This isn't much to do with the artwork itself, but the storylines in comics. I've read so many where people have managed present their comics well because of how much thought they put into the plot beforehand and how developed their characters are.
How do you guys do it??
Write it out completely first/ script everything roughly/design storyboards for each page/ make a few guidelines for each chapter /character profiles etc....?
I'm curious because I'd like to start one thats been stuck in my head for almost a year and I'm more worried that I'd never get round to it because I'd planned too much. :P

It took me about...hmmm, a year and a half of planning, several script drafts and loads of character designs before I got my comic up and running. Now I've been drawing it for over a year, and I often think 'geez, I wish I planed this more!' haha.
Okay, I learned a LOT from planning and drawing comics. Some ideas:

Character Visual designs:
If I regret one thing, it's designing characters before I got good at designing faces. I recommend making sure characters have a minimum of having DISTINCTLY different eyes from each other. I don't mean just colour-wise either, eye-shape is really important. Nose and mouth shape, and overall face shape are also worth a think. Basically, the litmus test is drawing a character with a new hairstyle and clothes, or dressed up as somebody else. If you can STILL tell it's that character dressed up, not a different character, you know you have a good design, especially if you can still tell in black and white. Try to make characters different heights and builds if you can. It really adds diversity and looks great on group shot panels.
For your character's warderobe, try this: Draw your character, without looking at any reference, so no looking at other pics you've done of that character, and do that about four or five times. For the final design, leave off any details you consistantly miss out or find tedious to draw, or consider simplifying or changing those details.
If you want to really impress people, try coming up with some physical mannerisms and expressions for them, it can look really pro to have a character with a distinctive stance or a quirky expression or pose that they do from time to time throughout the comic.

As I said, I failed to do a lot of this when I first started my comic, but I learned from my mistakes.

Character Info:
The is important, but don't overdose. You may want to leave some details open to change. Characters have a tendancy to evolve as you write them. I recommend giving your character a minimum of a name, a list of their closest relations and friends, an age and profession, and if you like, some things they like and dislike. Don't go crazy and draw their entire family tree, or I dunno...list their favourite type of sedimentary rock. "I like SANDSTONE!" ^_^ Come up with a couple of big, simple character traits. You can sort out the subtle stuff as you build the plot, the other characters and dialogue and stuff.

When I write comics, I go about it this way:
The big plan:
I know what the big, important events of the story will be and how it will end. I don't plan exactly how these will happen on a page-to-page basis, and not all the tiny details are worked out. I may have had a good idea that I wanna slot in, so I leave space open for these.

The Storyarc plan. This is usually pretty simple, I plan out storyarcs when I'm close to the end of the previous arc. It's usually a single 'big' event from the BIG plan, spread over three or four chapters. I plan how it starts, the major happenings and how it wraps up.
The chapter plan. The chapter plan, I can show you an example of:
This is the chapter plan I wrote before drawing chapter 4 of my comic. If you're a reader, you may notice some things changed a little. I always make my plans simple so I have room to slightly alter events if I come up with a better way to tell the story.

Chapter 1:
Beginning- Rekki's nightmare.
Middle- Subo's desire for peace, Rekki as a teacher, lack of communication between Rekki and Rocket.
End- Bombshell dropped, Rocket's future is in danger. Sarin's rage.


The dream1
2
Rekki wakes up
Sarin talks to Zephyr (explains)
Sarin talks to Tamina
Rekki's asleep in the bed! (hehe) (also, Rekki's nostalgia)
Subo talks to headmaster. Be teacher, Rekki too.
Subo meets Zephyr. Zephyr's feelings for Sarin. 'She's something...'
Sarin and Rekki calm down finaly. Rekki on medication. Explains.
Rekki's Bracelet. Tamina Crux. Rekki+Sarin's old room.
Rocket is moping. Juu angry.
Rocket's promise.
Flashback1
2
3
Juu: Everything will be fine! ( is outside)
Rin comes with Rekki clothes, tells Sarin go to office.
Sarin enters staffroom past Nasty govt. guy
Conversation.
'They want us to expell her.'


I use this to draw the thumbnail pages. Usually, I have thumbnails drawn for the next eight-to-twelve pages after the current page. The thumbnails are usually close to how the actual pages look, but minor changes to dialogue and panel placement are often put in when I draw. Once in a while, a page drives me nuts, I have an epiphany, and it comes out totally different though.

So basically, I like to have plenty of room to maneuver, but I keep a plan of events so as not to fly by the seat of my pants. Having met failure with drawing pages without a plan, and also with writing long, complex scripts, this turned out to be the best way for me.

I'm absolutely unorganized about it, unfortunately.

I have an outline for the story in my head, including cool events, scenes and characters I want to play a part. That way I always know where I'm going with the story, beginning to end.

I've spent LOTS of time thinking about the main characters, their motives and reactions to certain things, so when I sit down to work out a panel (I'm doing only one-panel installments at the moment), the characters almost "tell" me how they would react. If you're an Indiana Jones fan and you picture him in a scene, you can almost imagine how he'd react.

When I've gotten a panel done, I think (while I'm at work, or walking...whatever) about what I would like to happen next. When I get an idea for something that would be cool ( or HAS to happen), I sit down and start drawing the next panel. Sometimes, I erase a lot. Most times, it flows pretty smoothly.

Any way you want to do it...don't kill all the creative fun out of the process for you. If you've covered all the angles to the story before you start putting it down on paper, you may find yourself wondering why you're even bothering...since, well..it's been done!

Experiment until you find what works for you and your readers!

-Dave

Darth/Katie (lookit...I reads ze info section...)
That is amazingly helpful :) thanks infinately. I had to go and read your comic(shame on me) but it helps to see the changes all in one sitting. The advice on character design is really useful also.
Dave-
thats a good way at thinking about it so I will definately have to condition myself into doing that more often.
thanks so much for your help!

No problem! Good luck with your comic! ...Just don't call me Katie, I really dislike being called that ^_-; Kate, DM or Mongoose are all fine.

Well I worked on mine on paper in high school starting in 95 (9th grade)
I made 27 issues quickly on paper coloring with color pencil. So I was able to come up with character development through that.
I keep a notepad on me and jot down any ideas I have in a very rudimentary way.
Just enough words to click the memory back on for me when needed.I've kept every pic or writing I've made from even in school in a big binder. I add every idea I write on the notepad in the binder and kinda flesh it out more and see what all options I have to branch it out to individual characters, personalities, and story arcs.

When I work on comics I have "seasons" in my head. I know the general theme of most of the story and quickly sketch out the comics with text on paper. I only focus on that season and try not to think too much about the next because every group of comics need full attention.

To help with planning characters I combined a few bios I researched into 1 and added, took away things I would need.

------PERSONAL DETAILS------
NAME:
ALIAS:
SPECIES:
ALIGNMENT (GOOD EVIL, ECT):
AGE:
DATE OF BIRTH:
SEX:
SPECIES NORMAL POWERS/ABILITIES (IF NOT HUMAN):
POWERS/ABILITIES AT BIRTH:
POWERS/ABILITIES GAINED:
HOW THEY WERE GAINED:
------APPEARANCE------
HEIGHT:
WEIGHT:
PHYSIQUE:
HAIR COLOR:
SKIN COLOR:
EYE COLOR:
DISTINGUISHING MARKS (NATURAL OR INFLICTED):
HOW THEY WERE ACQUIRED:
------CLOTHING------
STYLE:
MATERIAL:
ACCESSORIES:
WEAPONS AND THEIR USES:
------FAMILY------
MOTHER:
TYPE OF WORK:
FATHER:
TYPE OF WORK:
PLACE OF BIRTH:
DETAILS OF BIRTH (EVENTS , ETC):
SIBLINGS (NAMES & RELATIONSHIPS):
CHILDREN:
SPOUSE:
------EDUCATION------
SCHOOL (NAME AND TYPE OF SCHOOL, LEVEL OF SCHOOLING):
SPECIAL TEACHERS OR SUBJECTS:
SCHOOL FRIENDS & RELATIONSHIPS:
------OCCUPATION------
TYPE OF WORK:
ECONOMIC STATUS:
SPECIAL SKILLS:
------BELIEFS------
RELIGION OR SPIRITUAL PATH:
POLITICS:
AMBITIONS:
MORALS AND ETHICS:
OTHER PHILOSOPHIES:
------PERSONALITY------
MOTIVATIONS (NEEDS/WANTS):
WEAKNESSES OR FLAWS:
STRENGTHS:
WHAT CAUSES FEAR:
WHAT CAUSES ANGER:
WHAT CAUSES HAPPINESS:
WHAT CAUSES SADNESS:
LESSONS TO BE LEARNED:
5 WORDS TO DESCRIBE CHARACTER PERSONALITY:
------FAVORITES------
COLOR:
FOOD:
DRINK:
MUSIC:
ART:
HOBBY:
SPORT:
------TIMELINE (IMPORTANT DATES IN CHAR'S LIFE)------

I have a lot of flashbacks and stuff, but they are revealed in due time, so I have to keep those in mind for future and release in the right order. When I come up with a great idea, I write out a script on notebook paper and save it. I also have a general idea for character development and everything.

I script each page individually (even if I already made up a general script, which I often do in flashbacks) as I come to it. After I have a script, I plan out the panels. This is plans of a recent page, page 461, (with pretty much no spoilers...):

>> Which looks like this prior to computer editing.

I don't really keep a concrete step by step plan in mind, but I know the rate at which I want my plot revealed and my characters developed. I keep in mind the levels of violence/romance/etc. and make sure I keep a good focus on the characters as needed (which means changing the orders of chapters sometimes). Oh, and sometimes, I get a little carried away and have to change my plans... Like I end up injuring a character so badly that I have to plan a few events (usually a chapter or two) to happen to other characters while they heal.

Oh, and before I started, I already had planned out my core characters' general attitudes, pasts, and relationships, but I get randomly inspired to introduce more fairly main characters and then weave them into the past and present in very significant ways. I didn't plan out much visually because when I started, I couldn't draw at all. o.O But my characters eventually evolve distinct builds and expressions. (The ones I always meant them to have but couldn't draw.)

JNP- I love that bio list, I'll have to make my own based around it because it seems to create pretty solid characters which is just what I need.:kitty:
UsedBooks- I like your method of scripting and you've certainly given me some ideas, thanks!

I usually only make notes of things I expect to forget, (not the best organizational policicy,) Not to say that I don't plan at all but I like to keep my plans minimalistic and I seldom keep notes because I find that as often as I change my mind it would drive me crazy. when I do plan I plan just enough so I have a feel for the characters' personalities and improvise from there. Darth Mongoose's method is really brilliant though. Way to blow my mind, Darth!