Friday, August 29, 2008

How to Draw a Comic Strip

I amused myself today by crating an obsessive guide to how I crate a comic strip. I explain in great detail how the magic behind Rabbits Against Magic happens conception to completion so that you too can become an expert wannabe cartoonist. There's even some rare interior pictures of my legendary "Lemon's Underworld" home cartoon studio. Please be patient as it takes a while for the page to load all 20 steps.

36 comments:

J. Lemon said...

By the way, if anyone reads this and knows of ways to do this faster and better (especially the PhotoShop stuff) let me know!

Bear said...

Sweet gibbering fancy Moses, that's a great pictorial/tutoriature! Great toonfu.

J. Lemon said...

FUN FACT - The strip being created in this demonstration was selected as "Editors Pick"on Comics Sherpa!

http://tinyurl.com/3p626r

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Tom Dell'Aringa said...

That is some beautiful work. I love to see artists who use a brush show their line work. And I love the looseness of your pencils.

J. Lemon said...

Thanks Tom. There's a fascinating discussion going on about this piece on a chat forum here:

http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5280

amadeus91 said...

About trixie , i believe is time to put jealous to this rabbit picky girl , with other girl that love weenus.

invierta en franquicias said...

I look forward to reading more on the topic in the future. Keep up the good work! This blog is going to be great resource. Love reading it.

Unknown said...

Hi! I could not find a way to contact ya, but wanted to say THANKS for posting Pokeweed in your links. MUCH appreciated!!

lonewolf said...

Great tutorial for drawing the strip, Jonathan.
Like the website, too.

Lonewolf(Gocomics)

vachandomba said...

great work lyk the way u simplify your drawings and thanx for a very helpful tutorial

Mutuelle sante said...

Thank you so much it has been a good help, now to draw a comic strip is without a doubt very easy with the help of your advice. Thank you

Bryan Tipton said...

Incredibly helpful and informative blog entry. Thank you!

miss.banx said...

Nice! Love the detail. I'm usually drawing cartoons all day and they do do anything productive (ugh lazy) and now thanks to you I can make em work ;)
Mucho thank you! lol take care

Quicksilver Strom said...

Hi I just loved ur tutorial!!!!!!!!!!!
im trying to make a tin tin comic close to the original. i have a lot of time in my hands. ha ha got any advice??????

J. Lemon said...

Thanks Quicksilver Strom. Take a look at "The Adventures of Herge" by Jose-Louis Bocquet, Jean-Luc Fromental, Helge Dascher and Stanislas Barthélémy . I don't think anyone can match the original but this comes pretty close. Good luck.

hotels at columbus airport said...

Nice share.. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. Thanks for sharing and congrats for your creations.

Janie said...

Just brilliant, thank you!

AbdulElah said...

Love the tutorial, do you thing it's too late for me to start drawing in my 30s? I've always loved drawing but never took seriously.

and.. could you please recommand tools (pencils.. etc) that a beginner can start with? and be spacific please.

J. Lemon said...

Thanks for the comment AbdulElah. It's definitely never too late to start as long as you love drawing! For what it's worth, you might find this useful:

http://www.rabbitsagainstmagic.com/faq.htm#advice

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

This is an amazing how-to guide! I might actually start making comic strips since I've read these incredible step-by-step instructions Thanks a lot!

Jim Colby said...

Thank you for this wonderfully concrete account of your 'process'. I am an older (68) writer who secretly longs to do graphic strips and I cant ask for a better help than your explanation. You have a gift for candour and clarity. I have a PhD in philosophy and as a result I cant prove that I am not a robot since I may be deceived by my designer. I'll try tho.

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Caricaturelives said...

Like this Post :) Thanks!

Unknown said...

Um! You should use a ruling pen for the frame lines! Also, if you cross the frame line edges, you can use white poster paint or some other kind of white cleaning fluid!

Paul A Jackson said...

Found this only today so I'm a little late in arriving. Fantastic article/blog post though. I shall be exploring your blog and work in detail. Many belated thanks for the insight into how you work. Paul

Anonymous said...

I have been looking for exactly this information and detail. I have an idea that will not go away and I think this might help me bring it to life. Thank you!

schmilblick said...

Hello, thanqs for your tutorial and your comics are very beautiful. I'm 12 years old, i'm french and i'm interresed to make comics so your ''lessons'' are very utils for me.
Have nice day !

Amy said...

That was a great tutorial. Thanks!

Manuel_A said...

Hi,

I have a question what type of colored Ink do’s Robert Crump, use? I know that he uses Black Pelikan Tusche A Drawing Ink, with a Hunt 102 crow quill nib. But what brand of colored Ink do’s he use.

And if Mr. Crump, had a online class, on how to draw comic-books from start to finish. or if he had DVD’s for sale I would sign up in a hart beat…

Thank You,

Unknown said...

Superb! very helpful.

margondes said...

this tutorial is very very detail
love it!

Anonymous said...

that was great thnk you a lot MR.............

mwjr said...

I grew up dreaming of becoming a professional cartoonist. I was drawing at age 4, and didn't really stop until marriage,kids, life started taking up time. I did a strip for my college paper more than 25 years ago, and it was nothing more than a rip-off of Bloom County and Doonesbury, albeit subconsciously.

I've long stopped cartooning, but I am still fascinated by those who do it and the processes they employ. It was truly a pleasure to read through your tutorial.

Natalia said...

I absolutely loved this tutorial! Thank you very much for writing it. And good luck with your cartoons!

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