For this blog thought I’d pass on some of my experience in starting up your own Small Press comic or group. Some will say the most important part of doing this is money but it’s not (very important but not number 1). The most important thing is the people you have around you.
It take determination from all involved, it’s no good if the Writer keeps going “yeah I’ve this class idea for my comic” and then three months later when nothing shows up for the Artist and the Writer is all “no I had this other idea so I’m writing that instead”. To make even a single issue is a time consuming matter especially when in most cases the Artist is doing all of it (Pencils, Inks, Colour, Lettering and Covers) and every second counts if you want that puppy out this side of the apocalypse. This is a two way street of course and a Writer can bang out a class script in a few month for the Artist to drag there arse cause they are not invested in the story or whatever.
At Unico Comics we had our fair share of the above problems within the 1st year or so. A solution was quickly found by me, Johnnie and Steven. A structure was agreed on that a writer is giving a deadline normally 2 months (for a single issue) or 3 months (For a one shot depending on size) and then they would present it to the Artist for feed back (good enough story etc etc) and then the Writer takes it to “Near Final Draft” in this time the Artist works on Concept stuff. The writer then gives the NF Draft to the Artist who makes a “Draft Comic”. Basically the artist story boards the whole thing but adds the text and lettering. This is handed back to the Writer who reads through to make sure he’s happy with dialogue and flow. Then the bugger gets made.
When the Artist is doing their thing it’s the job of the Creator or Writer to “work the market” and find out who else is doing what and which conventions, comic shops or online sites you can sell your comic when it’s done. Stuff like where or how you’re getting it printed and costs you should have done before even getting into making the comic. The plan is by the time the Artist is finished after months of hardship the Writer simply goes “right it’s all sorted, we need this many copies for here, there and so on”.
If you’re new to this my advice to you is to bang the internet as much as possible for hints, tips, groups, other comic creators and printing companies. There is a ton of information out there and you just need to find it.
It take determination from all involved, it’s no good if the Writer keeps going “yeah I’ve this class idea for my comic” and then three months later when nothing shows up for the Artist and the Writer is all “no I had this other idea so I’m writing that instead”. To make even a single issue is a time consuming matter especially when in most cases the Artist is doing all of it (Pencils, Inks, Colour, Lettering and Covers) and every second counts if you want that puppy out this side of the apocalypse. This is a two way street of course and a Writer can bang out a class script in a few month for the Artist to drag there arse cause they are not invested in the story or whatever.
At Unico Comics we had our fair share of the above problems within the 1st year or so. A solution was quickly found by me, Johnnie and Steven. A structure was agreed on that a writer is giving a deadline normally 2 months (for a single issue) or 3 months (For a one shot depending on size) and then they would present it to the Artist for feed back (good enough story etc etc) and then the Writer takes it to “Near Final Draft” in this time the Artist works on Concept stuff. The writer then gives the NF Draft to the Artist who makes a “Draft Comic”. Basically the artist story boards the whole thing but adds the text and lettering. This is handed back to the Writer who reads through to make sure he’s happy with dialogue and flow. Then the bugger gets made.
When the Artist is doing their thing it’s the job of the Creator or Writer to “work the market” and find out who else is doing what and which conventions, comic shops or online sites you can sell your comic when it’s done. Stuff like where or how you’re getting it printed and costs you should have done before even getting into making the comic. The plan is by the time the Artist is finished after months of hardship the Writer simply goes “right it’s all sorted, we need this many copies for here, there and so on”.
If you’re new to this my advice to you is to bang the internet as much as possible for hints, tips, groups, other comic creators and printing companies. There is a ton of information out there and you just need to find it.
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