rstevens: On Making your Own Webcomic

rstevens (

rstevens) wrote,
@ 2006-05-02 10:39:00

Current mood:	frumpy
Current music:	Dream Recorder-?????-otokonoko onnanoko

On Making your Own Webcomic
I originally posted this on my site. I know that a lot of this is redundant for my LJ, because so many of you are already cartoonists. You're still welcome to comment and correct my ass!

*****

A gal wrote in and asked me for tips on how to start her own comic. I think I've got it boiled down to two fairly universal rules. Read on, then feel free to argue.

(1.) Set a schedule. Give yourself a month to figure out your characters in your head, then start to PRODUCE on a set schedule. It will build your muscles. If you don't like the first comics you make, throw them away and keep going.

(2.) Know your characters. There's nothing worse than a strip that starts out as "Hey! We are characters! Are we in a comic strip? Where is my script? Wow it is the last panel. LOL! GOTTA GO!"

I like these two rules because they make no judgements on content, art style or quality.

*****

(44 comments) - (Post a new comment)

creativedv8tion
2006-05-02 02:56 pm UTC (link)

Not a cartoonist, not even a big fan of webcomics (in fact, yours and Dork Tower are the only two I read regularly, and the latter isn't something I'd miss much), but I have to say those are two good rules. Knowing the characters is essential for any sort of storytelling, and a schedule is a must for any sort of webcomics. I'd think that writing in advance is a good idea for someone who has a busy life/work schedule/etc, too.

(Reply to this)

tombrazelton
2006-05-02 03:07 pm UTC (link)

I would say that those are both very reasonable tips.

Personally, when people ask me this question, I point to the schedule thing. Updating on time is key, especially when you are first starting out. It's hard enough to turn people on to what you're doing. If you can't stay consistent with updates, they'll have little reason to give you a second chance.

I think knowing your characters is a little more subjective to what the comic is trying to achieve.

I didn't know my characters all that well when I started, but they evolved and collected their own personality quirks as time went on. I don't think I would have been able to fully conceptualize that before I ever put pen to paper. Everyone learns their trade differently.

(Reply to this)

	lunarworks 2006-05-02 03:25 pm UTC (link)
	Actually, for most people, Question #1 should be "Do you really need to do this? What can you offer that a million generic webcomics haven't beaten to death already?" (Reply to this) (Thread)

	unosuke 2006-05-02 04:20 pm UTC (link)
	That's kind of a grey area for me. On one hand I'm all for people being unique and not just copying what the last guy did, but equally I'm all for people doing it just because they love to, and it doesn't matter if its anything good or new, just so long as they enjoy doing it. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

tombrazelton
2006-05-02 04:23 pm UTC (link)

I second that motion.

Adding another web comic to the already crowded masses shouldn't be about "How is this a totally different experience than anything else online?" First and foremost, they should be created for the artist's enjoyment. If other people vibe on it, that's bonus.

I think so long as you aren't intentionally stealing another creators character designs, site layout or jokes, you can do whatever you please. Cream will rise to the top.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	lunarworks 2006-05-02 04:53 pm UTC (link)
	Well, I just brought it up because of the "Oh god, another webcomic about two dudes who play videogames..." factor. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	iron_spike 2006-05-02 05:25 pm UTC (link)
	But there's just so much fresh, new, unexplored territory in the Straight Man, Sass-Master, and Someone's Girlfirend model! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	tombrazelton 2006-05-02 06:04 pm UTC (link)
	If you're going to take web comics to task for using that model, be prepared to indict the entire history of pop culture. That Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis! They totally ripped off Laurel and Hardy! In other words, "So what?" (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	lunarworks 2006-05-02 07:42 pm UTC (link)
	It takes a whole bunch of idiots and lots of money to make a crappy TV show. It only takes one idiot and a computer to make a crappy webcomic. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

kellen_sucks
2006-05-04 12:13 pm UTC (link)

i think it just comes down to finding your own voice. i think i could write a really funny comic about dudes who play videogames, but it would have to be my own voice. if i tried to be funny like penny arcade is funny, it wouldn't work, because i'm not like gabe and tycho. it would come across as being lazy and phony. but if i was genuine and drew upon my own feelings and experiences with videogames it would be a new perspective and audiences would be able to appreciate that i believe.

although, i know absoultely nothing about videogames. it would have to be a comic where the guys just get drunk and then go play starcraft because they don't have anything better to do. maybe that would be really boring actually.

i don't know.

you just inspired me to start a webcomic.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	tombrazelton 2006-05-02 06:02 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, I know where you're coming from. I'm just saying there's no formula for success. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	quirkybird 2006-05-02 03:30 pm UTC (link)
	I think those are the Basic Two; although not all comics are about their characters. So really characters is just code for "live with the fact that this will involve writing." That can mean solid characters, or clever weekly premises, or whatever. But you have to have something consistent for the pictures to do, or else people will eventually get bored/over-saturated. (Reply to this)

	jeffreyatw 2006-05-02 03:50 pm UTC (link)
	ALSO I THINK RULL NUMBER 3 SHOULD BE FOR NO SPRITE COMICS!!!! >:( (Reply to this) (Thread)

	unosuke 2006-05-02 04:22 pm UTC (link)
	Friends don't let friends read sprite comics. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	hate_song 2006-05-02 04:12 pm UTC (link)
	Rule #whatever - "Mind the fourth wall" (Reply to this) (Thread)

	tombrazelton 2006-05-02 04:21 pm UTC (link)
	I occassionaly like to dust the fourth wall, but breakin' on through like the Kool-Aid Man as a matter of course is old hat. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	shadowofsummer 2006-05-02 05:24 pm UTC (link)
	Breaking the fourth wall is the lowest form of wit. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	iron_spike 2006-05-02 05:27 pm UTC (link)
	I thought that was reserved for puns. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	fungifruit 2006-05-02 11:44 pm UTC (link)
	but puns can be ironic! (which brings us to irony, also vying for this position.) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Fourth wall? (Anonymous) 2006-05-28 04:32 pm UTC (link)
	Tell that to Bobobo. :P (Reply to this) (Parent)

	orneryboy 2006-05-02 04:37 pm UTC (link)
	As an addendum to #2, there's nothing worse than when the artist themself shows up as a godlike character, and has an argument with the other characters: "GET BACK TO WORK!" "NO STFU WE ARE ON STRIKE!" (Reply to this) (Thread)

derspatchel
2006-05-02 05:07 pm UTC (link)

It's even funnier when the artist gets hit on by the Sexy Character! "Say, you're cute!" Projection ahoy!

Actually, my favorite weak device is when the artist can't think of anything to write, and so they write a strip in which the characters admit the artist doesn't have anything to write.

Especially if that's the punchline. "Why are we wearing silly hats and holding salad tongs?" "Because Spanky McWebcomic can't think of anything to write today..." Oh, it is to meta-laugh.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

jenni_the_odd
2006-05-02 05:12 pm UTC (link)

Suggestion for #3 - Your audience owes you NOTHING.

Spending some time on the keenspace mailing list years back yeilded a whole bunch of new comic artists/authors whining about how they never got fanart, they had maybe 20 hits a day (at least 10 of which could be attributed to them refreshing the page to see if the auto-update had gone through yet), and people weren't loving their comic and why weren't they famous and popular yet?
Apparently, it's difficult to fathom that if you want acclaim for something you're creating, it has to be good in some way.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	rstevens 2006-05-02 05:59 pm UTC (link)
	So true. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

tombrazelton
2006-05-02 06:08 pm UTC (link)

Seconded.

It goes back to what I was saying about doing the comic for yourself first and if other people like it, that's the cherry on top.

Keenspot is kind of a weird duck in a sense that it provides the means for networking without really the right. People haven't really earned the exposure because of the quality of their work, it's just kind of handed to them. Then when they're not Penny Arcade, they get their panties in a bunch.

These kind of people are going to experience that same kind of dissapointment over and over in their lives because they're not pursuing art for the right reasons and I think audiences can see through that.

But I think anyone who is serious about what they're doing and is taking the time to research by consulting other artists won't fall into that trap.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	dan_e_boy 2006-05-02 05:48 pm UTC (link)
	I was actually thinking of starting one too. Not to be rich and famous; maybe just to have something that my friends could look at or other people if they cared. I have a question more about the technology--how do I start a website and make it and stuff? Should I try to find someone who can help me out with the technology side of it? (Reply to this)

simonbob
2006-05-02 06:57 pm UTC (link)

It's funny - I didn't start my comic with the deliberate intention to adhere to a schedule. I just happened to get my second idea exactly a week after the first, and it sort of caused a snowball effect. Too many artists try to get all fancy with their schedules and end up with something like "Updates Monday Wednesday Thursday unless it's an odd-numbered day in which case alternate Fridays and Sundays." And then they can't hold the line anyway, because they haven't got as much time or drive as they thought they did, and they're incapable of producing a MegaTokyo-intricacy level drawing of a magic fairy who is also a fox but has no other interesting characteristics inside of sixteen hours.

(Actually, I would love to see a MegaTokyo-intricacy level drawing of a magic fairy who is also a fox. Sounds like a good piece.)

So maybe you should stick in a collorary to the rules along the lines of "keep it simple?" A beginning artist should be able to do a comic a week, and if they start to get more ideas, they can upgrade their schedule. Failing at doing six comics a week and having to cut back just looks bad.

(Reply to this)

maxradical
2006-05-02 07:09 pm UTC (link)

Those are very good rules. They contain a whole lot of information about storytelling and professionalism boiled down into a couple of easy to remember points. I'm a big fan of comics and webcomics, and so many of the things that turn me off and send me away from a new comic can be avoided by obeying those rules.

I concur with the above point about "the audience owes you nothing", previewed with the statement "You have to earn an audience". Keenspot is the example given here, so many people throwing up a few strips and then spending ten times the energy on trying to get people to come to/love their tragic site, as opposed to building a site worth loving and enjoying it whether people love it or not.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

The 4th Wall...
(Anonymous)
2006-05-03 03:47 pm UTC (link)

I'm not entirely opposed to breaking the fourth wall.
It can, OCCASIONALLY, be really funny.

There was a Nothing Nice To Say Strip where the characters said something about punk rock, and then looked over their shoulders at Mitch Clem (the artist) and demanded to know if that was the whole joke.
It was probably much funnier in execution than in the above explanation, but you get the idea.

Mitch would show up in the comic from time to time, and a couple punx actually broke into his house and started writing the comic the way they wanted to see it for a while.
The down side of the fact that Mitch did this and made it funny, though, is that now it's "been done." I suppose.
Also, I think most puns are worse than breaking the fourth wall (exception being Able And Baker)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: The 4th Wall... hate_song 2006-05-03 03:52 pm UTC (link)
	Mitch managed to pull it off. Kurt Vonnegut also managed to make it work in Breakfast of Champions (although, I'm not sure if what he did was full on 4th Wall busting). HOWEVER, 99% of comics that try to pull this off fail miserably. It's best to avoid it, especially when you are just starting out. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: The 4th Wall... maxradical 2006-05-03 05:22 pm UTC (link)
	I think you meant to reply to the livejournal post, not my comment. (Reply to this) (Parent)

mbuchwald
2006-05-03 03:55 pm UTC (link)

Excellent rules.

Knowing my characters is about the only thing I am ever sure about in my work. (It's harder to gauge how well the writing and story, etc are going to register with your audience).

I suppose it doesn't have to be character knowledge; it could be knowledge of your events and gags and methods of delivery. If you know how your plot is supposed to develop, or how your humor is supposed to work, I think you can do just as well letting your characters develop into those roles without really knowing how they'll end up doing so.

But the schedule is vital. Vital with a big captical V. Working on a schedule has done wonders for my art, it forces me to practice, it forces me to learn how to get it done in the schedule without sacrificing anything. In addition it lets my readers know to expect the comic on that schedule so they can more easily check back. I don't think I'd have near as many readers as I do now if I had been a sporadic/whenever scheduler.

(Reply to this)

2
(Anonymous)
2006-05-03 04:54 pm UTC (link)

I’d add one other rule: Do it because you enjoy the process of doing it.
It seems obvious, but I’m always surprised at how many people make comics for reasons other than simply liking the physical process of putting pen to paper (or whatever) and making the darn things. If you do it because you want to design for movies, or you want to design t shirts, or you want someone to make a video game about your characters, or you want to make girls like you, then it’s best to just go and try to do those things without the comics part. Making comics isn’t reliable means to those ends.

Mostly, what you’ll get out of making comics, is a backlog of comics. If you think that’s enough, have a ball.

As far as the fourth wall is concerned, I say there’s nothing wrong with it inherently. These two rules help you discover if you can use techniques like breaking the fourth wall well. So have at it and find out.

(Reply to this)

	thirdhand 2006-05-03 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	I, a fledgling webcomicist, like your advice. It's strong and unbiased. You're not giving us a "And don't draw comics about (blank) because it's not funny." sort of deal because saying that only brings people down. You're telling people to create instead of telling them the things they should create. So go! Create! Make the funny for us! (Reply to this)

tcampbell1000
2006-05-03 10:32 pm UTC (link)

My GOD! It's... so SENSIBLE!

Suggested Rule #3: Know your premise. Be able to sum up your comic in eleven words or less. Hollywood calls this "the elevator pitch." While many Hollywood storytelling rules suck, this rule does not. It's important to know your characters, but it's also important to know what the purpose of their existence in your strip is. And the simpler your premise, the less room you have to lie to yourself... and the easier time readers will have grasping it.

(Reply to this)

(Anonymous)
2006-05-03 10:55 pm UTC (link)

How about "Don't serialize work that isn't designed to be serialized"?

I know it can be tempting to update your website every time you manage to scrape a couple of panels together -- especially if your comics take a long time to finish, or if you don't have much time to spend on them.

But you can't do that, no matter what style or genre you work in. Humour or drama, longform or shortform, canvas or clipart... if your next installment doesn't have enough meat to it to stand on its own and deliver some kind of satisfying emotional payoff, its just not ready to upload yet.

-Sam Logan

(Reply to this) (Thread)

est_xplosif
2006-05-04 05:01 am UTC (link)

I've actually got an idea that is somewhat like this. I have a limited-run idea, and I'm not even sure I'd want to do anything else after that one idea.

I think that maybe the best idea in this kind of situation is to draw them for yourself as you get them in your head, laying everything out how you want it until it's a complete set. Then you can release them all on whatever schedule seems to suit (weekly? monthly? depends on how large each installment is).

It might be tempting to just put them all up someplace so that anyone can check them out at their leisure, but sometimes the wait is half the fun.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

cutelilpunkgirl
2006-05-09 12:56 am UTC (link)

I'm the gal who sent the email... You all have wonderful points and I appreciate the advise. I've been toying with the idea for over a year now. I don't want to make another Penny Arcade. I just love drawing and putting a smile on someone's face.

I have a deviantArt page with some comics I've drawn and other work I've done if anyone is interested. http://cutelilpunkgirl.deviantart.com

(Reply to this) (Thread)

(Anonymous)
2006-05-13 12:09 am UTC (link)

I procrastinated for 5 years, but now I am kicking myself in the ass for not doing it sooner. My art is rough because I'm so out of practice ( i was bad when i was drawing every day) but I enjoy it a lot, and I think I have a solid story to tell.

If you do it, do it for yourself first and foremost. Be warned that the internet tends to be a hostile and negative place. dont take the vitrol to heart, keep doing what you love.

malcontentpress.com

(Reply to this) (Parent)

occlupanid
2006-05-09 12:57 am UTC (link)

Fine Advice!
As somebody who can't draw for thistles, i always thought photoshop collage would be my best friend in making with the Regular Funny. I have found, however, that this doesn't make the things go any faster. If anything, i think it takes more time.

Currently schedule is my biggest challenge. i blink and boom it's two weeks gone. I am in awe of anybody who can put out one in a week, much less every day.

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