Some help... (well, not really about drawing)

[Dijiyd]

I need some help about this webcomic stuff... yeah, it' not really about drawing, but I don't know where else to put this.

See, I'm planning this comic, and it's primarily a stick figure-action comic (yeah. Not about drawing.). There's probably not a lot of comedy that will go around, and not all pages will have action, because there's the plot too. So, I was thinking, it might not hold people's attention for long and stop reading, before reaching some action.

So... any suggestions?

[Dburkhead]

Writing doesn't have to be slam-bang action or ROFL comedy all the time to hold people's attention. Make your writing interesting in and of itself. Go find some things that you enjoy reading and see how they handle the "quiet times." You don't need constant action to be interesing and, conversely, constant action is no guarantee of not being boring. And being boring is the cardinal sin of anyone who creates fiction.

[Dijiyd]

And being boring is the cardinal sin of anyone who creates fiction.

Uh huh. Yup. Exactly.

I'll try looking around. Thanks.

[Faub]

If you intend this to be a serious comic, stick figures are probably not the best option because there's little available to work with except of body language. While there's a lot that can be done with body language, you have to work at it to get a good, solid feeling for what the character is feeling. If you're planning to use static images for stick figure body language, you're going to have problems. If the comic is animated, like your avatar, then you might be able to pull it off.

As far as planning your comic. Read. Not just other comics or webcomics, read books. Look at how the story gets told, how the characters are described and become involved.

Then, decide what kind of story you want to tell. Draw out your idea on a storyboard. Define your characters and get to know them. Give them personality quirks and most importantly, failings. Perfect characters are boring.

[Dijiyd]

If the comic is animated, like your avatar, then you might be able to pull it off.

Um... yeah, about that. I was thinking about that, but I thought, what's the difference between an animated comic and an animated... uh, you know, animation? I mean, why separate into panels when the panels change anyway?

[Faub]

The storyboarding process is the same whether it's animated or not. You have one panel containing multiple frames instead of multiple panels with one frame each.

[Elsinora]

I wouldn't go with stick figures, because expressions are the backbone of a webcomic, action or otherwise. You don't have to be the world's best artist, you don't need to draw 3-D or even shade, but you do need your characters to have expression.

Otherwise, as long as your plot and characters are good, the art is almost secondary. So I say go for it.

[Caduceus]

I think you can be expressive with stick figures. It's just harder than doing it with other figures; trying to carry something by body language alone is rough. Unless you are somehow making the fact that your characters are stick figures important in some way I don't think it would be worth it.

[Dijiyd]

Thanks guys. I'll try working out what fits what I want.