true to life” perspective outside of the establishing panel). Practice diagonal composition of objects and subjects within panels. For dynamism.
You don’t have to present the text all in one go (one paragraph or bubble). You can and should break up paragraphs, sentences, and if you need to single out words– to make smaller, more easily managed bubbles to scatter through the panel.
Less important moments have smaller panels and or lesser detail. More details (or more word bubbles) slow down time. More drawn detail also creates a concentration of values (it’s darker and sometimes combines together as one shape or mass)
Know your light sources. Control the blacks. Control the values.
Every
time I post a personal meditation I get a person or two asking how
they can perform a similar meditation. Here is a list of the
meditations I have done recently if anyone is interested to see what
I mean:
I
type as if I am having an out of body experience, but in reality I am
having a normal meditation where I am aware of my physical body, but
very focused on my imagination.
These
meditations take place using the platform of your imagination. I
believe the imagination is a highly powerful tool for magical use. In
essence, you are ‘imagining’ what is going on. But I think you will
find that this sort of imagination is different than everyday
daydreams.
You
are not journeying to any outer worlds, you are going deep within
yourself to find whatever you seek. I believe outer worlds can be
contacted using this method, but that is not what we are doing here.
Although
these meditations are within, they can still be scary or
intimidating. Wear a personal protection to help make you feel
comfortable and safe.
I
have very vivid scenes because I have been practicing for so long. In
order to make your meditations more vivid, practice, practice,
practice! Also engage in relaxation exercises before you begin. The
more you do, the better. I recommend deep breathing. I have also
found some youtube relaxation exercises to be excellent.
Step
1: Relaxation
Sit
or lie down in a comfortable, quiet place. Begin your relaxation. The
more relaxed you are, the easier it is to focus on your imagination
and let the story unfold in front of you. Try breathing deeply for
three, seven, and nine breaths. If it helps, turn on ambient sounds
related to the adventure you want to have (for example, I like to
turn on beach sounds when I visit the ocean).
Step
2: Visit the Green Well
When
you are feeling ready to move on, imagine a well in front of you. It
is surrounded by willow and oak trees. Look down in to the well. The
water emits a calming green glow. Because of the glow you know that
this is a magical well that will transport you to a realm within
yourself. Jump in the well and sink to the bottom. If you are like
me, you will physically feel a sinking sensation.
As
you near the bottom of the well, something magical happens. Your
frame of perception shifts, and suddenly you are not sinking, you are
rising! Soon you surface out of the other end of the well, upright
and dry. You see before you a magnificent tree.
Step
2: Visit the Green Ladder
If
the thought of sinking down a well doesn’t sit very well with you, or
you can’t manage the perception shift, instead imagine a ladder. The
ladder is made out of green wood and is very rustic looking. You
understand that this is an old and powerful ladder that will take you
deep down inside yourself. The ladder goes down in to a massive
cavern within the earth. You begin climbing down the ladder. There
are many rungs to climb [you can do deep breathing and counting
exercises as you descend the ladder if you wish], but soon you reach
the bottom.
At
the bottom, it seems the cavern is so large that there is a new sky
with clouds. And the cavern contains a wonderful tree.
Step
3: View the Tree
The
tree you have found is your World Center, like a highway that will
connect you to any place you wish to go within yourself. You notice
that the roots of the tree grow out of the ground, and are as big
around as a house. Spotted along the roots of the tree are doors of
all shapes, sizes, and colors.
These
doors will take you to any place you wish to go. You simply have to
find the right one.
Step
4: Find a Door
Decide
where you would like to visit (a list of ideas is at the end). No
matter where you want to go, use this technique.
State
clearly where you want to go.
Then,
whirl around in a circle and suddenly stop while facing the Great
Tree.
The
first door you see will take you to where you wish to go.
If
you are having trouble finding the ‘right’ door, then simply be aware
that no matter which door you choose, it will be the right one. They
are magic doors.
Step
5: Having Your Adventure
Walk
or teleport to the door and open it. Step through. Inside you will
see what you have asked for.
This
is the difficult part of the meditation, because your mind must fill
in the blanks. Some people find this to be difficult, and indeed some
rooms don’t help at all; I have found rooms which are pitch black or
just a grey mist. I would recommend you begin by asking for things
which your mind can easily fill in, such as physical locations.
Request to be taken to the ocean, a park, or an old house.
Step
6: Interacting with Denizens
You
will most likely meet beings on your adventures. I cannot say what
these beings really are; if they are archetypes we can tap in to, or
parts of our subconscious, or what. Treat them nicely and listen to
what they say, and do not be startled or afraid of them.
Step
7: Leaving
You
must always finish the meditation by going back the way you came. Go
back through the magical door to the Great Tree, then go down the
well or up the ladder, until you return to the starting place. Then,
view yourself laying down or sitting and walk to your body, returning
to it. Finish with a grounding and/or centering technique.
Places
you can visit:
Bodies
of water
Rivers,
lakes, ponds, hot springs, crystal grottoes, mermaid coves, the vast
ocean, underwater cities, tidal pools.
Tracts
of land
Meadows,
enchanted forests, dragon lairs, great mountains, farms, sloping
hills, vast deserts, painted cliffs.
Civilized
areas
Any
famous place, fictional or real; cloud cities, massive libraries,
your personal workspace, your inner temple.
Abstract
concepts
Places
of healing, places of remembrance, places of friendship, places of
learning, places of wisdom, places of power, places of combat.
Things
you can do:
Shapeshift
In
to elementals, animals, mythical creatures, or any form you desire
Change
in size
Large
to small or small to large. Try becoming very small and exploring
tidal pools or forest trees.
Talk
to people
Collect
power objects
If
a particularly interesting or meaningful object catches your eye,
collect it and put it in a special bag. The next time you meditate,
look for the bag again and inside of it should be all the things you
have collected.
Explore
Look
around and allow your mind to populate your area with scenery,
objects, and people.
A collection of songs about nuclear terror, the space race, the arms race,
friends and lovers separated by walls, espionage, despair, and hope.
To narrow down this list, I excluded novelty songs (sorry, Weird Al and Tom Lehrer) and songs about the Vietnam War, because *whew*, those are two whole other playlists.