Making Comics with Graphic Novelist Nate Powell (MARCH, COME AGAIN) | [Indi]android Ep. 18

[@csoniah4432]

Right now i am trying to make my webcomic, spent 3 months writing the script, everyday for many hours, spent weeks trying to decide the art style and character design (my art style is not defined bc i am a beginner and i like to change the style depending on the genre i am doing) is hard and can be stressfull specially if you are working on deadlines or are a beginner, there's literally so many things to learn lol but is very fun

[@rasclotify]

Glad yr finding it fun, but yr literally doing it the toughest way possible. You can do it that way, but it is extremely tedious. You should narrow it down and start with loose thumbnails/storyboarding. And do one chapter at a time so it is less overwhelming if you feel you must write an entire script in words beforehand. Doing it in the manner of pre-writing an entire script is VERY daunting unless yr only doing a short story (4-10 pgs), even for a trained comic artist. Some seasoned artists do it that way after years of doing it the traditional way, but it is waaaaay longer and waaaaymore detailed by design to the point of annoying. But you gotta kinda learn the rules before you can break them. Details CAN come later, it easier to carve it out in smaller increments. If yr just a beginner, try the easier method first. Or you might want to try and network with an artist who can do all that for you and you can just give them the script one chapter at a time. I went to the same Undergrad program as Nate Powell, same professors. What you're doing is not how we are trained initially. It is WAY more difficult, you may run the risk of burnout. Comics are WAY harder than ppl assume. It is slow b/c the process just truly takes time, but that's even when you do it in the easiest manner let alone what yr trying to do, so slow it down. Yr working way harder than you need to. Story structure, visual sequence, editing, actual physical execution of the work, etc these are all VERY important things we learn in learning that process. etc. But the good news, it isn't rocket science. I teach it to kids. But there is a method/process that you follow when you get 1st trained in when you go to art school for Comics/Cartooning. And no teacher would have you jump in feet 1st in that manner if you're a beginner.

[@hunterg.1300]

Good for you, man! I'm still a college freshman majoring in art with an emphasis in illustration, and I hope to become a comic illustrator myself someday. What's the name of your webcomic, if it's released? I'd love to give it a look!

[@vincentmonet6172]

@@rasclotify Hi there. I found your comment very useful. Thank you. Could you recommend any further resources or books that describe the process and methods you were taught? (Perhaps a link to this programme of study too?) As I’m aiming to expedite my own graphic novel in the most efficient and manageable way I can. I need to convert a novel into graphic form, so looking for a solid process, as I know it’ll take at least 2 years. Cheers, 👋

[@rasclotify]

@@vincentmonet6172 Of course, no prob. Props for trying to take it on. So, in all my dealings in the field, the books I find the most user friendly and not overly academic but rather accessible are: 'Drawing Words & Writing Pictures' by Jesica Abel & Matt Madden. These two were former professors of mine. They break down the basic comic process in very understandable and technical ways while also building up yr chops. They also put out a sequel to this book called 'Mastering Comics'. Another great book with very practical exercises and approaches is 'Drawing Comics' by Robyn Chapman. Again very practical, but also super cool because the chapters are all guest authored by published working comic artists. Those would be my two choices. Ppl tend to over intellectualize the art form in order to have it receive the same respect other genres of visual art receive, but, that view has also broadened since these books came out. There are a lot on the market now, but these are two VERY accessible titles that are made for artists by artists and not just academics. I consider them my go-tos when teaching comics. What I will really emphasize is avoiding Scott McCloud titles for the beginner comic maker. For ages his books were considered the bibles out there because of lack of other options, but I find his work too academic, too elitist and inaccessible in the language he employs. He writes dissertations not how-to's-really. But those other books will teach you the basics and make the process less all encompassing. Good luck. Feel free to ask me anymore questions.

[@vincentmonet6172]

@@rasclotify Hey, thank you for your reply - much appreciated. I’ll check out titles you’ve suggested. Best wishes ☮️

[@videovagrancy8526]

He has such a fascinating process. I love seeing different artists approaches to the craft. Great art, this man is seriously talented. Going to have to pick up some of his work.

[@Simbabweman]

I read the entirety of "Swallow Me Whole" in a day last year for research for my university project where I was making a comic centred around schizophrenia. Such a brilliantly done and insightful read, I couldn't put it down. This guy is an incredible artist (in all aspects including writing) and his comics are worth your time.

[@satyajitsharma97]

Mad respect for graphic artist❤

[@1995yuda]

Long live in good health and continue to bless us with your art my man

[@julespesce-deferrari3696]

I’m working in a graphic novel and it’s so interesting learning about how to portray your characters with little dialogue. I use hair and eyes to portray their emotions. My main characters designated color is orange, so when she’s mad or feeling any deep emotion her hair (which is brown) gets a slight orange tint and her eyes will get a shade lighter.

[@david_the_noob_0422]

You can upload some stuff to webtoon if you'd like, I'd read your stuff.

[@joer8954]

I’m also in the process of writing/drawing my own graphic novel. I have most of the story thought out. I’m still practicing on getting the character designs right though. I also have trouble drawing panels with a lot of detail. Any tips?

[@julespesce-deferrari3696]

@@joer8954 for the character, Character sheets are a life saver for me so I can just reference back to it while working and their colors. As for the panels, I find it easier for me to do a lot of background practice of the backgrounds I want before starting in the novel so I can see details and lighting before doing it in a smaller panel!

[@Adam-kx2tp]

@@joer8954 start with a thin basic outline ignoring the details - maybe 005 pen. Then use a fairly thick brush just thick enough to capture 'some' detail but too thick to capture ALL the detail - maybe a #3 or #5 depending on your panel size. Finally when you're done go back to the 005 pen and drop in all the fine details like: seems on clothes, frown lines, cracks, textures, skirtings etc... Doing this allows you drop in the details as lazily as you want and it still looks good.

[@ahmadbriggs3856]

sorry to be off topic but does anyone know of a method to log back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid lost my password. I appreciate any tricks you can offer me!

[@hotelnapkin]

this was great loved it

[@-lkamiyachanl-female-bubbl2669]

This takes a while especially doing it solo

[@ghoshalmaumon81]

I love graphic comic books and I also want to draw incredible like them Respect Man ❤️

[@terrencecoccoli524]

Love this guys work.

[@writangshumukherjee6474]

It's very good to see an artist working and their discipline to their mastrry.

[@keypath4389]

Oooh sweet! New manben episode!!!!

[@thenomad4123]

Man whenever I see how comics are made I feel sad for the artists. It looks difficult as heck, on top of it you have to face pressure and deadlines, and not earn good money. Feels very unfair, especially because they are giving a lot of enjoyment to the readers. I can't imagine my life without comics, grew up with them and still love reading them.

[@rodluper]

You totally hard. Is hard, sometimes I ask myself why I keep doing it.

[@thenomad4123]

@@rodluper I guess it comes down to if you are enjoying what you do or not. Looked at your channel (and subbed), you are obviously very talented and I'm sure people are enjoying what you are creating. I think it shows great character if you can keep on doing what you love despite its challenges, besides doing what we love is what really makes us happy in the end. This may be small comfort if you are struggling financially, but it is true.

[@mrdawks8932]

Amazing

[@Upyrmum]

I have this huge Idea of several short horror stories I have been working on for years but can never get all the way through the writing part I know the premise from start to end but have trouble writing it so I have started to do it in comic form and that is coming together very well.

[@Hsihtar862]

Beautiful

[@rodluper]

I like it cos his style is seat on the chair and draw, pure style, not so much photo references, just drawing for fun, brushes and page get done.

[@christhayil8354]

It's worth the first six seconds!!!! Classic

[@Quesoguapo]

Cool stuff

[@tommymeyer]

I really liked this. Would have liked it even more though, if the camera was positioned on the opposite side, so i could see the drawing being drawn.

[@rodluper]

Me too.

[@Peter-wl3tm]

Can you give me some tips on how I should draw, should I draw on an angle or draw flat, to what degree of angle should I draw I can’t afford a drafting table at this point, I’m a beginner artist, I don’t know if I should buy a smaller table top easel to put my sketchbook on or should I buy a drawing board to put my sketchbook on and find a way to try to angle it up somehow, what are your thoughts?

[@ART_INDIA]

Awesome work 🙌🤜🤛

[@crystallizationofthesoul7095]

This guy is my hero! Look at his technique

[@Quesoguapo]

Youre awesome dude

[@DERRICKLEONIDAS365]

GO BRO!!!

[@storypaths6]

love his work.

[@peterkoinzell7983]

He’s getting arthritis like my favorite gamers. Hope he does something about it asap. Much respect for what he does.

[@sstudio36]

He should do yoga. Yoga has many benefits for people with arthritis.

[@idrewit2243]

Love this work!

[@johnlabry325]

Kinda cool he uses traditional techniques

[@tullyfisher]

cool. very interesting. Thank you!

[@Crazytesseract]

He uses the Pentel P205. That's interesting.

[@matthewkeating6970]

Great vid.

[@melindedemmers264]

Thank you for sharing. I love to see true craftmanship 👍🏼🤗.

[@davidaaronartist]

Gracias!

[@pullcounterboxing]

So its possible to make your comic book panels to get in more details for panels and get that panel printed with good quality?

[@andyhowden7655]

What ink does this guy use?

[@williampowell3378]

Cool

[@BockwinkleB]

Hail ComicsGate!

[@silverblaize]

Can someone really make a living these days solely from self publishing graphic novels? It seems like at least comic writers and artists who work for let's say Marvel or DC, at least have some sort of contract, and they're constantly releasing monthly comics, but if you're doing a graphic novel which might take years to finish a single project, how do you support yourself in the meantime?

[@single_use_planet_]

Donations... At least that's what I've seen so far, if you have no social media platform you have no chance. A lot of tines you also rely on your audience to publish your work through a kickstarter, since you do it without a publisher you need money to fund it before it can get printed, so a solid community is absolutely key and without it I can honestly not imagine how it can be done... Of course you could find a publisher but at the end of the day they will always want to make changes and hold your hand and honestly that's just not what I want.

[@csoniah4432]

I don't know about graphic novels but there are a lot of people making money with webcomics (digital comics) , they are rly popular in asia and the past few years are becoming popular here, there are many plataforms outhere looking for artists and for writers, tapytoon, lezhin, webtoon etc. Webtoon for example is a place where you can self publish your webcomic for free, they have millions (literally) of readers from many countries who enter the app everyday to read comics, if your story becomes popular of if they like your comic they hire you , and you will be paid montly , you can also make money with ads, patreon and "coins" which is an option webtoon gives readers if they wanna read special episodes not released to the public yet. Also the most sucessfull comics in the korean version of the plataform naver became Kdramas (sitcoms), like cheese in the trap and true beauty will become a kdrama too. There are also webcomics turning into animation (anime, cause webtoon has a partnership with crunch roll) like noblesse, tower of god etc ... so yes if you are good and have potential you can make a living with self publishing comics. A strategy i see many people doing is turning their graphic novel into webcomic format, if their webcomic is popular they promote the printed version (graphic novel) for the fans to buy. If you wanna do that build a fan base and considers other formats to share your story . Also some artists work two jobs usually something that is related to art like graphic design so they can keep practing their skill.

[@single_use_planet_]

A friend of mine actually became a creator for webtoons back in summer, he's shared some insight with me over the time, when he announced it to me we were both so happy... They wanted to make a featured comic out of the one he already had but they wanted him to make... Some... Changes to it, he since then has had to color the entire thing and everytime he sends it to his editor they have more and more things for him to overhaul the entire thing. The thing is, the idea of getting paid monthly is fine if you're able to do the work until your deadline... If you can't then you won't get paid. He is struggeling to move faster but he has to change so much stuff all the time I never get to speak to him anymore, the only times he amswers is in the middle of the night so he doesn't get a lot of sleep... Just like graphic novels, comics or even web comics, when you have an editor you have to do what THEY want...

[@silverblaize]

@@single_use_planet_ That sounds overwhelming to the point at which it's not even fun, nor is it your own creative work anymore. But I guess that's just the way the business is like. I'd rather create my own thing and post it online for free, and then maybe self publish physical copies if anyone wants a physical version. But it would actually be MY creation, not some edited nonsense :)

[@single_use_planet_]

@@silverblaize yeah pretty much what I'm thinking as well, maybe use platforms such as webtoons to get your story out there but there is just nothing better than a paper printed graphic novel.

[@romerartschannel5058]

The best #romerarts

[@dapencilshinobi]

Exercise counter acts the aches and pains

[@lauriethompson908]

Cool 😎

[@random2985]

He sounds like he's about to cry.

[@roughandodryroughandodry]

Saludos ;)

[@user-ju3hs1cy8x]

Jef aérosol le temps passe trop de monde pour le moment mais le moment mais ça y es encore en vacances du vendredi soir à la fin du vendredi 😅

[@carolinehahn5940]

What size paper is he using? I wish they would've said something about that...

[@perevision]

This is very late but…Is he doing comics for traditional American print size? The artists usually work in 11x17” paper for that format, then they reduce it for print.

[@mitadrubiswas7980]

What paper size you are using

[@creepcreature4894]

Nate " im a comic artists" The VIdeo " GRAPHIC NOVEL!"

[@idonthaveanoriginalname2881]

I saw the thumbnail and thought you were jesse from breaking bad

[@jamesraya79]

i draw comic in 2016, when i was 12 year.

[@littleripper312]

I'm so done with working in traditional, I've moved digital. Billion times more efficient. I do traditional art for fun but when it comes to pumping out pages I do it digitally now.

[@rodluper]

Ink this transition too, I have been drawing digitally for more than 4 years but inks, I was doing totally traditionally but now, I start to make digitally too and yes, it had so many possibilities of effects and textures but the feeling is not the same when you use real ink and brushes.

[@lakshmanankomathmanalath]

😊👍

[@RadioGardaIndia]

👌🎉

[@lukasbarwald986]

This was great to watch but I think it would be much stronger and intimate when there's no voice over at all, maybe aside from the introduction and ending. Just try and watch it again and ask yourself what would be lost if there would be no voice over.

[@TheSeensca]

❤欣赏。 马来西亚漫画家

[@jaimonee]

Is no one going to talk about the giant cat??

[@SGWinstar8844]

👍🏽

[@JackSardonic]

Guy needs to lift, desperately.

[@george-nikolas942]

I like more MARVEL than DC.

[@m.2075]

I have a question⁉️: ( Why not digital ?) Why the traditional way to draw the comics! its just waste of time, money, etc..

[@PunkOnARant]

I draw comics traditionally. Partly because i enjoy it more as it is a bigger challange. You dont get to undo the ink, and you cant zoom for detail work. But also because i personally enjoy hand made made comics way more, it's simply really easy to tell digitally made comics from traditionally drawn ones. There's a different look to it and there is a different sort of work behind it. It's like saying why taking the time to learn to sing when there's autotune. Well, in a sense that is correct, but the outcome will be different.

[@m.2075]

@@PunkOnARant Thank you for ur comment. For me I hate wasting time. I mean, mangaka always complaining that "their is no time and how working long time affects their health..ect." And they do it traditionally! For me, most of the readers will not care if it digital or paper right? Of course the quality Matters 👍🏻 So less time, very good quality .. always digital 😊👌🏻

[@thewholecrew8170]

I have a tablet, but I still prefer traditional, I can see why you wouldn't, though

[@Ehh97]

@@m.2075 I make comics digitally, and while it does save *some* time, it can at just as time consuming. So in the end it depends on the artist and how fast they can personally draw. Tools don't make the artist, practice and skill does.

[@1GamersRewind]

@@Ehh97 care to explain how it could possibly be as time-consuming as paper though? If everything was the same there's just so much extra shit that you would have to do with paper drawings compared to digital drawings that really what is the point? No one cares if it's traditional or digital except for very few niche enthusiasts and I am how it takes significantly longer to draw on paper, and it limits the type of drawing you can do because you can't zoom in and easily make changes to something like you could in a digital platform. I just think there's literally no benefit outside of wanting to do it harder for the sake of doing it harder.

[@Launchpad05]

'Spidering', and 'Manning'? That is so lame!

[@simpleclonetrooper2740]

I dig the Launchpad McQuack profile pic

[@Launchpad05]

@@simpleclonetrooper2740 Thanks.

[@elishaluhere8801]

He knows what stalgemitites and stalgtypes are man he did go do school most creator don't know that

[@JoshuaOfGrandRapids]

We at indie android love comics so much we call a self-described cartoonist a made-up shame title, like “graphic novelist”

[@lucian5096]

wtf why not do it digitaly? ever heard of photoshop? I know its fresh and new and hard to learn, being around for like 20 years.. but still, he could try it.

[@RogerioPereiradaSilva77]

Not all artists can adapt or even enjoy working on a digital workflow. I am not one of those, though. Once I made the jump to work digitally, I told myself I am never going back!

[@lucian5096]

@@RogerioPereiradaSilva77 same here.. drawing evry day but havent used paper in over 5 years

[@mikeymike2256]

There's so much mediocrity in US comics; he wouldn't survive a single day in UE

[@mickeymadbastard7118]

"I like to get a while page of rough pencils done in 20 minutes" fuck you, man! 😆😆 i kid, obviously. But that's seriously the hardest part of my process. I'm always in awe of how quick some artists can be.

[@RogerioPereiradaSilva77]

Well, to be fair he just lays down some roughs in pencils so it is... I wouldn't say _easy_ as it takes careful consideration regarding composition but certainly _doable_ . He does the heavy lifting of the rendering during the inking stage anyways.

[@savitashinde2979]

Amazing

[@trendcoreldraw5208]

nice