tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81938608046526192322026-05-26T04:55:46.774-07:00A chronicle of my success, failures, and discoveries while I pursue my life-long dream of becoming a comic book creator. I believe the more you give, the more you get back in return.Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-44631398525977478352014-09-26T21:58:00.000-07:002014-09-26T21:58:00.682-07:00

Oh I guess I should make at least one more post for the year, so I decided to share my notes in the hope it inspires others to create stories and characters they've always wanted to make, but have no idea how to pull it off or where to even start. ( like me ) I started this blog because resources about storytelling AND comics seemed to be a rarity. True, a good story ( i.e. a story told in a

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-80958560841802367012014-02-09T21:36:00.001-08:002014-02-09T21:38:49.700-08:00

I took a break from writing comic book stories to tackle comic strips again. Since I'm anal about how things are done and love reading instructions I made myself some. This isn't really a guaranteed way to make a comic strip, get syndicated, and swim in money-- but it is a way to get the ball rolling, write a ton of strips, and see what works and what doesn't. Unless you want to sit and stare at

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-26937630776695159182013-11-27T02:34:00.003-08:002013-11-27T02:59:59.847-08:00

It's been over a year since I last posted ( truthfully I mostly hang out on other social media sites and forums either lurking, trolling, or participating in active conversations ) but I promised myself I wouldn't post anything here until I had a comic done. Oh well, screw that. Because after writing solid scripts with shallow characters and shallow scripts with solid characters for the past

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-2717343233500161792012-09-07T14:51:00.003-07:002012-09-07T14:53:11.986-07:00

While I'm smashing my brain on a new idea ( apparently ADULT material sells, light-heart'd stuff doesn't ) I thought I'd post the new Story Structures I made for a 24 page comic. As I've mentioned before when I was younger ( okay only 10 years ago ) the only stories I could come up with were a Protagonist, and Antagonist, they fight, something happens, the end. Vanilla as hell... Recently

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-30506333253342850502012-08-24T10:14:00.000-07:002012-08-24T10:14:08.698-07:00

As I prepared to start writing my newest comic book script, I decided to take a break and do something I've been meaning to do for nearly a decade. Sit down and watch Arrested Development. Little did I know I'd waste a day and half watching all 53 episodes. I was depressed because I really wanted to sit down and start writing, but I wasn't. I was glued to my TV and was in some kind of coma. It

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-48817847043548928172012-08-11T08:14:00.000-07:002012-08-11T08:20:02.489-07:00

I recently read a little of Calvin & Hobbes for a little Tumblr project ( it was calling out another artist for tracing, fun stuff ), but after those shenanigans I kept reading Calvin & Hobbes because after nearly 20 years out of syndication it still holds up. BUT WHY?!! It's not like it's anything special. At least when you compare it to comic strips that came out before it's

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-73509556314129510382012-06-19T10:05:00.000-07:002012-06-19T10:05:58.868-07:00

I wanted to start a new feature where I break down what I consider to be a well written piece of entertainment. Thanks to a 30 free trial of Amazon Prime I watched Dragonslayer, a movie that never made my embarrassingly large DVD collection, and was awestruck on how solid the story was. Even though at the time it was mostly passed off as a Special Effect movie. Oh how wrong the critics were.

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-51936044619102309802012-06-06T03:05:00.000-07:002012-06-06T03:05:07.133-07:00

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I started getting overly obsessed with writing, and I still haven't written anything, but it was something that had to be done. I cringe at my old comics ( even the most recent ones ) and other peoples work when I know it could have been better. To be honest I'm not a guy who just likes great stories, I like stories that at the very least make sense.

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-89904775819173294882012-04-01T22:20:00.000-07:002012-04-01T22:20:43.925-07:00

I've complained about how hard writing is for me before. Apparently I've become so cynical over the past few years that not only do I find my own stories boring, predictable, and illogical I also find most entertainment the same. I'll be honest, I watch a hand full of shows. My two favorites being American Dad and How I Met Your Mother. There are a few others, but those two shows share the same

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-31358371467852284532012-02-18T08:09:00.000-08:002012-02-18T08:09:35.562-08:00

I had reservations about posting this because I'm eager as a beaver to try it out, but I figure what the hell. Information should be free in my opinion, plus I haven't posted in a while so why not. The past couple months have been frustrating for me because I really feel I'm drawing the best I ever have in my life. However the frustration comes in transferring that flow of my artwork into a

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-29030995856012436812011-07-01T14:41:00.000-07:002011-07-01T14:41:16.909-07:00

If you've followed this blog, you'd know I've had problems on the creative side. Making characters and stories which are the backbone to every comic. After fits of inspiration and depression these past couple months I think I'm beginning to understand how to deal with this problem. To begin, my biggest problem is I end up blowing everything I come up with out of proportion. I'll take a simple

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-31819144873644619722011-06-23T13:27:00.000-07:002011-06-23T13:28:58.669-07:00

Wally Wood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Apparently one never stops learning. I been beating myself up mentally this past month because of creative issues ( Even I'm getting sick of my constant indecision's ) However one thing that's kept my spirits high is mingling with other artists. Not friends or family members, but total strangers who share the same passions as me. One such stranger

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-20029250405703397502011-01-19T13:26:00.000-08:002011-01-22T00:14:34.369-08:00

I decided to upload my Graphic Novel Worksheet, something I put a lot of effort in last week before I started going through old sketches and modifying my old drawing board. My goal was to make a 48 Pager in the hope I'd be able to sell one someday, but you know what? Writing is tough. Not the actual writing process, but coming up with something to begin with. While I've been brainstorming ideas

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-3196133789450823282011-01-05T11:32:00.000-08:002011-01-05T11:32:21.101-08:00

My last post was rather beefy. I woke up with no plans today, so I thought it be best I just do whatever pops in my head to waste time. One thing I wanted to cover to some degree was Protagonists and Antagonist. I mention them a lot on here, but I sometimes feel I'm sending off the wrong impression of what those two things are. One view that comes to mind is Good and Evil. That's the most obvious

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-42571085864775394822011-01-05T10:42:00.000-08:002011-01-05T10:56:10.117-08:00

I mentioned in some earlier post how the 16 page One-Shot structure I came up with can be expanded to make a larger book if one so desires. As I sit here desperately trying to shake off the holiday hangover and getting back in the swing of things I've put a little more thought into that process. The catalyst for me to expand the structure beyond 16 pages was the Morning International

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-12459980016318318902010-11-15T12:42:00.000-08:002010-11-15T12:42:22.167-08:00

I was moving right along with my first One-Shot, also the first comic book I've done in a year, until something didn't feel right. I couldn't put a finger on it, so I gave myself a couple days to think about what I've done so far. One thing that popped into my head was I broke a personal rule of mine. Work with in my comfort zone. I'm naturally a doodler when it comes to drawing. I rarely draw

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-26662451207433836262010-11-09T14:10:00.000-08:002010-11-09T14:12:51.512-08:00

I wanted to work on this with the computer, but the eye strain was too much for me to take. So I decided Sunday to do the pencils by hand, leaving the rest to be done on the computer once my eyes take break. With that I began prepping my pages so they'd be in the same aspect ratio to the reduced size. As a personal rule I work 30% larger than the finished size. So 30% larger than 4.5 x 6.94 will

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-12654476481760478922010-11-06T16:19:00.000-07:002010-11-06T16:21:50.225-07:00

Now that I have all my thumbnails completed it's time to get started with the rest of the work. My first job will be to import my thumbnails into a story using Manga Studio. The methods I use can also be emulated in other programs, but Manga Studio's soul purpose is comics. And it's full of handy tools to keep myself organized as I work. I'll start by creating a new story using a page layout I

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-82564844372456396232010-11-06T14:11:00.000-07:002010-11-06T16:21:44.554-07:00

This is probably the hardest step in making a One-Shot. Actually coming up with something. Since my last post I spent 2 days thinking about what I wanted to do. I had no idea at the time what that might be. I was leaning towards a modern setting, but decided to bite the bullet and do my fantasy idea I've had sitting for well over a year. Coincidently this was the same idea I failed on last year,

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-47763035407357337742010-10-31T16:57:00.000-07:002010-10-31T23:15:18.478-07:00

Before I begin coming up something for my One-Shot I need to be organized right off the bat. I also need room for all the information I'm going to need to make my One-Shot. Using Photoshop I made myself some sheets to keep everything in place. This is what all 5 pages look like. Click Here to Download the PDF file from my DA page As you can see, I've organized my thumbnails so my pagination

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-65350967802631266802010-10-30T14:23:00.000-07:002010-10-30T23:18:52.706-07:00

So I've uploaded my One-Shot Structure that I wrote over the past 7 months. Since all the information provided in it was found from various sources, many of which I mentioned and contain far more information than I'm willing to share, this is provided a no cost to you. Personally I got enough How To Draw Books to choke a horse. And you probably do as well. I'm a pretty simple person, and

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-72025078378850445602010-10-30T14:05:00.000-07:002010-10-30T23:18:52.707-07:00

The last thing we need to learn is Positive and Negative space. Most people treat this as a per panel rule, but for what we’re trying to accomplish I feel it’s something that needs to be utilized on the entire Pagination Area. While we’re thumbnailing our One-shot we’ll keep in mind the positive and negative space as we go along. This will include both backgrounds and black fills. This will help

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-63263997777575324102010-10-30T13:56:00.000-07:002010-10-30T23:18:52.707-07:00

Paneling the pages can be as complex or as simple as we want them to be. So before we get started I’m going to show an example that standard 6 panel layout I mentioned before.  As you can see I’m using pages 2 and 3. The reason for this is because those two pages are a Pagination Area ( remember that? ). The Pagination Area was used in our story layout to help provide scene changes and

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-24660024048172554172010-10-30T13:43:00.000-07:002010-10-30T23:17:56.655-07:00

The first step to providing variety in all our panels is knowing the Panel Angles. These should be thought of as the position of the camera as if we were shooting a movie. There are all sorts of positions we could put our camera angle at, but in the end there is only 3 we need to know. Low Angle A Worms eye view. This will be a angle looking up at the subject or subjects Middle Angle Eye level.

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8193860804652619232.post-92071049774100116822010-10-30T13:40:00.000-07:002010-10-30T23:18:52.708-07:00

Introduction This is the next step we need to learn before we do our thumbnails. Now there’s a lot of information on the web about paneling comic books. And most of it is amateurish nonsense by people who have no idea what they‘re talking about. There is such a thing as “ too much information”. Simply throwing out so much information for people can have a negative effect by making any creator a

Lafinmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15224690991900896662noreply@blogger.com0