Visual storytelling with main character energy

How to tell stories with you as the lead...

Main character energy gets a bad rep. It’s made out to be this narcissistic thing that one should avoid, but when it comes to illustrated journals, it’s basically a goldmine.

In the last newsletter, we saw how to turn yourself into a character, so I thought that this week, we could see how we can put this little avatar into a story. Let’s see how we can do this.

1. Think of a story that happened to you (or make one up).

It doesn’t need to be anything crazy, it can be totally mundane. Let’s say that your story is:

“I went down to the store to get some toilet paper. On the way there, out of the blue, it started raining so I got totally soaked (great…). In the store there were some beautiful avocados so I got a few and decided to make guacamole. I got some other stuff, eggs, mushrooms and some chocolate. Then carried all the stuff home in the rain (still no umbrella). As soon as I opened the door, I realised that I forgot the toilet paper. Excellent.”

Please excuse this silly story, as you see, I’m not Alexandre Dumas when it comes to prose, but anyway…

2. Break down your story into chunks and add visuals to it. Whenever possible, try to take the story one step further with the visuals.

3. Choose the highlights.

When it comes to a real story, for example from a holiday, try to pick the moments that evoke a strong emotion, or that really stuck with you for some reason.

4. Don’t be afraid to add other characters and add a little dialogue.

Drawing in your journal is a personal practice and the main point (in my opinion) is to HAVE FUN! So whatever your type of fun is, jam that in there and you can’t go wrong!

Alright, so with this, here is your assignment for the week:

In your sketchbook, I’d like you to draw a typical day in your life. Experiment with putting your character in different situations, and you can also include your family, friends, plants, anything you like! I hope you’ll have fun with it and if you draw it, please send it to me or tag me (@zsofilang).

Happy drawing!

Ps. here’s a little poll.