Comic Strip

Ways to Make a Comic Strip

Comics are fun and rejuvenating concepts that are not only meant for children but are also equally enjoyed by adults in today’s world. They are one of the most fun ways to learn and tell stories with a combination of texts and images. Whether you’re an inspiring cartoonist or you’re making comic strips as a hobby, you will want to get it right, lest the meaning and the essence of a comic strip are lost.

If you are looking for ways to get started and start making a comic strip, here is a guide to get you started.

Comic Strip

Developing your idea

Before you begin making the best comic strip of your life, you need to develop ideas and concepts for your comic story. It can be anything from a simple gag to a complex narrative, but the story should be formed in such a way that it portrays your excitement and passion for storytelling. Then, in order to deliver the best story, you can consider it from the readers’ point of view.

Creating characters

Once the plot and story are written, you must consider your characters. Start with one or two characters and imagine their appearance. You can also give them unique personalities and traits to help them stand out. Next, you need to experiment with different looks until you fix one.

Planning your panels

The entire layout of the comic strip should be planned, which decides where each panel is placed. Since each panel will convey a message or tell a story, it should be placed sequentially. Creating a rough sketch can also help in figuring out the story’s layout and flow of the entire story.

Writing the script

Once everything is decided, the script or the story is written, which involves dialogues, narration, captions, and other texts which will accompany the images. The script should be focused and concise to fit the panel constraints. Since comic strips are visual media to tell a story, they should be able to convey as much message as possible through images.

Sketching the comic strip

Once the layout and the script are in hand, it is important to sketch the comic strip. It is best to make use of a pencil to chalk out the panel and testify about the mistakes, if any. After the sketching is finalized, ink can be added to the images, but it is essential to be careful regarding lines and margins. Once the ink is added, you can also color the strip and refine it in case there are any mistakes in the drawings.

Sketching

Adding text

Once the sketch is colored and refined, it is essential to add the written scripts and dialogs, narrations, and captions in each of the panels. Again, the placement and size of the text are important to consider, drastically impacting how the comic strip is read.

Comic Strip

Unique Comic Strip Ideas

Comics are fun, funny, and creative ways to express yourself. They are a popular form of storytelling that entertains and educates by providing a visual medium for retelling stories and complex ideas through images and dialogue.

1. Create a topic you’re passionate about

It is important to choose a theme to get started on your comic strip. You should choose a theme you are passionate about and can illustrate easily. Some ideas for a topic might include:  “A story about you and your best friend,”  “Your sibling,”  “An interesting subject in your community”.

comic strip

2. Be creative

Before drawing your comic, think about what you want to draw and make sure that it is relevant to the theme. This will help you avoid the temptation to draw things that aren’t related to your subject and can also make it easier for you to come up with a good storyline and characters.

3. Think about your audience

Before you start your comic, decide who will read it and what age group the reader is, whether you are writing for children, teenagers, or adults. This will help you write jokes that are appropriate and don’t over-explain the story.

4. Identify the main character and sketch them

The main character of your comic is the main point of interest, they are the focus of the story, and therefore, you would want to give them a strong personality and traits. The character should be able to tell the reader what is happening in the comic, they should be realistic, and you should develop their character based on their actions.

5. Describe the background scenery

It’s also useful to have a setting for your comic, whether outdoor or indoor. The location will help you develop the characters and storyline, as it will be easier to draw things that are believable in your surroundings.

6. Use black lines

It is a good idea to draw your comic with black lines as it gives depth to the characters and helps them stand out on the page. You can also use darker shades to draw out the eyes, fur, or whiskers of your characters.

7. Use a range of fonts and sizes

When writing your comic, remember that lettering can be used to show how the characters are feeling. For example, small text may mean that they are whispering, while large text could be a shout.

writing your comic

8. Use speech bubbles

When creating your comic, be sure to include some speech or thought bubbles to help clarify what is being said. This can be a great way to get your readers to follow the story. The speech bubbles can have various shapes, like a cloud that conveys thinking or jagged edges that indicate volume and excitement.

9. Using your imagination

Letting your imagination run wild will allow you to come up with unique comic strip ideas. Developing a unique story line and original characters will help you to create a comic that is both funny and interesting. It will also allow you to be creative with your art style and design.

Cartoon Strips

What Are The Elements Of Cartoon Strips?

Since comics first appeared, the visual form has developed quickly as a result of artists’ and illustrators’ intense desire to depict superheroes on the page. One’s personal cartoons can be about anything, and there is a bewildering array of options on how to create them. Continue reading to discover more about what makes comics special.

Style

Any topic can be transformed by style. Consider the implications for your own comedy. A painful personal narrative might be made less challenging and potentially less distressing or impactful if it is illustrated in a cartoon style. Your audience will have a more intense emotional reaction to the same tale if you illustrate it in a realistic and thorough manner. Additionally, the effect could turn surreal, twisting the material to impact viewers in unanticipated ways, if the story is told in a precise but exaggerated manner.

Characters

In all forms of media, characters must be carefully constructed. Every character inside a story serves as a vehicle for the reader’s unique point of view. However, comic comics go a step further. You need to begin viewing characters as brands. That’s a component of how huge celebrities still dominate the whole entertainment sector today. When someone hears the name Spider-Man, images of Spidey’s many varied plots, foes, and even eyeglass sizes come to mind. Popular figures are easily recognizable but have nuanced narratives and themes. If it weren’t for their nuanced quirks and complicated past, they wouldn’t be able to survive in the spotlight for so long.

Dialogue

comics is dialogue

Another essential aspect that distinguishes comic comics is dialogue. It expresses the characters’ point of view on the world. Without any sort of visual help, you can tell when dialogue is good if you type it on a blank sheet and it still delights you, pulls you into the narrative, and provides accurate guidance about the storyline. Every word must have a purpose, whether it be exposition, emotional stimulation, or a resolution to a pre-existing setup. The goal of dialogue is growth. The dialogue is not kept separate from the other graphic elements. It constantly engages with the borders, speech balloons, sound effects, captions, and borders.

Combining words and images

Words, unlike other types of images, have meanings that are independent of their visual representation. Consider the relationship between a group of words and the picture they are adjacent to or part of. There are four fundamental relationships to think about: images and words

  • Complement

When words and images work together, each one brings something unique to the overall impression.

  • Contrast

Although each still contributes something unique when words and images contrast, the effects don’t merge as well.

  • Duplicate

When they are duplicated, the message sent by the surrounding words and images are essentially the same.

  • Diverge

Words and images might roam in different directions, parallel but unrelated directions.

Movies Based on Comic Strips

Movies Based on Comic Strips

  • Garfield is an American comic strip featuring Garfield, an apt description of a typical cat with a creative, curious, naughty mind but lazy nature. He makes everyone’s day with relevant affiliations to his obsessive eating, coffee love, and lasagna. The comic found its success in the form of animated films, television series, theatrical films, and the well-known orange cat merchandise.

 

  • Peanuts are one of the classic comics that most literary enthusiasts enjoy. It is simple yet effective in bringing joy to all hearts. The comic strip includes a class of small kids who have distinct characters. The fun lies in choosing their favorite character, along with the naughty and imaginative Snoopy, the dog, and the yellow bird Woodstock ringing a tune to the ears as he speaks. The comic is endearing and continues to do so with succeeding movies.

 Comic Strips

 

  • The Simpsons is an American comic strip most famous for its animated sitcom. The comic is based on a family headed by Homer and focuses on him along with the city’s other family members and people. The dysfunctional family comedy with the clever plot is the successful formula of the comic to movie creation. In addition, it succeeded in adding Homer’s exclamatory “D’oh!” catchphrase into English.

 

  • Tarzan was one of the best-known children’s comics. The movie is an all-time success, including the charming TV cartoon. Tarzan is a wonder boy lost in the forest, growing up to be a man raised by apes. He performs many exciting adventures along with his female counterpart Jane. The comic, book and cartoon have interesting forest backdrops and feat to the eyes.

 

  • Wonder Woman is an ongoing American comic book that was first a comic strip. Wonder woman is the most famous female superhero on par or above superwoman. The movie of recent times found most success than many contemporary movies. The titular character is an Amazon blue blood, so the story includes different plots as a comic and is yet to explore the movie world.

Wonder Woman

 

  • Superman is still an ongoing comic representing DC Comics and has found massive success in movies and continues to do so. The comic character has inspired many characters worldwide, including a negatively shaded Star lander. He has a strong backstory from a different planet and strives to save Earth.

 

  • Batman is one of the creations of DC Comics which is very famous. Finding success in most countries worldwide, the comic owes its part of the success to the sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder. More than the comics, the movies brought other fan following to the villain, the Joker. Spin-offs are celebrating the archenemy of Batman.

 

  • Spider-Man is a superhero from the Marvel Comic franchise. Spiderman is the most successful movie in history turned from a comic. This movie sports a teen who gets bit by a spider to develop “spider-sense.” His precognition ability, superhuman strength, speed, agility, and family drama, add the recipe for a perfect entertainer, both in the form of books and movies. The franchise expands into merchandise and other forms of business.

 

  • The Hulk is a superhero created in Marvel comics. The writer Stan Lee created the comic character based on Dr. Robert Bruce Banner physicist with a dissociative disorder with an alter geo Hulk. The person is portrayed as socially withdrawn and emotionally reserved but turns into a giant green humanoid due to accidental exposure to gamma rays. He turns to Hulk when he is emotionally stressed. Following a huge success, this comic took the form of movies and got a bigger hit to succeed in more movies and sell merchandise.

Hulk

 

  • Other successful comic strips turned movies, such as Addams Family, Dennis the menace, Flash the superhero, and so on, add enjoyment to our lives.
Comic Strip

Amazing Comic Strip Examples to Inspire Your Ideas

Comic books were a part of everyone’s childhood. The visuals, small stories, and simple English used in the strips have a different fan base.

For those who aren’t aware, comic strips are stories depicted in the form of comics, with tons of visuals and dialogues that keep the readers hooked to their seats. Aside from being an entertainment factor, they’re also a great way to promote literacy. Today, comic strips are also used to discuss social and political issues.

If you’re a comic writer looking for comic strip ideas, you are at the right place. You should continue reading to find some of the best examples to ignite the comedian inside you!

Manga Comic by Akimaro

Akimaro, or Adriana De la Torre, is famous for creating some popular manga comics in recent times. With high-contrast images, dynamic characters, and movement, she has created a remarkable series of manga comics that has become a new teen addition. She mainly makes use of emotion-based illustrations to depict her stories visually.

comic writer

Social media cartoon by Raul Salazar

Social media is a great platform to grasp ideas for comic strips. For instance, Raul Salazar gained inspiration from #WhatTheFluffChallange on social media for his comic. He aced graphic humor and is also a brand to promote comic strips on social media.

Use Mixed Media by Ariel Olivetti

The growth of comics has grown to such an extent that people are no longer confined to gadgets and pens for illustrations but are also inclined to use watercolors, acrylic colors, etc., to depict their messages. Ariel Olivetti has worked for over 25 years with DC Comics and Marvel to deliver iconic superhero comic strips. Mixed media techniques can help comic strip writers emphasize human figures and enhance their aesthetic appearance in general.

An abstract comic strip by Ana Galvan

Her comics are mainly filled with minimal colors yet are bright and wobbly. She primarily focuses on creating short comic strips that best fit publications and different studios.

Monochrome Visuals by Charles Glaubitz

Charles Glaubitz emphasizes monochromatic comic strips with shadow drawings that create a visual impact on the readers. His comic strips mainly introduce people to play with narration, which also helps keep every scene intact. His comic strips mainly consist of abstract and strange images.

comic strips

Funny Comic by Liniers

Liniers composes short and funny comic strips mainly built around stories or punchlines. He plays with the readers’ minds by changing the initial assumptions of the story, which has gained immense popularity in illustrating daily cartoons.

Action Strips with Sam Hart

Sam Hart is one of the best in creating iconic comic characters like Robin Hood, Judge Dredd, and many more. He holds expertise in combining the essence of visuals and texts in his comic strips, which turn out to be emotion-filled masterpieces.