Comic Genesis Forums

If you want a nice variety of answers from many different people who do webcomics, the best thing to do is join the ecartoonists mailing list at groups.yahoo.com.<P>I still love to talk webcomics, though, so shoot any questions onto this forum and *I'll* answer in any event...

Well, I just got here, but what the hell. I've been doing Online comics for about a year now, and my current one is going fairly strong. So I can probably answer some minor stuff and leave the heavy stuff for the sage and experience of Campbell.<P>------------------
It's kind of like Alf, -minus everything bad about Alf. <A HREF="http://furwillfly.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>http://furwillfly.keenspace.com</A>

Well, I dud a weekly comic based on the RPG I run but it died after a few months because I didn't have time. I had plenty of time to write and develop it but I hard trouble getting the art finished, and that's kind of embarrassing since it was really just glorified stick figures.<P>It may be reanimated....er, not animated....resucitated if Raiden ends up being my artist. I'd give him bonus EPs for it! <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/biggrin.gif"><P>------------------
Tom the Fanboy
http://www.geocities.com/tee-moss<P>[begin Fans! code]
E(xkodt)M++FF+++A++W+++FCt++(s)Ip20011113f5rKt+cCp- -b+w++Ll++
[end Fans! code]

I write a column on webcomics. Does that count? And I'm currently trying to find an artist for my Great Work. Sadly, so far my quest has been fruitless.

*points to sig*<P>------------------
<B>Scott Maddix</B>
<A HREF="http://pdi.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Psychic Dyslexia Institute</A>
<A HREF="http://spoon.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Fire on the Mountain</A>

Just something I was wondering, because I had a few questions about the whole online comic thing, and was thinking that here might be a good place to ask some of them...<P>------------------
I'm only wearing black until they invent a darker colour

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by nadriel:
<B>Just something I was wondering, because I had a few questions about the whole online comic thing, and was thinking that here might be a good place to ask some of them...<P></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>My brother had one, it died, and is working on another. He shows me some of the stuff (i'm kind of helping him with plot details) he's drawn.<P>Zippthorn; link's in the sig<P>------------------
--
I don't want genital herpes to interfere with *my* social life.<P><A HREF="http://delinquents.keenspace.com/d/20010703.html" TARGET=_blank>Bitches 'n hoes, bitches 'n hoes</A><P><A HREF="http://sinner.keenspace.com/" TARGET=_blank>SINNER (Coming soon--really!)</A>

I may eventually write a comic...if I<P>a) ever learn to draw, or
b) find someone to draw it for me and get around to writing it out...<P>But don't hold your breath, I'm somewhat lazy ^_^

A couple of questions then...
How difficut is it to keep on doing a webcomic?
How difficult is it if, for example, you can't really draw very well...<P><P>------------------
I'm only wearing black until they invent a darker colour

Hm...If I ever get around to doing a webcomic, I'll make at least a month's worth of strips before I go 'public'...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by nadriel:
<B>A couple of questions then...
How difficut is it to keep on doing a webcomic?
How difficult is it if, for example, you can't really draw very well...<P></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I draw decent, but when it comes to Fur Will Fly I did like Campbell and found another artist, Cami, to partner with. An artistic or literary partner can be very helpful if you find someone responsible enough for the task of frequent updates. That can be difficult, but it's worth the wait.<P>Like Maritza said, you have to love what you do to keep going. My first online comic failed because I stopped enjoying what I was doing. Find a story or concept you know you'll be happy with and go with it. If you like what you're doing, so will others. Having been one, I know personally that an unhappy cartoonist produces realy crappy work <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif">. <P>------------------
It's kind of like Alf, -minus everything bad about Alf. <A HREF="http://furwillfly.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>http://furwillfly.keenspace.com</A>

I can't draw really well, so I hire an artist.<P>It depends on your goals. Nobody, not even its fans, pretends that KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE is well drawn, but it's succeeded beyond anybody's expectations. Many of the best webcartoonists are highly critical of their own work; Maritza Campos and Scott McCloud spring to mind.<P>I would recommend spending a fair amount of time dreaming before you do. In other words, don't start a regular strip until you're REALLY sure you want it. Nothing's more irritating than a promising strip that bogs down in the middle of its first month.<P>Of course, nothing's wrong with practice beforehand. Just don't promise regular updates unless you're ready to keep the promise.

If you're still pondering what to do, make it something you know well enough that you can keep writing for years. Daily life is an idea, if you want to go autobiographical. But don't do something so specific you'll run out of ideas after the first week.<P>Also, decide if you want to be funny, and how funny you want to be. Unless you choose gag-a-day genre, don't be TOO tied to a punchline per strip. Better to be generally humorous and develope funny characters and situations. The jokes will then come naturally. If you decide to not be funny (more graphic novel/adventure comic kind of thing), then make that decision from the start.<P>Realize that the internet as a medium frees you up from all preconceived notions about what a comic is. Feel free to make up a genre, a format, mix color and b&w, animation, sound, whatever strikes your fancy. Just decide, and stick to it. If you don't acquire an artist (mine is unpaid ... well, mostly *g*), choose something you can do. FotM is photo-editing, because my art is pretty poor. If I wanted to do a drawn comic on my own, it'd have to be very simple character design, but I could do it -- I could do it and come up with something better than stick figures. Look at Boxjam! A brilliant, well-drawn comic, only 1% more advanced than stick figures. Spend some time doodling and see what kind of things come up.<P>Make sure your genre and style make sense together. Film-noir mystery/horror comics don't work well in big-head (think Charlie Brown) style, for example.<P>Unless that's your unique angle, of course.<P>Be consistent. Start with a schedule you can keep up (MWF, M-F, 7-days, you know yourself better than I do), and stick to it. If anything changes, let your readers know.<P>Ideally, find something that hasn't been done. Find the gap in the market, and fill it. Sports webcomics are a mostly untapped field, for example. Mark Trail - like wildlife educational comics are unheard of on the web. Illustrated short stories and poems, songs, all sorts of things are largely unexploited. Experiement, try something new. But make it something you know well enough to be able to maintain. <P>Once you're going, get the word out. Contact not only other webcomics, but other sites. If you hacve a sports-related comic for example, find sports-related sites to plug your stuff.<P>*whew*<P>You'd think I'd given this stuff some thought before, or something!<P>------------------
<B>Scott Maddix</B>
<A HREF="http://pdi.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Psychic Dyslexia Institute</A>
<A HREF="http://spoon.keenspace.com" TARGET=_blank>Fire on the Mountain</A>

The only thing you need is to really really REALLY want it. The other stuff can be solved. Bad drawing gets a lot better with time, but you have to spend that time drawing. At first you'll see it takes you a lot of time to produce a not-so-great work, but as the days go by you'll get faster and better. The hard thing about mantaining a comic is actually keeping up the enthusiasm. If your enthusiasm is gonna be up then you don't need anything else <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"><P>There's also very good tutorials on drawing all over the web. But just to start, you can copy around from magazines and such <IMG SRC="http://www.keenspace.com/forums/wink.gif"><P>Maritza
CRFH.net

Thanks. I'm still currently in the "do I want to do this" and "what do I want to do a comic about" stage at the moment, it has to be said...<P>------------------
I'm only wearing black until they invent a darker colour