THE PROCESS! #2: The Extremely Basic Building Blocks of Comics: Roles (Patreon)

Hello, dear reader! If you've been meaning to start making comics and are curious as to what the "generally accepted" process is, here's a quick-start guide to give you a basic understanding of how the proverbial sausage is made - and how you can do it yourself, or be part of a team!

Alternatively, Hello, dear reader!  If you've been interacting with clients who want you to draw/make/write comics with only a vague idea of what comics consist of themselves, I've taken it upon myself to write a basic list of the roles in the comics process for folks who need a basic understanding of how the hell comics work. (Note: This list leans pretty commercial-heavy, and I'm obvs omitting some divergences that occur when you make indie comics, but I'm assuming if you're talking to Silver Sprocket you guys already have a shared understanding of the medium). 

HAS-TO-BE-SAID PREFACE ABOUT LEGITIMACY

"Comics" is putting a narrative into pictures, sometimes with words. That's it. I can blab all day about editors and pencils and how much to pay a flatter and it'll all be moot without the fundamental concept of comics being a kind of ever-changing medium with no strict rules about creation. 

OK, OK, BUT HOW ARE THINGS USUALLY DONE IN COMICS PUBLISHING RIGHT NOW?

ROLES

The different aspects of comics creation can be split into a number of roles. Cartoonists, writers, & artists frequently perform one, two, or up to all of these roles in a combination. More "traditional" cape style publishers like Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc, usually split each role up to give to individuals. Indie places like Fantagraphics or D&Q prefer work from a single cartoonist who performs all roles themselves. Traditional publishers like Penguin or Random House typically split the roles up into two major parts - writing & artwork - with some roles split out like lettering, or work with someone who performs both halves of writing and art.

Writer: A writer writes the comic (duh). What does this entail? Not just the action and dialogue, but moments, beats, backdrops, emotional tone, how the action will play out on the page, and sometimes get as specific as panel-by-panel detail (though if you ask most pencillers, this isn't always as welcome as you might expect), crucial details to be included, lettering instructions, and more. Writing a comic is like writing the blueprint, or design doc, for the comic.

Penciller: The penciller physically draws the interior of the comic (as in, the actual panels of the comic itself). They'll typically be expected to interpret the writer's script into thumbnails (unless they have a super rad writer who provides extra detailed page layouts like Alan Moore).

Inker: The inker draws the lineart, shading, and other non-color black & white articulation on top of the pencils. A good inker uses tone and texture to accentuate the penciller's work and help tell the story.

Flatter: A flatter applies basic colors to the artwork to prepare it for a colorist. These colors usually aren't permanent and are basically applied to make coloring easier when a colorist is selecting a palette, shading, etc. A good flatter will organize their flats into layers and color-code them, and they're totally entitled to charge more for that.

Colorist: A colorist colors the comic (ahem). Colorists will use color to provide emotional tone, setting, and consistency, they'll shade and detail so that the page is finished with a fully colored render. For an example of what an amazing colorist can do vs a colorist essentially mucking up some inks, check out the two versions of The Killing Joke floating around out there.

Letterer: A letterer letters the words (balloons, text, et al) in the comic. This can seem "easy" to someone who doesn't letter, but let me tell you, good letterers are INCREDIBLY hard to find and should be treasured. A good letterer not only has an understanding of text flow, enjambments, how fonts and textual aesthetics can impact how a sentence can be read, but ALSO be able to accurately adapt their approach to each individual comic they letter. A letterer literally gives characters their voice.

Editor: An editor is someone who acts both as a sort of "project supervisor" for a comic, as well as a traditional editor. An editor will ensure the artistic vision of the comic is coherent throughout all the roles, and makes the whole thing "come together". They also do regular editing tasks, suggesting improvements and areas to improve in the comic for all roles.

Cover Artist: A good chunk of the time when you're working with floppies or cape comics, the cover artist could be different from the interior artist. The covers are usually fully rendered, and many variant covers can be commissioned (please find your local Marvel/DC/cape comics fan and ask them about this for an elongated rant on the subject). Cover artists can also be called upon for interior pinups or other detailed illustration.

Interior Artist: This encompasses almost everything required for the actual "guts" of the comic, although it frequently won't include lettering or color. Always check with the editor or job poster about the actual requirements!

I'm going to end by saying that, contrary to pretty much every other profession, someone specializing in one-to-all roles isn't unusual in comics. There aren't a lot of us doing this full-time (or part-time!), and frequently, coming up in comics means gaining a mastery in all of these roles.