How To Create Comics Even If You Can't Draw

E'er wonder what steps you lot should take to improve your comic mode art?

I always go this question, "How can I improve my comic art?" I will admit the most common respond you will ever hear in your life is Practice! It's is the answer that no pupil wants to hear. I remember hearing it and thinking, "I practice like a madman already. How much does it take?"

Instead of giving you the lazy respond, permit'southward delve into the details a scrap more. It isn't enough to know that you need to practice a lot. You need to know what to practice and why. Yous too need a few other concepts to think most. Strangely plenty, information technology's not all about practise. Let's jump on in!

Practice Poses as Often as Possible! — Practice Poses every bit Often every bit Possible!

TIP#1 Practice Daily!

Look! Yous just said?! I know, information technology seems like a depression accident doesn't information technology? It actually is the first and easiest respond. Yous take to practice daily to improve. Long gaps will hurt your development.

What should you lot practice is probably the best question but y'all accept to answer that i for yourself. Find the weakest link in your chain and make it the strongest. If you can't draw faces but y'all draw really great muscles and then yous know what you need to do. It is hard to do because nosotros gravitate to what we are confident at.

And then fight the addiction and dedicate a proficient portion of your studies to what matters most or something that is belongings your work back from being amazing.

TIP#2 Create Finished Art!

Yous need to create finished pieces of comic art or you are setting yourself upward for potential failure. Sketching and studies are extremely important of class only if yous don't focus on completing your work you lot won't develop a strong portfolio and ultimately won't secure any work.

People don't commission or hire based upon sketches. Finishing your art pieces will also forcefulness you to deal with the fact you may not be able to draw feet, hands, or faces. Information technology is like shooting fish in a barrel to hide those things in rough sketches. ( Maybe not the faces. )

Completing your work will also make you fully aware of how fast or boring you can draw. Extremely important if you hope to work as a professional person artist.

Venom and Spider-man - Stages of the Artwork — Venom and Spider-man – Stages of the Artwork

TIP#three Ask for Constructive Criticism!

The reason I say to enquire for it is I experience that if y'all request information technology, you are far more than likely to receive it as sound advice. We accept all gotten someone's unwanted criticism at times and just decided to not accept it. Truth exist told, it simply hurts you to keep a airtight mind to information technology.

Even someone that is a complete stranger draws like a v year old and has a profile pic of road kill could still be a fantastic fine art critic with audio advice. It's non always going to come from someone you admire and it is more about how yous choose to use the information.

When you lot spring into the professional person world anyone and everyone can quickly become your critic and fifty-fifty your boss. Best to become used to it at present and stomach your sensitive fiddling ego!

TIP#4 Become Back to the Basics!

We sometimes get to a certain level in our art and we think nosotros are the side by side Jim Lee or Todd McFarlane so we go for more avant-garde drawings. Hoping to hide any flaws in our piece of work by applying our fancy smancy rendering techniques. It's okay to exercise this once and a while to develop our "Eye Processed" furnishings. Simply don't do it every time and think that no one can tell that your characters are stiff as cardboard cutouts or that your page compositions are as interesting as peeling potatoes on a Sat dark.

Getting back to the basics of cartoon gestures, primitive shapes, understanding perspective, limerick, understanding your tools, jumping dorsum into your art books, and and so on is often disregarded because nosotros remember we are amend than we actually are. It is easy to become caught up in all the "likes" on social media from people that want to be supportive of our work or but become a bit of tunnel vision.

Nosotros have to call back that our polished art needs a sound foundation to rely upon. Just then tin information technology soar to the heights of Mount Olympus or any fantasy reference you prefer.

TIP#5 Keep an Actual Sketchbook!

I actually wish I would have done this more than consistently through my younger years. I accept tons of sketches on loose pieces of paper and although I beloved sifting through those fond memories a lot of them aren't dated.

A series of completed sketchbooks gives you a more somewhat linear view of what you take accomplished. You nevertheless demand to exist determined about dating your work of grade. Sketchbooks are much more organized and every bit artists we need all the help we can get in that area. ( Well, I do at to the lowest degree! : /)

Sketchbooks are Very Important to Track Your Progress! — Sketchbooks are Very Of import to Track Your Progress!

TIP#6. Go to the Comic Conventions!

This is so important if you truly want to be a professional comic book artist. The comic conventions are an astonishing way to larn and grow as an artist. Even if yous don't like spending coin to have a table, it is still a great experience to attend and show your work around.

This office ties into the constructive criticism from Tip #3. Showing your comic art and starting some dialogue with others about it, will teach you a lot. Just be receptive and leave your ego at home. You tin can't fill a cup that is already full, right?

Besides, the conventions give you a "behind the scenes" look at what works and what doesn't. Speak to as many artists, writers, and editors as you lot can. The nuggets of advice you lot will larn from them is priceless!

TIP#7 Update your Portfolio Often!

As you complete new works of art, update your portfolio. Don't simply add together to information technology either. Your better works should incline you to evidence the bottom works to the nearest exit. Your portfolio should only accept room for your best comic art.

Don't brand the mistake of showing an editor a stack of sketches mixed with a few covers. It should contain 10 to 15 of your best pieces of art. Information technology should likewise reflect what you lot desire to be every bit a comic artist. If you lot desire to describe books, then you need sequential storytelling not a bunch of pinups.

Likewise, if you do prove this piece of work to an editor, don't make excuses on why it isn't your best piece of work. Only bear witness your best work and listen more than y'all talk. Condign defensive shows weakness. Just accept notes and go back to the drawing board and make improvements.

In my stance, you should too make sure to include a nice range of your abilities within those pages. Draw people with expressions and emotions besides equally super-powered heroes punching through walls. Brand expert use of perspective and include lots of props like cars, street signs, a damaged burn escape, and so on. It shows that yous tin can describe lots of little details and enrich the scene. If you lot can illustrate a scene with lots of ataxia and brand information technology read well visually then you take an edge on a lot of artists. Don't exist they guy or gal that draws superheroes confronting a blank white sail all the time!

TIP#8 Describe with a Focus!

Information technology's not good enough to just draw. You have to accept a focus. This sort of ties into Tip #1. Y'all have to go into your drawings with a purpose.

Are y'all going to draw an amazing piece of fan art to show the world what you can do with their favorite grapheme? Are you developing your studies of anatomy and poses for the side by side few hours? Are you going to strengthen your understanding of "Dynamic Lite and Shade" with the Astonishing Burne Hogarth Book yous picked upward? Become it hither with my Amazon Link – https://amzn.to/2YsP0yO ( I highly recommend all of his books! ) Are you going to enhance your speed past doing timed studies of areas within your piece of work?

Having an intention and focus is much more powerful than simply drawing whatever pops into your melon. It allows you to maximize your efforts. Yous will learn much faster by doing this and not get burned out so quickly by spending time on the wrong aspects of your work.

TIP#9 Sell your work!

Yous may recollect that this is merely reserved for the pros. So not truthful! I started my art business in high school. I would barter my amazing ( unrefined ) art skills for skillful grades and social status. We all know good grades may eventually help you lot pay the bills merely y'all might say, "You can't pay your bills with social status." Maybe not directly simply information technology volition interpret to income over fourth dimension.

It's basically branding and self-promotion. Becoming the guy or girl known for being an astonishing artist will get yous the discussion of mouth that sells the work. Then why all the enfasis on selling your work. It teaches you a lot nigh how the existent world procedure will work.

Being able to take instructions from a customer, negotiate a deal that is mutually benign, make changes as needed, communicate clearly, tame your ego, and deliver your artwork on a deadline. This Tip volition probably teach you lot the near about yourself and if you can't do this for regular joe'due south and then you may not exist ready for the large leagues.

TIP#10 Use Reference and Describe from Life

Only considering we are comic artists doesn't hateful we can't employ reference. In fact, it is quite the opposite.

Reference can take a decent creative person and plough them into something amazing. I am all for drawing from imagination equally much as possible but sometimes you but have to feed the encephalon box. Draw from life and interpret it into your own style. And then your comic storytelling volition know no bounds.

Your fans will love seeing all those references ran through your creative filter. Simply don't trace or else you will weaken your power to convert things into your own style or brand changes as quickly.

TIP#eleven Study from the Masters

Masters tin exist anyone that you admire really. They don't all have to be Leonardo Davinci for you to larn from them. Knowledge hides in the most inconspicuous places.

Make sure to study the work but not re-create it or pass it off as your own vision. If you attach to the original work yous need to credit the artist. That being said, it is really a fantastic manner to level upwards your art skills. It allows you to peer through their eyes and follow the choices that they fabricated.

As a comic creative person I often ink the work of others that I am inspired by. Not because I desire to exist an inker merely because I learn immensely every time I exercise information technology. Their lines are amazing to me for a reason, so inking their work can demystify some of the procedure. Plus, it'southward but plain fun to do! 😉

These are simply some of the things I practise to improve my comic art on a daily basis. I hope y'all discover these tips to exist valuable and I would love to know what are the means your improve your fine art! Comment below and feel gratis to share the mail if y'all enjoyed it!

Sincerely,

Robert A. Marzullo

Ram Studios Comics

Want to learn more about my comic fine art process. Check out my Udemy courses beneath…

How to Draw Dynamic Comic Book Superheroes – Get-go to Cease

https://www.udemy.com/course/how-to-draw-dynamic-comic-volume-superheroes-offset-to-finish/?couponCode=RAMSTUDIOSCOMICS2021

Or my Course, "How to Depict Heads from Any Angle" Link –

https://www.udemy.com/grade/how-to-draw-heads-step-past-step-from-any-angle/?couponCode=RAMSTUDIOSCOMICS21B