I'm hard at work on the second complete draft of my graphic memoir. So I thought I'd share a little about my work process for this stage of the practice.
The first full draft of the project exists on notecards. I used a drafting technique I learned at The Center for Cartoon Studies during the wonderful graphic novel workshop taught in the summers by Paul Karasik. Basically each index card is a thumbnail of a page. It includes brief, very rough layout sketches, and a list at the bottom of what each tier of comics on that page will convey. It is a fast and complete way to work through the story without committing too much time to script or art that might just get tossed. I completed a 320 page rough draft version in about six weeks.
This second full draft is much slower (I've been working since the first of November, I have about 200 pages sketched in six months), but still rough and faster than a final version would be. I am spending more time working out sketches. And I am writing the script.
To keep things moving quickly, I am doing it all digitally. And since I'm most comfortable and experienced as a writer, I am creating my script in my trusty tool, Scrivener, on my computer, while creating the page drafts on my ipad in Procreate.
As each page is drafted, I print it out, and put it in a giant binder, which I then use for continuity reference as I go. Plus, it's just cool to see your project growing!
When I finish, I will have a script draft that matches the rough draft of the comic. And then I'll see what seems like the best way for me to move along to the next draft.
I know that the way I write involves many drafts of things, and I already have a long list of changes I will need to make in draft three.
I keep noticing how similar the process is to when I wrote my mystery novels. And, of course, how different the process is, since I'm working in a completely different medium.
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Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Thursday, April 18, 2019
On Four Panel Square Comics
Recently read this interesting article on four panel (square) comics and why they are sort of exploding as a format, particularly on the web.
This is the format I want to use for my much-fantasized about (by me) comic "Everything I Needed to Know I Learned from Batman '66."
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
A New Writing Resource and Upcoming Online Series on Memoir
I just discovered this new online writing resource:
I've only begun to look around, but what I'm finding looks like smart, usable stuff, delivered in nicely-sized chunks for maximum usage by busy writers!
Check it out here.
And if you are interested, as I am, in memoir writing, they are doing a free, online "memoir summit" starting April 11 and running for a week. Each day features an interview with a different memoirist.
You can find out more and sign up here.
I've only begun to look around, but what I'm finding looks like smart, usable stuff, delivered in nicely-sized chunks for maximum usage by busy writers!
Check it out here.
And if you are interested, as I am, in memoir writing, they are doing a free, online "memoir summit" starting April 11 and running for a week. Each day features an interview with a different memoirist.
You can find out more and sign up here.
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Webcomic and Video Immersion Project
Such fascinating work people are doing in comics!
Here is a web comic and 360 video experience about a child's life in the Central African Republic.
You'll also find a link to a documentary video on the making of this work.
Here is a web comic and 360 video experience about a child's life in the Central African Republic.
You'll also find a link to a documentary video on the making of this work.