Starting a Project - Comic Making Steps

Speedpaint exported from Procreate© - "This Is Your Life Too" - Comic (May 27, 2025) by Marian Schurman

This video shows my process of conceptualizing and organizing a comics page. 

I start by writing down the dialogue and my thoughts that I would like to put down on the page as narration. I tend to lean towards a more ‘tell don't show’ comics style as of right now, since I'm not all that confident in managing a more graphic interpretation of my thoughts. I’m not that practiced in it, but hopefully I’ll be able to get better at it as time goes on throughout this project. 

From the narration, I start to plan out what added elements I could incorporate. For example, in panel 1 I state, “I’m overworked.” This is reference to how I spend most if not all my time at my computer, staring at the blue screen as the day dims around me. 

Panel 2, “I’m underpaid”, is in my opinion, a very common feeling. Looking at my money transactions on my phone means constantly feeling a pang of anxiety or pressure to conserve despite how little I feel I am being compensated for my work. It's something that’s always on my mind, in my hand, on the app on my phone. It feels like it’s always going down, never up. “I’m exhausted.” 

“Sometimes I ask myself, what is my life?” I found a dead rat on our walk the other day. It was almost unrecognizable, left on the side of a path in the park, probably left by a cat or some other predator in the city. It was surrounded by garbage, and sort of portrayed to me how much and how little happens in our city. There is life that goes on, is halted, is disregarded, helps others survive, and goes unnoticed until one takes the time to look. 

I had a very difficult summer a couple of years ago, doing one of my first long-term jobs that required a lot of time, energy and mental fortitude that I felt very under qualified for. On a particularly bad day, I had to take a moment to myself and walk away from the situation. One of my colleagues followed me and listened while I explained what I was feeling and how I didn’t feel confident to continue. I was frustrated, overwhelmed, and asked aloud, “is this just my life now?” 

‘Ananas’ looked at me comfortingly and empathetic. She’d also gone through the same thoughts and tribulations as I was going through. And she told me to take a deep breath and look around me. We were in the countryside, surrounded by dusk sunlight and clear weather. There were birds sounds, talking and merriment from the common area, and a calm ambient silence that only the outdoors can provide. She said, “This is your life too.” 

I think about that moment often, especially now when things feel consistently out of my control. There’s a saying when people online tend to get too testy, for them to go and “touch grass”. Though the order itself is fairly unkind, I believe the sentiment is valid. Sometimes, reminding ourselves of where we are and what is around us can be grounding in many ways. It situates us in our spaces, our bodies, and our minds. 

When I look around at the places around me, I realize how fortunate I am to live in a city untouched by war or the hardships that so many others are forced to live through right now. I try to remind myself that I am privileged and try to remain humble and grateful despite the hardships. 

Planning out this comic page, I sat myself down in the middle of a park and drew from observation for the last panel. It was midafternoon and school was out, so there were many children walking home with their parents. I don’t know if any of them realized what I was experiencing, but I hope they eventually find the time to similarly see the way they’ve impacted other people’s lives simply by existing.