Tips?
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Thingschange
- Regular Poster
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- Joined: Sat Mar 13, 2004 7:12 am
Read http://hownottorunacomic.keenspace.com and learn.
Coming May 1st - Things Change. A look at the darker side of the possible future.
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K-Dawg
- I wanna LIVE
- Posts: 4844
- Joined: Fri Jan 01, 1999 4:00 pm
- Location: Yes, let us check!
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First off decide on what type of comic you want to do. Plan this out, don't just jump into it, take weeks, months whatever to figure out what you want to do with it.
Secondly, make sure it's something that you like. Don't try doing a webcomic expecting to be popular and having tons of fans; for the majority of people this does not happen. Do this comic for yourself and nobody else.
Thirdly, do not even try to blatantly advertise it until you have a good enough amount of comics in your archive. A good archive is up to you to decide; some comics a good enough archive maybe after 2 comics, some may not be until after 40.
Lastly, make sure to make an update schedule that you can do. Don't do more then you're possible of doing. If anything make a buffer before you start the comic so you can work on new comics and still have a steady update. For my comic I did a buffer of 15 comics which is helping me out tremendously. Also, post in webcomic communities. The more people get to know you they'll check out your comic, give you better reviews, and you can also make a couple friends.
I think that's everything I can think of at this early in the morning to say; if you have anymore questions ask em here and I'm sure any of us will answer them for you.
Secondly, make sure it's something that you like. Don't try doing a webcomic expecting to be popular and having tons of fans; for the majority of people this does not happen. Do this comic for yourself and nobody else.
Thirdly, do not even try to blatantly advertise it until you have a good enough amount of comics in your archive. A good archive is up to you to decide; some comics a good enough archive maybe after 2 comics, some may not be until after 40.
Lastly, make sure to make an update schedule that you can do. Don't do more then you're possible of doing. If anything make a buffer before you start the comic so you can work on new comics and still have a steady update. For my comic I did a buffer of 15 comics which is helping me out tremendously. Also, post in webcomic communities. The more people get to know you they'll check out your comic, give you better reviews, and you can also make a couple friends.
I think that's everything I can think of at this early in the morning to say; if you have anymore questions ask em here and I'm sure any of us will answer them for you.
Re: Tips?
Son, I believe it was Hemmingway that once gave the most accurate advice about becoming a writer ever given-xbabiboix wrote:Does anybody have any tips for a new-to-the-game 14 year old wannabee cartoonist?
"Go somewhere and start writing"
I feel this can be applied to comics as well. You simply need to start doing them. I'll be honest, you will suck, and you will continue to suck for a very long time. But, if you keep at it and do what you can to improve, you will stop sucking and maybe even become pretty good.
Good point."Go somewhere and start writing"
I've been drawing little comics since I was twelve, and I really like how I can look back on what I used to do and how I do things now. I don't do nearly as much practice as I should, but I think I've reached the point where people can read my work and say "Well, that didn't suck."
The best thing to do is develop a good style that works for you. Then, create a character from that style and get to know them. What's their favorite food, what's in their trash can, where they live, who they are. Then, you can throw them into whatever sorts of crazy adventures you can come up with.
Definitely emphasize writing just as much as art. A well-written badly drawn strip has a hard time attracting new readers, and a badly-written well-drawn strip attracts new readers visually, but they can get bored with it if nothing is happening.
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Christwriter
- Cartoon Hero
- Posts: 1915
- Joined: Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:56 am
1. R.E.A.D.
Everything. If it has pages and letters and is sold in a book store, read it. Science Fiction, Fantasy, mystery, romance, horror. Anything and everything. Comic books, novels, non-fiction.
Just plain READ.
2. Get Some Idea.
Something origional. Anything origional. Even if it involves flying monkey-cats from mars...have some kind of plot before you start drawing.
3. Write.
4. Write.
5. Write.
6. Start drawing.
CW
Everything. If it has pages and letters and is sold in a book store, read it. Science Fiction, Fantasy, mystery, romance, horror. Anything and everything. Comic books, novels, non-fiction.
Just plain READ.
2. Get Some Idea.
Something origional. Anything origional. Even if it involves flying monkey-cats from mars...have some kind of plot before you start drawing.
3. Write.
4. Write.
5. Write.
6. Start drawing.
CW
"Remember that the definition of an adventure is someone else having a hell of a hard time a thousand miles away."
--Abbykat, NaNoWriMo participant '04
Coloring tutorial It's a little like coloring boot camp. Without the boots.
<a href="http://blueskunk.spiderforest.com">
</a>
<a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org"> NaNoWriMo </a> --for anyone who has ever aspired to write a novel. Insanity is also a requirement.
--Abbykat, NaNoWriMo participant '04
Coloring tutorial It's a little like coloring boot camp. Without the boots.
<a href="http://blueskunk.spiderforest.com">
</a><a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org"> NaNoWriMo </a> --for anyone who has ever aspired to write a novel. Insanity is also a requirement.
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Mercury Hat
- Iron Lady (ForumAdmin)
- Posts: 5608
- Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 1:57 pm
- Location: Hello city.
- Contact:
another thing
If you do get a website and feel the time is right to start your webcomic, don't get discouraged! It's easy to, because people won't automatically start reading your comic no matter how great you think it is. Just keep doing it, and you'll eventually get some fans.
Even the worst comics have their diehard fans who'll defend it to the end. So, you can't ever be that bad.
Even the worst comics have their diehard fans who'll defend it to the end. So, you can't ever be that bad.
Before you start drawing your comic, especially if you have a moderately detailed drawing style, know your plot and characters well, and I mean well. Or else you'll probably be dissatisfied with the way the plot and development is coming along, and will probably get the urge to go back and rewrite your comic a few times. Prevent this by working out your characters and plot before you actually start drawing.
Anyway, if you're fourteen, you have a long time ahead of you to plan out your comic and start improving in both writing and drawing. I myself have just turned fourteen, and I believe that most artists on this site are approximately college age, which explains the quite amazing art and writing on some of the comics here.
Don't make the same mistake I did and draw 30 comics with undeveloped characters and a plot that's going nowhere, then take your entire archives off, put up 20 new replacements, hate the plot and take those down again, put up ten new ones, make complete changes in the plot and characters and take those down again, and finally, on your fourth try, after going through 60 comics, settle on a plot and characters that you like. It will save you a lot of effort and your readers a lot of irritation. You won't believe how many readers you'll lose if you constantly keep starting over.
And, reading definitely helps. If anything, it will give you new ideas and introduce new techniques of plot and character development. Start listening in English class to what your teachers lecture about character development and literary techniques. Pay attention to lectures on cliches and irony. The same things that apply to books apply to plots in comics, as a comic is, basically, a story told by pictures and words, rather than just by words.
Well, that's all I have to suggest, and, good luck. Keep drawing, keep reading, keep writing, and you'll keep improving.
Anyway, if you're fourteen, you have a long time ahead of you to plan out your comic and start improving in both writing and drawing. I myself have just turned fourteen, and I believe that most artists on this site are approximately college age, which explains the quite amazing art and writing on some of the comics here.
Don't make the same mistake I did and draw 30 comics with undeveloped characters and a plot that's going nowhere, then take your entire archives off, put up 20 new replacements, hate the plot and take those down again, put up ten new ones, make complete changes in the plot and characters and take those down again, and finally, on your fourth try, after going through 60 comics, settle on a plot and characters that you like. It will save you a lot of effort and your readers a lot of irritation. You won't believe how many readers you'll lose if you constantly keep starting over.
And, reading definitely helps. If anything, it will give you new ideas and introduce new techniques of plot and character development. Start listening in English class to what your teachers lecture about character development and literary techniques. Pay attention to lectures on cliches and irony. The same things that apply to books apply to plots in comics, as a comic is, basically, a story told by pictures and words, rather than just by words.
Well, that's all I have to suggest, and, good luck. Keep drawing, keep reading, keep writing, and you'll keep improving.
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Yeahduff
- Resident Stoic (Moderator)
- Posts: 9158
- Joined: Tue Aug 05, 2003 4:16 pm
- Location: I jumped into your grave and died.
- Contact:
This may be nitpicky as hell, but you'll appreciate it a couple years from now.
Work on your lettering and your inking.
You're young. I'm sure you'll suck at both. But if you spend the next couple of years working on them (and if you really want to do comics, a couple of years shouldn't be too much), you'll be strong at two things that a lot of people wish they were strong at.
Work on your lettering and your inking.
You're young. I'm sure you'll suck at both. But if you spend the next couple of years working on them (and if you really want to do comics, a couple of years shouldn't be too much), you'll be strong at two things that a lot of people wish they were strong at.
I won't be the stars in your dark night.
Wow. Thx for all of the help but how long does it on average for you guys to make a strip? I drew this drawing
http://www.boomspeed.com/xbabi_boix/asappl.gif
in about thirty minutes. is that too long?
P.s can yu critique my artwork?
P.s.s im chnging to a link since its too big.
http://www.boomspeed.com/xbabi_boix/asappl.gif
in about thirty minutes. is that too long?
P.s can yu critique my artwork?
P.s.s im chnging to a link since its too big.
Last edited by Xbabiboix on Fri May 07, 2004 2:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ruxen
- Regular Poster
- Posts: 498
- Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2003 2:14 pm
- Location: Canadaing along!
- Contact:
It takes me about an hour to draw out a page, ink it and do cleanup and touchups. Then it takes about 3-4 hours to CG it, more touch ups and clean up. Yeah I have to have a lot of time on my hands. 
10 things you need to know about webcomics/webmanga:
1) Commitment: Make sure when you start that you're going to finish, even if you have one or two fans letting those people down by never finishing your comic is definitely not a good idea. Unless you never plan to finish your comic then this wouldn't really apply to you.
2) Filler pages make babies cry: Don't use filler pages, maybe for holidays or special days but on days you just can't draw you're better off not drawing then drawing a filler page.
3) Plan until you go crazy: If you're going to start a webmanga write out the plot first! Know your characters like you know the back of your hand, no one should know your characters better then you do. Write out a plot make sure you're happy with it, get other peoples opinions on it and make sure that it keeps you interested. A plot that's interesting to you will keep you going.
4) The Principles of Design are your friends: This is more of a tip for webmanga but keep in mind the principles of Design. Make every panel as visually pleasing as you possibly can. Make it as neat as you can, and make sure the panel does exactly what it's going to do, don't emphasize anything in a panel that is unimportant, you may confuse your readers.
5) Backgrounds for the love of all things, backgrounds!: If you're going for webmanga it is especially crucial that you draw your backgrounds! Even for a webcomic backgrounds can enhance your comic as well. I know I know, no one ever looks at a panel and go "daaaaamn...that's one hawt background!" but a background really does add to your comic and your readers will respect you for them. You don't have to draw a background for every single panel, an establishing shot or if you're doing a webcomic then maybe a tree or something, but please put something there instead of white.
6) Cinematography, not just for movies: This applies more to webmangas, spice up your panels with some movie magic, ever notice in a good blockbuster movie that all of those scenes are well crafted and the placement of the characters are interesting? Well I didn't pay any attention to cinematography before I found blambot.com but I sure do now. Watch a good movie and pay some attention to where the characters are placed on the screen you might pick up one or two things from it. Just remember, never make a manga with your characters all splat in the middle with a full frontal view in all panels for the entirety of the comic, you will bore people, very very very quickly unless your writing is genius. Put them to the side, use some dynamic perspective, or some dynamic pose if it's needed. Shift your camera, try out new things.
7) Word bubbles and font, use them wisely: Unless you have super nice lettering and make super nice word bubbles, I would suggest opening up your image editor and figuring out how to use word bubbles, find a font that would suit your comic and use them. A good way to lose readers is by having unreadable font, so if you have to squint in order to read it then it's too small.
8 ) Rome wasn't built in a day: Like many people here have already stated, don't start a webcomic to get friends or money, or girls..or whatever you want out of it. Doing a webcomic or webmanga should be a passion and something you're sure you'll enjoy doing for a long long long long long time. Because webmangas do take a long time and frankly I'll be an old woman before I finish my webmanga. Have patience and make sure that once you start you can finish it. Motivate yourself by how much you want to do it, not what you'd get out of it.
9) Being sad and lonely: Although when you start chances are you probably don't have that many fans..or in my case, any fans. That's why friends are useful. Ask your friends to come check out your comic, if they find it interesting they'll keep reading it and you'll have a fanbase, although full of your friends you can draw motivation from them. It's always good to have at least one friend who can support you and be your leaning post when no one else will read your comic. I personally cannot thank my friend enough for keeping me motivated for 2 years doing webcomics.
10) Yes, I'm still here: Don't give up, many people have become discouraged with their comics or mangas for a variety of reasons, the thing you have to keep in mind is that you'll get there someday and there's always a solution to a problem, you just have to look for it. Not satisfied with your proportions? Ask for a crit or tips, that's what this forum is here for. Think your story is confusing, ask others what they think and if they have any suggestions. But remember to be selective of your crits, before you take someones advice make sure they know what they're doing, if they're just giving you their opinions of what your characters should be like and should look like chances are they don't know what they're talking about. If they're giving you a crit that has solid supported facts and suggestions then by all means listen to them.
Now onto the Art Crit:
1) Your art is in Chibi form, I really don't know very much about this form, so I'm not going to go into proportion or whatever.
2) Crosshatching, yay you have crosshatching, but it all looks to be one value, try varying the amount of crosshatching, and the size of the squares to create the illusion of space, as it is right now you might as well just shade in those areas with one block of solid shade, since the crosshatching you used pretty much all looks like the same value.
3) I think maybe it would be a better choice to link to this particular image because it is making my browser sidescroll, not to mention it's a really big image, and may present a problem with people who have smaller resolutions or slower connections.
10 things you need to know about webcomics/webmanga:
1) Commitment: Make sure when you start that you're going to finish, even if you have one or two fans letting those people down by never finishing your comic is definitely not a good idea. Unless you never plan to finish your comic then this wouldn't really apply to you.
2) Filler pages make babies cry: Don't use filler pages, maybe for holidays or special days but on days you just can't draw you're better off not drawing then drawing a filler page.
3) Plan until you go crazy: If you're going to start a webmanga write out the plot first! Know your characters like you know the back of your hand, no one should know your characters better then you do. Write out a plot make sure you're happy with it, get other peoples opinions on it and make sure that it keeps you interested. A plot that's interesting to you will keep you going.
4) The Principles of Design are your friends: This is more of a tip for webmanga but keep in mind the principles of Design. Make every panel as visually pleasing as you possibly can. Make it as neat as you can, and make sure the panel does exactly what it's going to do, don't emphasize anything in a panel that is unimportant, you may confuse your readers.
5) Backgrounds for the love of all things, backgrounds!: If you're going for webmanga it is especially crucial that you draw your backgrounds! Even for a webcomic backgrounds can enhance your comic as well. I know I know, no one ever looks at a panel and go "daaaaamn...that's one hawt background!" but a background really does add to your comic and your readers will respect you for them. You don't have to draw a background for every single panel, an establishing shot or if you're doing a webcomic then maybe a tree or something, but please put something there instead of white.
6) Cinematography, not just for movies: This applies more to webmangas, spice up your panels with some movie magic, ever notice in a good blockbuster movie that all of those scenes are well crafted and the placement of the characters are interesting? Well I didn't pay any attention to cinematography before I found blambot.com but I sure do now. Watch a good movie and pay some attention to where the characters are placed on the screen you might pick up one or two things from it. Just remember, never make a manga with your characters all splat in the middle with a full frontal view in all panels for the entirety of the comic, you will bore people, very very very quickly unless your writing is genius. Put them to the side, use some dynamic perspective, or some dynamic pose if it's needed. Shift your camera, try out new things.
7) Word bubbles and font, use them wisely: Unless you have super nice lettering and make super nice word bubbles, I would suggest opening up your image editor and figuring out how to use word bubbles, find a font that would suit your comic and use them. A good way to lose readers is by having unreadable font, so if you have to squint in order to read it then it's too small.
8 ) Rome wasn't built in a day: Like many people here have already stated, don't start a webcomic to get friends or money, or girls..or whatever you want out of it. Doing a webcomic or webmanga should be a passion and something you're sure you'll enjoy doing for a long long long long long time. Because webmangas do take a long time and frankly I'll be an old woman before I finish my webmanga. Have patience and make sure that once you start you can finish it. Motivate yourself by how much you want to do it, not what you'd get out of it.
9) Being sad and lonely: Although when you start chances are you probably don't have that many fans..or in my case, any fans. That's why friends are useful. Ask your friends to come check out your comic, if they find it interesting they'll keep reading it and you'll have a fanbase, although full of your friends you can draw motivation from them. It's always good to have at least one friend who can support you and be your leaning post when no one else will read your comic. I personally cannot thank my friend enough for keeping me motivated for 2 years doing webcomics.
10) Yes, I'm still here: Don't give up, many people have become discouraged with their comics or mangas for a variety of reasons, the thing you have to keep in mind is that you'll get there someday and there's always a solution to a problem, you just have to look for it. Not satisfied with your proportions? Ask for a crit or tips, that's what this forum is here for. Think your story is confusing, ask others what they think and if they have any suggestions. But remember to be selective of your crits, before you take someones advice make sure they know what they're doing, if they're just giving you their opinions of what your characters should be like and should look like chances are they don't know what they're talking about. If they're giving you a crit that has solid supported facts and suggestions then by all means listen to them.
Now onto the Art Crit:
1) Your art is in Chibi form, I really don't know very much about this form, so I'm not going to go into proportion or whatever.
2) Crosshatching, yay you have crosshatching, but it all looks to be one value, try varying the amount of crosshatching, and the size of the squares to create the illusion of space, as it is right now you might as well just shade in those areas with one block of solid shade, since the crosshatching you used pretty much all looks like the same value.
3) I think maybe it would be a better choice to link to this particular image because it is making my browser sidescroll, not to mention it's a really big image, and may present a problem with people who have smaller resolutions or slower connections.
Last edited by Ruxen on Thu May 06, 2004 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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McDuffies
- Bob was here (Moderator)
- Posts: 29957
- Joined: Fri Jan 01, 1999 4:00 pm
- Location: Serbia
- Contact:
It takes me about an hour to make a comic. You can see here what kind of comic:
http://mcduffies.keenspace.com
Ok, a few things I missed to do when I was young artist and I think they mean a lot. Even though some of them may seem like something you can avoid, I think none of them can be actually:
1. Making a comic goes this way:
Writing a script -> drawing a comic in pencil (sketch) -> retracing it with ink, marker or stronger pencil -> lettering, colouring, scanning, etc
Young artists often think (like I did) that they can skip sketch part or that they can draw improvising, without previously written script but that's really not something you should do. Results might seem ok to an artist but they won't to others.
2. Draw on bigger format than comic is supposed to be when published. At least slightly bigger.
Why? Because that way, you'll more easily get wanted result, work on detail, etc. Also, it's easier on your eyes, most of comic artists who worked on 1:1 format got very nearsighted at the end.
Of course, publishing on screen instead in paper, relativizes this but still, the bigger format, the better results. Balance this with what is actually convenient to you.
3. Carefully pick your tools: The kind of paper, pen and eraser is very important. You're gonna have to test a few till you find what fits you best and what's quality enough.
Avoid ballpoint pens. Their line is dull, they're not intended for drawing.
Papers can sometimes be moldy or wet.
Erasers can be greasy and leave stains on paper.
Ink/markers/whatever you use for final stage can be:
- pale; make sure that line is really black, not somekind of dark grey.
- whitened out by erasers.
- paling with time
Quill pens or brushes you draw with - now those you gotta choose carefully. I think they're the most important tool and quality of drawing you achieve with those can't be replaced with anything else. Some might disagree.
4. Be patient, cause neither skills or succes will come over night. Most of all, you have to love drawing comics.
http://mcduffies.keenspace.com
Ok, a few things I missed to do when I was young artist and I think they mean a lot. Even though some of them may seem like something you can avoid, I think none of them can be actually:
1. Making a comic goes this way:
Writing a script -> drawing a comic in pencil (sketch) -> retracing it with ink, marker or stronger pencil -> lettering, colouring, scanning, etc
Young artists often think (like I did) that they can skip sketch part or that they can draw improvising, without previously written script but that's really not something you should do. Results might seem ok to an artist but they won't to others.
2. Draw on bigger format than comic is supposed to be when published. At least slightly bigger.
Why? Because that way, you'll more easily get wanted result, work on detail, etc. Also, it's easier on your eyes, most of comic artists who worked on 1:1 format got very nearsighted at the end.
Of course, publishing on screen instead in paper, relativizes this but still, the bigger format, the better results. Balance this with what is actually convenient to you.
3. Carefully pick your tools: The kind of paper, pen and eraser is very important. You're gonna have to test a few till you find what fits you best and what's quality enough.
Avoid ballpoint pens. Their line is dull, they're not intended for drawing.
Papers can sometimes be moldy or wet.
Erasers can be greasy and leave stains on paper.
Ink/markers/whatever you use for final stage can be:
- pale; make sure that line is really black, not somekind of dark grey.
- whitened out by erasers.
- paling with time
Quill pens or brushes you draw with - now those you gotta choose carefully. I think they're the most important tool and quality of drawing you achieve with those can't be replaced with anything else. Some might disagree.
4. Be patient, cause neither skills or succes will come over night. Most of all, you have to love drawing comics.
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TimberWolf
- Regular Poster
- Posts: 107
- Joined: Fri Jan 01, 1999 4:00 pm
- Contact:
I've got to be one of the people you shouldn't look at for being a rolemodel.
The characters were redrawn onto my computer. (I'm scannerless) Each character has taken around 45 to 60 minutes. Depending on how much I watch these forums at the same time.
My story I do at the beginning of each week, everything is just impulsive and day to day. I think that might be because I never have plans far in advance really.
Each comic takes around an 30 to 60 minutes to do. Depending on the plotline and what needs to be redrawn for each character.
Don't forget to do grammer and spelling checks.
And people you know in person generally aren't the best ones to ask for advice. Simply because most are too afraid to criticize when you are right there.
*Gets into box and awaits HNTRAC*
They are coming for me. I sense it.
The characters were redrawn onto my computer. (I'm scannerless) Each character has taken around 45 to 60 minutes. Depending on how much I watch these forums at the same time.
My story I do at the beginning of each week, everything is just impulsive and day to day. I think that might be because I never have plans far in advance really.
Each comic takes around an 30 to 60 minutes to do. Depending on the plotline and what needs to be redrawn for each character.
Don't forget to do grammer and spelling checks.
And people you know in person generally aren't the best ones to ask for advice. Simply because most are too afraid to criticize when you are right there.
*Gets into box and awaits HNTRAC*
They are coming for me. I sense it.
*Realizes he has less free time now that school is over.*
'Understanding Comics'
If you're serious about getting into writing/drawing comics, you might consider investing in a copy of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics. Your local library is likely to have a copy.
Some of what Scott outlines in the guide is intuitive, but you might find a good portion of it enlightening. You can also find examples of Scott's comics and some other interesting stuff at his website: http://www.scottmccloud.com
Anyway, that's a good place to start. Good luck!
- Neb
Some of what Scott outlines in the guide is intuitive, but you might find a good portion of it enlightening. You can also find examples of Scott's comics and some other interesting stuff at his website: http://www.scottmccloud.com
Anyway, that's a good place to start. Good luck!
- Neb
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Phalanx
- The Establishment (Moderator)
- Posts: 3737
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- Location: Superglued to the forum by Yeahduff
- Contact:
How long do you spend making your comicxbabiboix wrote:Wow. Thx for all of the help but how long does it on average for you guys to make a strip? I drew this drawing
http://www.boomspeed.com/xbabi_boix/asappl.gif
in about thirty minutes. is that too long?
viewtopic.php?t=54233&highlight=long+spend+comic
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Noise Monkey
- Smells of pee
- Posts: 5848
- Joined: Mon Jun 16, 2003 7:14 am
- Location: A little short...
- Contact:
Eh, your sanity is a small price to pay for quality. As long as it doesn't kill you before you finish the story, I'll be fine.Mr.Bob wrote:*Starts giggling insanely*xbabiboix wrote:I drew this drawing in about thirty minutes. is that too long?
*collapses in a heap after finishing another 10 hour page*