For that reason, designing a comic cover that stands out and draws eyes to the book is essential. Our clients include large comic publishers like marvel, dc and dark horse, independent comic artists and small publishers, and the movie, tv and video game industries. Top 5 lettering rules in comic books comic book lettering, just like. If you do not have a title already, brainstorm some ideas for your comic books title. Comicraft is the comic book industrys leading lettering and design company. Balloon tales comicrafts guide to digital comic book. This full color stepbystep guide is filled to the brim with the wisdom and wit. These are my tips for lettering, if you do something different, thats cool. The comic book illustration is the front face of the story. Comic book lettering involves putting in all the words on a comics page, as well as the balloons or borders around them, any signs, titles or sound effects, and. Comic lettering tips these infographics were originally posted on nate piekoss social media accounts,and are collected here for your.
Roshell and richard starkings, is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn how to letter comics with clear instructions and helpful tips. Comic lettering tips these infographics were originally posted on nate piekoss social media accounts,and are collected here for your reference. And, if you decide to create your own comic book fonts, youll need to have. Hand lettering comic books needs careful planning and set up. Hand lettering a digital comic part 1, part 2, part 3. When trying to break into the comic book industry, just remember that youll be up against some pretty stiff competit. If the speaker youve drawn isnt saying the words youve written then redraw that face or change that text. But you can also choose the hard way and create the cartoon comic effect yourself from scratch and learn some new photoshop tips.
The creative block font is another comic book font thats bold and modern. Comics text photoshop tutorial photoshop tutorial psddude. If i had to give only one bit of advice for comic book lettering this would be it. That being said its a fin book for my comic book howto collection and if you can manage to read the insanely packed and convoluted text its a pretty interesting window into the history and process of moving from hand written comic book lettering to. A guide to handlettering your strips webcomic alliance. Unless your character is a ventriloquist then their mouth should be open when they speak. A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic books text. Determine the proper placement of your panels and evaluate where your comic texts should appear. Since then, ive honed my handlettering style by hand writing letters, notes, christmas and birthday cards and a wide assortment of different things that had nothing to do with comics or cartooning.
There are tons of free, highquality comic book fonts that you can use to spice up your designs. If you enjoy these videos please like and share them. As nice and as helpful as the ames lettering guide is, when it comes to producing a multiday comic strip, it can be very time consuming setting up your tsquare, pulling out the ames guide, carefully and consistently figuring out your guides and then going back and forth with your lead drawing those guide for each panel of your strip. Comic book lettering involves putting in all the words on a comics page, as well as the balloons or borders around them, any signs, titles or sound effects, and sometimes panel borders. Visit my resources page for free creativity tools and comic books. Comic book covers are the first thing that catch the eyes of a reader or potential buyer. Step by step, comic book lettering the comicraft way guides readers through the process of lettering a comic strip digitally. Even if you plan to work mostly with computer lettering, id still recommend learning to handletter, as it will teach you many things that will be useful with computer lettering as well. Comic book lettering is a critical step in producing a polished, readable, effective story, so dont skip the small steps and avoid amatuer. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. And, if you decide to create your own comic book fonts, youll need to have some handlettering skills to make the letters. Award winning comic book letterer todd klein on lettering topics. Tips for aspiring comic book artists litho ninja comics.
If you hand draw your comics, learning how to make cool looking comic strip letters is important and an essential part of being a comic book or comic strip artist. Back then, there were no personal computers capable of comic book lettering. Comic book lettering the comicraft way kindle edition by roshell, j. I follow the comic book industrys apparent standard preached by both comicraft.
Ive been handlettering all sorts of things as far back as 1984 when i took my first typography class in high school. This week ron marz examines the often overlooked art of comic book lettering, sharing tips on how to create the best project and speaking with frequent collaborator troy peteri. Most of my comic book lettering is done within the uk small press scene. I had to letter by hand, and i quickly realized how much i hated it. Two or three times a year, and sometimes during the production process on a comic, somebody will ask me whats the standard size for comic book lettering. Resources for lettering your comic, whether by hand or digitally. The key here is to add the text in such a manner that makes it easy for the reader to follow the story. Lettering tips original art dimensions project tracker. The letterers use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic.
A new graphic from comixology and comicraft highlights some of the common dos and donts. See more ideas about lettering, comic font and comic book font. Over the years ive been asked about how to get started with handlettering often. From the awardwinning comicraft studio, this fullcolor, stepbystep guide of comic book lettering tips and tricks is illustrated with two hip flask strips one by kurt busiek and stuart immonen, and the other by jeph loeb and ian churchill. Of course the easiest way to create cool cartoon and comic book text effects is to use these 3d comic book and cartoon photoshop styles that way you can save lots of precious time. Here are several tips to designing a comic book cover. The actions of characters should be here, not in the lettering area. A comic book letterer provides the text and sound effects in a comic book. Tips to designing a comic book cover litho ninja comics. Comic manga comic art comic books drawing tips drawing reference comic book layout comic tutorial comic drawing how to make comics. Lettering comic is essential in any comic making, and it is important to know at least the basics of lettering a comic book if you are serious about building your. In the early days of newspaper comics, the writing, art and lettering were generally done by the same person. Since 1992, we have provided our brand of unique design and fine lettering throughout the entertainment world.
There is certainly a lot of artistic creativity that goes into the process of making word balloons and sound effects look like what they sound like, but the letterer also needs to think about how the. This is one of those questions that youd think would have a simple, straightforward answer. I began making comics in 1984, when i was in the fifth grade. If you want to know how to become a comic book artist, then this is the place to start. From the awardwinning comicraft studio, this fullcolor, stepbystep guide of comic book lettering tips and tricks is superbly illustrated with two hip flask strips one by kurt busiek and stuart immonen, and the other by jeph loeb and ian churchill. Comic book lettering involves putting words, signs, titles, word balloons or borders, sound effects, and even the panel borders on a comics page. I recently used some of his fonts for the tommy gun dolls graphic novel. Comic book lettering is a critical step in producing a polished, readable, effective story, so dont skip the small steps and avoid amatuer mistakes. Learn how to craft a comic book story, create great characters, the ins and outs of the industry and tips for breaking inall from one of the industrys leading professional editors. It can be downloaded and used for nonprofit purposes or indie comics.
It comes in two weights with support for limited european characters. The tips provided below should give you a leg up on the competition, provided, of course, that you also have a decent amount of artistic talent. Comic book lettering hand letter comic books comic. If anything, it should reveal a teaser illustration that intrigues customers to pick up and read whats happening within the comic. Novels, screenplays, comics, editing, press kitsi like telling stories however they take shape. Comic book style comic books art comic art lettering guide lettering design create a comic comic tutorial letter symbols small drawings. Comic book lettering tips and strategies charles j.
This lesson will show you all about lettering for making comic stripsyou might call them fonts. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading comic book lettering the comicraft way. Place pencil point in one of the holes marked, and while holding tsquare with one hand, slide guide across paper with pencil point. Lettering top page in the todd klein website, comic book lettering topics. The things you need to know to make a great comic by nate. In this video by our friends at cartoonist kayfabe, jim rugg uses an ames lettering guide as part of his excellent comic book hand lettering guide.
The main focus is on having the cover illustration reveal the content of the book. Comic book lettering the comicraft way sc 2003 comic books. Weve gathered the best comic book fonts available for free so peruse our collection and download them. Great tips from what not to do when lettering your own comic.