Creating a Comic Book - Anyone Can Do It!

Our childhood hero's such as Superman, our own Spiderman, Fantastic 4 and so many other are the stuff of big business today. They grace the screens of movie theaters everywhere. Products are sold in almost every store in the nation and around the world. This is a money making venture like no other and it all started with the dreams of children that became the obsession of adult's who never forgot their hero's. The one's who shaped their lives and gave them hope when none seemed possible. Our very own comic book characters have come to life.

It started with a child thumbing through the pages of a thin paper book filled with pictures and adventure. There were hero's protecting earth and all human life and there were villains trying to take over the world or kidnap the girl. All had powers no common man or woman possessed and the fights for truth and freedom were glorious within our imaginations. Then the child became an adult, but never forgot the hero's and all who fought with him or against him to protect our right to dream.

Have you ever thought about creating a comic book? We all have, but can you do it? To find the answer to the questions all you have to do is look into your heart. There you will feel the hero that still flies, the villain that still has evil plans and the girl they all love. Yes, you can create your own comic book! It just takes time, practice and a plan. With the first step comes the second and before long you realize you are creating a story with pictures for your child, your family or for your own fortune if you are lucky enough to get it published.

Every child needs a hero and you can give the dream to your own child, created within your own imagination. It is a special gift from parents or family and what better way to create a memory than through a comic book forever preserved and passed forward to your children's children. From adult to child to the next child it can become a family heirloom to cherish. You don't have to get it published, you only have to create it. It's great fun and good therapy for those stressful days when we just want to escape the reality of our own world to rescue mankind. So let's get started!

1. Your first step is to create your hero. Who is he? What is his personality like and how did he become who he is? Decide what kind of power he is to have or if he is going to have multiple powers. Give him a history and before you know it you have given him life!

2. Now for your villain. Who or what is he? Why is he the villain and what are his plans for the future? Is he man, animal or alien? Does he have powers or is he just a very evil villain? As your villain emerges from your mind into a story you may reshape him or even replace him. Sometimes the villain is the most interesting of your characters. Sometimes you villain is a she!

3. Begin to piece together how the hero and villain met and why they are forced against each other. As you meld their lives together from a former history or even a sudden current event there must be a reason for them to become foes. Do they hate each other because of a wrong or because of unrequited love? They can be sibling rivalries or perhaps enemies from lives past. They possibilities are endless and exciting.

4. Every good comic book story must contain a special girl, a far away family or a sibling that needs protection. Who are they? What do they have to do with the men's lives and why are they so important? You can give them some kind of special power or even a secret no one knows, not even the hero. They are the fire that continues the flame of conflict.

5. Now the time has come to give form to our characters. Sketch faces, bodies, eyes, clothing and shapes for them. You don't have to be an artist, but once you stumble upon a type of sketch you like repeat it many times until you have it down. You can use costumes to cover faces or for mystery of the yet unknown. Capes, hats, makes and burns so they can live in hiding from the rest of the world. Protect their identity or even change it from time to time. There are a great number of books available teaching a person how to sketch shapes. In the world of comics you are not going to want exact drawing and art work. Let the readers imagination fill in the details.

6. It's time to begin to story board! This is going to be the best part of the creation process, because it's time to give a home to our friends and enemies! Where do they live or work? What is the story about? Do they save the innocent or do they go after the bad guy? Are they a city hero and in the future of some fantastic time when the world is different from the one we know today? Introduce your character as a youth or as the sudden rescuer.

7. Now to format your story. You will need to decide if you are going to do a series or one book and how long you want it to be. You can use normal 8"x11" plain paper to create your work on. Play with the idea of one picture per page or two, four or six squares per page each containing a portion of the story. If you know how you want each page but aren't sure how many pages it's going to take then just do one page at a time. Don't set a limit right away. Each section of your pages will contain the picture and a few words from the characters or a few lines continuing the story. This will be your formatting and it can be as long or as short as you like.

8. If you aren't sure how you would like your pictures to come out it's best to take a look at a few comic's in the stores. There are pictures with lots of color or black and white sketches with just a touch of color. It's easy to make a great comic with only outline black sketching as long as you use a little shading for depth. It's doesn't have to be difficult or exact, it just has to be enjoyed.

9. Once you have your story board and your characters are coming to life you'll add the background of their home, town or conflict. Do not try to be too detailed in this area. Background pictures are for visual illusion giving the reader reference to location.

10. Spend time each day or whenever you can drawing, thinking about the story line and creating your comic book. Once you get things pretty clear in your mind and on paper for your own focal point it will begin to take shape quickly. Give yourself several weeks to work on your characters and format before you begin the book itself. Have your drawing items ready and with every free moment create, draw and relax.

11. When you have finished your comic book you'll want to have a nice presentation. If you have drawn it on plain white paper you have the option of copying it to different colors or textures. You can place each sheet within a plastic protector and into a binder. Many copy places also have very basic binding services available, but make sure you keep a copy of the original incase one of the pages is destroyed by an evil foe.

You have now completed you comic book. You may choose to publish it and in which case you will need to find publisher that specialize in comic books. There are many to choose from such as Marvel, Dark Horse and other independent publishers. But you don't have to publish it to present it as a gift to someone. It can be a personal gift to the child you love, the partner of your life and just for yourself. You can also donate the story to local churches for use among their children or even young people beginning their life in the adult world.

If you have a drive within your soul to become a comic book artist this is one of the best things you can do to see if you have what it takes to do it day after day, month after month. You may never be published or you may only find a small success. But if you don't do anything, then a very special talent will be forever hidden from dreamers everywhere. So dream, draw, create and give to the world of your childhood hero's and villain for each has it's lesson's on life.