I have been sharing updates about my collaboration with writer Noel Hannan on a 5-page comic script called Eve of War. In my previous post, I talked about the character designs, and now I delve into my process of turning Noel's script into breakdowns.
Fortunately, Noel provided me with some simple breakdowns that contained the dialog for each panel. This saved me a lot of time in translating Noel's script and also gave me a better understanding of how he envisions the story, the pacing, and the three critical elements of any narrative: the beginning, middle, and end.
I started working on creating the breakdowns and sketching out the pages on paper based on Noel's instructions. The opening page requires a War room set in space. The first two panels depict the War Marshall monitoring the position of his forces. The Sergeant enters, and this establishing shot confirms the setting for the story and also contains the title. This sets the stage for the meeting between the Sergeant and the War Marshall for the next four pages.
Breakdowns.
Cut and Paste.
After sketching out the pages of my comic, I took the time to review my rough drafts to identify what was working and what wasn't. To make the necessary edits, I created copies of the pages and removed any panels that did not contribute to the overall flow of the story. For example, the opening splash panel didn't provide readers with all the information they needed to proceed. As a result, I focused on making the introduction more engaging and improving the initial introduction of the two main characters. Although this change deviated from Noel's original layout, I do believe it will enhance the storytelling.
In the opening splash, the characters' status and relationships are better established by 2 panels instead of 3. It also creates more of a sense of open space in the War Room setting.
Next time, I will continue to refine these sketches and start adding some inks.
Keep creating,