what is the comic creator made of

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LaDane88

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why is making comics so hard? generally speaking. why can't i click a button and the whole page (or most of it) is done? i know you can't, but i wish you could sometimes.

you are expected to produce a page a day if you are a penciler. what if you are doing the whole thing - pencil, color, story? who is made to do this stuff? What kind of person is capable of this? a page a day? there goes your whole day! not much left to do but go lay down and die.

i'm pretty upset about some of the systems put in place to make comics. there is no real solution though. music must be done a certain way, movies a certain way, and comics a certain way. but what of the creator? how is he able to cope with the hard work? is there a "type" out there that he must be?
 

Osulagh

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You're pretty much asking, "Why is something that takes a lot of effort and experience to be good in so hard to do?"

Well, I just gave you the answer: Experience and effort. You don't become good overnight. You can't produce work quickly until you have the pile of failures to tell you how not to do something; you know what to do when you need to do it. All of that is called gaining experience.

And there's no certain type of person to do this. You'll find in any trade that there's a variety of people doing that trade.

What do you mean by, "I'm pretty upset about some of the systems put in place to make comics." and "Why can't I click a button and the whole page is done?"? Like publishing systems, or comic creation programs?
 

LaDane88

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Well, I just gave you the answer: Experience and effort. You don't become good overnight. You can't produce work quickly until you have the pile of failures to tell you how not to do something; you know what to do when you need to do it. All of that is called gaining experience.

Ok, I see what you mean. But I've been doing this for 10 plus years and I have learned and I am a Master at my craft. Is comics making just too big of a problem is what I'm saying.

And there's no certain type of person to do this. You'll find in any trade that there's a variety of people doing that trade.

I can accept this and I can't accept this. I know they tell us people are unique and we are all different in some way. Think of it like dog breeds. every dog breed is built for a certain reason or task (retrieving birds from the water, smelling drugs at an airport). Yet, even dogs are unique too. there's no exact dog, but there are exact traits built into dogs. I wonder what breed I would be? :)

What do you mean by, "I'm pretty upset about some of the systems put in place to make comics." and "Why can't I click a button and the whole page is done?"? Like publishing systems, or comic creation programs?

Yeah, I'm talking about the way we make comics today. Someone on another forum a long time ago introduced me to how they make comics in holland or somewhere like that. They are all splash pages. every page! with text at the bottom - usually 2 to 3 paragraphs and some dialogue. this way just seems a lot less grueling. More of a picture book kind of thing.
 

Osulagh

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Think of it like dog breeds. every dog breed is built for a certain reason or task (retrieving birds from the water, smelling drugs at an airport). Yet, even dogs are unique too. there's no exact dog, but there are exact traits built into dogs. I wonder what breed I would be?
You do know that dog breeds are mostly BS, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv10_WvGxo

Anyways, I'm not going to get into the debate of inborn talent vs experience. People have fought over this forever, and it's all up to your opinion.

Yeah, I'm talking about the way we make comics today. Someone on another forum a long time ago introduced me to how they make comics in holland or somewhere like that. They are all splash pages. every page! with text at the bottom - usually 2 to 3 paragraphs and some dialogue. this way just seems a lot less grueling. More of a picture book kind of thing.

Well, it depends on the market and your genre. You can create comics however you wish, but if you want to sell them in a certain market you'll have to meet those standards. Readers are used to a certain way, and might react badly to a different. For example, a lot of political satire comics are just splash pages.

That is, if you want to go into a certain market with a standard. With the advent of the internet, formats have changed. I've seen web comics that have their own styles or vary styles (like xkcd), or communities that have recreated the idea of formatting for smartphones. One of my favorite examples, as I'm manga (graphic novel) fan, is the innovation found in Korean web comics. Manga and Manhwa have been stuck to the "manga" style of panels and flip-pages. But if you look at something like Comic Naver, which most of the comics are formatted for smartphones and tablets, it's incredible. Scenes and lines come in a vertical format that allows for dramatic timing and surprises--rather than knowing what's coming up because you can see it on the next page. For example: http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=628997&no=2&weekday=sat
 

LaDane88

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You do know that dog breeds are mostly BS, right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCv10_WvGxo

Not true. But that's not even the point I was making though. I just want to know what traits make up a comic book artist and I used the dog analogy as a way to emphasize my idea.

While I know that coming up with that answer would take some research, I thought I would pose the question just to see what I get.

I understand that there are different people who make comics. That is true. I'm not arguing that. But what if.... 80% of comic creators had typical certain traits? What would that say about life and people? We are predisposed to certain things in life... but to what extent and how far does it go? we don't know anything about that. Anybody can be doctors, anybody can be soldiers, anybody can be teachers, but who decides that in us? who says, in us, I am going to be an artist? Is it something deeper or just mere chance. that's all I'm getting at.
 

LaDane88

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Well, it depends on the market and your genre. You can create comics however you wish, but if you want to sell them in a certain market you'll have to meet those standards. Readers are used to a certain way, and might react badly to a different. For example, a lot of political satire comics are just splash pages.

That is, if you want to go into a certain market with a standard. With the advent of the internet, formats have changed. I've seen web comics that have their own styles or vary styles (like xkcd), or communities that have recreated the idea of formatting for smartphones. One of my favorite examples, as I'm manga (graphic novel) fan, is the innovation found in Korean web comics. Manga and Manhwa have been stuck to the "manga" style of panels and flip-pages. But if you look at something like Comic Naver, which most of the comics are formatted for smartphones and tablets, it's incredible. Scenes and lines come in a vertical format that allows for dramatic timing and surprises--rather than knowing what's coming up because you can see it on the next page. For example: http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detai...=2&weekday=sat


I agree you have to meet the standards set by the company. There’s no way around that. It would be nice if comics weren’t so hard to make though. Do I have the answer, no. There’s got to be some technology or system creators can use to speed up and make comics less grueling.
 
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SampleGuy

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If we are all robots, we could download a program to make comic books with no problem. But we're only human.
 

snafu1056

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Most of the people who do all the work themselves are independents that set their own schedules and deadlines. No publisher would ask one person to write, pencil, ink, color, and letter at a rate of one page a day because that would be insane.
 

Bicyclefish

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You're pretty much asking, "Why is something that takes a lot of effort and experience to be good in so hard to do?"

Well, I just gave you the answer: Experience and effort.
Yup. There's no magic software or Photoshop filter. There is no easy button. Many things in life worth doing require time and effort.

Most of the people who do all the work themselves are independents that set their own schedules and deadlines. No publisher would ask one person to write, pencil, ink, color, and letter at a rate of one page a day because that would be insane.
Well, no decent publisher with realistic expectations and desire for a quality product would. Before anyone says "mangaka do it" keep in mind they often have a team of (possibly unpaid) assistants.
 
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