Art programs can be very expensive, but they don't have to be. The programs below are what are known as Open Source software. This means they are free (and legal) for you to use. They are comparable to pay programs and in most cases are just as powerful and feature rich.
Gimp
(comparable to Adobe Photoshop)
http://www.gimp.org/
Krita
(Comparable to Adobe Photoshop)
http://krita.org
Inkscape
(comparable to Adobe Illustrator)
http://inkscape.org/
Open Office
(Comparable to Microsoft Office)
http://www.openoffice.org/
Scribus
(Comparable to Adobe InDesign)
http://www.scribus.net
There are literally thousands of websites out there that offer free fonts for you to download. A search for “free fonts” will turn up more sites than you could possibly ever need. Below are just two that we find helpful.
http://www.dafont.com/
http://www.abstractfonts.com/
Below is a list of suggested reading. These books are well written guides put together by experienced comic professionals. You can order these from your local comic book shop, check to see if your public library has them, or you can order them online.
How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way
The DC Comics Guide to Pencilling Comics
The DC Comics Guide to Inking Comics
The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics
DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics
Comic Book Lettering: The Comicraft Way
Comics and Sequential Art: by Will Eisner
Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative: by Will Eisner
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art: by Scott McCloud
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels: by Scott McCloud
We use Greko Printing to print our comics. We value their quality and have found that they have some of the best prices in the industry. Also they have a low minimum order (25 books), which is perfect for a small comic publisher. If you do end up printing your comic through Greko please let them know that you were referred by PLB Comics. http://www.grekoprinting.com
There is no better way to learn how to create comics than by reading them!
Click here to use the comic shop locator.
