WRITING MANGA AND COMICS--EVEN IF YOU DON'T DRAW (GUEST POST BY DANICA DAVIDSON)
When I tell people I
have a manga book out and a Barbie comic book coming out, the response is
usually the same, “Oh, so you draw!”
To which I have to explain with embarrassment, “No, I don’t.”
This is usually followed by confusion, but I’m not in a
rare situation. Many times when there are books that involve pictures, one
person writes and another person draws. That’s true when it comes to manga and
comic books.
Here’s how it worked: I sent in a proposal of all the
chapters of the book. Because it’s a how-to-draw book, I have it start with
basics. Readers learn how to draw eyes, faces and bodies first. Then I move
onto common manga character types, like ninja or butlers. I wrote out the book
so that it would be very detailed, showing twelve or so steps for each
character. This came out of my frustration with other how-to-draw books showing
only three or so steps.
Melanie Westin, the artist I worked with, drew to match
what I’d written. We’d talk on the phone maybe once a week and email back and
forth with the drawings. After Melanie sent me her drawings, I added more
writing, detailing each step as I saw Melanie draw them.
Then I wrote a script for it. Comic book scripts general
go something like this: You number the page and the panel, then give people
lines and describe the action. For instance, you say, “Page 1, Panel 1.” Then
you said “BARBIE:...” (or whomever) and put in what she’s saying. Then you give
a description of what’s happening in the panel. Next, you would say, “Panel
2" and continue. Page 2 will start with, “Page 2, Panel 1.”
With the manga book, I worked closely with the artist.
With Barbie, Papercutz chose the artist they wanted and the editor has been the
go-between for the artist and me. I’ve seen some of the panels, and they look
beautiful! Barbie: Puppy Party will be released in September.
Website: www.danicadavidson.com
Twitter: @DanicaDavidson
Comments
Post a Comment