Then stop telling people it sucks, stupid!specterz wrote:
You just told me no one will ever read my comic...
ANARCHY! ANARCHY! ANARCHY!
I find it hard to disagree with you as always, J. On the other hand...Keffria wrote:It seems to me that, unless you're an insanely dedicated person, taking the "bastard" approach is just going to burn you out that much faster. If drawing your comic takes away from things you enjoy, it's time to take a step back, because that's unhealthy, in the same way that any other activity would be if it ruled your life.
Unless you have a buffer.The Neko wrote:Man, you really do get used to updating at 3AM after a while.
Well, it doesn't mean that you just give up the rest of your life and draw until your hands bleed, with no enjoyment of it.Keffria wrote:Wow. I could never do that; there are many, many times when I sit down to work on my comic, and I think to myself "Geez, I really don't feel like doing this right now. I think I'll go read/watch a movie/get some sunlight/etc..." -- so I do. And yes, I've missed updates, and take a hiatus basically every time I have to write an exam - but I'm still doing my comic, and my readership is still growing.Bekka wrote:Aside from this, if updating in time means going to bed at 3:30am because I have to finish colouring, 3:30am it is. In a nutshell: it's been said several times, but you have to work very hard. If you can dedicate 30 hours a week to your comic, do it. If you can dedicate more, better.
When I went to the UK Webcomic Thing, John Allison of Scary Go Round was speaking at the webcomic panel and said a thing that I related very much to. As a webcomic author, he said, you have to be a real bastard to yourself. It's true, he's right. There are times that you'd rather go out with your mates, or go to the movies, or play a game, but you just tell yourself to fuck off, sit down and draw until your eyes close and the pen falls off your hands.
It seems to me that, unless you're an insanely dedicated person, taking the "bastard" approach is just going to burn you out that much faster. If drawing your comic takes away from things you enjoy, it's time to take a step back, because that's unhealthy, in the same way that any other activity would be if it ruled your life.
Oh, and I must say, working on a collaboration project is a perfect way to promote your comic. I get a lot of hits from the Golden site.
Hehe thanks. I never tell people it sucks! My comic is the best! Yeah! Indeed! It is not to be doubted! It is the truth! My comic cures cancer!Leko wrote:Then stop telling people it sucks, stupid!specterz wrote:
You just told me no one will ever read my comic...
Actually I read your archives yesterday and found your humor just my cup of tea. There's something about abusive sarcasm that just makes me smile.
Bekka's right about the discipine and I think the "bastard to yourself" comment is just an overly-extreme way of putting "making yourself do it". It's kind of like when my daughter doesn't want to go to ballet. I know if I can just get her there she'll have a great time. So when I would rather not draw, if I just sit myself down and start, I'll be up until all hours of the night drawing because it's too much fun to stop. It's the same way with any skill you want to improve: It starts out fun all the time, then the need for discipline kicks in once the newness ends and you have to make yourself do it. It's not new anymore, not exciting, and it's hard work. However, it's very rewarding in the end.Bekka wrote:Well, it doesn't mean that you just give up the rest of your life and draw until your hands bleed, with no enjoyment of it.Keffria wrote:Wow. I could never do that; there are many, many times when I sit down to work on my comic, and I think to myself "Geez, I really don't feel like doing this right now. I think I'll go read/watch a movie/get some sunlight/etc..." -- so I do. And yes, I've missed updates, and take a hiatus basically every time I have to write an exam - but I'm still doing my comic, and my readership is still growing.Bekka wrote:Aside from this, if updating in time means going to bed at 3:30am because I have to finish colouring, 3:30am it is. In a nutshell: it's been said several times, but you have to work very hard. If you can dedicate 30 hours a week to your comic, do it. If you can dedicate more, better.
When I went to the UK Webcomic Thing, John Allison of Scary Go Round was speaking at the webcomic panel and said a thing that I related very much to. As a webcomic author, he said, you have to be a real bastard to yourself. It's true, he's right. There are times that you'd rather go out with your mates, or go to the movies, or play a game, but you just tell yourself to fuck off, sit down and draw until your eyes close and the pen falls off your hands.
It seems to me that, unless you're an insanely dedicated person, taking the "bastard" approach is just going to burn you out that much faster. If drawing your comic takes away from things you enjoy, it's time to take a step back, because that's unhealthy, in the same way that any other activity would be if it ruled your life.
Oh, and I must say, working on a collaboration project is a perfect way to promote your comic. I get a lot of hits from the Golden site.
It means that if you have to be very self-disciplined. I have three hobbies, gaming, karate and drawing the comic. I don't need self-discipline to game, rather to logout, but for the other two I do. Many times I moan to myself that I'd rather sit in front of the telly with a cup of coffee, or whatever, rather than getting my ass kicked or sitting down to draw. When I get past the lazy bit and get doing it, though, I love both things with a passion. For me drawing the comic is a joy, not a chore. Disclaimer just in case you thought I was promoting insanity and giving up on life's pleasures
I'll say it shorter: "It's too complicated to be explained".RPin wrote:Ehehehe... You actually made me scavenge a comment I put on 'Pedia over a year ago. In case anyone is interested, or to put it on context:Bekka wrote:Said all this, I agree with RPin that a comic gets the readership it deserves.
"You missed my pont, Bill. I don't see such thing as sensacionalism in the webcomics world.
Let me put it on another way, then:
I think quality alone is not enough to attract readership, so it's not a parameter to measure the popularity of a webcomic and therefore determine that webcomics with the same level of quality should get the same popularity. Every webcomic gets the attention it deserves, but it's not in the sense that they get something they deserve for it's merits. That clearly is not what happens (I myself love It's About Girls, and wish more people would read it). Every webcomic gets the attention it deserves: every webcomic gets the attention reserved fot it at that given moment for a series of reasons, some of them being consequences of the artist, some not.
Joey Manley may call this luck. Spinosa would call it the God of Natural Causes. I just say: "my comic is all it can be right now".
And since it hasn't been done before, I pimp Joel Fagin's tutorial on attracting readers:
http://www.between-worlds.com/tutorials ... aders.html
) saying that this or that comic is popular because it's good, it the Worst! Simplification! Ever! when you put it that way. I guess it could be said that no comic in popular unless it's good (with exceptions, of course, but there are always exceptions).
That's an interesting thread there, Pin. And, you know, I'm almost inclined to agree with what's being said about massive popularity. One of the biggest turn-offs for potential readers (myself included) is having to wade through a massive archive of comics with god-awful art and lackluster writing before getting to the good stuff -- and if your comic has been going for two or three or four years, I would hope that there are significant differences between the oldest strips and the current work. If you want to be really popular, you need to start off with a bang and attract the eye of someone (i.e. a "big dog" comic or a much-visited site of some sort) who will link you. Take Bekka, for example - that massive hit increase from the WarCraft site helped to rocket "The n00b" (which started out with decent art) to popularity.RPin wrote:I find it hard to disagree with you as always, J. On the other hand...Keffria wrote:It seems to me that, unless you're an insanely dedicated person, taking the "bastard" approach is just going to burn you out that much faster. If drawing your comic takes away from things you enjoy, it's time to take a step back, because that's unhealthy, in the same way that any other activity would be if it ruled your life.
Do you believe in the opposite?
I should know.Keffria wrote: That's an interesting thread there, Pin. And, you know, I'm almost inclined to agree with what's being said about massive popularity. One of the biggest turn-offs for potential readers (myself included) is having to wade through a massive archive of comics with god-awful art and lackluster writing before getting to the good stuff -- and if your comic has been going for two or three or four years, I would hope that there are significant differences between the oldest strips and the current work.
I have the same problem, Leo. I just plain don't have the time (or interest) to hang around forums, or plug my comic, or do anything else creative with it... besides draw it, guh. It really hasn't made much of a difference, though. My comic has always had a steadily growing readership, I think by word of mouth, consistent updates, and a couple of very nice friends have linked it in obvious places (thanks Ping and Gianna, among others).leonine wrote:My biggest drawback is the fact that I have very little time to visit forums and I don't want to be the guy that runs in, plugs a comic and leaves. I hadn't posted here yet primarily because I wanted to wait for the main storyline to start before everyone rushed over to see it. I am a new artist and it shows in the strips that are currently running (I'm getting better though). I'll be submitting my comic to the critics once I've gotten 20 or so comics out with my 1st style change....
