How are graphic novels practiced today?

. Writer/illustrator- You can do both or find a partner
. Good narrative with a compelling story line: centre around a main character along with a detailed world for said character to interact with
. A visual style guide- how is it going to be drawn?
. Graphic storyboard- plot each panels with your story
. Strong creative writing skills
. A more textured detail of the story- think about how the background is going to be made
. Think about the sequel as you write
. Consider the audience- who do you think is going to read it? how will you approach the audience?

How are comics practiced today?

. Comic books typically include sequences of images that incorporate text and some form of dialogue
. The three main stages when producing a comic are as follows- pencilling (sketching), inking and colouring
. Modern day comics are printed using press four colour printing
. Each sheet of colour is then applied individually to create the finished effect
. Digital comics can be produced via Photoshop, Procreate, Clipstudio paint, Adobe and others...
. Comics aren't just solely superhero stories but can be in the form of political short stories (seen in newspapers), Humorous comics, Non-fiction... e.t.c.
. Marvel and DC comic books were certainly what gave comics their popularity, especially around the late 1900's

History of comic books and graphic novels

. 1895- A series of comics by Richard Outcault was published. They featured a boy in a nightgown who became known as the 'yellow kid'. It became especially popular in New York
. 1897- 'The KatzenJammer kids' appears for the first time in the New York journal. It stars a set of twin brothers and is the first strip to tell a story in a series of panels.
. 1905- 'Little nemo in scumberland' begins running in the New York Herald. Its the first comic with a continuing story.
. 1907- 'Mutt and Jeff' becomes the first successful daily comic strip. It then goes on to be made into animated films in 1913.
. 1920- 'Winnie Winkle' debuts and while not the first female focused comic, its the first to gain attention
. 1937- The first issue of DC is released
. 1938- Action comics first appearance with the first superhero (superman)
. 1939- Batman shows
. 1978- Garfield comes into the comic industry
. 2010- Digital comics enter mainstream with online readership and apps for comics on the go. Graphic novels sales fall by 20% while digital comics increased by 100%
. 2012- Movies based on comics dominate the box office with marvels 'Avengers' being the top movie of 2012

COMIC AND GRAPHIC NOVELS
A BRIEF OVERVIEW

What do you need to be successful?

. We defined success as creating work that gets noticed and consumed by others while providing you with a source of income with which you don't need to work any additional jobs
. When researching success within the comic and graphic novel industry it mostly had negative outcomes, this included articles warning people to stay away from this particular medium
. The majority mainly focused on large brands whilst ignoring the rise of self published and independent works
. The negative and pragmatic comments spoke of not relying on comics alone as a source of income and to rather be prepared to work in other creative fields to develop a unique style and personality that will draw audiences

(Comic) Definition: Short stories that consist of image and text and are typically in the form of panels
(Graphic novel) Definition: Generally covers a narrative in one book and are longer than comics