Top 5 Lettering Rules in Comic Books

[@rabidcomics]

Rule 6: Don't use exclamation points in sound effects. Sound effects can't be exclaimed. The exception to this is if the noise is organic. For example a dog barking can have exclamation points because the dog is making an exclamation. Basic rule of thumb is that if it can be a question, it can be exclaimed. So, an engine starting up would not. If you want to accentuate a sound, you can always make it larger or more graphical with color choices or nuances. A sound effect with an exclamation point is a dead give-a-way of an amateur.

[@walterostlie]

d I dunno. SFX are bombastic by nature so anything goes. I actually used an exclamation on a SFX just yesterday actually, so the timing of your comment is well timed. I've been looking at a lot of the sfx that manga use and I love the shapes of them. The closest English has is an exclamation point, so I wanted to use it. Not something I'd want to do regularly because it doesn't really make any sense, but in this particular case I think it added to the situation. But in general, totally agree, sfx don't really need them. I may just start using manga sfx in some cases, but I just need to translate them first so I know I am not saying something horrible.

[@liamwhinery5749]

Good to know.

[@damude1941]

Well, I don't agree with that as a rule, I have seen more than one professional comic author who does not follow that rule (I usually don't read USA comicbooks), but I find very interesting that argument, and I understand the logic behind that.

[@ethansbrewerton]

Interesting point about the crossbar "I"s taking up more space. Never thought about that. Good work as always sir!

[@walterostlie]

That damn crossbar! Thanks.

[@constantdoodle32]

Yeah I didn't ever think about that

[@JaceyChase]

It never occurred to me that wider or taller balloons wasted so much space, but it makes sense. I also never realized that rule about I's. That makes so much sense. I never noticed it before but took for granted that i's look a certain way in comics. I really appreciate this video. Thank you!

[@walterostlie]

It's funny because I learned that I rule, I couldn't unsee it. Some with all of them. The fit of the words in the balloon is the one that I notice the most.

[@troyhare6312]

Holy cow, a knowledgeable relatively new comicbook artist? Teach me yoyr ways oh wise one. But seriously though, I'd love to work with you sometime.

[@walterostlie]

What kind of work do you do?

[@LetsChat]

LOVE ALL OF THIS FEEDBACK.

[@queenofparkinglot]

You need more subscribers, such great tips for comics!!

[@walterostlie]

Thank you!

[@liamwhinery5749]

Great video! I'm relieved to find that I have naturally avoided these mistakes... so far, but it's nice to have this info firmly imprinted. Thanks!

[@meakimon]

To answer the end question, yes I absolutely think I was breaking some of these rules! So I appreciate this video! I am lettering for a friend, but been on the lookout for videos and tutorials to send her so she can learn to do it. And lo and behold, I keep running into you!^^ Thanks for keeping up the good work throughout the years! ^^

[@walterostlie]

Thanks for coming back and watching more videos, I appreciate your eyeballs.

[@ein_aaron-3031]

One thing nobody seems to talk about, is how big your letters should be. 8 to 12pt or is bigger ok too? I can't find any info on that :/ I for example would like to go with 14pt with my custom font. It's the best size when it comes to readability in my opinion. Is there any rules to that?

[@theillustratoryar1382]

Thanks for this handy info! Good content!

[@walterostlie]

Thanks, hope it helps.

[@gigitchi]

Whoa, this is a very comprehensive guide for a beginner like me. Thanks so much for making this!

[@ThinkPIONEERing]

@4:38 there's an exception to this rule .... Yehuda Devir does it occasionally without it being a detriment to the artwork or the narrative.

[@walterostlie]

What's the exception? I mean sometimes you're forced into a corner and don't have a choice, but I'm not sure why you'd intentionally want to do it? Unless you were trying to show people talking over each other, but even then I'd think it better to overlap the balloons, not the tails.

[@ThinkPIONEERing]

Walter Ostlie when the author wants to illustrate conversational clashes between two characters talking in unison it can help convey the conflicting feeling that typically occurs in such a situation.

[@walterostlie]

Maybe so, but it's forcing the reader to follow a tail maze to tell who's saying something and potential for confusion when you first start reading, that one character is speaking first when it was actually the other character. The clashing feeling could be achieved with just overlapping the balloon shape and not the tails. The overlapped balloons will make it feel like they are talking over one another and clashing. My thoughts any ways, not gonna send the cops after anyone ;) just the way I'd do it.

[@ghenesapaulma1963]

At the moment, all I got are the fonts that Clip studio provides so I have definitely broken some of these rules, like the crossbar I thing if it is the pronoun. I am aware there are some downloadable fonts on the internet but I don't have the money yet to purchase them. Unless there are free comic fonts, rule breaking, it is.

[@walterostlie]

Some rules were meant to be broken! hah. Actually, I think I mention it in this video, there is an amazing company/man called blambot. There are a ton of professional, comic fonts there for freeeeeee! He also has some pay for fonts, but a lot, I'd say 50% are free.

[@stl_outlaw1679]

Is there software that can be used to add in word balloons without having to draw them physically? I am doing my comics the traditional way

[@cmknox777]

Thank you for this video it was very informative.

[@dagmar.rokita.author]

Is this ok to use other font than this typical comic book font? Of couse if the other fonts that are clear and easy to read

[@dogaipek5089]

These tips are great, thanks a lot!

[@walterostlie]

Great to hear, glad it helped! I love talking about lettering.

[@dogaipek5089]

Walter Ostlie It definitely comes across! I’m still pretty new to this scene, but I’ve been learning more and more thanks to people like you being super kind and sharing the knowledge. Your content and enthusiasm are very valuable for sure! :)

[@cancelled148]

Okay. I need help with something. When you letter stuff what are the appropriate amount of words where you can start making double lines. Idk if you understand it. For example if you did something like: “Oh God.” That would be one line right? But what if you did a sentence like: “I hate pickles so much. Try them” Would that go in one line or in two? How would I seperate them to make it look correctly? Great tips BTW. Subbed.

[@walterostlie]

It's going to depend on the artwork. Does 1 line look best or 2? Or maybe 3. I try to get them to be as circular as possible and I just don't aesthetically like long lines. But that's a personal preference. I would have done 3 lines, possibly split the balloon into 2 if I have the room. i hate pickles so much. try them.

[@cancelled148]

Walter Ostlie So it’s all on preference?

[@walterostlie]

@@cancelled148 Yes, there are no rules, so technically it's all preference, buuuuut... "I hate pickles so much. Try them." If you have the room, I'd say make that at least 2 lines. if you leave it as one line, it's going to be a "weird" looking hot dog shaped... or pickle shaped word balloon. It just doesn't look good to me. But if you think it looks good that way, then there is nothing to say I am right and you're wrong. General rule is trying to keep it under 3-5 words per line, but all that changes depending on word count and placement and room. It's an art form really.

[@cancelled148]

Walter Ostlie Ah Thank You Walter. Thanks for answering me. Great video! :)

[@PinnacleOfJimbo]

Thanks Walter!

[@walterostlie]

My pleasure, dood!

[@alifrangga5156]

can you tell me the size for the font ?

[@walterostlie]

Font is tricky to say. I'll do a more in depth video, but check out this other video at 6:36s for a little information that may help you out. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYO8fpeEpZaXpck

[@nictouris6054]

Dude, save your sharingan for battle! Nah, seriously, great vid, It's amazing how underrated lettering is. Also, yes, blambot rules.

[@walterostlie]

Hah. Agree about lettering. Really overlooked in a lot of indie comics. Pretty simple to get it looking respectable, I think a lot of people just never think about it. It's a little tricky, because it is still art and subjective, but it has to be a very functional art, so it has to adhere to some rules. It doesn't have to, but...

[@SmashingJack]

Check out them pupils. Dude's almost probably a cyborg.

[@PhenomStudios]

Yooo awesome video! Very valuable. Thanks Walter :)

[@walterostlie]

Thanks, dood!

[@joshuadunbar2290]

Great video! Any advice on using ComicLife or any other programs? I find it frustrating since balloons often overlap panels and the cropping is limited, but I'm also a noob.

[@walterostlie]

ComicLife is an iPad/iOS program? Making comics on iPad can be tricky and ComicLife wasn't very intuitive to me, but I only tried it once.. You should check out Medibang, it is a more robust program and is still free.

[@adamnotsowest3820]

The halo light makes his eyes look like he’s a replicant from Blade Runner.

[@walterostlie]

I am!!!!! It also burned out my eyeballs, so now I have cyber eyes and also changed my lighting setup for new videos. Don't want to burn out these cyber eyes, they are expensive AF.

[@johannfunn6962]

This was really helpful, thank you! I will have a quick question about "pressing enter" if that makes sense. Do I choose when to go to the next line purely on visual aesthetic or do I also need to keep in mind what word I'm on?

[@walterostlie]

It depends on 1. how much room you have and the shape of it - if the space you have is more vertical than tall, you'll have to have more letters on a line. if the space is more tall, you'll have less words per line and more lines. 2. how many words there are - if you have a lot of words, you'll have to hit enter to maximize the amount of space you have available. Basicaly use up every square inch. Just in general, if I have enough room, I try to get the shape of my dialogue as close to an abstract circle shape as possible. or a chubby diamond shape.

[@johannfunn6962]

Walter Ostlie that makes sense, thank you!

[@badgamedevreacts3855]

Rule 23557, when making ice cream make sure to use premium sugar, *SEE RULE NUMBER ONE* .

[@mattbarnett4210]

Good info, but the light ring is terribly distracting.

[@senan3262]

Someday a Blade Runner is gonna get you 😂

[@walterostlie]

Hah, yeah. My eyes were LIT! I've since moved that light much, much further away.

[@adamnotsowest3820]

I said the same exact comment yesterday, just to scroll down and see you beat me to it 7 months ago.

[@senan3262]

Haha 😄😂

[@schwarzerritter5724]

One thing I have noticed exclusively in many My Little Pony fancomics: There are no speech bubbles, the text is written directly on the page. There are not even lines connecting them to the characters, instead the letters are colour coded. Purple for Twilight, orange for Applejack, white for Rarity.

[@walterostlie]

I've seen similar before. Though not having a connecting line is an extra step further towards abstraction. Depending on how complicated the panels are, that could become very confusing, especially for first time readers. I feel like there would be a little extra brain processing power used to identify a color and then color match it to the character, which seems to go against the grain of immersion. If it is just one character per panel or just intelligent panel composition, it may not be a problem. Do you have a link to one of these comics? I'd love to check it out.

[@walterostlie]

Oh, I think I found some. I see that the text color matches the pony's color, so that makes things much easier. It's a very specific case, pretty interesting though. There were a few of them I saw where the text color was close to the background color, which made it a little harder to read. Thanks for sharing that.

[@schwarzerritter5724]

@@walterostlie Oh yeah, I probably should have written the text matches the primary colour of the character. Glad you found it anyway.

[@lsmite1778]

Imma use comik sahn 😈

[@soumadiptadas9764]

Can I make bubbles pen n paper?.. like not using any app or computer.. handmade bubbles and lettering?

[@walterostlie]

Are you drawing the balloons by themselves? or on top of your artwork? The answer is yes you can, however, if you draw the balloons separately, then want to place them on your art, you have to do work to make sure the outside edges are clean. When you're not sure about something, test it. Do one balloon, see how it looks to you, and decide.

[@soumadiptadas9764]

@@walterostlie yeah I've been doing it at beginners level.. and I make bubbles along with the artwork.. so I can adjust the size and place... Thank you... Your advice was helpful.

[@walterostlie]

@@soumadiptadas9764 Hand lettering looks amazing when done right. Make sure to send me a link when you start posting, would love to see it.

[@soumadiptadas9764]

@@walterostlie sure😊

[@robloxianmaniac5306]

What app do you use to draw?

[@walterostlie]

ClipStudioPaint EX

[@robloxianmaniac5306]

@@walterostlie Ok, thank you!

[@appledough3843]

What about colors? What if one character has violet text while the other has brown text? Like it’s a distinct voice?

[@walterostlie]

Think that will be a personal style choice. A lot of popular comics do it, so nothing wrong with it. I don't do it for a few reasons. 1 - It's more work. 2 - It can be harder to read. 3 - it draws attention to the word balloons when I like balloons to almost become invisible to the reader. The only time I really change the style of the lettering is if they are yelling or it's a monster/ghost/robot situation.

[@appledough3843]

Walter Ostlie Thanks!

[@011001er]

Character fonts? Been done?

[@walterostlie]

Say what? Fonts specific to a character? It could get a little distracting/messy if you have 5 characters and they all have their own fonts.

[@011001er]

@@walterostlie haha, I knew that response was coming, and it's true but when you think about it, how often are more than three characters speaking at once? Even then it's usually broken interrupted speach. But yeah, even once might be to many times. Or.... Maybe not. Lol

[@walterostlie]

You'll never know unless you try. At least it is easier to fix, but would be a time consuming fix. Also just having to do it could be tedious, making sure you have the right font for the character, switching back and forth during lettering. I don't know if you'd get a return on investment. Using a crazy font for evil monsters has a decent payoff because the contrast is so strong. But two normal people chatting? Maybe if you had a guy from medieval times that was transported to the future, you could use some old school cursive style fancy font, but that would get tiring trying to read. But who knows, could be cool. experiment, fail, experiment more, fail more, experiment more, eventually succeed ;-)

[@jd6473]

Break out your Ames lettering guide and learn to hand letter! There is just no matching the beauty and life of hand letters! #savecomicbooklettering

[@walterostlie]

Hand lettered comics are beautiful.

[@bennyadam8544]

HI Walter, great video. thanks for uploading. i have a question for you with regards to inserting the text. should it always be inserted retrospectively using software like photoshop, ie after the artist has inked and coloured the artwork or can the artist himself write in the text.

[@walterostlie]

There are still a few artists out there lettering artwork by hand with pen and ink. So you can totally do that. Obviously it's harder to fix and you want to make sure you have decent handwriting, but there's nothing inherently wrong with it. You want to make sure to get your lines straight and perfectly horizontal, unless you want it to feel "off"

[@bennyadam8544]

@@walterostlie awesome! thanks for the prompt reply

[@saiyajedi]

2:20 What about “I” in initials, as in “F.B.I.” or “V.I. Lenin”? It’s not a personal pronoun, but it says its name and stands (more or less) alone...

[@walterostlie]

Do what you think looks best. Example, I have a character named iso. I always used capital i because I thought her name looked wrong if I didn't use crossbar. So type it both ways and see if it looks okay without the crossbar first. If not, try it with the crossbar. I think in the case of FBI and VI, to me, it looks better without the crossbar.

[@acrylicsl]

FIRST!

[@walterostlie]

You're the best. You know that right?

[@PinnacleOfJimbo]

Rules are for suckers. I hand letter with a different crayon on each page.

[@walterostlie]

No rules is the new rules.

[@valentingartner3793]

Font are for the lazy. Why not just letter by hand.

[@walterostlie]

You letter by hand?

[@valentingartner3793]

@@walterostlie Of course. You should try it. After some practise you're no longer bound to conventional letter shapes. Italian chancery cursive? No problem. 19th century german blackletter? Easy-peasy. Roaring Twenties style Art Deco gothic? Child's play.

[@walterostlie]

@@valentingartner3793 nice. Anywhere I can see your work? I'd love to see it.