TTC Video – How to Create Comics

TTC Video – How to Create Comics

Tips, Tricks, and Tools of the Trade

To create comics, you first need to understand them. While comics are not the only medium to use text and imagery together to tell a story, they are unique in the ways they use prose and illustration in a special kind of harmony. In other words, comics are not simply illustrated texts; rather, they fuse the written word and imagery together in such a way that one can’t work without the other.

There is no one way to make comics-the medium is far too broad and inclusive to claim there is a singular “right” way to tell stories. But there are technical aspects, materials, and terminology any would-be creator should know, such as:

Panels and Layouts. Comics use specific page layouts and individual panels in different arrangements to tell their stories. Understanding the traditional rules of formatting and constructing comics can give you much-needed structure-and can also show you which rules are worth breaking for the effects that you would like to achieve.
Color Palettes and Schemes. Some comics are created in monochrome, some in full-color, and others fall somewhere in-between. You will learn to better understand how color serves your drawings and how you can create moods with different color choices and contrasts of light and dark.
Character Design. The characters you will create for your comics, whether they are realistic or not, are something you will have to reproduce again and again, so it is important to understand what details you should include and what you can leave out.
Analog vs. Digital. We live in a world where many comics are no longer produced solely by hand, with paper and pen. In the new digital landscape, it is important to understand how digital comics are made and distributed, and how to decide when you want to work with physical media, digital tools, or both.

From the Sunday Supplement to the Pulitzer Prize

As you explore the ins and outs of creating comics, Professor Bagge taps into his own comics expertise while also touching on the work and influence of some of the medium’s greatest creators, including:

Charles Schultz;
Marjane Satrapi;
Jack Kirby;
Steve Ditko;
Stan Lee;
Crumb;
Michael DeForge;
Roz Chast, and many more.

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