Writing with pictures

How I start an illustrated project

It’s October! My favourite month of the year!

Prepare ye for a lot of witch drawings.

But not today. Today we're talking about writing in pictures. I recently shared this image on Notes:

And received some really nice questions from inquisitive people asking what exactly IS it I’m doing on this page.

I’m writing in pictures.

Whether I want to write a comic, graphic novel, picture book, web comic, whatever - I approach it all the same, as far as process goes. I should be clear though - these types of stories are different. And I read them all regularly so I try hard to be very aware of their conventions and specificities. If you are looking to create a story with pictures, it’s very important to read the types of stories you want yours to stand next to on the shelf.

But when I sit down to a story with pictures, my process is similar for all of them. We’re talking about the beginning phases here - the really rough and raw stuff. Once things are more pinned down, then the type of illustrated projected makes things diverge and ratios and numbers and things that make me nervous start getting involved. But we aren’t worried about those right now.

We’re just getting the story started. This is a time to experiment and get messy and make mistakes.

So, I thought I’d share some of the behind the scenes of my initial process when I start a project - I’ll share some of stuff from projects in the works and also show you where I’m at putting together my Authorstrator Halloween comic - Howl Pass!