Comic books have been around since the Great Depression, inspiring young minds and even entertaining soldiers overseas. They have been everything from treasured works of art to feared abominations of popular culture. Today everybody knows them for superheroes in colorful costumes, but in decades past they were also known for westerns, dramas, and even horror stories. In recent years comics have served as source material for numerous movies, television shows, and video games. To produce a mainstream comic book, many people and skills are needed. Writers, pencilers, inkers, colorists, letterers, editors, marketers, printers, and more all collaborate to create a single product. Individual artists and small teams of collaborators can find success as well. Independent publishing has been around for decades, and webcomics are now a popular (and frugal) outlet of artistic talent. If you want to create your own comic books, below are a few helpful sources. Some commonly used tools include: bristol paper, lead holder, kneaded eraser, plastic eraser, technical pens, quill pens, Copic markers, scanner, and Photoshop.
Patrick Shettlesworth is a video game concept artist. He has a website with many step-by-step art tutorials ranging from drawing the human figure to coloring with Photoshop.
Scott McCloud is a comics theorist who has written several books about how sequential images convey information to a reader. These books illustrate the process of telling a story with pictures, the ways in which technology affects the medium, and how to start drawing your own narratives.
David Yardin is an Australian artist who works for Marvel Comics. He posted videos of his entire process for creating a comic book page to YouTube. The time-lapsed footage adds up to over two hours of drawing with the artist's commentary.
Brad Krause is an animator and illustrator working for Radiance Media in Wisconsin. He has several YouTube videos about drawing and inking comic book art.
