Thursday, February 9, 2012

Making Magic

Boy in front of gas station store

How to Make a Comic Strip, Comic Book and Graphic Novel


Terminology Continued

6. WRITER - Writes the comic book/graphic novel. This can be a full script or plot.

7. PENCILER - Creates the pencil/initial drawings of the story and is responsible for the visual storytelling and panel to panel continuity as well as drawing the characters and the environment.

8. INKER - The penciled pages have black india ink applied over them to enhance the pencil art. The inks are usually applied with a brush and/or pen. Waterproof markers have been used to replace ink also.

9. ARTIST - Fulfills both roles of penciler and inker. Computers can be used now to digitally darken pencils and to skip the inking stage. So the penciler can become the sole artist in this case. Warning: Never talk to an inker and refer to the penciler as the artist and that they are the inker. It's insulting. They hate that! Both are artists even though their roles are different.

10. LAYOUT ARTIST - Draws very rough pencil layouts. this can range from very loose figures and no background to identifiable loose figures with backgrounds.

11. BACKGROUND ARTIST - The artist draws the main figures and the background artist draws secondary figures and the backgrounds

12. EMBELLISHER/FINISHER -  The inker takes on a more prominent role in doing ink finishes over layouts.

13. GHOST ARTIST - An uncredited artist whose responsibilities may vary.

14. COLORIST -  Adds color to the art by hand using paint or dyes. Color can also be added using the computer, which is becoming the standard.

15. LETTERER - Places the text from the script in balloons and captions. This can be done by hand on the pencil artwork or on a mylar overlay. Digital fonts can be used also.

16. EDITOR - This person may or may not define  their own role. They can serve a large company or the creator. They can dictate direction or give free rein. They may catch errors or guide the creative process

to be continued…

previous - Talk the Lingo

Keep reading. Share with your friends. Please comment. Just create!

copyright 2012 H. Simpson

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