Since this a comic, let’s start with visuals. They are the
part that will catch everyone’s attention and it also means that you can give
the artist something to work on. This means that you need to make a lot of
minor decisions that are going to add up quickly. So let’s go through those
decisions.
Era: This is one
of the two most important decisions to make right off the bat. An era is
defined by a combination of its time, location, and moral outlook. When you
decide to emulate the era, you are making a decision as to what people will be
dressing , what the architecture will look like, and what beliefs are common
among the people of your comic. Examples of decent eras are the Meijing Era of
Japan, the Victorian Era of England, and the Pre-Civil War Era of the South.
See how each of those phrases evoked a mood just by mentioning them? You can
also define your own era, so just you know what makes it work.
You need to decide
which era you are attempting to emulate, even if it’s a combination of eras. The
era will define what technology is available, at least in a general sense. It
also tends to define the clothing and other stylistic traits. You also need to
debate how closely you will follow the era; a historical fiction will follow
the era closely, whereas a more magical setting may not follow the era more
than accepting its basic. Of special note is “indeterminate tech”, which is
ostensibly a medieval setting, but high technology seems to be easily
accessible if you know where to look, such as laser rifle disguised as a musket
or even some sort of sensing device.
Geography: You
have two basic choices here: The first choice is that the entire comic happens
in roughly the same kind of geography, such as rolling, forested hills, or a
huge desert, or even a large city. This is great if you are making some sort of
point about ecology or just want a simpler geography to deal with. At the other
extreme is a more realistic geography, which is one that has a number of
different zones, such as mountains here, desert there, even some forest and plains;
it’s just more interesting, but harder to draw. Keep in mind that even space
has its own geography, ranging from asteroid belts to dead space to areas full
of plasma.
You can also be a lot more exotic, such as a planet that is a
whole tree to one that is a broken up bits of land. Your planet can even be a
living being or nothing but sea with maybe a few islands. Have fun with the
geography, but be advised that you need to know what makes it special from the
beginning with an option explain why it it is the way it is. Just remember to
be consistent and you can have all of the fun you want.
These should be two of the first things you worry about. But
they are just the first…
