Whenever I brainstorm on a project, usually takes different paths. Whether it be doodling in my sketchbook or working off a template. A lot of times working off a worksheet/template is helpful with my workflow. And for me, that’s definitely been the case when it comes to planning my comic book work.
I know some artists sketch thumbnails in their sketchbooks. But for me, I lose track of thoughts, pages, random ideas and where I had planned to implement things. So, I made a worksheet or template, whatever you want to call it. Nothing special about it. Just have fields to track project and pages, as well as large as possible shapes that are proportional to a comic book art board. Specifically, 11×17 page with a 10×15 image area.
If anything, documenting project and pages just helps me sort the thumbnail pages themselves, as well as any notes and bits I place in the margins, as well as keeping all the pages in one place, rather than going through multiple sketchbooks when I get to the final art start.
But why share this? Well, the spot I’m at in my career I find myself thinking about “passion vs. purpose”. My passion being my personal art. But in terms of purpose, I would offer that being some sort of mentorship or support.
With that in mind, if you wanted to give it a try, you could download it here: https://www.//yellowrant.com/_DLC/comic-thumbnail-template.pdf
If you find it helpful, hope you’d tip a guy over Venmo: @BenLee412