How to Draw Comics the SFcrowsnest Way (or at least not get laughed out of art school).
So, you want to draw comics? Good for you, brave soul. You’ve decided to embark on a noble journey that involves imagination, persistence, and more broken pencils than a GCSE art exam. Whether your dream is to chronicle the adventures of caped crusaders, space-faring wombats, or Victorian demon hunters with emotional baggage, we’ve cobbled together this humble guide to help you begin.
First things first: drawing comics is not about being the best artist in the room. It’s about telling a story. Sequential storytelling is the key. If readers can follow the flow, feel the emotion, and tell who just got walloped in the face with a cursed spatula, you’re already winning.
1. Get Your Tools Together
You don’t need a Batcave’s worth of gadgets. A cheap sketchpad, pencils (HB to 6B for variety), eraser (you’ll use it… a lot), and pens will do nicely. If you’re feeling swish, grab some fineliners or dip pens for inking. Digital artists can dive into tools like Clip Studio Paint, Procreate, or that Wacom tablet you convinced yourself was a tax-deductible necessity.
2. Stick People Are Your Friends
Start with gesture drawing. Scribble loose stick figures doing dramatic poses – running, jumping, emoting, possibly fainting upon hearing the plot twist. This helps nail movement and energy. Don’t fuss about the perfect line. Comic panels are about action, not a Renaissance-level rendering of someone’s nostrils.
3. Learn Your Anatomy (or Cheat Convincingly)
You don’t need to be a qualified medical illustrator, but understanding basic proportions helps. Use references. No shame in Googling “man punching space goblin” or studying your own hand in a mirror like a deranged sorcerer. Many comic artists stylise anatomy – think manga, Western superhero comics, or newspaper strips. Find a style that works for you and milk it shamelessly.
4. Panels, Gutter Space, and the Mighty Flow
A comic page is more than pretty pictures – it’s choreography. Use panels to control time and pacing. Big panel = big moment. Tiny panel = quick beat. Gutters (the space between panels) are the invisible rhythm. Keep the eye moving from left to right, top to bottom (unless you’re going manga and flipping the lot backwards).
5. Facial Expressions Are Everything
If your character’s just discovered their clone is also their dad and their dog is secretly a talking spaceship, you’d better show it. Eyebrows, mouths, and eye shapes carry 80% of the emotional load. Practice drawing expressions until your sketchbook looks like it belongs to a sleep-deprived mime artist.
6. Word Balloons – Not Just Clouds with Attitude
Lettering matters. Keep it legible. All caps is traditional. Make sure balloons don’t cover important art (like your best elbow shading) and that the reader knows which balloon to read first. Sound effects are your best mates too. A good KA-THOOM never goes out of style.
7. Practice, Redraw, Repeat
Your first pages will be wobbly. Your second? Slightly less wobbly. Your fiftieth might just get a polite nod at Comic-Con. Keep at it. Redraw old pages to see how far you’ve come. Steal from the greats (visually, not literally – Frank Miller does not need your fingerprints on his originals). Post your work. Get feedback. Cry a bit. Draw more.
8. Read Comics Like a Thirsty Vampire Reads a Haemoglobin Manual
Devour comics. Indie, webcomics, Marvel, Manga, Franco-Belgian, underground zines about sentient furniture – read it all. Note panel layout tricks, pacing, style. Don’t just enjoy the story – reverse-engineer it.
9. Finish Something
A one-page comic. A four-panel gag strip. A ten-page mini. Doesn’t matter. Finish it. Print it out. Share it online. That moment of completion is rocket fuel for your next project. You are now officially A Person Who Draws Comics. Wear the title with pride and ink-stained fingertips.
Here at SFcrowsnest, we love a good comic – especially the ones that explode expectations, melt brains, or just feature a sarcastic talking lizard with a flamethrower. So get scribbling. The world of sequential art awaits… and it’s dying to meet your weird ideas.
