Imaginary Worldbuilding for Comic Book Drawing

World building for comic books

“Congratulations! You have reached the end of this Domestika course. It has been a genuine joy sharing my knowledge and experience with you. Thank you so much. I sincerely hope you have enjoyed the course. Now before we end, I’d like to remind you of some of the most important steps we gave throughout the course and that you should remember when you start doing your final project: 
 Analyze the Script Remember, the first step was to break down and analyze the script. Keep in mind the technical information regarding panels, insets, and dialogue. But most importantly, read the script looking for clues to create a world that enriches the story you are helping to tell. Often comic book scripts won’t offer you much detail regarding the environment, so the art of world-building is all about breathing life into that particular aspect by using a lot of detail and texture, and my thinking about the specific details that make a working world – from rock types to vegetation. Be imaginative, and push yourself to enrich the world you are creating.

Laying Out the Page After that, it is time to lay out the page. Remember: the left-to-right direction in which we read the script will affect how we lay out the page. When working on your first sketch, channel your subconscious using loose lines. Allow room for accidental shapes to inform your drawing. Tighten up the Drawing After you have the basic layout done, it is time to tighten up the drawing, working on the details suggested by your rough layout. Some people need to make this stage very detailed in order to ink. Others like to leave it more open for interpretation at the ink stage. Try and find your comfort level. Remember, you can always come back later and tighten up your pencils at any stage. Bold Inking When working on the inking stage, I like to use sponges for the larger areas of the art. This technique creates wonderful organic shapes that will infuse your artwork with random and natural textures. Nature is not planned perfectly! Dare to be bold, and you’ll find that the world you’re trying to build will eventually emerge from the page, and you’ll amaze yourself in the process. Fine Details After that, keep working on the inking with a brush pen and fine pens of different sizes. The more details you add to your drawing, the more you enrich your world. You can also use a white gel pen or liquid paper to add some final highlights. And that's all! Thank you so much for taking part. I can't wait to see your projects! You can share your project with all of us by clicking on 'Create your project.' Remember to share both the final result and the steps that have led you to it. It would be great if you showed a picture of each step and added a brief explanation about what you have done in each one. If you have any questions, be sure to ask them! I will reply as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I encourage you to interact with each other. Communication fuels creativity. So, don't be afraid to reach out and collaborate with others. But most of all, have fun! See you in the forum! ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Final Project Hi, and thank you for joining me on this course. I learned the most amazing lessons about world-building from my mentor, Don Lawrence. Since then, I have spent many years refining them and developing my own techniques for creating interesting worlds and environments for comic books. For the final project, I want you to create a splash page with an inset based on any of the three scripts that I provided. For that, the first step was to break down and analyse the script. Keep in mind the technical information regarding panels, insets, and dialogue, but most importantly, read the...”

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Course summary for: Imaginary Worldbuilding for Comic Book Drawing

• Level: Beginner
• 100% positive reviews (48)
• 2297 students
• 4 units
• 18 lessons (4h 0m)
• 8 downloads

• Category

  Illustration

• Software

  Adobe Photoshop

• Areas

  Digital Illustration, Drawing, Ink Illustration, Pencil Drawing, Traditional illustration