Resources

Printing Merch

Ready to print your comic? Just wanna make stickers? Below are some places I order stuff:
• Printing Tips | New artists, take notes!
Take advantage of sample packs. Every good printing company has a sample pack. It's a (usually free) pack of goodies that show off their paper stocks, finishes, etc. Order one each time you work with a new printer to get a feel for their offerings.
Use Templates! Using a template is essential when ordering things like business cards, flyers, and comics. All good printers will offer a free template you can download. Common formats include images, PSDs, and PDFs.
Keep your file sizes at 300ppi or greater. You know how digital screens have resolution, or how many pixels wide they are? So do printers. Printers typically print at 300dpi (dots per inch). Before you draw, ensure that your digital canvas has a resolution of at least 300dpi (or ppi, pixels per inch). Any smaller and your art will print pixelated and blurry!
Double-check your colors. Colors are measured/coded differently depending on the format. For example, artists often draw in RGB (colors measured in red, green, and blue). However, print format uses CMYK (mixing cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). There are some colors that physically cannot be printed in CMYK, so be sure to switch your file from RGB to CMYK format and adjust tricky colors as necessary.
Be mindful of margins, cut lines, and bleed areas. Printers aren't perfect. That's why printing templates feature cut lines and "safe areas" for text. If text reaches too close to the edge of the page, it may be cut off. Similarly, if your art almost reaches the end of the page (but not quite), you may end up with a white strip on the end of your page.
• Moo | Biz Cards, Flyers, and Stickers | Get 25% off Your First Order
Highlights: Printfinity, Super Soft Paper, Discounts, Free Sample Packs, Stellar Customer Service
What makes Moo special? Normally when you buy merch, you have to buy a lot (in bulk). With Moo, instead of ordering 50 of each sticker, you can order a small batch stickers with 50 total different designs!
My Experience: I've been printing my business cards with Moo since 2018 and I cannot recommend them enough! Their website is easy to use, and the prints have always looked great.
Note: Moo mostly prints promotional items, so their stickers are limited to round and rectangular templates. However, the Printfinity feature means you can order 50 designs in one order, so I use them to print sticker packs.
Tip: Order Moo Flyers in the "Pearlescnet" finish for a nice mini print. And with Printfinity, you can restock many designs in one go!
Order with my affiliate link and get 25% off your first order!
Pros: Order 50 Designs in 1 Order, Frequent Discounts, Great Customer Service
Cons: Limited Options, Can Be Pricey, Stickers Aren't Weather-Proof
• CatPrint | Art Prints and Stationary | Pricing for Art Prints
Highlights: Affordable, No Minimum Orders, Holographic Effect, Great Print Quality
What I love: CatPrint offers flat pricing for ordering individual prints. 11x17in or 12x18in prints easily go for $25+ at cons, but cost closer to $3 each from CatPrint. I opted not to get the print proof so that my prints would ship sooner, but when I took stock, they sent me an extra of each print!
Bonus! Last I checked, CatPrint offers "blind shipping." This means that if someone orders a print from your online store, you can ship directly from CatPrint to the customer, and it will look like the package came from you! Not something I've used yet but a great plus.
My Go-To: I always go for 11x17in holographic prints in "Heavy Card Stock." The material is thick and hardy and looks incredible in-person. These 11x17in prints also fit nicely into my big 12x18 expanding pocket folder.
Note: The darker the color, the stronger the holographic effect appears on your art.
Pros: Quality print, impressive holo effect, great pricing
Cons: Prices may increase with tariff BS / paper shortages (which is true of any printer)
• Ka-Blam | Print Small-Order Standard-Sized Comic Books | Homepage | Comic Price Calculator
Fun Fact: I haven't worked with Ka-Blam yet! But I know people who have and their comics look great. I'm looking to print my next run of comics with them and I'll let you know how that goes!
Pros: Kickstarter discounts, no order minimums
Cons: First price break is at 500 copies

Writing and Storytelling

Below is a quick list of actionable resources to improve your writing.
• Basic Story Structures | Wikipedia Articles: The Basics | Story Structures from Around the World
Check out the above links to get started!
• Three Act Structure | Three Act Structure on Wikipedia
- Beginning, Middle, and End


By Puikstekend - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

• Kishotenketsu | Kishotenketsu on Wikipedia
- 4-part story structure of many East-Asian narratives
- Introduction, Development, Twist, Conclusion


By KimYunmi - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

• The Hero's Journey | Hero's Journey on Wikipedia
- Tells the tale of an adventurer who is summoned, meets helpers, and overcomes their struggles
- One of the most famous story structures; describes Star Wars and countless other stories


By scan from an Unknown authorpublication by an / anonymous poster, in a thread, gave permission to use it. Re- Vectorization: Slashme - 4chan.org, thread about monomyths, AKA the hero's journey, Public Domain, Link

• The Heroine's Journey | Heroine's Journey on Wikipedia
- Variation of Hero's Journey that more fully encompasses common female hero journeys
- Created in 1990 by psychotherapist Maureen Murdock
- "The feminine journey is about going down deep into soul, healing and reclaiming, while the masculine journey is up and out, to spirit."
• Dan Harmon's Story Circle | Video
- Modified version of the Hero's Journey
- Created by Rick and Morty co-creator Dan Harmon
- See a video explanation from Dan Harmon himself.




By Jameswerver - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

• The Stanislavski Method | The System | Biography
- Stanislavski was a Russian theater practitioner in the early 20th century.
- His acting methods revolutionized the craft of directing and acting.
- He encouraged actors to clear their minds and empathize with their characters
- A core principle is this: "You would do the same thing under the same circumstances."
• Writing With Color | Writing with Color Tumblr Blog
- Expansive blog that provides resources and profiles about how to write characters from diverse backgrounds — written directly by people from those backgrounds!

Check out the blog, and bookmark ones that inspire your character lineup:


Above image is from Writing With Color on tumblr

College-level Classes to Improve Your Writing

One of the best ways to learn something new is to take a class. Not only will an experienced teacher keep you on track, but they can provide feedback and extra resources to help you on your journey.

Check out your local community college's listings for classes like the following:
• Take an acting class or directing class
Start with the basics! It takes a lot of practice and studying to "unlearn" what you know about writing/acting.
• Take a class that incorporates Stanislavski's teachings
- The Stanislavski Method is about doing, not thinking.
- You can read about Stanislavski, but it's best if you can find a teacher to guide you.
• Take an improv class
Improv isn't just about thinking fast and being clever — it involves a lot of mindfulness and actually extends Stanislavski's teachings
• Take a mindfulness or guided meditation class
- Mindfulness is about slowing down and acting with intention
- Practicing mindfulness helps with improv and acting and aligns with Stanislavski's method

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