Time and Space
Time is like a currency that needs to be budgeted wisely. The following is an inspired Facebook post on the subject by Dan Slott. Then watch the video by Lars Martinson on saving time. The comic he spent 13 years drawing is an incredible work of art, but highly impractical in terms of time and effort.
Every choice you make in a comic book script is something that will take artists different amounts of time to draw AND will eat up different amounts of physical space on the page.
I can't express that enough to people who want to start-- or are just starting to write comics. The constant management of those two kinds of "real estate" is a talent/skill you'll need to develop down to a basic, intuitive level.
When we get whimsical or romantic when talking ABOUT making comics, editors and writers often describe it as "films with an unlimited budget". Want to blow up an entire universe? Sure! No sweat. Want to have a thousand armies crest over a hill? It's a snap.
Except it isn't.
Our budget is
Time It Takes Artists To Draw
and Space It Will Take Up On The Page.
If you ask for a crowd shot on a four panel page, you need to be kind to your artist and make sure those other three panels are head shots and close ups.
If you look at Silver Surfer issues where I asked Mike Allred for a million crazy things, you'll see that our next issue might have Surfer flying through an endless black void. (Or an endless white void.) :)
That's the nature of time. That affects your artist. Be kind.
Space is how many story beats YOU can get into an issue.
If you write an amazing double page splash at the end of your 20 page issue... you can't think of it as a 20 page issue when you're planning out story beats. It's now more like an 18 page issue with one extra (though really powerful) panel added at the end.
If you want to add ONE more character into your story, they're going to eat up space too-- in every scene, page, panel and story beat they're in. Do you NEED them in your story? Taking them out will give every OTHER character more space to breathe and more focus on the page.
What NEEDS to be said? Words also eat up space on the page. This isn't TV. There's no accompanying audio track for your comic. Every word that's said goes into a word balloon or caption and eats up PHYSICAL space on the page. Every word carries ACTUAL weight. The more you can let the art carry the mood/tenor of a scene, the better. The less that's said, the more powerful a scene can be-- the more the lettering can be art on the page as well, working in tandem with the illustrations instead of vying with them for space.
Man, I could talk about this kind of comic book nuts & bolts all day... But another part of time management is GETTING YOUR WORK DONE. And I need to get back to a plot. :) Hope that if you're thinking of writing for comics (or just starting) that this gave you some food for thought. ttyl.
I can't express that enough to people who want to start-- or are just starting to write comics. The constant management of those two kinds of "real estate" is a talent/skill you'll need to develop down to a basic, intuitive level.
When we get whimsical or romantic when talking ABOUT making comics, editors and writers often describe it as "films with an unlimited budget". Want to blow up an entire universe? Sure! No sweat. Want to have a thousand armies crest over a hill? It's a snap.
Except it isn't.
Our budget is
Time It Takes Artists To Draw
and Space It Will Take Up On The Page.
If you ask for a crowd shot on a four panel page, you need to be kind to your artist and make sure those other three panels are head shots and close ups.
If you look at Silver Surfer issues where I asked Mike Allred for a million crazy things, you'll see that our next issue might have Surfer flying through an endless black void. (Or an endless white void.) :)
That's the nature of time. That affects your artist. Be kind.
Space is how many story beats YOU can get into an issue.
If you write an amazing double page splash at the end of your 20 page issue... you can't think of it as a 20 page issue when you're planning out story beats. It's now more like an 18 page issue with one extra (though really powerful) panel added at the end.
If you want to add ONE more character into your story, they're going to eat up space too-- in every scene, page, panel and story beat they're in. Do you NEED them in your story? Taking them out will give every OTHER character more space to breathe and more focus on the page.
What NEEDS to be said? Words also eat up space on the page. This isn't TV. There's no accompanying audio track for your comic. Every word that's said goes into a word balloon or caption and eats up PHYSICAL space on the page. Every word carries ACTUAL weight. The more you can let the art carry the mood/tenor of a scene, the better. The less that's said, the more powerful a scene can be-- the more the lettering can be art on the page as well, working in tandem with the illustrations instead of vying with them for space.
Man, I could talk about this kind of comic book nuts & bolts all day... But another part of time management is GETTING YOUR WORK DONE. And I need to get back to a plot. :) Hope that if you're thinking of writing for comics (or just starting) that this gave you some food for thought. ttyl.