#webcomic tutorials

First, A Word About Jump Scares

For the most part, forget about trying to make your readers jump out of their seats and run away with a webcomic, that's near impossible to do unless your reader is VERY sensitive (and if they are that sensitive, they probably won't be sticking around anyway). Besides, there is more than one way to 'scare' people.

Your aim instead is to plant an idea in the readers' heads that leaves them unnerved and maybe, just maybe, make them lose a little sleep (not a guarantee, but nothing wrong with a momentary creep-out either XD).

If you're REALLY looking to use jump scares in a comic, then you might want to consider making a comic VIDEO instead, or going the Bongcheon-Dong Ghost route (IF YOU LOOK UP THIS COMIC, YOU WILL BE JUMP-SCARED) and learn to make some clever coding to 'possess' the reader's mouse to shoot downwards (thus 'animating' the comic) and have sound effects play in the background at the same time.

Otherwise most webcomic pages are static images that people see right when the page loads, so throwing people off with an unexpected sight is hard to do. However, if you don't have a need to publish your comic and you want to catch readers off guard with imagery a little, consider the vertical "webtoon" look that's big these days. It works well for horror, I think, though even that is not essential to apply good horror to webcomics.

Frankly, I find jump scares overrated in general anyway. Anyone can catch someone off guard; startle them. They're sometimes a good, momentary thrill, but don't usually have a long lasting impact like good atmosphere, slow building tension, and terrifying ideas can, and I find that is really what horror is about.

The Power Of Disturbing Imagery & Actions

These are kind of no-brainer suggestions, but here it is anyway.

There are LOTS of options with disturbing imagery and there is no better medium for it than webcomics. A person's body twisting unnaturally, monsters, possession, a walking sin against nature, mind fuckery, world distortion and any other horrible concepts your mind can come up with. The sky's the limit, especially if you go the supernatural route.

And then there’s the disturbing behavior and actions of characters, which can be scary enough at times and feel closer to home. Remember that this DOESN'T just mean a knife-happy psycho jumping right into the comic and causing havoc. It can mean behavior just off-kilter enough to leave the reader tense and uncomfortable that slowly gets worse and worse until the inevitable conclusion. Play on the fact that something is very obviously...off.

The same thing can work for dialogue; people really underestimate the power of words in horror. Dialogue can leave a knot in your gut, leave you nervous of a character's intent, or force you to use your imagination of what they're describing, which can often be even worse than seeing it.

Which brings me to the next subject....

Subtlety and Ambiguity Can Be Your Best Buds

To me, horror is often what you CAN'T see. Horror is not knowing exactly what's happening. Horror is not having a clear solution.

Giving the gist of it and dropping lots of hints is fine for the most part, but sometimes if you give a clear explanation that leaves no doubt in the reader's mind about what's happening, why it's happening, and what the protagonists need to do to escape/win/whatever, there is a lot less tension and uncertainty to be felt by the reader. These things are ideal for horror comics since that mystery can keep the reader invested and continually disturbed.

Horror doesn’t have to “explode in your face” either, consider more subtle creepiness to amp up the dread. Someone twitching and staring in the background might leave more impact than a brutal murder scene.

Even In Webcomics, Silence Is Golden

Consider more 'silent' moments with little or no dialogue or sound effects. Your comic may naturally have no sound, but you may be surprised how unnerving it can be to a reader when there's only images and nothing to read.

A silent monster can often be more scary than a gabby one, too.

Psychological Horror

....is IDEAL for webcomics. XD

Use Violence & Gore Wisely

First off, if all you want to do is a make a comic with an endless supply of blood & guts, that's fine, nothing wrong with that. It can work well in a more campy story or just for those who are entertained by constant, mindless violence...just don't expect it to REALLY scare people. Oh, they might get a kick out of it or at least be plenty grossed out, but that's it.

You see, gore fest comics/movies/whatever really are just for a certain audience. Some love it, others are repulsed by it and won't touch it with a ten foot pole, and some are only fine with it at select times.

If you want your violence to actually leave more impact and not make portion of your audience decide they're no longer interested because pointless, brutal violence is all that's happening, then you're going to have to think about how you use violence a little more deeply.

I do truly believe violence CAN be scary, but it must be used at the right time, and in the right way. You must really consider at what point would be the most disturbing for graphic violence to suddenly occur, and then sure, make that crap as brutal as possible. XD

Violence that shows everything in detail at a relatively slow pace can be particularly cringe-worthy at the right moment, or at least I personally find that more unnerving than just seeing someone fly apart in pieces out of nowhere or something, that can actually come off as unintentionally funny, or at least too abrupt to leave the reader traumatized.

Though even though I suggest not holding back with violence, also consider that way over the top, silly ways to kill people may be too unrealistic to cause fright (think being killed by over-elaborate traps, ridiculous weapons, or...death by hairdryer). This...MIGHT work on some people and definitely works for more campy horror, but if you're really trying to scare people, you might instead get, "Seriously?"

And as for anything in horror, use the imagery and angles to your advantage. Make the viewer feel what the poor victim is feeling - terror, pain and all. ;) I'll be going into this more with the next subject...

Unnerving 'Camera' Angles

Obviously there's no cameras involved in the process of a webcomic, but there should be an imaginary one in your mind's eye as you consider the scenes you make.

Dramatic shots and angles are just as important in comics as they are in film. In fact, to push the impact of a horrific scene, they're almost essential. Panels full of talking heads won't cut it if you're trying to give people goosebumps. If this is something you're not used to doing, then it's time to start experimenting!

Good use of perspective can really push your horror comic's atmosphere over the edge. Look at movies by Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Stephen King-based movies, or any of your own personal favorite horror flicks (I could make more obscure suggestions but I won't here XP), comics, ect. Really consider the shots and angles and what moods they establish. You CAN use the same methods that are in film in webcomics while also taking advantage of the medium you're using by doing clever things with the panels and art.

Atmosphere

I think scary atmosphere can go beyond "very shadowy places". Sometimes the above mentioned use of perspective, and creepy characters that chew up the scenery, can create a disturbing atmosphere even in a bland or brightly colored world.

Not to say using darkness doesn't work VERY well, too. Definitely experiment with lighting and coloring for cool, spooky effects.

Beware Of Using 'Cartoony' Art Styles

OKAY, just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. If your greatest desire is to make a brutal comic with kawaii anime characters, then do it, but if you're aiming to make things really scary, I STRONGLY believe that by combining an adorable or extra cartoony style with graphic horror, the contrast makes them more hilarious than horrific, like unintentional dark comedy. Or even if it isn't funny it may still "soften the blow" considerably.

That's not to say manga-inspired or more unrealistic art can't work with horror (my art style certainly isn't realistic, I draw VERY over-exaggerated expressions), but I believe there needs to be at least a certain level of realism so the style doesn't clash with the feel you're trying to go for.

Is This Scaring YOU?

An important thing to remember is that if you're not creeping yourself with your story, then chances are your readers won't be creeped out either, don't assume your readers are more sensitive than you are. Plus it's just more boring to work on something that doesn't really bother you. XD Take those common horror formulas out of your mind for a minute and think about what truly disturbs you. Then again...

Don't Be Afraid of Cliches

As I also kind of said in my "Writing Vampires" article, tropes can be a good thing. Take the ones you love and brainstorm different ways to approach them.

Webcomics Burn Slowly

Remember that you're working with a webcomic that usually update a page at a time. Don't let readers make you feel pressured to jump to the point sooner, it could ruin the tension and destroy your original plans.

Take Inspiration But Don't Try To Be Another Horror Creator

It seems like, with horror in particular, people think they have to take one creator and do things exactly their way rather than taking inspiration from several sources and using what works for them.

You know who's great and is brought up a lot? Junji Ito. He's a manga artist who has made some very surreal, very creepy horror comics with great visuals...and tons of body horror. I have checked out a couple of his comics, but I have never attempted to create as he does. It's just not me. Oh, I've learned a couple of things from him, certainly, but trying to do things exactly as he does would bore me, and I wouldn't be able to match his style anyway.

Find many inspirations and work the way that’s best for you.

Step 1: Thumbnails

My thumbnails are probably more detailed than they need to be because I'm stubborn and a perfectionist. I try to get down basic gestures and proportions because it's easier to do that when everything is tiny. See my previous tutorial on laying out a page to see how I do thumbnails. There's actually a panel missing from this thumbnail that I couldn't find the sketch for because I rearranged this whole page a bit when I started sketching it. Note that I draw in an approximate position for speech balloons, too, because I ultimately want them to flow with the overall design of the page.

Step 2: Adding balloons and borders

I like to make sure I add my speech balloons early. Partially because it's an easy step to knock out (in Manga Studio at least), and partially because I want to make sure that there's ample space for them once I start my drawings. I try and leave space in case I end up editing any dialog as I go along, because there have been a few times where I have to add or completely change the dialog before I publish the page. (Staring at a page for a week will make you question everything about it. Sigh.)

Borders are stupidly simple in Manga Studio. Even if you draw the rest of your comic in Photoshop, I recommend using MS for at least this step. Honestly, it's easier to draw and ink in Manga Studio in my opinion. Photoshop has never made nice, clean lines for me, and I dread using it.

Step 3: Sketch layer

You can see that the fourth panel changed quite a bit! I usually run into one panel that makes me want to die, and this time, it was that one. I think I did...three or four variations to get a pose that worked right. I can't really describe why the first one didn't work in the end. Ultimately, drawing her at that high angle proved too difficult to get her facial expression to read when I cleaned it up, and it didn't quite flow with the page the way I wanted it to. Plus, it felt like too abrupt of a change to go SUPER WORRIED right after VERY DETERMINED, and this pose and expression felt like a better transition.

I try to make sure my sketches are tight enough that I'm not guessing like crazy once I go to ink, but also not so clean that I'm wasting time. A lot of times, with hands especially, I don't need a super clean sketch to produce a good inks. I spend more time getting the head and face correct, because that determines if the character design looks consistent more than any other aspect.

Step 4: Inks

These are a little out of order, because usually with a scene like this, I'll do fills for the characters and then ink the background, just because there's so many parts overlapping. It kind of depends on my mood. I work at 600 dpi, which really helps once everything is shrunk down to 72 dpi and about a quarter of the size. My inks are preeetty clean, but regardless, there are always little spots that look a little too thick or a line that doesn't flow quite right, but those issues are largely not a problem at 300 dpi or 72 dpi. So work big! Reinking the same line over and over to get it perfect is probably not a great use of your time if its flaws aren't going to be obvious in print or on a computer. I ink using a Vector layer, which means I can infinitely scale or change that layer as needed, and it won't degrade the quality of my lines. It's amazing! Use Manga Studio/Clip Paint Studio!

Step 5:  Flats

People have a lot of methods to do this, and most people are probably a lot pickier about flats than I am. The general theory is that all your colored areas should touch underneath your lines, and should be these perfectly selectable areas of color. There are a lot of tutorials on how to do that out there on the internet. Um...I don't really care. I'm inking digitally, I'm coloring digitally...If my inks weren't solid black, it might be a problem. In Manga Studio, you can set your colors to overflow by so many pixels (default is 6), and that seems to take care of most issues I would have with colors not filling up to the line. Manga Studio also uses a concept called Reference Layers, so I can fill on a separate layer from my inks, but it will fill the areas inside of my inked boundaries. Very fast process! Usually doing the fills on a whole page takes less than an hour. I do have to go back and get any spare pixels that didn't quite get filled, especially in her hair, but that's still not that time consuming compared so say, Photoshop.

Step 6: Shadows and highlights

This step is kind of fun. First, I ctrl+shift+click on the thumbnail for each of my fill layers to create a selected area to work on. (Shift will let you select multiple layers, so you eventually have a selected area that covers your whole character.) Then, I take a standard oil paint brush in Manga Studio, choose a color that doesn't look crazy (usually blue, purple, or pink), set the layer to multiply, and paint in big solid areas of shadows. I'll use a soft eraser to make certain areas less harsh. I like using the oil paint brush because it's not just a big solid blob. There's some variation in the opacity of it, especially along the edges. When I'm working on a really finished piece, like a chapter cover, I'll do a few layers for the shadows to give them a bit more depth, but comics require a bit more speed. Gotta get that shit up on the internet and keep moving!

For highlights, I keep the selected area, make a new layer and set it to Overlay, and then paint in subtle highlights along edges and sometimes in hair. (I don't really do anything to hair if it's black...because I don't want to.) I usually use a really pale yellow or orange for this. If I need the area to be brighter, I'll duplicate the Overlay layer, and selectively erase areas for some variation. I don't go too nuts on highlights, because I don't like things to look shiny for no reason.

Step 7: Paint Backgrounds, add effects

I use the same brush (Oil Paint Flat) to paint the background. I start by filling the whole page (Manga Studio creates mattes so even if you fill the whole page, it won't be seen in the area outside your borders), then I just paint in shadows and highlights. I like the backgrounds to look a bit more organic than my characters, because this helps the characters pop off the background a bit better. You want your whole page to feel cohesive, so I generally stick to a single palette for all the panels if I can. Even though trees aren't purple...they're purple for my purposes because it looks neat.

Step 8: Finishing touches

The last step is pretty fast, because I have a template for this part. I output a Photoshop file from Manga Studio, open my page in Photoshop, and drag and drop my template over the whole thing. My template has a layer of subtle grunge texture to add some soft variation (I have no idea where I got these textures at this point, but if you do a search for "subtle grunge", there are a lot of free/commercial free options in high resolutions), a layer of "noise" that I created with the Add Noise filter in Photoshop, a layer with my logo, and a layer with the text for the bottom of the page. Easy!

Then, I usually add some color to the background of the page with gradients (working at 600 dpi helps a TON with gradients), because I hate stark white backgrounds when she's wandering around at night. That's a personal preference, but it feels like night pages should have dark backgrounds.

Last thing I do is save my page, and then change the resolution to 300 dpi and do Save As to make a print quality Jpeg and another print quality TIFF (TIFF's are lossless, and a great format to save a print copy in). Then, I change the resolution to 72 Dpi, change the page size to 900px wide (by...something), and Save As a Jpeg for posting online. THEN, I close that sucker out and do NOT save it, because you'll be saving your original 600 dpi page as a tiny 72 dpi page, and that's useless.

So, by the time I'm finished, I've created a 600 dpi Manga Studio file (of a mostly finished page), a 600 dpi Photoshop file (of a finished page), a 300 dpi Jpeg, a 300 dpi TIFF, and a 72 dpi Jpeg. PLUS, one more 72 dpi Jpeg that I have to save at 800px wide for Webtoon. Sigh. This is why I had to up my backup space on the cloud to 1TB.