Making Your Own Comics

I've been making comics with the help of my friends for some years now, and occasionally I get asked questions on how to go about it. Rather than repeat myself, I'll try and post them here :)

Printers

I have used a number of printers for my comics, so I'll include some printing details here for your reference. You'll need to ask printers for a quote for your job, and though I'm not on commission, please mention Omnivistascope if you get work done with any of them. If you need further details, just ask.

Solar Wind - I used a local printer too provide A3 copies which I then added my own colour covers and stapled them myself with a long-armed stapler. The maximum page size I got was 68 pages. But that was with good quality paper and at the very limits of possibility.

Omnivistascope Models I-III - The printer I used was PIMS Digital who later became CATS Solutions. They took the inserts as a PDF and the cover as a jpeg. Issues 1 &2 were printed by PIMS, and were printed oversized A4 and trimmed to size. Issue 3 seemed to be printed A4 and trimmed, so it ended up a fraction smaller. Something to consider. B/W on 80gsm inside, with a full-colour laminated cover, square bound. www.cats-solutions.co.uk

For Omnivistascope Model IV, it was again perfect bound with colour cover and inside cover with B/W inserts, but this was litho-printed (not digital print) on art paper and probably is the best looking comic I've produced. I got twice as many copies as usual to make it affordable, with the idea of using issue 4 as a promotional issue. I found the proofs difficult to work out what the page order was. Deadline for delivery was pushed to the very limit. But a very good issue resulted, worth talking to them. www.ukomics.co.uk

The Bumper Book of Solar Wind (1&2) - Here I used Lulu, a 'print-on-demand' supplier, which had a laminated colour cover and B/W interior. This involves loading the files up to Lulu and then you can set availability and cost. The great thing about Lulu is that you can order 1 copy or a 100 depending on what you need. You'll need to create PDF's of your comics (Adobe Indesign is recommended) and uploaded via FTP software. I would suggest 250 pages is a good size limit, but 700MB is your limit for publishing. www.lulu.com

The Game

The Background

Downloads

FAQ

Introduction

The Game

The Background

Downloads

FAQ

Introduction

The Game

The Background

Downloads

FAQ

Introduction

The Game

The Background

Downloads

FAQ