Graphic Novelist Wannabe - who can't draw!

Stool Pigeon

Hey there,
I was never into comics as a kid but in the last 3 years or so I’ve started reading and buying quite a few. Since I’ve got into reading the genre I’ve come up with a number of ideas for a graphic novel of my own. The only problem is I haven’t drawn anything since school, which is 10 years ago now. Is it usual for a writer and an illustrator to work together, or should I really be doing/trying my own drawings....

Appreciate any views you’ve got, thanks a mill!

bombidol

Some people are able to do it all, write, draw, ink, colour, letter etc but mostly its divided into sections. Some one writes, someone pencils, someone inks, someone colours, someone letters etc.
Good spot for finding people is www.digitalwebbing.com

ztoical

Stool Pigeon wrote:

Is it usual for a writer and an illustrator to work together, or should I really be doing/trying my own drawings....

Appreciate any views you’ve got, thanks a mill!

Like Bombidol said some people like do everything themselves while others will run more like a conveyor belt system. Alot depends on the type of story your trying to tell.......if its a story that's something very personnal [like Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis] the writer does tend to draw it themselves, even if it takes them ages and maybe the art isn't fantastic [which is not the case with persepolis] but it tends to suit the story that is being told.

If it's just story that you've got stuck in your head and you want to get it down on paper [like Harvey Pekar did with American Splendor] its very common for people to go looking for an artists.

Try posting your project over at Guru

Be clear when your advertising for a cartoonist/illustrator - its like ads you see for bands they normally list other bands/musicans as examples of their sound/style - give some examples of the type of style your story is, also if you know you want colour or black and white - the way pages are drawn and inked is different depending on wither the page is going to be colour or black and white. The more details you've got the better chance of connecting with the right artist quickly.

Be clear wither this is a collaboration or a work for hire gig. With work for hire you simple pay them to produce work that you want, you keep all the rights, however most artists dislike work for hire jobs and tend to charge alot more. Finding someone to collabrate might take longer as your asking someone to produce work for little or no money but a share in the rights. You might find someone who really likes the story and is willing to produce work for free as long as they keep the rights to their work and can use it for their portfilios. Alot of people don't think issues like that are worth thinking of when you've only got an idea and not looking to the future where it may get printed, but its worth keeping in the back of your mind.

There's a thread over at The Engine regarding Spec work (Spec work = work provided without promise of pay, like thumbnails or sketches and other "samples") its aimed more at the artists side of things but an interesting read.

Stool Pigeon

Hey,

Cheers for that advice guys/gals. Maybe I’ll give the drawing a go myself for the time being, at least to get the visual idea as well as the written down on paper. Also I came across a link to a comic art class on another thread, so maybe I’ll give that a go. Cheers again!

bombidol

The Engine is great but beware Warren Ellis he shalt layeth the smackethdown on you should you step out of line.

Fysh

Yeah, he's a bit tetchy that way. Were he not so anti-superhero he'd blatantly have a secret identity like Captain Crankypants.

bombidol

I love the mans work but I get the feeling Id either get on with him like a house on fire or knock the bollocks off him.

Fysh

I suspect it's that way for a lot of people; I certainly got that feeling from the various LJ accounts he's had where he commented regularly...