Write a Graphic Novel in 5 Simple Steps

Men and women working in the professional world of comics have lifelong careers doing what they love, combining words and pictures to tell stories and share ideas.

irby created the Fantastic Fo

For standard comic books, generally speaking, every eight pages has a plot twist, and every twenty-four pages (the length of a standard comic-book story), has a major cliff-hanger ending

When drawing in panels, apply the rule of threes. Use small, medium, and large objects to indicate distance from the frame. Foreground, main action, and background details give a three-dimensional depth to your artwork. Try to include such details as animals, furniture, food, tools, etc. Keep your drawings simple, clearly showing what happens. You can improvise more panels as you create, but always refer back to your plot outline to keep your story on track.

In your sketchbook, take a joke you have heard and illustrate it using words and images combined. What works best to convey the joke, a descriptive sentence, dialogue, or a picture?

The last panel of every page should contain an event that builds suspense, for example, the arrival of a new character or an unforeseen occurrence.