Showing posts with label Making comics. Show all posts
Nice review
I recently launched a comic making course on how to make comics. The first webinar is free and the feedback so far has been awesome.
There is something so satisfying about delivering value - things that people enjoy and benefit from. I never understood when I was younger why someone would want to be a teacher. But now I think it is possibly one of the best jobs in the world - provided you have motivated students who want to learn.
Anyway, I digress, but if anyone want to get free material on how to make comics, here's a link
And here is a link to the review:
https://scifipie.me/2017/07/28/twisted-dark-vol-1-my-thoughts/
There is something so satisfying about delivering value - things that people enjoy and benefit from. I never understood when I was younger why someone would want to be a teacher. But now I think it is possibly one of the best jobs in the world - provided you have motivated students who want to learn.
Anyway, I digress, but if anyone want to get free material on how to make comics, here's a link
==> http://signup.tpub.co.uk/cheat-sheet/
And here is a link to the review:
https://scifipie.me/2017/07/28/twisted-dark-vol-1-my-thoughts/
Secret Empire #6 by Mark Brooks - Marvel Quickdraw
Nice little video showing how Mark does his covers.
Well it's been a while
I don't really know how people do blogs everyday - I find it very hard! Anyway, this is just another example of why I think Dave Sim is one of the best letterers of all time.
Any comments?
Any comments?
How to Draw an Ear [HTD video #1]
Yeah....I'll never be this good!
How to Draw a Realistic Eye
I've never been able to do this well. Here you can see how it should be done!
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe S5E3P5
Final part of Charlie Brooker's interviews with great writers
My notes on this section:
Watching this reminded me of a great quote by Steven King. He said that 'with the first draft you are telling yourself the story, with the second, you are telling others'. Now I'm paraphrasing here - I don't know his quote directly, but it was a very useful thing to hear.
My notes on this section:
- 2nd and 3rd drafts are much easier. The first is the hardest. Some people do 20 drafts!
- A lot of what you write will be binned, but you have to ignore that.
- You have to re-write and re-write. You're honing it each time and making it sharper each time.
- People don't seem to like writing!
Watching this reminded me of a great quote by Steven King. He said that 'with the first draft you are telling yourself the story, with the second, you are telling others'. Now I'm paraphrasing here - I don't know his quote directly, but it was a very useful thing to hear.
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe S5E3P4
Part 4 of Charlie Brooker's interview with top screenwriters
My notes from this clip:
My notes from this clip:
- Avoid exposition in dialogue - "i'd rather be confused for 10 minutes than bored for 5 seconds"
- If you want to see an example of goos stage direction, read the screenplay for Ultimate Force. I tried to find a link to it, but couldn't! Might want to try the script for Lethal weapon
- Action direction is important, but don't make it lengthy. The action directions should be as exciting as the story.
Someone once pointed out to me that in supermarkets it should be '10 items or fewer', not '10 items or less'. Once you see an error like that, it sticks out. It's the same with bad dialogue. After watching this clip, bad dialogue in the future will stick out like a sore thumb.
Soooo, if you are a writer, it's a great thing. If you're not, you might not want to watch!
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe S5E3P3
More tips from some famous writers!
My notes from this clip:
My notes from this clip:
- How do you avoid cliches for stock characters? Well, sometimes cliches are great because they are funny.
- When creating characters you can base each character of 3 or 4 people. Usually people you know, but you can base them on actors
- Once you pick an actor that matches a character perfectly, you can read with lots of other actors to see who gels. [They did this on Twilight after casting Kristen Stewart.]
- A technique for writing dialogue is to write it, then keep removing words. As long as it still makes sense, remove dialogue until it is as tight as it can be
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe S5E3P2
More advice from top writers.
Lessons learnt from this clip:
- Many writers have long periods of not completing anything!
- Some need external discipline to make sure they have written.
- People take things that they find funny/interesting and twist them to use them in a new way.
- Some people (like me) are very structured, others (talented bastards) can make it up as they go along, but most DO have a rough structure in their heads.
- The first draft can be just a bunch of notes that needs to be re-done
Screenwriter Career Tips
To complement Charlie Brooker's videos on screenwriting, here are some tips by guest writer John Halas
Are you seeking a screenwriting career? If you are
determined to have a screenwriting career, there are two key survival elements
you must endure. The first to screenwriting success is learning how to earn
money and work as a screenwriter in the marketplace. This refers to searching
for paid gigs where you write for other people and earn a living from that.
The second key element to having a screenwriting career is
establishing your voice and creativeness as a screenwriter. This is where you
get to write your own work and develop your own story ideas and then sell them
to a producer. Now a lot of novice screenwriters will make the mistake of
thinking they have to choose only one element. The truth is you should never
limit yourself to just one.
If you want a screenwriting career then you should be
writing your own scripts as well as scripts for other people who are paying
you. That way you can make money and get as much experience as you possibly can
as a screenwriter. Remember this is the profession you have chosen, so you
should be devoting your time to screenwriting. If the paid gigs are taking up a
lot of your time, then try devoting at least an hour each day to writing your
own screenplay. If that is not possible, try writing one page of your
screenplay each day. After 100 days, you will end up with a 100 page script of
your own while consistently working on paid gigs throughout this time.
Remember, this is screenwriting survival. You have to use every bit of time you
can to work on both elements, even if it is 15 minutes per day.
How to Start a Career as a New Screenwriter
If you are a new screenwriter seeking a screenwriting
career, then you need to learn about the film industry first before marketing
your script to anyone. The best way to learn about the film industry is to read
books, attend film festivals, make contacts, and learn about film contracts.
The next thing you want to do is have a professional in the industry, like
another screenwriter, review your script. This isn't going to be someone you
are selling to at this point. This is someone who is going to give you their
objective opinion about your screenplay and then provide you with feedback as
to how it can be improved. Let this feedback serve you as a tool for learning
from your mistakes and becoming a more knowledgeable screenwriter as a result.
Of course, there is nobody who is going to be a perfect
screenwriter. The rules of having a screenwriting career are not set in stone,
which means many screenwriters might have different opinions about things like
formatting, sluglines, scene structure and so forth. What you want to do is
focus on the basic rules that everyone agrees with and then choosing your own
path of writing that makes sense to you. Later on if you come across a producer
that wants their script written in a particular way, you will know how to
accommodate their wishes.
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe S5E3P1
Some great screenwriting advice, all hosted by the creator of Black Mirror, the one and only Charlie Brooker!
Scott McCloud: Understanding comics
The great Scott McCloud gives a TED talk on comics.
Lecture on visual storytelling.
Gave a talk on visual storytelling at the University of East London yesterday. Questions lasted as long as the talk - some really good questions. I'm looking forward to seeing their work in the future. The biggest surprise was seeing how many people have been writing a story for years and not gotten close to finishing it. The common theme seemed to be that they all had these grand epics planned, but this was their first piece of work. You have to learn to walk before you run, and I suggest new writers finish a short story first.
ANyone else struggle to finish their work? Let me know info@tpub.co.uk
ANyone else struggle to finish their work? Let me know info@tpub.co.uk
Short notes on the colour blue
I had no idea that in lots of films they will deliberately dress a weak character in pale blue so the audience senses that. Interesting stuff!
Blue
·
Pale blue is passivity and powerlessness. It is
also associated with the ambiguous. In a blue environment, people become
passive and introspective. A colour to think but not act (Hamlet). Story about
a Notre Dame football coach who painted the visitors locker room blue and his
own team’s red to fire them up. Won every home game season after season.
·
Some days are pale blue grey when you don’t feel
like doing anything. Perfect colour choice for a character who is about to
change from passive to active.
·
Steel blue and dark indigo are the colours most
associated with intellect and least associated with sensual.
·
Blue-green/turquoise inspires openness and
interaction – people lose track of time – perfect for friends having fun when
they make a connection
·
Blues are statically people’s favourite colour,
because people think of it in different ways. It is important to test blues on
your audience.
·
Bright and bold blue (royal blue) can denote
power
·
When we see horrible actions take place in a
blue atmosphere, we can identify with the helplessness of the victims
Short notes on the colour yellow
Yellow
·
Because of its brightness and warmth, yellow is often
associated with happiness, open and innocence.
·
A golden yellow is the perfect colour for a
romantic idealist
·
Yellow is the perfect colour for obsession.
·
An all yellow environment is anxiety producing.
Small amounts are like sunny, but too much is stressful and lead to tempers
flaring. Yellow’s presence becomes happier in the presence of orange.
·
Yellow is a good choice for a character that is
both daring and exuberant. Once seen, it tends to stay in your subconscious –
great for someone trying to remember.
·
Bright yellow always steals any scene. Bright
yellow lightened to a pastel (50% white) is archetypal innocence. 90% white is
elegant.
Notes on specific colours - today is red
Here is an excerpt from my notes on colours:
Red
Red
·
Bright red visually says POWER.
·
Red can make things appear to move faster (think
the Flash, also red cars are given more speeding tickets)
·
Red on a woman is perceived as sexy, sometimes
even as slutty. Red on a man is perceived as heroic
·
Aggression, lust, anxiety – no colour affects
people so physically
·
You can colour behind someone to reflect their
emotion – when Romeo first sees Juliet there is an intense red behind him
·
When two people are not talking about sex, but
are clearly interested in each other, have them talking about business but put
red everywhere in the scene
·
In the presence of darkness (black) it can
activate anxiety. Think of the devil.
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About
TPub are a British comic book publisher and the creators of Twisted Dark, Tabatha, Tortured Life and The World of Chub Chub.
