Pip's Process for Making Comics :)
Hi everyone! I know I'm rarely on here, but I've decided to share my process for my webcomic in case it could help anyone.
I've been building my story for many years in my head (it's a paracosm that's been with me basically since I could hold a pencil), and it wasn't until about 2021 that I was finally able to start getting it down, and this is the process that works for me. This process is more aimed at super-lengthy ongoing multiple-arc type things, so those with massive fantasy epics, this is for you!
1) Make an outline for the arc. I make a list of each episode, and the basic events that happen in them. I typically have 11-13 chapters per arc and 2-3 focus-events happen in a chapter, because I try not to have "too much going on". Breaking down the focuses in a list is also useful in that you can gauge the flow of the focus and not have it "jump around" too much, and also balance how much you focus on one character to another, etc.
(As you can see, this is very basic, but keep in mind I've had "the party episode" in my head for years so I didn't need to write out a scene I already knew like the back of my hand in the list)
2) Once the list is done, start writing the episodes in a script-like format. If you're doing your project solo, literally no one has to understand the script but you. Write it how you envision it in a way you can understand. And don't be afraid to stray slightly from the list! Do whatever feels more natural.
3+) After you've scripted the final scripts for each episode, write down ANOTHER list of all the significant things that DO happen, so you can reference back to it in the future to avoid things like plotholes and accidental repeat of events. You could also, instead, edit the original list from step 1; I just personally like to have multiple documents so I can see changes and where they happened.
4) This is where the drawing begins. What I do is make REALLY rough drafts for every page in each episode. Think kinda like thumbnailing for storyboards; I just scribble down the basic events I want happening, the area of the dialogue (with the beginning few words of the line, to keep track) And after that, it's clean(ish) sketches*, lineart, coloring, etc. I typically do all the roughs in order, and then do the same with clean sketches, and then do the rest page-by-page.
(*EDIT: I wan't to elaborate that I highly recommend adding the text in as early as you feasibly can so you don't have to worry about text fitting, as you can work around it)
IMPORTANT NOTE! DO NOT be afraid to stray from ANY of the initial writing! If your script's dialogue is fine but doesn't have enough pages, make more pages! As you can see, I had to split what was originally going to be 1 page. There was even a crucial scene in chapter 3 of my comic that didn't even happen in the scripts, but it needed to. If you feel a change is needed, do it! Don't restrict yourself too much; see the script as more of a guideline.
So yeah, there's my method. I know it was unprompted and all, but for so many years I felt hopelessly lost when trying to get this MASSIVE story down, and my goal of posting this is because if there's the slightest possibility this could help someone, I want it to do that. :) Hopefully this helps someone, but now is my time to say that I'm by no means a professional; I'm self-taught and I've only been making the actual comic for 3-4 years, however I have 5 out of 10+ of the arcs fully scripted :)
If you're interested in my comic, you can read it here! If you check it out, know that that means the world to me ;w;
Have a nice day/night <3
