The 24 Hour Comic – Join Us On The Day!
The 24 Hour Comic And The Great Thing About Making Your Own Comics…
So why do I find my self taking up the 24 hour comic challenge again and even organising a 24 hour comic event at Tribe Porty in Edinburgh for 24 Hour Comcs day? Well I will tell you a story…
As a child, I read Asterix. I then ‘progressed’ to Judge Dredd, the Watchmen and the master French graphic artist Moebius. Around 1990, I went to Norwich for a day, the local city with a plan. I wanted to buy one of the first hand held Game consoles the Atari Lynx. I had no money, so I filled a bag full of all my Atari St games and took them to the local computer games shop with the plan to exchange them for the console, a good deal I thought! They basically told me to go away!
The Atari Lynx
With only about £17 from my savings, I went to the local bookshop, a book caught my eye called “How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way” by Stan Lee. A light in my head flicked on, the first pages told me how to buy the cheap equipment I would need to make my comics, pens, bristol board, inks etc.I then went to the nearest art shop and bought these tools. Ambitions of ownership of the Atari Lynx evaporated and making comics would now be my future project.
How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way
So I started to draw with bristol board, ink pens. Before that, I had just drawn with pencils, normal pens etc. I quickly began to make small four page comics about aliens visiting Arizona, atlantic cities etc. Anything was possible!
That was one of the main things that got me started in art and design. Although I am not a comic artist now, I am influenced by the line and make my own comics from time to time link.
Why Comics Interest Me?
What interested me then and now is that comics are a combination of words and images. With comics, unlike other storytelling genres such as films, animation, computer games etc, you need stuff and that can cost a considerable amount of money. Comics are also very direct, you can make a comic with a pencil, with paper then that’s it! Even if you consider your drawing skills to be poor, you can still make graphic novels with simple shapes and stick men/women.
Today, of course you can use 2d and 3d computer programs too for your comics. Also, if you have the skills and drive you can make a professional comic wherever you are in the world and then put it out there on the internet.
My interest in comics goes beyond the usual comic book format. Scott McCloud calls the sequential art I would recommend reading his books. What other ways could we do the sequential art process? If you are coming to the 24 hour comic event at Tribe Porty, you are welcome to make the comic as experimental as possible? Use real objects, boxes etc, 3d graphic applications. Or alternatively, make the comic in the classic way!
A Recent Indy Arthouse Comic I Published On Amazon
Tips On Surviving The 24 Hour Comic…
Last year, I decided to try the 24 hour comic, on October 03, International 24 hour comics day. I tried to do it on my own and I didn’t make it, I got to 17 hours. The thought of another coffee pot to keep me awake was kind of horrific to keep me awake so I crashed out. I am going to do it again this year but not on my own, I have organised the 24 Hour comic this year in Edinburgh, Scotland at Tribe Porty and I am really pleased people have signed up already to come and am looking forward to what we create there.
Here are some main things I am going to stick to to give myself a better chance of getting through it. I hope it might help you too –
- Sleep loads until it starts, I got a phone call in the morning so it woke me up!
- Mixing traditional with digital can slow things down. I tried to put my comic onto the computer to edit further, that wasted loads of time scanning the 24 pages. The original drawings themselves were starting to look good anyway.
- Make sure you have all your tools with you, don’t run out of anything
- Make the story in the first idea with it planned out. you could improvise but…
If you are doing a 24 hour comic and would like to link up with all of us in Edinburgh, then feel free to contact me at info@jamesabellart.com
I have only tried the 24 hour comic once. Check these links for more great tips. I will certainly be reading them before the challenge!
http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/
http://www.blitzcomics.com/go/content/resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24-hour_comic
If you don’t get the chance to come to the Edinburgh event or a local event you can always try it on my own. If you want to get more ideas about making a 24 hour comic, you are welcome to book a no sales pressure 15 minute Skype lesson/consultation with me here – http://3dcreativetuition.instapage.com/ just sign up to my newsletter.
24 Hour Comics Day
Last year, I did not complete the comic within 24 hours but I decided to finish it off anyway, here is a video about it if you are interested –
