pierce studios wrote:If this turns into another Shakespeare discussion, I swear I will bite your heads off.
I stumbled upon this and found it strangely appropiate.FinbarReilly wrote:*Shakespearish thingies*
Dos and Don'ts of Webcomic-dom, part II
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Black Sparrow
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Eee! Evil chibi! So cute...Cookie wrote: I stumbled upon this and found it strangely appropiate.
This is going in my notebook titled "Things I Didn't Know about Surface Dwellers."
Hm, good stuff here. I'm a plot over character person myself, I don't let my characters run away with the story, it's a sign of weakness. But that's just my opinion. Obviously, for good stuff, you need both.
That said, reading this thread did make me look over my future scripts to see if the main character is consistent. She's fairly bland, in a way, but her circumstances are so insane I hope it kind of makes up for it.
I believe there is such a thing as pointless violence. Matrix 2 had some of it, though I guess 'just being cool' is kind of a point... Inclusion of violence that does not (a) develop a character or (b) advance the plot is generally pointless. The same goes for sexscenes.
My do's and don'ts:
DO make sure your characters are visually distinguishable. For some comics, just having different colour t-shirts is enough, but make sure they ALWAYS wear those t-shirts.
DO draw a couple of practice comics, which you don't put up yet after all you want to be some three weeks ahead of your website, and look at them critically. Does the art fit the story? Do the characters look like they're supposed to? Is this interesting/funny? Could you do better if you drew them again? If so, do it.
DON'T be afraid to abandon your comic and start something new if the time is there. However many visitors you have, it's still just a webcomic. Make sure your old comic page clearly points people to any new projects, and let it go. But,
DON'T be surprised if your old webcomic remains the most popular of all your websites, even after it's been dead for two years. No one may care about your cool new comic. Life's tough that way.
If your comic is a narrative "epic" style thing, DO map the story out in advance, and DO match the importance of events to the amount of screentime you give them. If you spend the first 50% just on the introduction and character development you may have a problem.
That said, reading this thread did make me look over my future scripts to see if the main character is consistent. She's fairly bland, in a way, but her circumstances are so insane I hope it kind of makes up for it.
I believe there is such a thing as pointless violence. Matrix 2 had some of it, though I guess 'just being cool' is kind of a point... Inclusion of violence that does not (a) develop a character or (b) advance the plot is generally pointless. The same goes for sexscenes.
My do's and don'ts:
DO make sure your characters are visually distinguishable. For some comics, just having different colour t-shirts is enough, but make sure they ALWAYS wear those t-shirts.
DO draw a couple of practice comics, which you don't put up yet after all you want to be some three weeks ahead of your website, and look at them critically. Does the art fit the story? Do the characters look like they're supposed to? Is this interesting/funny? Could you do better if you drew them again? If so, do it.
DON'T be afraid to abandon your comic and start something new if the time is there. However many visitors you have, it's still just a webcomic. Make sure your old comic page clearly points people to any new projects, and let it go. But,
DON'T be surprised if your old webcomic remains the most popular of all your websites, even after it's been dead for two years. No one may care about your cool new comic. Life's tough that way.
If your comic is a narrative "epic" style thing, DO map the story out in advance, and DO match the importance of events to the amount of screentime you give them. If you spend the first 50% just on the introduction and character development you may have a problem.
Willie Hewes -- comics by a girl who likes sad things.
If you view lack of flexibility as a weakness, then I suppose so. But like a stubborn parent trying to control all aspects of their child's life, such treatment of the story is only going to hinder its development.gothboy wrote:Hm, good stuff here. I'm a plot over character person myself, I don't let my characters run away with the story, it's a sign of weakness.
A man with nothing to offer and nothing to lose.
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JTigerclaw
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I agree with Escushion. Predetermining that you want the plot to be interesting and the characters to not be will only keep the comic from reaching its full potential. Don't be afraid to let your characters develop, to let the reader identify with them, get to know them and care about them. It can only be a good thing, and it could be that thing that can turn a good comic into a great one.
I agree with most everything else you said, especially...
One thing that I'm not quite sure about...
Only "abandon" it if you've grown tired of doing it or it's not fun. You're right, it is just a webcomic. Also if you've obviously milked it for all it's worth, it might be a good idea to let 'er down slowly. Not so much an "abandonment" as a "finalized conclusion". Nothing sucks more than following a webcomic only to have it end abruptly in the middle of a story.
And don't be afraid to ask advice from your readers. Ask what they like about your comic, ask what they don't like. Most times you are your worst critic, and it may not come off as bad to others as you think. Get some good feedback from the ones who keep coming back to see your efforts. And the friendly CG folk have been known to offer up some helpful hints before as well.
I agree with most everything else you said, especially...
This is very important, whether you're doing an epic story or not. You want to know well in advance what is going to happen in your story, so you can give instances of foreshadowing and know just what pacing is appropriate. Also it will allow you time to read it, revise it, and come up with ways to make everything connect in a way that will make the readers beg for more. Flying by the seat of your pants doesn't always allow you the freedom to have engrossing, well written plotlines. Having several seemingly useless, unrelated events or characters connect later on is much more effective.gothboy wrote:DO map the story out in advance, and DO match the importance of events to the amount of screentime you give them. If you spend the first 50% just on the introduction and character development you may have a problem.
One thing that I'm not quite sure about...
This isn't always a good idea. I've read plenty of webcomics whose first 100 pages or so are complete crap, but they were able to turn the whole thing around and make a damn good webcomic. I think the main idea here is don't be afraid to make drastic changes to your webcomic if it is not going the direction you want, but don't necessarily abandon it. Nobody is expected to produce the best the web has seen from page 1, even with the extensive planning and arranging. The whole thing is a learning process, so don't be afraid to tweak whatever you have to to end up with that desired result. And...DON'T be afraid to abandon your comic and start something new if the time is there. However many visitors you have, it's still just a webcomic. Make sure your old comic page clearly points people to any new projects, and let it go
This may mean that you were on the right track with your first one, and you shouldn't have abandoned it so fast. If that many people already like it, you have something going. Just mess around with it, do some planning, rewriting, reconstruction until you've got it where you want it.DON'T be surprised if your old webcomic remains the most popular of all your websites, even after it's been dead for two years. No one may care about your cool new comic. Life's tough that way.
Only "abandon" it if you've grown tired of doing it or it's not fun. You're right, it is just a webcomic. Also if you've obviously milked it for all it's worth, it might be a good idea to let 'er down slowly. Not so much an "abandonment" as a "finalized conclusion". Nothing sucks more than following a webcomic only to have it end abruptly in the middle of a story.
And don't be afraid to ask advice from your readers. Ask what they like about your comic, ask what they don't like. Most times you are your worst critic, and it may not come off as bad to others as you think. Get some good feedback from the ones who keep coming back to see your efforts. And the friendly CG folk have been known to offer up some helpful hints before as well.
I never said you shouldn't do any of that. Of course, you have to. But they serve the plot. I'm sorry, other people do it differently and get good results too, but I for myself am very strict in this: the plot is god.I agree with Escushion. Predetermining that you want the plot to be interesting and the characters to not be will only keep the comic from reaching its full potential. Don't be afraid to let your characters develop, to let the reader identify with them, get to know them and care about them. It can only be a good thing, and it could be that thing that can turn a good comic into a great one.
I did! It turned into a completely different comic! It could not have passed as a continuation of GothBoy at a mile distance!This may mean that you were on the right track with your first one, and you shouldn't have abandoned it so fast. If that many people already like it, you have something going. Just mess around with it, do some planning, rewriting, reconstruction until you've got it where you want it.
I try to give GothBoy the respect its continuing popularity warrants, set up a good website and occasionally put out some new stuff on it, but it's not my main comic anymore, I've moved on. *shrugs* People obviously still like it, and read it, though, and that's good. I just wish they'd check out my new stuff. But enough whining.
DO: use catgirls! Everybody loves them!
DONT: apologise for your lack of drawing skill on your own comic page. Whine in forums, if you have to. (Ha! Im so guilty of that...)[/quote]
Willie Hewes -- comics by a girl who likes sad things.
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Cope
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Add a catgirl with an acubra!
Catgirls are no laughing matter, Dutch.
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Black Sparrow
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Actually it is, I mean how many comics have catboys in them? I'm guessing catboys fall into the "not so popular" category.Black Sparrow wrote:Bah. Catgirls are overused and overrated... You should never anthropomorphize a comic just because that's popular.
Okay, so I have a catboy in my comic... BUT THAT'S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!
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