Penciling a Page with Jim Lee

This is a video of Jim Lee penciling a Superman page for the comic.  This should give you a sense of how long it takes to pencil sketch a professional page and the process.  Watch as he begins with a very rough concept and builds up the details... and changes them as he works to suit the scene better.  More importantly this video shares the time and dedication necessary as an artist to commit to the creation of a single page of art. 

Upcoming Show: MEGACON Orlando

 

We've been really busy preparing for Megacon Orlando and to prepare our titles for publications.  We haven't had free time to post updates but here it is.  Rise of Atlantis is on its second book for the convention.  Zach is going through his transformation and getting to know the team and his new lifestyle commitment.   

Digital Hand Studios will have the first book and posters available at the show.  Remember these are all limited direct sales.  We'll be posting our booth# soon so keep up with us on Facebook.

After the convention we'll be focusing on our website, distribution, and setting up this indie magazine for circulation.   

Beginner's Guide to Writing Comic Book Stories

If you've been having trouble coming up with your comic story, you came to the right place.  There are many great articles and books out there on how to write novels and comic book scrips.  I know because I own several of them.  Most are long drawn out explanations of the same thing but in different words.  I'm going to put the basic meat and potatoes here with a bonus on how to make it easy and interesting.  Here's my beginner's guide to writing comic book stories.

Plots

Yes, plots.  All good stories have two or more.  But to make it simple, concentrate on a major and minor plot for the back ground.  The plot is defined as the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story...or in this case a comic.  Practically, what's the story about?  The typical main plot is usually your hero trying to defeat the villain or villain's evil plan. The minor background plot can be some new romance or hero overcoming self doubts.

A plot device, or plot mechanism, is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. ... However a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or characters of the story, may be entirely accepted, or may even be unnoticed by the audience.

Outline

Make an outline for each plot in your story.  Organize each outline into three parts: the beginning intro, the middle rising action, and finally the resolution.  This is also known as the  story 3 act structure.  Even though stories come in different structures and can have more than 3 acts, we'll be using this type to get yo started.  If you need a bit more information or tips on creating your outline, Writer's Digest is a valuable resource for writers.  Here's an article on Outlines.

Act 1 The Introduction

This is the start of the story; This is where you capture your reader.  In the first act in comics its important to stir up your audience by using a hook.  This is also where you introduce your characters and the world where the story takes place.  


A narrative hook (or just hook) is a literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention so that he or she will keep on reading.

Act 2 The Rising Action

Act 2 is basically about the emotional journey of the main character. This is the rising action leading to the climax of the story according to the plot.  Give your characters all sorts of challenges to overcome, because the key in this act is conflict. Without conflict you can’t move the story forward. Conflict does not always mean a literal fight, but it can be all kinds of obstacles that keep the main character from achieving his/her goal/desire. Think about internal and external conflicts. Remember to continually raise the stakes of your main character’s journey. 

Climax is the term used to refer to the part of story or play where the tension or action reaches its highest part. Sometimes, the climax is a "crisis" point in the plot.

Act 3 The Resolution

Act 3 is all about the resolution of the story. This final act should show how the main character is able to succeed or become a better person. Everything that you’ve written in Act 1 and Act 2 leads up to this final act, so make sure you create a lot of interesting tension here as well as tying all the loose ends.  But since comic books are a series and you need the reader to return for the nest story, you will need to end your book with a cliffhanger to introduce your next book and create the tension and curiosity.

The conclusion of a story, often called the resolution or denouement.  This is where you answer all, if not most, of the reader's questions about the plot. 

A cliffhanger, or cliffhanger ending, is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction.

Now that you're armed with this story structure knowledge go forth and brainstorm new ideas and make incredible new comic stories!  

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