Making Comics... is HARD š«
The rewards and woes of creating a story.
Well, hello good people! Welcome to summer. Is it hot enough for you all yet? Because it is totally boiling currently where I live.
Alright, alright enough of thatā¦ letās get down to comic business.
Why Iām Pursuing Comicsā¦ Again
For the last year I have been actively drawing again and this has led to me wanting to pursue creating comicsā¦ again. Sequential Art is nothing new to my world as I graduated with a B.F.A in that field from SCAD. ( Wooh, its been like 11 years nowā¦ š„“).
After college I started working in the library field (which is another passion of mine). Truth be told I never stopped loving art. I just didnāt have the confidence in my skill to continue pursuing working professionally in the art field ( not to mention the job market can be a tough thing to crack). Eleven years later and Iām going to actually give this another shot. Iām starting with creating a short 4-issue comic story that I am going to self-publish.
That story is ā¦ Dispatch Punk. This time around feels different because in the 11 years since I graduated college there have been so many avenues online to publish a comic and market it to comic book fans around the globe. Social media has made it possible to put your work out there for other professionals to see and sometimes that can lead to more pro-level work.
I wanted to pursue making comics again for a few reasons:
To create a complete story that I could add to my portfolio.
To challenge myself and improve my art skills.
And for the love of storytelling (#1 reason if Iām being honestā¦ hehe š).
What Makes Comic Making So Hard
Wellā¦ its supposed to be challenging. If you are pursuing anything in life it will come with new challenges. We need challenges in order to keep improving our skills. For me, making a comic that has vehicles, fight scenes, and pretty much anything interesting is going to be a challenge. Those are things that I didnāt draw very often in the past but, Iām making an effort to learn how to draw them to improve my skills.
There are three things that Iāve realized are essential to making comics:
Motivation
Consistency
Confidence
Of course these are not the only things you need to make art but, I feel that if you have the right motivation, keep consistent in making comics, and have the confidence to do it, you will find success.
Iām going to try to keep these in mind as I pursue my dream of making comics full-time.
Dispatch Punk Update
I am 11 pages away from finishing the first issue of āDispatch Punkā. Itās very exciting but, also very challenging. As I draw, I have to remind myself that nothing is perfect and I have to keep drawing in order to get better.
Do you guys ever feel like your creations arenāt that good? Nah, itās probably just me right haha š
Seriously though, Iām working on that confidence thing I mentioned earlier. No matter what art you put out there for people to see, remember why your doing it and remember that you CAN do it!
You can watch this vlog about making comics on my YouTube channel:
June Book Recommendation š
Go check out Temporal by Stephanie Williams and Art by Asiah Fulmore. I just started this comic and Iām loving it. If you like spies, time travel, and stories about family then this is the one for you.
Well, thatās it for now friends. Stay cool and hydrated this summer.
Tilā next time, stay safe! š
Meg