Unless you already have a vision or a set plan in mind, before getting started you'll want to take plenty of time to decide on the type of strip you're most interested in doing. If you think you'll have plenty of ideas and storylines to work with, you may want to opt for a multi-panel strip. On the other hand, a single panel comic strip does mean less drawing and therefore less time to complete each one, but you will also have to make sure every strip stands on its own, telling an entire story or joke all in one single panel.
Once you've settled on your strip's format, next is the all important aspect of developing your main characters, if there'll be any, as some comics feature different people and scenes in each new strip while others follow a few certain characters. Also, make sure you'll be comfortable drawing these same people, animals, or whatever it is you're doing over and over again.
Supplies You'll Need
- An active imagination - A sense of humor - Paper, preferably quality paper that will withstand erasing - Pencils with quality erasers - Pens of varying points for drawing different thicknesses - Plenty of patience
Of course, if you plan on eschewing the traditional pen and paper method of drawing your comic strip, you will also need some type of graphics program for the computer to create your masterpieces.
Thinking Outside the Panel
Whatever it is you draw, the most important element of your comic strip is that it must be funny! There's got to be some serious interaction between characters, including many conflicts that result from those interactions. Even if your artwork is impeccable, it won't make much of a difference if your strips aren't funny or amusing in some way.
Hone your skills by letting your personality shine through on paper with everything you create, always remembering to look for inspiration in the unlikeliest of places.
3 Quick Tips to Remember
- Be Yourself: While it's perfectly acceptable to look to establish cartoonists and comic strips for inspiration, make absolutely certain you're not copying anything related to anyone else's work as not only is this possible copyright infringement, but you'll also be ruining your chances at becoming a respected artist in your own right. Develop your own style instead and then don't be afraid to just run with it.
- Keep Your Eyes Open: Look absolutely everywhere you go for funny ideas. Carrying a small notebook around with you will enable you to jot things down right as they happen.
- Save Everything: Never throw away any of your work as you never know if a year from now you'll look back at it and have the absolute perfect addition or modification that works perfectly. And, once you become rich and famous and renowned the world over, those early strips you drew way back when will fetch a small fortune on the internet.
To return to the TV analogy: when many of us think of infomercials, we think of the same basic structure: a desk, a host, a product demonstration, a few arguments in favor of the product, and then ordering information. We tend to think along these lines because most of the infomercials we see never reach beyond this basic, safe format. and when we think of typical sales letters, we tend to think of basic, safe letters: letters that get the job done without necessarily entertaining the reader.
But there have been other infomercials on the airwaves. For example, a popular "adult" infomercial in the 1990s tried to sell a male enhancement cream to customers not by offering a product demonstration--a dicey proposition on any channel or network, considering the product--but by making their infomercial into something entertaining in its own right. The infomercial producers hired adult film stars, built sets, and turned what could have been a boring (yet salacious) infomercial into a quiz show, complete with innuendo, double entendres, and genuinely engaging content. The result was a memorable infomercial--which meant a memorable product and increased sales.
Your sales letter can aspire to the same level. As long as you keep to the three basic parts of any good sales letter--inform, persuade, convert readers into customers--you have infinite freedom in terms of content. You might present your sales letter in comic strip form, for example, or you might write your sales letter in engaging verse. you might write your sales letter in dialogue form, or your might write about a new piece of software as if it had come through a time portal from a technologically advanced future.
Don't bore the reader, of course, by getting too cute with your sales letter--but don't bore them by keeping your sales letter bland, either. What your readers think of your sales letter will be, if you do your job right, what they think of your product. So if you can pull off a unique, entertaining sales letter--or if you're willing to pay for the services of someone who can--do it. A simple sales letter will get the job done, yes--but an entertaining sales letter will get the same job done better.
Once you have your sales letter, your website, and of course your product, your work is almost done. It's time to take a look at the last (and from the point of view of selling products, the most important) component of your successful direct response website: your commerce system, and managing the overall revenue and costs of your site both online and offline.
Both Sebastian Marders & Smita Jindal are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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