We're moving...

Yes my friends, we're moving... to another website.  We are going to be moving our articles to our main website.  This has been a great run but that time has come where we have to become committed to presenting a higher quality of information.  In the time that we've been doing this we have found a great wealth of information on the creation, distribution, and marketing of comics and graphic novels and even though they fall in the same industry, both are managed significantly different.  The same applies to print vs digital publishing. 

Our main website will host a magazine style page for New Miami Comics, Miami's local indie resource magazine.  I'd like to start including printers and advertisers, distribution methods and guides, upcoming conventions and local comic book stores.  There are many resources out there but as a creator its easy to miss, especially when your focussed on your work.

There are a few magazines that touch many of those topics and address the local FLORIDA comic community.  Come visit us at:

www.digitalhandstudios.com

Starting in February

Starting in February we will be posting our new in depth articles to our Digital Hand Studios website as a subscription based magazine.  Our focus is still on bringing the best resources out there for indie comic creators.  We hope all of you have enjoyed our articles and find the new format even more creative and helpful. 

What you can expect from our new format:

We are going to dedicate a lot more time to organizing useful articles that creators can reference in their projects and endeavors.  We are going to include convention schedules, publishing guidelines for most of the publisher out there, list of comic book specific printers, advise from local artists, writers, and publishers.  We're also going to present articles that showcase local artists.  We would also include a section for monthly comic stories.  The magazine style and articles will be a collection of art and writing techniques, local comic news, and indie comic resources.

As our subscribers grows we will add contests and local meetups.  We will also consider article writers at that time.

So if you like our articles and find them helpful come check out our new page in February.

http://digitalhandstudios.com/new-miami-comics

Romance for Comics

Keep your audience engaged in your comics by the spell bounding effects of romance.  Many of the larger publishers know this and use it to add drama to their stories.  Romance is an addictive element that can make your stories provocative and suspenseful.  But adding romance to your story or even writing romance stories can be challenging.

Romance is the strong and intimate relationship between people.  The drama that extends from that relationship fuel many parts of a story.  There are many emotions involved in a romance story, but to understand which ones are more apparent you should know what sub-genre you may want to focus on.  Here are a few popular ones:

• Contemporary Romance: Romance novels that are set from 1950 to the present that focus primarily on the romantic relationship.
• Erotic Romance: Novels in which strong, often explicit, sexual interaction is an inherent part of the love story, character growth and relationship development and could not be removed without damaging the storyline. These novels may contain elements of other romance subgenres (such as paranormal, historical, etc.).

• Historical Romance: Romance novels that are set prior to 1950.

• Inspirational Romance: Romance novels in which religious or spiritual beliefs (in the context of any religious or spiritual belief system) are an integral part of the plot.

• Paranormal Romance: Romance novels in which fantasy worlds or paranormal or science fiction elements are an integral part of the plot.

• Romantic Suspense: Romance novels in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot.

• Young Adult Romance: Romance novels in which young adult life is an integral part of the plot.

       Also to keep up with current trends you can explore inter-racial relations and LGBT.

Remember who your target group is and create stories that would stir up ideas, debate, and awareness.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Basic story foundation

Beautiful artwork by Greg Tocchini

What is a comic book without the story element?  Nothing but a picture book.  If you plan to create comics you should understand at least the basic premise of a story.  Without getting too deep into it here are the basic parts of a basic story and what they contain:

The beginning is exactly that, t
he beginning.  It is used to introduce an idea, situation, characters, and the setting.  Take your time to give some details of the people in your story.  show their interest or involvement.  Produce a question for your audience. Ask them what they think about a particular topic.  Show them that something is going to happen.  Welcome your reader to your world.  Make them feel part of the story.

Beautiful artwork by Greg Tocchini

The middle is the part you use to develop the elements and characters you introduced at the beginning.  Here is where your story brews.  Start leading your audience towards the main conflict or problem.  Whatever happens here should lead to your main conflict.  You can have a few minor conflicts where your heroes succeed or fail, but they all have to lead to this main conflict.  Great stories use elements such as foreshadowing and plot devices to hint towards the main conflict or the resolution of it.

The main conflict should be a turning point.  It should be grand and exciting.  Don't cop out on this part of the story.  Really put everything on the line.  People love excitement and risk.  Readers want to learn or imagine how your characters were able to resolve the conflict, how Super guy and Mega dude foiled Dr. Devastation's plans.  Make it creative and dynamic.  Do your due diligence on the resolution you choose for the problem at hand because your readers will challenge it, be assured of it.

The end should answer almost every question that the reader might have unless you plan to leave it as a cliff hanger, as in mot continual comic series.  But at least answer the main questions in your current story so your reader doesn't accuse you of leaving plot holes in your comic book.

There are many different story structures but this is the basic one used in many comic books so learn it and build from it.        

Keeping an Amazing Comic Studio

The studio is where the magic happens.It is the home of the comic artist's inspiration.  Littered with comics, sketchbooks, statues, it is a breeding ground for the imagination.  Each is unique to its owner's style and a destination of pure comic delight. A well organized comic studio will help you be more productive and creative in all of your projects.

The main purpose of your studio is to support your creative endeavors.  It should be a place free from distractions, but full of motivational tools.  Keep in mind that the design of your studio will help you come up with better ideas and lot faster.  Here are some tips to consider when organizing your comic studio:

Your Studio is your research library.  It is your inner sanctum.  You should have a small collection of reference materials that you commonly use during your creative process.  This normally includes comics and graphic novels of your most inspirational artists, books on anatomy, perspective, and other "How to" art books.  I also include books on writing and publishing because its what I do.  Make sure that your collection is customized for you.

Keep you space dedicated.  Not only should this space be free from distractions, but also be completely dedicated to your comic projects.  This space can be a small desk or a full sized room.  The important part is that it is just used for your comic projects. 

If you work on different different media, keep your projects separated.  Have a section for your digital art, another for your acrylic paintings, and perhaps a section for your sketching or traditional drawing.  This way you can accommodate your art supplies in a way that make sense to your productivity.  Staying organized like this will keep you focused.

Have enough art tools out so that you can easily reach for something without losing your train of thought, but not too many supplies that it makes your creative space messy or cluttered.  Boxes and carousels make a great organizing tool for your pencils, pens, markers, brushes, and other supplies. Do not use anything toxic in your studio.  I'm talking about aerosol sprays or heavy paint thinners.  And even if they don't smell it doesn't mean that there aren't any harmful fumes.  You don't want to use that in a space that you're going to be constantly in for hours.

Here is a small list of useful thinks to keep in your studio:

• Trash can
• Adjustable lamp 
• Dry erase and/or cork board
• Computer, laptop, or tablet
• Portfolio
• Art supply bin
• Pencil/pen carousel 

Remember that maintaining an organized work space help keep the imagination flowing. 


        

Designing Villains

The Joker is the property of DC comics

One of the biggest driving forces behind most comic book stories are the villains.  They pose or create the greatest obstacles for your heroes to over come.  They have to be as dynamic or even more than your heroes.  And the most successful villains are the ones that have levels of depth to their character.  Here we are going to learn how to create villains with such sophistication in their quality of traits that your readers will love to hate them...or love them!

Bullseye is Property of Marvel Comics

With villains we need to start at the beginning to see what makes them tick.  In most, but not all, a tragic event or accident has somehow negatively affected the villain and twisted his or her fate.  This is one of the best ways to begin to define the underlying foundation of your villain, but remember that characters are constantly changing so understand that you can always make changes later on that will be part of the character development. Marvel's own Bullseye's history is uncertain as he him self has only divulged small pieces of it for the sake of making the story interesting. Its not unheard of for a villain to switch roles and become a hero.  Back to working on your villain's origin.  The world is full of tragedy all you have to do is look around.  From the despair of a father for a child lost in the unforgiving violence of war to the son who loses his father to an illness because of the negligence of a doctor or the pain of a grieving mother of a daughter raped and killed by an unknown assailant to the rage of a daughter for the senseless attack of a church or mall where her mother and family is slain.  You don't need to look any further that the home page of any news site to get the latest dose of rampage.

After building a source of pain for your evil doer start forming their purpose or motivation.  Did the illness that caused Billy's dad to die and the perceived lack of help or empathy because of Billy's our despair convinced him to want others to share in his own grief and so he became a terrorist to medical staff and hospitals.  Was the puppy that just got run over by a careless and uncaring driver the only thing holding Diana from entering her life of an orphan assassin.  Get creative!

Dr. Doom is the property of Marvel Comics

Here's another fun part.  What powers did your super villain gain from the incident.  The plasma weapon test that kill Mark Danger's brother also imbued him with ability to manipulate electricity.  The shock of Kendra losing her Government funding for her lab and life's work created the madness that lead her to create doom's day robots and eventually into a cyborg herself.  The reason doesn't even have to be noble, sometimes people just snap.  After Harry stole Frank's girlfriend Wendy, Frank decided to become his wrestling persona "The Viper" but as a bank robber and hired muscle for the mob.  The Latverian Monarch known to many as Doctor Doom was born brilliant. In a deal with the devil, his mother sacrificed her soul in return for her son to be a ruler. He spent much of his life studying both dark magic and science.

Whatever the case is keep it interesting. Stay away from generic bad guys, unless your just introducing thugs or underlings.  Try to create at least three amazing super villains to keep your heroes on their toes and your readers at the edge of their seats!

  

       

Create the Drama Through Expression

Comics are usually stories filled with drama and there's no better way to show it than the expression on your character's faces.  To really drive the story forward and emphasize the dialogue your characters have to show what they are feeling and how they are reacting to situations in your story.  The concept is easy to grasp but its in the application that artists have trouble with the translation.

There are many expressions to match the vast kaleidoscope of human emotion.  As an artist, especially a sequential or comic artist, it is important that you not only understand the expressions related to the scene, but also know how to draw it in your characters.  Facial expressions enhance panels and take them to a whole another level.  Make it a habit to practice human expression on your character when your sketching studies.

A few basic expressions that you need to master as a comic book artist are: happiness, sadness, anger, surprise, confusion, fear, and determination.  These are the fundamental emotions in almost all great comics.  Learn to build from these emotions like from anger to rage or from happiness to excitement.  Those changes elevate your scenes to create a much better story. Remember, characters need to react to situation and dialogue.  If everyone maintains the same level of seriousness the reader will find it difficult to understand the moon of the scene or even the whole comic.

Rather than starting at the beginning, how to draw a head or face for this matter, I invite you to explore the incredible amount of comic "How to Draw" books, as mostly all of them are very similar in that they introduce you to the variety of artistic tools available in today's market and the basics of drawing simple anatomy, such as that of the head.  No, we're just going to dive right in to some of the common expressions you will use to improve your comic panels and drive that drama right up there.  

Here's a drill that will help you start building your repertoire of facial expressions.  Everything is quality and time.  Take a sheet of paper, usually your sketchbook, and draw 16 to 20 faces per sheet, preferably of the characters you work with, and create as many different expressions as possible in a single view.  A single view would refer to making all the faces a front, profile, or 3/4th view.  Give yourself about 30 minutes.  Remember that working quickly will improve the quality of art per the amount of time spent.  You would be training yourself to make deadlines.

Each expression is a combination of eye brow positioning, eye exposure, and mouth shape. Learn to mix these combinations to form elaborate expressions such as despair, sarcasm, and a spark of insanity.  Practice these dynamic expressions on both male and female characters.  Don't be afraid to push the limits and try something new. 

Drawing Captivating Sounds

Your comic book pages will ROCK with the help of some cleverly designed sound effects!  The world isn't a silent place.  Use sound effects to bring mood to those scenes.  If you need help finding words use a quick browser search for onomatopoeia.  Its just a fancy word for written sound effects.

Even though as an artist you can make some pretty amazing designs for your word art by hand you may want to consider a design program such as CorelDraw, Illustrator, or even Manga Studios for your word art.  You're going to save your self some time, especially if you decide to make changes.  I hope by know you're starting to appreciate the job of a letterer.

Word art for sound effects is pretty upfront.  Size equates to loudness, so if your sound effect is really small its considered a whisper while if its really large its practically an explosion.  Play with colors to contrast and enhance the scene.       
Font plays an important role in representing the sound displayed.  There are several helpful sights when it comes to fonts and word art for comics.  Try Blambot.com or Comic Craft for a great collection of fonts and advice about lettering.
 

Becoming a Profitable Comic Artist

At this point you have already worked on your talent and have impressed enough people to convince yourself to pursue an art career as a comic book artist.  So lets get into what you need to know to start building yourself up to a professional level as an artist. Now is the time to start taking these specific steps in order to build a solid foundation.  It starts here, right where you are, reading this article and taking notes.  I'm going to be upfront with you and let you know right off the bat that this road to success is a process that takes time and effort. It won't happen over night and you will need to invest your time and effort to carve out your spot of the lime light.

First and most important: draw constantly.  You will need to do this to keep improving your artistic skill set so draw projects, not just doodles or studies.  You need this for repetition. This will help build your creative habit.  Your mind and body will become accustomed to creating art constantly.  Take your sketchbook out in public.  This will have many benefits.  Besides getting use to drawing in a hectic environment it will expose your art to people.  Take in the compliments as well as the critics...yes the critics, too.  The art world is subjective and there are many opinionated fools out there waiting to bring you down.  Take the abuse now and develop leather skin so you can feel much more comfortable when working with an editor later.
 
Network.  You need to be on social media.  If you're already there, awesome.  If not, better get started now.  As of the time that I'm writing this article the most useful and necessary online website and applications to be on are:

Stay in touch with social media.

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• DeviantArt
• LinkedIn

There are a few more but these are the basic.  Don't fall into the social media trap where you feel like you have to become a slave and check it every minute and update it constantly.  A few days or weekly post is fine.  Get into the habit of sharing your art work on each of the sites.  Learn about tools that will send the message over several of your sites at once.  Try to maintain an online portfolio on either or both Deviant Art and/or Instagram.  This will be very useful when networking and having to show someone your portfolio on the go.  Keep it up to date.  Remember to also make an artist Facebook page.  Its a good practice to keep your personal and professional life separate.  

 

Become familiar with the Graphic Artist Guild and purchase their handbook.  It contains very important information about pricing your work and contracts.  

 

Challenge yourself.  Participate in contests and trade shows like a comic book convention.  An art contest for comic or pop art is a perfect way to get exposure.  you would be surprised at the amount of people that begin to recognize your style, so always do your best.  Don't just do it.  Really put in the effort and then add it to your portfolio.  Attend comic conventions.  Get some advice from upcoming artists and support your local scene.  You'll get better information if you buy something from the artist.  Remember that you're taking up their time with your curiosity.  After 1 or 2 trips to the convention, get yourself a booth in artist alley.  

 

Don't be afraid of taking work for exposure, but learn when it is appropriate.  Many established artists won't do this, so take advantage.  When done correctly the experience can boost you up incredibly.  Interview the publisher and make sure they have the credentials: a large national or global audience that is verifiable.  Make sure that you are in agreement as to you being awarded recognition for your work and have it in writing as a written agreement with monetary consequences.  The work should be considerably a small job. Once published share it with everyone on your social media. 

 

Establish your rates and stick to them.  This will require you to evaluate the market.  See what other artist are charging for their work, especially artist that have similar talent to yourself.  Start at a competitive rate until you build up your recognition through your art work.  Try to set your price early on as to not be hassled by demanding clients, writers, and/or publishers. Stay firm on your prices, you did your research and you know your talent.      

 

Start practicing this today and mold yourself into a productive and creative artist.  

    

Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to our blog!

First off Let me welcome you guys to our new blog!  Consider this an extension of Digital Hand Studios.  This will be our fun comic blog.  I'll introduce you guys to the team in the next couple of days.  We're gonna' blog about comics, mainstream and indies, movies, and a lot more.  We want to share Kickstarters and fun projects, showcase artists, and post art techniques.  

 We'll have a Youtube channel soon enough because everybody and their mother is video casting now a days. 

And finally, we'll be sharing our own projects that we've been up to during this long hiatus....oh my!   

So share the word, like our page on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter!

Thanks!

Awesome Andres