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Develop a Visual Style
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It doesn't matter if you can draw realistically or not. Since it's your comic, you can be as realistic or as abstract as you want. You can draw in a traditional way with pencil and pen or brush, or be experimental and "draw" with photo collage or cut out paper. Still, if you want to draw realistically, there are many resources for improving your skill. See the Resources page for books and more.

An important thing to note: draw it bigger than you will print it. This will make your images look sharper when they are resized to fit a smaller page or computer screen. Never draw a comic smaller than you intend to publish it. If you try to enlarge a drawing, it will begin to look fuzzy online and in print. To learn more about image sharpness, also known as resolution, refer to the glossary.

There are lots of established comic visual styles. Many have specific iconography and visual devices significant to the style. For instance, in Manga, characters usually have large eyes and small mouths. When drawing your comic you can choose to work within one of these styles giving it your own unique flair, or you can experiment and combine styles. Or, you can invent something totally new--it's up to you.

Drawn Styles


Manga: a Japanese style of comics that is a mixture of classic Japanese drawing with American comic art.

  • Rachel Nabors's "Rachel The Great" (see example)
  • Osamu Tezuka's "Astro Boy"
  • Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira"
  • Moyoko Anno's "Happy Mania"




    Cartoony: uses comic effects and variations in line, and can seem "bubbly".

  • Charles Schultz's "Peanuts"
  • Rose O'Neill's "The Kewpies" (see example)
  • Arial Schrag's "Definition"
  • Hilary B. Price's "Rhymes with Orange"




    Realistic: mimics real life in form and imagery.

  • Adrian Tomine's "Optic Nerve" (see example)
  • Phoebe Gloeckner's "A Child's Life"
  • Dave Gibbons' "The Watchmen"


  • Painterly: usually done with brushes instead of pens, these drawings have organic lines and brushstrokes.

  • Craig Thompson's "Blankets"
  • Jessica Abel's "La Perdida"




    Alternative: Non-traditional and unique drawing styles

  • Andrew Lin's "My Life's Work" and Supermasterpiece.com (see example)
  • Julie Doucet's "The New York Diary"
  • Chris Ware's "Acme Novelty Library"
  • Charles Burns's "Black Hole"




    Not Drawn (but created) Styles

    Collage: throw together whatever you want to create your images. Photos from thrift stores, things you find on the street, personal mementos, cut paper shapes, etc.

  • Lynda Barry's "100! Demons!"



    Photos: you can take photos for each frame of your comic, almost like stills from a movie. Draw captions or word balloons on the photos if you want to add text.




    Clip-art: uses royalty-free or public domain images

  • David Rees's "My New Fighting Technique is Unstoppable" (see example)
  • Max Cannon's "Red Meat"
  • Ryan North's "Dinosaur Comics"



    Experimental: anything you can think of. Sometimes these comics come packaged in weird ways, and sometimes you might not even realize they're comics at all until you start reading.

  • Dave Eggers's "Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern"


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