How many pages should there be in a graphic novel?
With standard stock paper, 80+ story pages if you want it to stand up to shelf ware and be thick enough to put the title on the spine. 120+ pages if you want it to be thick enough to put title logos and graphic elements on the spine. ( This is also why so many limited comic series are 4–6 issue runs. 4–6 issues = 1 standard trade. )If you go past 250–280 pages in a single full color volume, you can easily price yourself out of the market.Black and white offers more latitude because the cost of each additional page is less. 320 pages and 480 pages are the upper limits for a lot of comic/ graphic novel printers. So if you’re going to go longer and don’t want to split it into volumes, you’ll need to shop around to find someone willing and able to print your book and you may need to order copies in larger runs.The logistics aside, it comes down to your audience and story.
I want to write a graphic novel, but I can't draw. Where do I find an illustrator to team up with?
I want write a graphic novel, but I hone no drawing capabilities. I have a clear vision of what I want to see, but my hands cannot put it on the page. Except for in words. Where and how do I find an illustrator? How much should I pay for one? What is the process and how can I learn more about putting out a graphic novel?
What are the page dimensions for a graphic novel?
You need to use an 11 x 17 landscape layout called Tabloid. When you fold this in two, it creates a standard letter size comic novel if that is what you are referring to. Now, you can set your crop marks at at 1/2' all around which will give you a 8 x 10 area to do your artwork. When they cut the pages, the finished size will be 8 x 10. Now if you do not cut anywhere, it will give you an 8 1/2 x 11 product
How long does it take to make 1 page in a graphic novel?
My own process is pretty quick, about 7 hours total I think. I scan the pencilled original artwork, then fix it up in photoshop ready for color, bleed sized 6.875 x 10.5 regardless the dpi *at least 300. I color in layers with cmyk preview on, then flatten when done. save as .tiff and cmyk image mode. pretty simple, the colouring takes about 4.5 hrs. I'm slow, the pencils are fast. ~shelb! www.americandischord.com
How much does it cost to print a graphic novel?
You can get an estimate at any printer (and no I'm not talking about Kinkos or Office Depot, I mean a PRINTER). Graphic novels need to have glue on the binding to make them into book format, this is not something Kinkos or Office Max or Office Depot generally do. I did have a cartoon booklet printed up at Office Depot -- using a card stock cover, 10 pages folded in half, photocopied and then I did the folding and stapling. It made a 40 page booklet that I had 80 cartoons on, and the 200 copies I had printed came to $1.35 per booklet. A printer would be charging by the number of pages they need to print for you. Anything over 500 pages total would get you cheaper prices. However the binding of them would cost you a certain amount, and the cover - if it's slick - would need to be discussed in advance. Figure color printing will be $1 per page. That's why most self published go with black and white. Tones is fine, that's still considered black and white and isn't going to cost extra if it's on your original. Ask for a price quote. Ask where the breakdowns come in. If you only want 25 copies, you might be able to get away with $5 per copy, but again it would depend on what paper you go with, what cover paper you go with, and what the binding costs are. 200 pages would not be able to be saddle stapled, you're looking at glue and folding, which their machines can do.
What is the best way to get started with graphic novel illustration and design using Adobe tools?
Do visit Tutorials for CG, 3D, 2D, VFX, CAD, games and more > Digital-Tutors as they have some of the best online tutorials that I have ever seen till date. The service is paid however, and they would charge you monthly depending on your plan. Another website is Online video tutorials & training. Also check out Page on redhoop.com As far as the tools are concerned, I would suggest only Photoshop. The other tools out there can wait and frankly speaking there is nothing that you can't do in Photoshop.In terms of getting started, just begin sketching anything as much as you can on PAPER. Digital is important but only after you know how to make a good sketch/drawing on a traditional medium. Also keep reading your comic strips, graphic novels.etc to get a better sense of the visual storytelling style used by their creators so that you may develop and improvise.
What is your graphic novel technical process?
Well, even thought you only mentioned drawing and inking, I think you should also consider other points when you are the graphic artist for a novel:1) I sketch a storyboard per page, to have a notion of which actions will appear in each pane of the comic. If I find that some of the narrative sent by the writer will not fit the panes that he stated in the script, this is the perfect time to write back and suggest changes, within days of receiving the script.It also lets me plan the volume of the dialog balloons, as some writers love to stuff a page of text in each pane, and sometimes that is not feasible to draw.2) I make very simple plans of the locations where the action will develop. I sketch them or even draw them in a 3D software so I can also have perpective aid drawing some details. This will let me...3) Prepare the camera sequence, where I will "place the imaginary cameras", where am I going to draw the action from. Will it be a zoom in from outside a barn? Or maybe an extreme closeup of the eye? Sometimes writers already include this vision and save you a lot of work, but some writers do not explain the camera angles perfectly and you need to plan. 4) Ok! Now after sketches are done and all camera angles set, and the action defined, I start drawing the comic itself, with pencils, on Letter or A4 paper, or double the size if the pay is good and I need top-of the line quality for the drawings. 5) I scan my pencils, already well traced and erasing all the excess of lines. I do all my inking process using Photoshop. 6) I prepare a layer with a single color to plan the whole character and temperature of the scene. This way I do not jump from one color to another, unless the intention obviously is doing something extremely colorful.7) I select the different objects using Photoshop lasso tool and apply solid color to them. 8) I create two layers, one for shadows and another one for lights, and I start applying gradients to each object, selecting the solid colors using the wand tool. I have to clarify, this is the fastest process to color a page QUICKLY. You can use any other process, specially if you use traditional media like watercolors. 9) I add at the end the text balloons, white and black lines, sound effects, and blurs or other effects using different filters. I also color some of the inks in the case I want a softer, not so defined effect.Good luck!
What are some good tips for writing a graphic novel?
Drawing a graphic novel is an extremely arduous process. It takes a really, really, really long time. The only way to do it is to work on it constantly, work on it unceasingly, and never give up. It will almost certainly take at least a year, so you're better off not thinking about how long it's going to take. Just chain yourself to the drawing board and don't let yourself do anything else until you're done.No special skill is needed to complete a graphic novel, only pure determination. It's like walking a thousand miles. Just put one foot in front of the other until you're done. You will feel like you've always been doing it, that it will never end, that you were born working on this project and that you will die working on this project. And then, one day, you're done.It is a process that teaches you to do it as you do it. At the end, you will be a better artist and storyteller than you were at the beginning. Does that mean that you should go back and draw the whole thing over again? Yes, yes it does.
I want to write a graphic novel. What is the process and do I need to be able to draw or do some people get an artist to do it?
Familiarizing YourselfIf you haven't read many graphic novels, start by reading more of them. Get a sense of the rhythm of them and how they work.Watchmen - Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (the classic reimagining of superheroes)Jimmy Corrigan - Chris Ware (a literary masterwork with excellent artwork)Maus - Art Spiegelman (a sophisticated look at the Holocaust)Bone - Jeff Smith (a silly and adventurous epic)Also, check out some excellent non-fiction books on the topic:Understanding Comics and Making Comics - Scott McCloudComics and Sequential Art - Will EisnerDrawing Words and Writing Pictures and Mastering Comics - Matt Madden and Jessica AbelWords for Pictures - Brian Michael BendisThe TeamYou need at least one person to create a graphic novel, but that person must be capable of both writing and drawing. If you can't do both, you'll need to hire someone else to draw, and depending on the requirements of the project, there may need to be others. Most artists should be capable of doing penciling, inking, coloring, and lettering, but if time is a critical factor then additional people may need to take over some of those tasks.The ProcessOnce you've assembled your team, some experimentation will be in order to determine the best working method. There's no single way to do this; some writers give the artists detailed specifications, others leave many things up to the artist. Some writers are unapproachable, others collaborate with the team. You'll have to try different approaches to find out what works best for your team. I'd suggest a fairly collaborative approach to begin with.The ScriptAgain, there's no single way to write comics scripts. In short, you'll need to write a story that can be broken down into visual language and dialogue. Remember to let pictures carry the weight of the story when possible. Don't call for too many things to happen in each panel.Getting StartedBegin by writing a synopsis of your story, then slowly flesh it out into a complete storyline and script. As it begins to take form, you will have something that you can show to potential collaborators. Since you've never done this before, you'll want something impressive to convince people you have what it takes.Finally, if you can draw at all, at least try to draw it yourself. It will give you a better understanding of how the medium works, and improve your ability to write for it. You may even find you prefer to work solo, as many people do.
What are some typical page dimensions for graphic novels?
10 x 15 inches is a standard US industry drawing size. It's a 2 x 3 ratio which translates to most standard comic book sizes.A European standard is more like a 3x4 ratio.A book publisher (since you mentioned graphic novels) can trim a book to any size, and thus you can draw at any size you want so long as it is consistent and to scale of your final product.You can always measure your favorite graphic novels. Some are 8x10 inches, some are more like 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches, etc.If you are struggling with any part of writing or drawing, try our online courses at http://sequentialartistsworkshop...Thanks!