Objective: To plan, design and create an original
page of comics, from storyboard to finished page
containing five to six cels.

Size: 18x24"
Border: .50 inches (use guidelines)
Mode: RGB
Resolution: 150 to 300 (your choice)

General Directions:

  1. Set up your page using directions above.
  2. Next, create five or six layers. Name them: Cel 1, Cel 2, Cel 3, etc.
    Color Code each layer differently.
  3. On each of the five cel layers, use your selection tools to create the size and shape of the cel. Use the STROKE tool (thick!) to outline the cel. Your cartoon will fill this square. (Note: When all five cels are created and in place, there should be a small gutter between each. However, there should not be any empty spaces on the page, except the gutters. Be creative in making your cels! They should not be the same size. Mix it up, so that your page is interesting! (See examples below). Save your page after you have completed your cels.
  4. Next, us a sheet of your own paper to create a storyboard: Sketch 5 cels, and make a quick drawing of what will be happening in each. Use your storyboard as a guide for completing your page.
  5. After you have a plan, begin creating your cels. There are two basic ways to proceed: You may either draw by hand and scan the results, OR you can use the Lichtenstein technique. (Remember that NO photos will remain at the end. Those layers will be hidden/turned off. Only your drawing will remain!) Be sure that you work within the cel, so that your figures and backgrounds will precisely fit. As you work, color code your layers, so that it is easy to identify what drawings belong to each cel. Consider locking the cel layers together.
  6. Within your page and cels, be sure to include some of the following:

 

 

 

 

 


Try different Page Layouts!

 

 

LINK TO VOCABULARY

WEB RESOURCES:

CBML-Cartoon Book Markup Language
 (scroll down this page for some great page layouts!)

COLORING COMIC ART: The pages below are from a workshop I attended many, many years ago. It is from Photoshop Tutorial magazine.(You can find this magazine at most big bookstores, like B.Daltonor Waldenbooks.) I am providing it for general information only.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4

History of Comic Art

 

VOCABULARY:

CEL: One frame of a cartoon or animation. (Origin: Short for celluloid, or one transparent sheet onto which a cartoon or animation was drawn).

STORYBOARD: A panel or series of panels on which a set of sketches are displayed depicting sequential changes in a story or action scene.

ONOMATOPOEIA: is a word that imitates the sound it represents. (Examples: Pow! Whoosh! Buzzz!)

Limitations:

Your comic page must be totally original.

It should not "look like" or imitate any other cartoon in existance.

Remember that it is not enought to simply "redraw" an existing cartoon.

If you are not entirely comfortable drawing, then feel free to use the Lichtenstein technique to create figures and scenes.

Do not use sources or resources that are drawings, line art, or clip art. Do not use, copy or redraw anything that is already a drawing, cartoon, clipart, etc. You must use photographs as your resource, or provide your own original sketches. Leave any photos you use behind the drawing, in order to count!