josh howard's "step-by-step comic writing...

By Josh Howard
Posted October 19, 2006 2:40 PM I get a lot of email from people asking me how exactly I go about putting together a typical comic. So, I figured this month I would give a basic step-by-step description of my creative process.1. The first step is, of course, generating ideas. The brainstorming process is one of my favorite parts, but it can also be the most frustrating. You can't force inspiration. But once the ideas start to come, I usually start making simple notes just so I don't forget anything.

The amount of time I spend brainstorming varies from book to book. In the case of Black Harvest, the idea came to me out of nowhere, and within just a couple of months I had the whole concept down and the book picked up by Devil's Due. That's probably the quickest an idea has ever come together. In other cases, like the new Dead @ 17 ongoing series, I spent over a year developing it before I felt it was ready. In that case, I took extra care in creating the characters and concepts because I didn't want to repeat myself. I didn't feel it was worth doing if it was just going to be "school girl with ax fighting zombies, version 2.0."Part of this process is also doing very rough character designs. I usually don't fully design the character until after I have the script written. I will just do rough head shots in the margins, just enough to capture the look of the character so it's easier to write. 2. The next step is writing the first draft of the script. I have never written a full script by hand. I will sometimes start it, but the problem I always face is that my mind thinks faster than I can write. So most of my actual writing is done by word processor. Since I'm writing for myself, my descriptions are very brief, if there are any at all. I write primarily to get the basic dialogue and scenes down. I don't usually frame shots or define angles, or lay out action scenes - those happen next. 3. After finishing the first draft, I take it and begin doing quick thumbnail layouts of the pages. These are extremely rough - probably completely indiscernible to anyone but myself.

4. Now I'm moving full-steam ahead. I begin penciling and inking the actual pages, completely throwing out the script and thumbnails I just spent hours creating... Only kidding. But it's during this process that I can fully begin to see the story form, and 90% of the time I will drastically alter something I've already laid out, or I will write a completely new scene. This is when the book really comes together and how it really benefits from having me both as the artist and the writer. Looking at the story visually, I can see and do things that I never would have thought of if I was just staring at a blank computer screen.

5. Almost there! I scan the pages and begin coloring in Photoshop. But coloring is only half of it. I will also re-frame panels, re-size figures if the proportions are off, and sometime redraw an entire background. I tend to work in Photoshop rather unconventionally, so I'm definitely not someone to take tips from. When working on actual comic pages, I rarely use layers, unless I'm swapping things around. I tend to get the colors and look I want on the first pass, so I seldom have to worry about changing my mind or continually trying something different. When it comes to me doing regular art pieces, I will usually experiment a bit more, but for comics I try to keep it pretty simple. I have to work at a really quick rate of speed, so I feel it's best to streamline the process where I can.

6. The final step. After getting all the pages colored, I will then go through page-by-page and write the final script. Most of what I'm doing here is fine-tuning dialogue and making sure everything flows right. This can sometimes be the most frustrating part of the process, because if I find a scene isn't exactly working like I envisioned, it's not so easy to go back and change things. However, there's nothing quite like putting on the finishing touches and seeing my ideas become fully formed. And there you have it! All that's left is to print the sucker up and wait for the critics to tell you everything you did wrong!