From Doodles to Masterpieces: How a Custom Comic Goes from Idea to Ink
Most people think comics just appear fully formed, like Athena bursting out of Zeus’s forehead — bam, a finished masterpiece. But the truth is, behind every bold line, witty caption, and dramatic panel is a messy, hilarious, caffeine-fuelled process that transforms half-baked stories into fully fledged comic glory.
At Make Me A Comic, we’ve seen it all. Clients come to us with everything from carefully typed relationship timelines to half-legible napkin doodles of stick figures fighting a dragon. Our job is to take whatever you’ve got — no matter how rough — and turn it into something worthy of hanging on your wall, showing your friends, or maybe even using as emotional blackmail when your partner forgets your anniversary.
So, how exactly does a custom comic go from your idea to ink on the page? Grab your pencil (or, more realistically, your phone), and let’s walk through the journey.
Step 1: The Spark (Where All Chaos Begins)
Every comic starts with a spark. For some people, it’s a memory — the first time they met their partner, a disastrous family holiday, or a legendary office prank that still gets brought up at every work drinks. For others, it’s a wild idea: “What if my cat was secretly Batman?” or “Can you draw me as a superhero who defeats Monday mornings?”
This is the part where anything goes. Some clients send us a three-paragraph story. Some send a single sentence. Some just say: “We want to look cool. Surprise us.”
No matter how much (or how little) you give us, this is where the fun begins. Think of it as throwing clay at a potter’s wheel. It doesn’t look like much yet, but trust us — it’s going to be a vase. Or at least something vase-adjacent.
Step 2: Brainstorming the Plot
Once we’ve got your raw material, we start shaping it into a story. Comics thrive on structure — beginnings, middles, and endings, even if it’s just three panels long.
If you told us about the time you burnt dinner and ordered pizza instead, we’ll turn it into a culinary saga of tragedy and triumph. The moment you propose to your partner might become a two-page spread with glowing light rays, confetti explosions, and a cameo from your dog wearing a bow tie.
This is where we find the arc: what’s the conflict, what’s the payoff, and how can we exaggerate it just enough to make it funny, heartwarming, or epic?
Step 3: Sketching It Out (AKA the Ugly Baby Phase)
Here’s the part most people never see: the rough sketches. Think of them as the comic equivalent of an awkward school photo. The proportions are a little off, the details are fuzzy, and everyone looks like they’ve just discovered eyebrows.
But sketches are where the magic starts. We map out panels, test expressions, and figure out how to tell your story visually. If a moment needs drama, we’ll zoom in. If it needs comedy, we’ll exaggerate. If it needs romance, we’ll add lighting that would make even Hollywood jealous.
This is also the part where you might look at an early draft and think, “Why does my head look like a potato?” Don’t worry. It’s not permanent.
Step 4: Inking (When Things Get Serious)
Once the rough sketch gets the thumbs up, we bring out the ink. Suddenly, those potato heads become actual faces. The shaky stick figure becomes a superhero. The dog you begged us to include? Now it actually looks like your dog instead of a furry blob with legs.
Inking is where the comic gains its bones — clean lines, sharp details, and defined shapes. It’s also where the first “wow” moments happen. Clients often say, “Oh, this looks real now,” as if they weren’t entirely sure we weren’t going to deliver a stick figure zine.
Step 5: Color Explosion (Or Moody Black and White)
Color changes everything. It sets the mood. It tells the reader whether they’re looking at a lighthearted gag strip, a tear-jerking love story, or an epic superhero battle.
We can go full technicolor — bold primaries that pop off the page — or soft watercolours that feel like a dream sequence. Sometimes clients want vintage vibes, with muted tones and halftone dots. Sometimes they want modern gloss, with digital gradients and effects.
Either way, this is where the comic comes alive. Suddenly, it’s not just a drawing. It’s a world.
Step 6: The Lettering (Words Matter Too, You Know)
Of course, comics aren’t just pictures. They’re a marriage of art and words. Which means we spend a lot of time making sure your captions, speech bubbles, and sound effects are pitch-perfect.
Yes, even the BOOMs and CRASHs matter. In fact, they matter more than you think. A badly timed “KAPOW!” can ruin a perfectly good fight scene. A misplaced caption can kill a punchline.
Lettering also gives us a chance to add little flourishes — inside jokes, cheeky asides, or dramatic fonts that make your partner’s entrance look like they’ve just landed in a WWE match.
Step 7: The Final Polish
By now, your comic is fully illustrated, coloured, and lettered. But we’re perfectionists, so we go back in for the polish. Does the background look too empty? Let’s add a flying pigeon. Is the pose dramatic enough? Let’s tilt the angle and add some motion lines.
This is the stage where the comic transforms from “That’s great!” to “Oh my god, this is amazing.”
Step 8: The Big Reveal
And then… we hand it over. The best part of the whole process is seeing clients react. Sometimes it’s laughter so loud it scares the neighbours. Sometimes it’s tears. Sometimes it’s both at once.
One client told us their partner laughed so hard they had to sit down. Another said the comic made them cry, and then made their mum cry, and then made their dog cry (we’re not sure about that last one, but we appreciate the commitment).
Whatever the reaction, it’s always the same: joy. And that’s why we do it.
From Idea to Ink: Why It Works
The reason comics work so well as gifts isn’t just the art. It’s the journey. The fact that something started as a messy idea, a half-told story, or a scribble on a napkin — and ended up as a polished, professional comic.
It’s proof that your story matters. That your weird inside joke, your chaotic adventure, your everyday love story — it all deserves to be immortalised in panels and ink.
Ready to See Your Story in Comic Form?
Whether you’ve got a detailed story mapped out or nothing but a vague “Hey, could you make us look epic?”, we’ll take it and turn it into a custom comic masterpiece.
Because your story deserves more than a caption on Instagram. It deserves panels, ink, colour, and a place on your wall. Check out our website for examples of custom comics we have created.
Get in touch and lets get started!
