First Comic?

HHB BookMaster · Post by **HHB BookMaster** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:20 pm

I have to admit, it's probably not a bad idea to have a record of the evolution of your artwork. It is the process of working on the comic regularly that helps you develop your style. If you take too long to perfect your style, you'll never get your comic up. Trust me on this. I've spent two years working on my comic, and I STILL don't have it up. I've finally decided to just forgo waiting untill my my style is perfict and I can create the comics fast, and just toss it out already and work from there. As I get better, THEN I'll settle into a more defined routine.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:27 pm

Well... I improvet through years, I guess. But not as much as it usually happens with webcomics. I mean, that line "from crappy to cool". Because it wasn't crappy at the beginning, I still had some amount of skills behind me. But some things improved, that's for sure.

KathleenJ · Post by **KathleenJ** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:29 pm

My first comics online are hideous looking. Part of the reason I renamed and restarted the whole project was to put some space between my current work and the backlog of 700+ comics of variable quality. But that backlog's still there in its own archive on my site, for anyone who wants to watch me slowly learn the ropes.

As much as it makes me wince to look at the old stuff, I'm proud of how much I've improved, and it's interesting to see the progression.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 3:33 pm

is anyone else like me... and look at some comic.. and go "I wonder" and go to the first few comics just to make you feel better about your skill as an artist? ^_~

Ti-Phil · Post by **Ti-Phil** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:51 pm

I do hope the readers find difference between my first strip and the current one because if not.. it means I draw as well with a pencil as I used to do with a mouse in MS Paint..bleh.. Oh well! On a small note... soon I'll reach my 150th strip!

Cow! · Post by **Cow!** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:55 pm

"From Crappy to Cool". Thats an interesting phrase. I will be aiming for that once Smudged Inc's third Comic gets finall up and running. Reason being I am actually drawing it myself. Up until about a month ago I just never drew anything substantial.

Reading some of the strips on here and seeing that they did indeed go "from crappy to cool" really allowed me to realise that I do not have to be able to draw perfectly from strip one. I CAN start Crappy and AIM for cool further on. I will never reach it. I know that much. But its the journey thats important, right? Not just the destination.

I have to give a special nod out to MICHAEL DERENGE of Pointless here. This may seem a bit backhanded and I apologuise for that, but reading Pointless was the 'clincher' for me. Reading his entire works and seeing the fantastic evolution of his skills was the final kick I needed to start finally drawing my own strip instead of recruiting another actual 'artist' to do it for me.

[AOD] · Post by **[AOD]** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 6:29 pm

Compare:

Latest- http://aod.keenspace.com/d/20040913.html
First - http://aod.keenspace.com/d/20030506.html
(real first: http://aod.keenspace.com/d/20031226.html

Seeeee? Progress!

!~AOD

(not really...)

Joel Fagin · Post by **Joel Fagin** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:47 pm

It's great seeing the development of an artistic style and there's even a feeling for some that it's more honest starting out bad and develeping one's sklls as you go. Webcomics are meant to be made by amatures, remember, not professionals.

On the other hand, there is definitly something to be said for having something to keep the readers reading past the first five comics in your archive. Good art works for that (but so does humour and, indeed, an attention getting start to your story).

I think it's nice to see the old art but I think that it's probably best if it improves as quickly as possible.

- Joel Fagin

Derenge · Post by **Derenge** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:05 pm

Cow! wrote: I have to give a special nod out to MICHAEL DERENGE of Pointless here. This may seem a bit backhanded and I apologuise for that, but reading Pointless was the 'clincher' for me. Reading his entire works and seeing the fantastic evolution of his skills was the final kick I needed to start finally drawing my own strip instead of recruiting another actual 'artist' to do it for me.

Wow, what can I say other than that's a very validating statment. It's good to know that the early stuff is coming close to doing what I've come to hope it would. At least it's doing something good in being there. I still have a long way to go myself, but it's not something a person can do unless they start somewhere. Only thing I can say is keep plugging away and to not stop.

Drawing a comic is clearly one of the fastest ways to advance one's skills as an artist. By way of a comic a person has incentive to draw on a regular basis and to draw a wider variety of things in addition. It seems like it's a regimented form a practice more so than if a person simply drew whatever cought their fancy at the time.

Justinpie · Post by **Justinpie** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:09 pm

phactorri wrote:is anyone else like me... and look at some comic.. and go "I wonder" and go to the first few comics just to make you feel better about your skill as an artist? ^_~

Oh man, my comic is a case-study example of that. Starting out, my art sucked so hardcore, it actually made God rethink the whole eyeballs thing. Check 'em out if you need a confidence boost.

Phact0rri · Post by **Phact0rri** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 9:47 pm

my comic has I'd say taken leaps and bounds over my my first ones...

first- http://decypher.keenspace.com/d/20030709.html

Latest- http://decypher.keenspace.com/d/20040915.html

still not where I'd like to be for a little over a year later I do think I've improved a lot.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:44 am

Justin, Kathleen... I just wanted to say that I was reading your comics in their early days, and yes, you are right, they sometimes sucked. Your shame will live through my stories, never to be erased.

Derenge wrote:
Cow! wrote: I have to give a special nod out to MICHAEL DERENGE of Pointless here. This may seem a bit backhanded and I apologuise for that, but reading Pointless was the 'clincher' for me. Reading his entire works and seeing the fantastic evolution of his skills was the final kick I needed to start finally drawing my own strip instead of recruiting another actual 'artist' to do it for me.
Wow, what can I say other than that's a very validating statment. It's good to know that the early stuff is coming close to doing what I've come to hope it would. At least it's doing something good in being there. I still have a long way to go myself, but it's not something a person can do unless they start somewhere. Only thing I can say is keep plugging away and to not stop.
...etc...

Pointless seem to have a big leap in effort of an artist (that is, you). Comics a few months from beginning seem fine in matter of skills, but awfully rushed job. But I feel that they were ok in pencil, although inking was nowhere near what it is now. (Now, it's maybe the strongest part of the comic).

Kris X · Post by **Kris X** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:15 am

IftP has leaped canyons. Yes, indeed. Canyons I say.

Wp · Post by Wp » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:02 am

I find that I disagree that web comics are only for amateurs, and that it justifies showing shoddy art in the beginning. Although no one can really stop you from posting your sketchbook as comic pages, I still think there is a duty to produce the best work you can (with the time allowed) for your readers and for yourself. This means producing storyboards and working out character designs before you e-publish it. I don't really think it adds any element of "honesty" to jump straight into a comic without first practicing to draw it in the best possible way.

When I'm doodling in class, I don't choose a pose that I know I'm good at. I choose one that is difficult for me. When I draw comics, I spend a lot of time drawing poses on another sheet of paper so that when I get to the actual draft I will eventually finalize, I have the correct pose. If I wanted to show an improvement in comics, I'd just treat every page like a practice pad, and eventually, I'll have enough practice to draw that particular pose well. But just because I show my skill progression in my comic doesn't mean I'm any more honest than if I show only my best work. You have to start somewhere, but you don't have to show it.

Well, I kind of derailed myself on the topic, but whatever.

Derenge · Post by **Derenge** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:33 am

I know that not everyone who makes an online comic would refer to themselves as an amateur, but I know that I am. I would also never go so far as to say that they are solely the domain of amateurs either, but they are a darn good place to make a start.

To me it's not a matter of always showing my best, my early work was the best that I could produce at the time. I wasn't trying to be more earnest by way of sucking, that's just how it was. I really didn't jump in half cocked either, the first fourty or so comics were drawn some time before I even had a website. At this point if I were to go back and try and remove all traces of where I came from artisticly then it would indeed be a dishonest act in my mind. That would be trying to paint a different picture of what the past was.

War · Post by **War** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 1:10 pm

Wp · Post by Wp » Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:36 pm

Derenge wrote:I know that not everyone who makes an online comic would refer to themselves as an amateur, but I know that I am. I would also never go so far as to say that they are solely the domain of amateurs either, but they are a darn good place to make a start.

To me it's not a matter of always showing my best, my early work was the best that I could produce at the time. I wasn't trying to be more earnest by way of sucking, that's just how it was. I really didn't jump in half cocked either, the first fourty or so comics were drawn some time before I even had a website. At this point if I were to go back and try and remove all traces of where I came from artisticly then it would indeed be a dishonest act in my mind. That would be trying to paint a different picture of what the past was.

Sorry, I should have quoted Joel, because that's whom I was addressing. But I'm not making any accusations against you. I'm just saying that showing improvement is not necessarily something you should do to your comic if you don't have to, and in fact, it may even be better not to in terms of propaganda. I understand if you don't have the time or, in your case, if you have a huge backlog of comics that would be tedious and pointless (haha) to redraw. If you really want to show improvement, however, you could just put it in a miscellaneous link like "art" or something. It's something that's interesting to see, but it doesn't make me any more want to read a comic if it shows progression.

Having said that, it is impossible not to show at least some improvement, even from where you stand (where your art is already excellent). You don't have to show your earliest works at all because no matter how good you are now, you will still be getting better later on.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 3:33 pm

I think War didn't get a haircut since his comic started. See how his hair gradually grows.

Dalis · Post by **Dalis** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 8:38 pm

mcDuffies wrote:I think War didn't get a haircut since his comic started. See how his hair gradually grows.

I want hair like that.

McDuffies · Post by **McDuffies** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 4:50 am

Sure, all we need is another War.