Scripting a Short Comic (CWU Assignment Version)

As my username suggests, I am Captain Comic, a full-time student at Central Washington University and an independent comic book writer and publisher. As part of an assignment for my Technical Writing class, I was tasked with creating an Instructable, so I decided to teach what I know and demonstrate how to write a script for a short, single-page comic from start to finish.

Writing a script for a comic or comic book is much like writing a script for a play; you must describe everything that is being said and done in a scene, and in enough detail that someone else, in this case a penciller, can translate it into a complete work of art. That being said, please note that there is no "right" way to write a comic. This Instructable serves as a guide to how I would write a comic, but I encourage you to experiment and discover what method works best for you.

• Your preferred pen or pencil (pencil recommended)
• Several sheets of notebook paper
• Several sheets of printer paper (optional)

OR

• Laptop or desktop computer with a word processing program installed, such as Microsoft Word

The first step in writing any comic is to have a story to tell: What is your comic about? Who are the characters in it? What are their names? Where are they? These are all important questions to answer. Also keep in mind that not every story has to be about going on an adventure or exploring the depths of the human psyche. Since this is a guide to how to write a simple one page comic, we'll keep it simple: Our story will be about two people who have recently broken up accidentally meeting at a coffee shop. I know, how very original of me, but just bear with me.

Our two characters are... let's call them Matt and Shawna. Matt is say, a taller man with sandy blonde hair, and Shawna is a woman with an average height and dark skin. Note that these details can easily be changed later, but it's good to start with some basic details to reference in your mind. As for where they are, Shawna is already in the coffee shop, drinking her coffee, and Matt is about to enter the coffee shop. The stage is set, and the players are in play.

Alright, now that we have our basic story and characters set up, we can begin to break it down. Essentially, this means beginning to write the script itself by writing out everything that is said and done in sequential order. Traditionally, actions go first, followed by what is said during those actions.

Example

Shawna is sitting at a table by the door of the coffee shop, holding a paper cup of coffee

Matt enters through the door as Shawna starts to take a sip.

Shawna glances up as she takes a sip.

Shawna looks surprised and drops her cup.

Matt turns around at the sound and sees Shawna

MATT: Shawna?

Shawna smiles awkwardly and waves

SHAWNA: Hi, Matt... what's up?

In this example, each new action starts a new line, and characters speaking are indicated by an indent, followed by their name in all caps, then their dialogue. This is one of the places where you could easily diverge from this guide and change the formatting

The next step is where your current script starts to become a comic script: Panel division, or panel layouts. Panel division is where you separate your actions and dialogues into the number of panels your comic would have on a printed page. As a general rule, anything more than nine panels is frowned upon, as it starts to get cramped and difficult to fit art and dialogue. For this step, you can optionally put pen to paper and sketch out your comic, drawing the actions shown in the panels with basic figures and loose lines. Either way, you should divide your script by both page and panel, and number them in the order they are meant to be read.

Example:

Page 1

Panel 1

Shawna is sitting at a table by the door of the coffee shop, holding a paper cup of coffee.

Panel 2

Matt enters through the door as Shawna starts to take a sip.

Panel 3

Shawna glances up as she takes a sip.

Panel 4

Shawna looks surprised and drops her cup.

Panel 5

Matt turns around at the sound and sees Shawna

MATT: Shawna?

Panel 6

Shawna smiles awkwardly and waves

SHAWNA: Hi, Matt... what's up?

Now is when you can start to get creative with your descriptions: Now that the script is divided into panels, it's your job to convey your vision to the artist(s) who will be reading your script in as much necessary detail as possible; what expressions are the characters making? Should one panel be a close-up of a character's face? What sounds are being made (doors creaking, footsteps, wind)? This is also an opportunity to add additional panels, breaking down actions into smaller steps.

Example

Panel 1

Shawna is sitting alone at a table by the door of the coffee shop, holding a paper cup of coffee.

Panel 2

As Shawna starts to take a sip of her coffee, Matt enters through the door, causing the bell above it to ring.

SFX (bell ringing): Ding-a-ling!

Panel 3

Close up of Shawna's face as she takes a sip, glancing up to see who came in.

SFX (sipping): Sssp...

Panel 4

Close-up of Shawna's face as her eyes widen in surprise and she drops her cup.

Panel 5

Close-up of the coffee cup as it hits the ground, spilling across the floor

SFX (cup falling): Plunk!

Panel 6

Focus on Matt as he turns around at the sound

MATT: ...Shawna?

Panel 7

Focus on Shawna as she smiles awkwardly and waves slightly; she should be visibly tense

SHAWNA: Hi, Matt! So uh... what's up?

Note that in this example, sound effects (biff, bam, pow, etc.) are indicated by SFX, followed by the sound being made in parentheses, then the sound effect itself. When working with many sound effects, it is important indicate which people, objects, or actions are making which sounds.

Now that you have a relatively complete script for your comic, if you're anything like me and can't draw to save your life, you need an artist to bring your script to life. There are many ways to find both independent and professional artists willing to work for you, so explore all your options; I've found most of the artists I work with by posting "help wanted" threads on the forums of the online art gallery DeviantArt, but there are a variety of other ways as well, including websites like Fiverr.

Once you've found and hired an artist with a style you like and a price you can afford who is willing to work with you, it is important to send them your script and start discussing it in detail; as tempting as it is to simply send over your work and leave them to it, there is a lot of important information that can be gleaned from talking about your script first. Visual artists often have vital insights regarding things such as character design and panel layouts that you may not consider as a writer, so always ask for their thoughts and opinions, don't just tell them to "follow the script". This process can take a while, and may even involve sending examples and sketches back and forth to achieve the best results.

Once you and the artist you hired have agreed on what to do, it's time for the final phase of creating your comic: Waiting. The artist will draw (and sometimes ink and color, depending on their skillset) your comic, and you will (hopefully) pay them for their services. Most artists I have worked with ask for payment up front, but others have asked for half at the beginning of the job, and half when you receive the completed art.

After the art is complete, the last step in truly creating a comic is to hire a letterer to draw the word bubbles and boxes for your comic, as well as to actually write the characters' dialogue in the bubbles and write out any sound effects that appear.

Just like that, you should have a simple, one-page comic to do with as you please. You could have a copy of it printed and frame it, post it on an online art gallery like DeviantArt, or simply add it to your portfolio if you're hoping to impress any potential recruiters for the Big Two (or one of the other comic book publishers, if you're into that).

The same steps applied here can easily be applied to much longer comics spanning anywhere from 22 pages to 220! And as I said in the introduction, feel free to experiment with these techniques and develop your own unique style.