Drawing Comic Panels - Pencils 0

• Start by drawing stick figures in the rough poses you will use.

• Since the drawing will be revised several times at this stage, an eraseable medium such as pencil or white-board marker is essential.

Drawing Comic Panels - Pencils 1

• Go over your stick figure drawing again, adding rough details of the characters’ uniforms and faces etcetera - you can then rub out the remains of the stick figures.

• Rough details of back-grounds can also be added.

Drawing Comic Panels - Pencils 2

• Go over the rough pencils a second time, tightening up details which look out of place or which need more work.

• Once you are happy with the pencilled version of the drawing, rub out the remainder of the rough pencils to avoid confusion later.

• Spot pictures such as these generally fade out at the edges, so draw a rough line where the finished drawing will end.

Drawing Comic Panels - Inking

• Now that you are happy with the pencil drawing, it can be made permanent - and easier to reproduce - by going over it with black ink.

• Since only solid black and paper white were available in ink printing, mid-range shades such as shadows have to be made by hatching lines of ink.

• Once the inking is finished, you can erase the last traces of the pencil drawing.

Drawing Comic Panels - Shading

• If there is plenty of time available, you can use hatching lines to colour in the khaki shades of the uniforms - be aware this typically takes longer than the whole ink drawing stage!