How much planning do you put into a comic?

[Nikki0417]

I'm in the process of planning a webcomic, but I'm not sure just how much "planning" I should be putting into this. I've been doing character designs and profiles, short summaries of what I want to happen in each chapter (as well as more detailed scripting), and I'm about to move into drawing concept sketches for the rooms/buildings. I'm wondering, am I giving myself too much work?

There are times when I want to dive in and start the comic, but then I think "oh, I can't yet, I still have to sketch ____ and type _____." The tutorials and things I've read concerning planning comics only talk about thumbnailing and scripting, but I want to know more. I managed to find one more in-depth tutorial, but that artist went as far as to create a town map. That sounds like too much work, even for me.

I'd like to know the more detailed work people put into their comics. Besides the standard character sketches, thumbnails and/or scripting, what kind of concept work do you make? Also, do you guys think I'm giving myself too much work, or not enough?

[Ilaekae]

The simplest way to answer this is to answer the following questions for yourself--some of which you already did...

1. Who is the character?
2. Does he have friends/enemies/etc.? And what are all these people like (personality/sex/age/education/etc.)?
3. What is he going to do in this comic?
4. Where is he going to do it, and how big and complicated is this area (the more complicated, the more planning, and vice versa)?
5. Is there the possibility that he might do something outside this plan, even remotely in the future?
6. If so, are you prepared for "expansion," (are there enough possible "openings" for your characters to change direction?) and would it be easy enough to add more complications much later if you have to, eliminating worrying about it now?

Decide only what you have to do to get this sucker rolling for a while. That way, you won't lock yourself into a box and cut off future directions for your little story that you don't recognize yet. Aside from all that, just get off your ass and start already...

[UnstableProtagonist]

What I would recommend for you is to develop a backstory for each character before proceeding toward the designing process. In this way, each character is integrated his/her own personality. Also, take the process one step at a time and don't over exert yourself any further than necessary. It's not easy creating your own comic, for sure. As far as story is concern, it is advisable to have someone proofread the script so you can document the story's strengths and weaknesses. Eventually, it'll become stronger in the long haul.

[Nikki0417]

Thanks for the comments so far, guys. The mood of the comic was pretty humorous, which made me forget to really give each character a backstory. That's going to help a lot, especially since one of the characters was turning out to be a little boring.

Aside from all that, just get off your ass and start already...

That's secretly what I was hoping to hear.

[p sage]

Is it a serial? In other words, is it a story that has chapter after chapter? If so, do not start it without having your story mapped out, and the script written, or you will never finish it.

If it's just a weekly strip, I would write down about 20 solid ideas before drawing a single one of them.

[Raoul Duke]

When you design your characters, keep it simple. Think about timing. Comics don't pay much, so think about characters you can establish in under 3 minutes.
Warm up before you approach a scene by figuring out a good short hand for whatever the scenery might be.

[carlosranna]

The more time you spend on the planning stages, the less time you will waste when making your pages.

This is true for comics, movies, games and maybe everything in life.

[kab]

I find a lot of the comics I've followed for some time change direction quite a lot, because the creator realises he set too strict boundries when he started. The clue is how you fade these changes in, but in the end, it's your universe and even if you decide you want to do something like drop an entire character entirely, that would be up to you. I've seen it done many times, and most of the time it's been for the better of the comic. So IMO I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure you have enough angles to keep your comic interesting and let it evolve naturally as you see what works and what doesn't...

[Asatira]

It depends on the kind of comic you're doing. For all kinds, have a good idea of who your characters are and what their backgrounds are. You can flesh it out in detail or you can choose to have more general backgrounds and fill in as you go. It'll depend on your story telling preferences and what the story throws at you. If it's like a daily, ie it's very self-contained punchline in that strip kind of comic, come up with a number of ideas before you start. If it's a continuous story, take some time to come up with the general world, the characters (most important), and a general outline of where you want things to happen. You can flesh it out for each chapter as you get to it, and still leave room for new things that come up. Have clear designs for your characters. Have your references, if you use them, at hand and ready.

Then get to work and draw the thing. You may want to do thumbnails so you try page/strip layouts to see if it'll work. Then get to drawing the actual comic. Don't over think things.

[Nikki0417]

Thanks again, guys.

A few people have asked what kind of comic it is. It'll be in page format, not strips, but the story will be episodic. Meaning for the most part, conflicts will be introduced and solved in the same chapter (or 2-3 chapters). Sometimes conflicts will intertwine or characters I introduced in previous chapters will reappear, but it's not going to be an epic saga.

I hate to compare it to other shows or comics. I don't want people to read it thinking it's supposed to be like something else, but for the sake of getting my explanation across, I'll say it's going to be more like the shows "Friends" or "Gintama" rather than "24" or "Avatar." The storyline will be entirely different from all four example, but hopefully you understand what I mean by episodic, now.