How To Draw Comics

Interview With Ryan Woodward, Creator Of ‘Bottom Of The Ninth’ (Part 2) :: PWP #25

This is part two of our interview with Ryan Woodward, animator, story artist and creator of the groundbreaking iPad comic, ‘Bottom Of The Ninth.’ Click here for part one.

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Interview With Marvel Studios Storyboard Artist Justin Copeland: PWP #23

“You’re not a professional because somebody pays you to draw. You have to turn your mind toward professionalism.” In this episode, we interview one of Chris’ best buddies in the industry – Justin Copeland – storyboard artist for Marvel Studios. Justin is working on the new Avengers cartoon for Disney XD. He tells us the [...]

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Easy Comic Lettering & Word Balloon Layout: Comic Life Tutorial

We’ve been talking recently about the importance of lettering when making your own comics. In my two posts Comic Balloons & Clarity and The Comic Lettering Spell the discussion in the comments turned toward discussing our own processes. Personally, I use a program called Comic Life. A lot of you asked to see how I [...]

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Comic Layout Tutorial: The Comic Lettering Spell

I was never interested in lettering. …until I learned that good comic lettering is one of the most important ingredients for casting a story-spell on my readers. I just have to make sure the words don’t cover any important element in the art and I’m done, right? Early in the making of my webcomic, I [...]

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Comic Layout Tutorial: Comic Balloons & Clarity

You’ve just written a fantastic script and absolutely cannot wait to draw it. Then, after laborious hours and perhaps days, the artwork turns out perfectly. You cannot wait for your readers to see it. You really can’t. All that is left is that final, insignificant step: lettering. You begin dropping in a few comic balloons [...]

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Perspective For Comics: Google SketchUp Demo

A few weeks ago, a bunch of us from the Paper Wings Community had a conversation on Twitter about using Google’s free 3d modeling software Google SketchUp as a way to speed up the process of making comics. I was amazed to discover that everyone had the same problem I did before I learned how to use the program. [...]

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How To Draw Clothes :: Different Types Of Fabric [Sketchbook Pro Tutorial]

What’s With All The Spandex?! It can seem like every character in comics is wearing spandex. …and not just the superheroes. Because so many artists struggle with how to draw clothes, characters often appear in tight, awkward, generic jeans and t-shirts that fit like Spidey’s tights. A few small wrinkles around the joints doesn’t help [...]

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Listener Questions Answered :: PWP #18

In this episode, listen to Lora and Chris announce big news– both in their personal projects and the future of Paper Wings. Then they answer YOUR listener questions. Press PLAY to hear them answer: How do you deal with the fear of rejection? When is too late to start a personal project? How do you [...]

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Live Critique with the Grand Prize Winner of the Paper Wings Challenge

In early 2011, The Paper Wings Podcast ran a contest for the Paper Wings Community. The grand prize was a private critique/ Q&A with the hosts Disney Character Designer Chris Oatley & IDW Comics Creator Lora Innes. In lieu of a regular episode, we wanted to share an excerpt from the critique with you. This [...]

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Four Tips for Designing an Original “Pretty Girl”

Alexandra Vo, the grand prize winner of the Paper Wings Challenge, skyped with Chris and me this week as we critiqued her winning piece. Afterward we had a time for a few questions and she asked, “How do you deal with the problem of designing the ‘pretty girl’?” She was asking about the difficulty [...]

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We Are Gunslingers

The most valuable tool to any artist–greater than photo reference, special pencils, or fancy inks–is the sketchbook. A sketchbook is all possibility. It is the freedom of “another try” which allows us to become our own teachers, models, and scientists… “We Are Gunslingers.” This was the first thing I was told when my feet first [...]

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Five Tips To Make Your Character Designs More Dynamic & Believable :: PWP #9

How can character design strengthen the emotional impact of your story? Are turnarounds really a waste of time? How can you avoid cliches in your designs, and make your characters both surprising and memorable? In this episode of The Paper Wings Podcast, Chris and Lora give you FIVE tips that will help you make your characters [...]

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