How serious are you?

[Keffria]

I draw my comic chiefly because it's fun and in order to avoid feeling completely disconnected from my childhood dream of being an artist. Also, as I put it on the internet, I evidently want to share my pretty pictures with other people, preferably a large number of people. However, my work- and school-related obligations come first -- webcomicking is still a hobby, albeit a very important and time-consuming one.

I don't feel much pressure to make my comic conform completely to this-or-that genre or whatever. If I draw a shallow and generic fantasy comic, it's mostly because that's what I wanted to do. That being said, I do often think about what readers may expect from my comic, based on genre conventions, and I debate whether I should follow them or go for a reversal. You still have to think about what your readers will want to see in your story - once you post something on the internet, it's no longer for you alone.

[Datachasers]

- interesting question..

i started out of needing something to do-
i cant "draw" anymore .. but i spend a ungodly amount of time "playing" with Daz studio / Poser 4+ to 7 / Bryce 4+ to 6.6 ect ect --

and after some personal problems my friend suggested i start doing something as a focus for my art - so its thearpy of a sorts - im getting to tell a story thats been in my head for 20+ years in one form or another -

and i have something to do besides mope -
( responding to the donation box comment ) (( i swore up and down i wouldnt do that , but i felt i had to when my kitty got huge medical bills -- so thats where the money went ( only got a few donatations but hey thats cool ) im not in this for the money )

although it might be nice to off-set some of the cost of supplys
that or i need to find someone that can model stuff on the fly

ill be doing this untill the story dies ... or i do

and i salute everyone brave enough ( or dumb enough ) to bear there tender works to the hard cold internets to be ripped apart / prased .. hated / loved .. ect

as long as YOU enjoy what you are doing that is what matters the most ..
well thats my 0.25cents .. (inflation ya know)

[Legion of Boom]

Do you feel like this community is creatively liberating? Or do you feel pressured to make your comics fit into category A, B, or C just to get any readers or respect?

I think webcomics and the community in general is an incredible medium. We all have the potential of reaching millions of people per day with our little comic strips. This was only accomplished by a few cartoon legends not but ten years ago. I have 0.0 pressure to ever fit my comics in a category. You either like it or not.

Are you happy just to have an opportunity to share your creativity with people,.. or do you have a battleplan for webcomic domination? (nothing wrong with either of those, by the way.)

I am happy and I have a battleplan. Ever since I published my first comic strip in my high school newspaper, I have always wanted to draw comic strips. Making others laugh is very fulfilling for me. Pass the smores.

[Cuendolin]

Not very serious, I don't have much talent, so as long as I get to have fun doing it and try to improve my skills is fine for me.
Also I uploaded it on the web for people to read, so I still try to not be very irregular with the updates, that's my only pressure.
I think this is a great community, It's easier to develop different ideas without the pression of being very popular.

[Td501]

I drew a lot when I was a kid, and loved it. Then I got to college where there was much less free time and my drawing hobby fell by the wayside, where it stayed. I sometimes missed it, but never really felt motivated to pick it up again – always other things to do.

Then someone at an online Star Wars roleplaying board suggested putting our adventures in comic form. Everyone thought it was a cool idea, but realized the time and dedication involved meant it’d never actually happen. But the idea stirred something in me.

I’ve been a Star Wars fan all my life – never really drew it though – didn’t think I could do it justice. But the idea of doing so was the motivation I’d long been lacking, and with a webartist friends’ help, I was soon back at the pen and paper.

And LOVED it. I never realized just how MUCH I missed drawing. Originally the comic was intended only for the other RP board members. I know nothing of web design, knew little about digitized art, and so my creations were rather inept. I feared that was it – the limit of my ability. But over time I noticed my art did improve, along with my scanning and use of Photoshop. The little kid in me wanted to shout “LOOK WHAT I DID!” to everyone I could.

So I started pimpin’ the comic. Readership is gradually going up. The comic art is gradually improving. AND I’M DRAWING AGAIN!!!

I truly draw for the love of it. The whole process of creating a web comic brings me great joy. It’s by far the hobby that occupies the most of my time, despite the promise to myself that I’ll never let it interfere with anything else. In truth, the only thing that really suffers from my born-again hobby is video game playing.

No battle plan, though – only to keep going as long as I can. My sole goal was to chronicle RP adventures in comic form, and that just requires time and a whole lot of comics.

[Jekkal]

Just using other people as examples, but I'm surprised that Last Resort can so easily be described as furry and be dumped with at least a hundred Doug Winger inspired perversions when it has a strong Sci-fi-style Running Man appeal...

For the record, I did a little "YAY!" When I saw this.

Onto the question:

I really don't give much thought to communities in general, until I start to get acclimated to them. Yes, I'll participate, but to be honest when it comes to most art communities, because something about my work seems to piss people off and... well... people who consider themselves 'artists' can be really mean bastards. Fortunately most Comic folk have enough sense in 'em not to bite the head off a new person, so I stick around here.

Likewise, much about the comic so far is very hit-or-miss with new people, because they either get interested and end up liking it, or they immediately see that it's something they don't like (whether that's "Furry" or "Not Anime"), and then proceed to go out of their way to trash it. I try not to take it personally, but when someone really goes to town on it, I can't help but shake my head at the stupidity (and yes... Even among furries, the Winger Stereotype is in force; someone called Adharia a chakat (hermaphrodite) when commenting why they hated the comic, despite the fact that the only thing the two have in common are feline centaurs with breasts. >_<)

I admit the CG community has opened up a few new comics for me, but I think I like talking with you guys moreso than anything else.

Yes, I do take the comic seriously. I have a four-month buffer for a reason, that reason being I don't want to work on the comic while I'm supposed to be doing schoolwork, even though I already know I'll probably be working on it while at at school ANYWAY just because I like drawing the rest of the story and every now and then I just browse through what I have so far. Also, while I've had the story in my head for a couple years now, working on the comic forces it to solidify.

I also have a couple hundred in donations (which I need to go take a chunk out of and pay my hosting with), some Project Wonderful ads, a blog . . . I may not necessarily be counting on it for a job versus the college education that, y'know, I'm spending good money on, but at the same time I'd be a fool not to at least try, and as long as I'm going to try, why not take it seriously?

[[geoduck]]

Serious enough to update every day.

[Komiyan]

I am serious like this-

[Jim North]

I am serious like this-

Let us all be serious together.

[Montyandwoolley]

Im as serious as i can be with the time i have to do the comic, if i had more time maybe i would update a lot more frequently..

[Themacnut]

I'm serious enough to update on a weekly basis (most of the time-I've missed a week here and there), and to try to put out the best artwork I can within that self-imposed deadline.

[K-Dawg]

I am serious like this-

I'm serious like this to her doing her comic -

As for me, yeah I guess I'm serious enough. Hell I've still kept with this comic for a couple years. It wouldn't be on the internet if I didn't want a couple fans to drool all over it. Thanks to this smutty comic I've been doing I think my art has improved a bit as well as my colouring/shading/etc.

2008 is going to be the year of SFF

No way man! 2008 is going to be "the year of D. Monkey"

[Mon Ami]

Serious enough to update twice a week and bloody well try to stick to the schedule >-<:

[Phact0rri]

Thanks to this smutty comic I've been doing I think my art has improved a bit as well as my colouring/shading/etc.

*curious*

[Bustertheclown]

2008 is going to be the year of SFF

No way man! 2008 is going to be "the year of D. Monkey"

I'm gunning for 2016. Dibs!

[Blackhole]

I'm not suggesting that taking your comic-making-hobby seriously is better than..... uh... not taking it seriously. I've seen comics drawn in MS Paint that are as entertaining (in a different way) as comics drawn "pro". If it's entertaining to you it just might be entertaining to someone else.

I think some of the funniest and coolest comics were made by people who were just killing time. Doing it just for the hell of it .

[Birdie]

No way man! 2008 is going to be "the year of D. Monkey"

Well right now, I'm working on SFF Minicomic #3, I have a backlog of updates, and enough jokes to keep me until March. I'm also working on the Superfightfight-fight club, and possibly an album. I'm putting a lot more into SFF this time around than I have in a long time. All I need now is a non-shitty looking website.

[Bustertheclown]

I'm not suggesting that taking your comic-making-hobby seriously is better than..... uh... not taking it seriously. I've seen comics drawn in MS Paint that are as entertaining (in a different way) as comics drawn "pro". If it's entertaining to you it just might be entertaining to someone else.

I think some of the funniest and coolest comics were made by people who were just killing time. Doing it just for the hell of it .

Doing it for shits and giggles certainly keeps the fun factor involved, what with all the shitting and giggling that's going on. Personally, I'm trying to "rediscover" that fun factor right now, because I'm on such a creative kick, and don't want to stifle it. This afternoon, I took a trip to my local comic shop, and bought nearly $40 worth of comics from the quarter bins. I figure that such an incredible amount of labor-of-love randomness should help me keep the perspective that I, like the people whose talents populate the "might as well just give it away!" section of the store, am doing it not for fame nor fortune, but because it's something I enjoy too much to give up.

Also, at some point, I expect I'll actually find an issue or two of my own past creations in those bins. I'm quite sure they're there.

[K-Dawg]

Thanks to this smutty comic I've been doing I think my art has improved a bit as well as my colouring/shading/etc.

*curious*

Wouldn't you like to know!

[Perk_daddy]

*edit. double-post