Have you noticed how professional comics are rarely created by one single person? Most often entire teams of writers, drawers and colourers is behind them.
That's what I want to do!
I want to put together a team of DrunkDuckers and create a serious comic.
I'm thinking one, or perhaps two writers, that write a story that is not too long. Then we'll have around three "art teams", consisting of one drawer (I realize it sound funny, maybe we have to find another term) and one colourer, who are matched so that their own styles and techniques work well together.
We also need a person who is a supervisor. This person won't do any comic creating himself/herself. This is the person who will eventually click on the "Create a new comic"-button, who will keep a list of all the people who's in the project, and who will make sure everyone knows what to do.
As it is I who suggest this idea now it might feel natural to make me the supervisor. This is however not a good idea, because I wouldn't do a good job. I am foremost a drawer and that is why I need someone else to be the supervisor.
This is how it works in my head. The writer(s) put together a first part of the story and send it to the supervisor. The supervisor divides the story into three parts and sends them to art team A, B and C. The drawer reads the story (the whole story I suppose would be best, it's always better to know more), decides how many pages it will be and draws them. He/she then sends them to his/her colouring team-mate who colours it. Team A, B and C works with their part at the same time, so when team A is finished with "chapter one", team be just finished chapter two.
In the meantime the writer continues to write the story.
I want everyone to be able to work at the same time so that no one shall have to wait.
But before we can start working on the comic we'll need to plan it. We'll have to agree on at least a genre for the writer to work with, and develop all the characters. This I don't know how it will be done, but I suppose it has to be though a forum or something like that.
Anyway, these are the persons I need:
1 writer
3 drawers (of which I am one)
3 colourers
1 supervisor
And these are the questions I want you people to answer.
1) Anyone interested? We need, according to my plan, seven more people for this project to even be possible. And the more the merrier!
2) Solutions to problems… How do the drawer show the colourer where the word balloons are supposed to be? Is it even the colourer who creates the word balloons? Where do we talk this through? And so on…
So, that's my dream. Is it even possible?!
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Insanely serious community project - is it even possible?
It is very possible but it isn't easy. I'd seriously suggest more is not the merrier. Keep in if any one person drops out or fails to perform up to task on their project that can hurt or even stop the whole project.
I'd try and get a 3-5 person team together and no more then that. Further you are leaving out an Inker who will no doubt be important to the project as well.
If you are serious about this i'd be willing to write a script for the project if you can let me know about how many page/issues you are looking at for this sort of projet.
I'd suggest a 88 to 110 page project which sets it at about 4-5 comic book issues which is usually a good size for a mini-series.
Also everyone should agree on what sort of comic is to be done. If one artist is well suited to realism and dark colors and the writter end up writing a story about a fuffy bunny it might not end as well as you would like.
Maybe you should focus on getting a script first and then use that script to attract the rest of your team as the author doesn't really need to be as involved with the rest of the group if he or she does her job well the script should speak for itself.
I'd be interested in writing once a genre was decided upon.
Of course the problem is rarely finding an author in these things.
The comics I write for can be found here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Rumbles/
and here:
http://www.drunkduck.com/Rumbles_Late_Night/index.php
I'm actually kind of interested in starting a more scary/horror comic myself.
Bravo Litindir! I have no idea how often others have hit the collaborative production and development point on the head, but a production team is the smart way to go.
I recommend that you select a franchise to have the story/script based on, which will dictate a genre and attract line artists, inkers and colorists who are fans of that franchise. An original story/script will cut down on potential interest considerably, I do believe.
If an original story is selected or crafted and the nature of this collaborative project becomes a mini-series, I would recommend toying with the idea of aiming for some facet of commercial release.
Hmm, I got some answers, but most of them suggested what I could do next. My plan with this was that I wouldn't have to do everything myself. I kind of hoped there were a couple of enthusiasts out there who had been looking for something just like this, like I have.
An inker you say? I guess when I planned this I only thought of my own drawing style. I only draw thin guidelines with my pencil and then I use the ink right away. Maybe that's not how everyone does…
And I have no idea what a franchise is! I looked it up and it seems to be some kind of right to do something, like vote for instance. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're saying, SkylerVane!
I think I'll think this through a little more. Maybe I shouldn't ask an open question like this, but instead try and take the idea to my friends only…
Some time has passed and I have done some thinking.
The most important person in this stage of the project is the supervisor, the project leader. Right now I am having that roll, and I am not comfortable in it. I am good at drawing and making up stories, but I am not good at leading people and tell them what to do.
Right now I need an enthusiastic person who knows what "franchise" means and who can take over the roll of the supervisor.
That, I believe, is an odd request - usually people ask for writers or artists. But that's the truth. I can't lead this project myself!
As for enticing people by choosing a genre now, I really don't care what the comic is about. I can draw an epic fantasy adventure as well as a high school drama, dark and scary as well as pink bunnies. (I usually draw some sort of fantasy though, and I think this is a good chance to try something new)
Once again I need a supervisor to make a decision!
And I have no idea what a franchise is! I looked it up and it seems to be some kind of right to do something, like vote for instance. I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're saying, SkylerVane!
A franchise is comprised of everything connected to something. STAR WARS is, taken in its entirety, a franchise I believe. Companies like Nintendo hold the copyrights to many different franchises, based on their different series. Franchises can be built around just about everything, from one person to an entire sports team, from TV shows to movies and comics and video games.
What I mean is, pick a TV series or a movie or a comic to work from if this project is to be a fan fiction.
Most projects of this nature are private, not community affairs. As you have noted, few expect to have anything serious or marketable produced on a community basis. Most are only interested in doing their own thing.
The surpervisor's role will be a light one. Just select a franchise, locate a writer specilizing in decent fan fictions for that franchise, have a script produced with promises of visual production(or a short story converted to a script) and then put up a thread to recruit the 5-8 artists needed. Actually, it seems to me a more fitting word for the "supervisor" you are looking for is Promoter.
Keep in mind most persons do not join a project unless all of the details are sown up pretty well. It might be best to ask for interest in the script first and then proceed if the response is really favorable. I think it would be best to settle on a franchise first, find out if there is enough interest, then advertise a contest for a story/script when voluntary production is a sure thing.
As to franchises, I recommend Poke'mon, the series that started me writing fan fiction. It is still a very popular franchise and very few serious webcomic productions have appeared. The Poke`mon World has plenty of material to work from, a huge fan base on some dedicated sites and many fan fiction writers. I even have access to a community where I could probably easily rustle up some scripts in a short while. But prodution would have to be assured to attract writers, so the production crew will have to be signed on almost in its entirety.
You are one of the projected artists for this collaborative production project; put in your two cents to get the ball rolling. What franchises are you a fan of? What sorts of fantasy elements do you prefer/like? If there is anything I have learned about building a production crew on a voluntary basis, it is you have to show you are serious and take the first steps yourself. Ideas are a dime a dozen and, unfortuneately, you usually have to prove something is a good idea. It is the hardcore fans which get involved in things and most everyone else is only interested if an idea strikes their preferences just right or if they get some benefit out of volunteering for a project; perhaps experience or exposure for themselves, their ideas and their skills.
Here is a suggestion:
Franchise Selected: Poke`mon
Style: loosely imitative anime
Genre: Action/Adventure, Horror, Suspense, Mystery
Elements Of Chosen Script: new legendary poke`mon, original trainer(s), battle.
Script Length: estimated 30-40 finished comic pages
Descriptive Nature of Script: general scene and specific character descriptions.
Production Schedule: completion within 1 month after selection of script.
AND MANY MORE. Whatever you want, but serious artists like details. As maddening as it is, no matter how good and interesting the material, unless you the script is based on a very popular franchise, chances are you will end up having to convince potential volunteer artists that helping out will be to their benefit in some way.
Perhaps the solution is to start a few different threads trying to get together volunteers for collaborative production projects based on various popular franchises. I am not personally a fan of any of today's popular manga/anime franchises, but launch threads for Dragonball Z, Naruto and various others. You might try Sonic The Hedgehog, Spyro The Dragon, Digimon, Star Fox and Megaman, among many others. It will probably boil down to a few franchises which you can garner the participation interest for.
Give the "On Demand" threads a few months and you might be able to build a production crew from them. That gives me an idea…
Anyway, go for it but be prepared to crusade. Like it or not, you are starting this thing and until you find a director/promoter everyone who shows interest will look to you. If you want, I can launch the threads for the franchises I am at all familiar with and direct/supervise those if there is interest.
I'm sorry SkylerVane, but I strongly dislike your idea! I don't want to insult you in any way, but making a comic out of someone else's characters and plots seems to me one of the most boring things you can do. I am thinking something very original with interesting new characters and a story no one has ever seen the likes of before.
I'm sure there are many competent creators out there; I just have to find them.
I think you have a point, though, when you say that artist wants details worked out. We'll see where this leads…
Another bad thing about fan fic comics is that you won't get featured here on DD if you have copywrited material overflowing in your comic.
Community projects of this caliber are very tough to do for free. Too many variables and unknown people joining.
What kind of speed would the colorist have? Is he dependable? Will he bail out soon? Will the colors fit the theme?
Apply that thought to EVERY person involved. Also add the fact that as just a lead story creator you may want to put as MUCH info as you possibly can describing your storytelling skills and giving examples. Most artists have their own ideas to draw.
It's really hard to sell people YOUR ideas and get them to do most of the work for you. I'm not saying story writing isn't work. But from your potential collaborator's point of view, they have much less to base your ideas off of than you do to base a penciller , inker, colorist, letterer, etc…
It's really hard to sell people YOUR ideas and get them to do most of the work for you.
Why does everyone keep telling me how hard this is going to be?
I was hoping you people would be more like "Yeah, I'm in! Tell me to do anything and I'll do it!"
I my head all the artists accept that they are not supposed to have ideas of their own considering the script, and the writers accept they can't affect the artwork. My idea is that the writers only writes plain text and doesn't think of page layout and things like that at all. A drawer then gets a piece of text and translates it into a comic. He or she would decide how many pages will become of the text and how they will look.
That way both the writer's and the artist's ideas affects the final outcome.
But you're right, JustNoPoint, it is going to be hard. We need all the people joining to be very enthusiastic and open-minded.
I'm sorry SkylerVane, but I strongly dislike your idea! I don't want to insult you in any way, but making a comic out of someone else's characters and plots seems to me one of the most boring things you can do. I am thinking something very original with interesting new characters and a story no one has ever seen the likes of before.
I'm sure there are many competent creators out there; I just have to find them.
I think you have a point, though, when you say that artist wants details worked out. We'll see where this leads…
Everyone wants to do something original and that is just getting too hard. A whole new cast is easy and new scenarios and episode materials are too. Departing from the elements of established series is the hard part. Resign yourself to building on favorite elements of a dozen different series and just get down to it.
My own project is an almost free-for-all epic which requires a minimum of $500k to launch in only its concepts and early development aspects. A unique presentation format for the internet, a basic concept framework to write and draw within and everyone involved can pretty much do what they want; almost no limitations on the style and nature and elements of content. But participants will have to make up their minds; Do they want to have great freedom, Do they want to be told what to do, Or do they prefer something in the middle ground there?
I guess you are the one person committed to your idea. So as the sole involved pary so far, as much as you don't want to "supervise", decide some things to work from; do you want this thing to be a traditional or anthro project?
Advertise for a writer if you have not done so already. Fan fiction is big, but there are plenty of writers who specialize in original materials. You obviously don't want to make any big decisions, but if you are really into this then do some extra ground work. Hold a contest, present some of the better short stories/mini series entered and find out what interests potential artists for this project. Then either have the selected story converted into a script or see if the story itself can be worked from.
And here's the thing, JNP, we're not selling a specific person's idea. As a team, the comic will become OUR idea, where everyone had a say in the outcome.
However, you are correct about the detail that we must apply to such a project.
Anywho, I joined the team and am as enthusiastic as Lit is. This IS possible. Yes, it'll be hard to put the pieces together, but once we know the picture, the outcome, it won't be as much of a jigsaw puzzle as everyone is expecting it to be.
The first thing we need is a script writer. Above all else, we need to get a good story on our hands. We will be looking for something that will appease the wanted demographics, but, more importantly, we will be looking for a very original style of writing and storyline. So, if you think you have what it takes, Lit and I are all ears. No specific genre is plotted yet, so give us anything you got.
Secondly, we need a main artist. However, the art style will depend on what genre we are headed. Nonetheless, if you are interested, please do contact me. I would love to see your talent, and, if you are who we're looking for, we will focus around your strengths rather than weaknesses. That's what teamwork is, focusing on each other's strengths.
There are other positions needing to be filled, but I want to take this project one step at a time.
And if you have any questions involving this project, or your role in it, don't be afraid to contact either me or Lit. We won't bite. :) My contact is media12inc@gmail.com
Blessings to all,
#Veritas
Try fanfiction.net There are plenty of original writers there.
I need to get plugged into the forums there myself to tap for short scripts and series writers, so if you like, I can post an ad for a story that fits what you decide you want and or for a writer who is willing to craft such a script/story.
Thanks, but I'll do so myself. Talking to Lit as much as I have, I have a guess as to what he's looking for.
However, thanks for the offer, and I'll definitely check it out.
That doesn't mean that we've stopped looking here, of course. If anyone wishes to participate in this project, send us a pq, or email me with the address mentioned above.
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