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Webcomic do's and don'ts
falconire
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Not sure if this topic has been raised, probably has, but thought it would be interesting. Basically for people here with webcomics (there must be hundreds), what have you learned to do that works, and what doesn't work. Overall I think this could help a lot of people out.
I for one would say no to gamer comics (having run one for a year and a half), a reminder for new webcartoonists to keep a consistant pace when they posts, and to avoid inside jokes completely.
Anyone else?
I for one would say no to gamer comics (having run one for a year and a half), a reminder for new webcartoonists to keep a consistant pace when they posts, and to avoid inside jokes completely.
Anyone else?
falconire on
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DO read the rules.
DON'T post a new thread for a question
DO post this in the questions thread.
I think this is a warranted new post, I've been trying to get them to make a thread like this for a while
it'd be interesting to get some feedback in here from forumers who do have successful webcomics
and there are some! firman, allan, s_o (though he doesn't post or even lurk around here very often)
i've voiced this opinion before and have gotten mixed reactions, but there have been some DAMN good comics out there that have shitty ass art, seemingly intentionally shitty art, but they make it because the writing is awesome
another cool idea would be to analyze why certain webcomics work in this thread and why others fail
My other problem with 90% of webcomics is that the creator(s) get locked into one perspective/"camera" angle for the majority of the comic; see PvP, Penny Arcade, Scary Go Round, etc. I don't expect every comic to feature a ton of bird's/bug's eye view shots, or a bunch of kooky experimental stuff, but for Christ's sake, don't have everyone in 3/4th view, visible only from the waist-up, with panels that are identical in size all the time. This ties in with the prevalence of copy/paste art. It's a practice that stems from laziness, and leads to stagnation.
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http://firmanproductions.com/ ???
oh you!
One webcomic that is very good at camera angles is Boxer Hockey.
http://boxerhockey.fireball20xl.com/
Anybody read this?
Holy shit this made me laugh unreasonably hard.
I concur that the art is not shitty, it appears to be a stylistic choice that is perhaps unconventional but not bad.
Is it ever warranted, though?
I am probably one of the few people who cares, but nothing ruins a comic for me like a typo or a grammatical error. At best it's an honest mistake, at worst it's sheer laziness and is mildly insulting to the reader.
no
if it is plural, there ain't no apostrophe
if it is a contraction or possessive, you use one
I must admit I use apostrophes frequently when words are plural...though I guess not so much in cases where it matters - like in an essay or somesuch.
Kinda like how I used to type "recodnize" even though I knew it was wrong, just because that's how I'd pronounce it, and it just seemed better.
/eeeeeeeend derailing
Though yes, agree'd on the part where webcomics with typos make me sad.
(yes I know that apostrophe is wrong there too, but I do
'd
a lot online.)
I love this shit.
It's the polar opposite with writing; if the script is witty/charming/engrossing enough, you can practically get away with artistic genocide. Look at Achewood for example; the Great Outdoor Fights arc is one of the best i've read on any webcomic period, and the art is trash.
That's not always true. An apostrophe can be used when pluralizing short words if its inclusion improves legibility. "I got all As" is generally less understandable than "I got all A's" when people read it. It ends up looking like a capitalization typo. There is definitely enough support behind "do's" to make freaking out about it on an unrelated forum thread title kind of excessively pedantic.
I would personally never abuse an apostrophe like that, though.
On the subject of webcomics, I hate the entire deal. Content slowly dripping out of a website I have to keep returning to every couple of days for years is not the best way to read comics. Most of them don't even need to be on the internet, anyway, and would be a lot more enjoyable (for me) collected in print. I only actively follow 5 (PA, xkcd, PBF, SMBC, and Hitmen for Destiny) as a result.
I would like it if prospective webcomics creators sat down and asked themselves "why am I putting this on internet?" before starting. I hope the hurdles of printing comics would deter most people from making auto-bio comics without asking themselves if they're actually interesting enough to sustain a comic.
But why is checking a website from the comfort of your own chair periodically (1,2, or 3 times per week for 2 minutes per) that different from driving to a game or comic store periodically (1, 2, or 3 times per month for 15-60 minutes per trip, not necessarily including travel time)?
Both delivery systems deliver the goods in installments, and both require repeat visits to get the full story. The webcomic is free whereas the print comic is not, however the print comic is tangible and relatively permanent while the webcomic is not necessarily. The webcomic requires no investment in storage (containers nor space) and gives easy access to complete story lines and 100% full history of all comics while print comics do not guarantee that but do potentially gain in value over time.
So there are plenty of little differences, as seen from where I sit, that ultimately boil down to matters of preference. But in the end they both strike me as installment-based delivery systems and consequently more similar (in regards to your initial point of disliking "Content slowly dripping out...") than they are different.
So if a prospective comic author asks themself "why am I putting this on internet?" it seems reasonable to follw up with "why not?" It's simpler, faster, and cheaper, and the delivery method has aquired a wide fan base in general so there's a sizeable market to break into with revenue systems that can be followed up once the readership is high enough (merchandise plus franchising into print via newspaper syndication or print books).
I dunno, it seems like a good system to me.
EDIT: Sorry for the tangent.
My Website | My "photo-a-day" 2010
The mathy time stuff is based on questionable numbers, but,
It's not such a massive problem to load webpages, but the tiny comic asides are more disruptive to my day than the single trip, once a week.
It's not really worth debating, though, because some people prefer one way, and others prefer the other. Each side is perfectly valid.
Lots of comics fans just wait for trades and get the entire story in a lump. It is one way works pretty well for some people.
Des: I was going to mention that in my first post by saying that Penny Arcade is the only one I read that closely and consistently follows real world events (with xkcd having the occasional jaunt). Still, though, I would enjoy the others more in print.
ed: DO realize that some people are jaded and won't ever give your comic a chance.
Yeah, good writing overrules bad art, or just cheap art.
There are plenty of Penny Arcade comics where the character templates get reused, sometimes in every panel, but Gabe only really seems to do it whenever the characters are sitting the entire time, and he changes enough details between panels so you wouldn't likely notice if you weren't looking for it.
Like here.
If any of the webcomics I read now were in print instead of online, I don't think any of them would have anything close to the exposure they currently enjoy. And I don't know if any web comic artist went in to it certain that it would pay off or "work" or whatever. I would have hated to have seen PBF start off in print and go no where because of the vast costs of manufacturing and marketing your own book.
Suffering through a bit of crap is a small price for exposure to free awesomeness that might otherwise have never come to light.
also, this thread is entirely worth it for me to discover firman. thanks, duder.
More like starting a blog with a post about how you started a blog.
I would argue the reason it was done here is because having Gabe hold the same posture through-out the entire three panels is part of the joke.
But you're right, usually when Gabe does it, there's enough of a significant change between each panel that all three don't feel so static.
A key difference here is that most webcomic artists aren't professionals. They're just people who like doing art in their spare time who mostly do it whenever they feel like it. Some eventually fall into a schedule, while most eventually lose interest or they run out of ideas. Among those select few who are consistent and enjoy doing it, only so many are producing a comic popular enough to see much revenue out of it.
Monthly published comics have a LOT more work put into them, well beyond the treshhold most artists would ever do as a hobby, which is why the artists involved get paid for it. Meanwhile, webcomics depend entirely on the kindness of their viewers to give money to a comic they're allowed to read for free.
Then there are those rare gems that are both high-quality, well-written, and very consistently updated.
In other words, Dr McNinja is the best thing ever.
Man, then you have to sit at the computer and read 300 strips where they start getting good after you're forced to read a hundred of them that are not so great, but are integral to understanding references that come up later in the series. Then you finally catch up and it's waiting again.
des: Perry Bible Fellowship was originally a print comic and it runs (ran) in a lot of newspapers and magazines. It probably wouldn't be as popular as it is today if it hadn't been online, too, but just being popular isn't enough to make it come back from "whenever I feel like it" hiatus.
More like webcomic can of worms.
And let's not forget the carbon benefits!
Man, then you have to go to the comic store and buy 20 issues where they start getting good after you're forced to read seven of them that are not so great, but are integral to understanding references that come up later in the series. Then you finally catch up and it's waiting again.
Your argument is not exclusive to digital media, friend.
Webcomics (or rather the web in general) facilitates self-publishing. Like YouTube, this can either be a gateway for someone creative, or an absolute fucking tragedy. But ultimately, self-publication allows people with good ideas but no money or few chances with publishers to actually get their work out there.
And as we've seen with a lot of comics that have started on the web, this can parlay into print, so really, it's just a different way to go about the same goal of publication.
Then again, there are some comics that just couldn't be printed and make full use of the online medium.
I never claimed it was rational. It is probably impossible to justify to you as a result.
ed: Yes, thanks E.
In my case, I loved what I had going, and wanted to see it through, even know I couldn't find a publisher. (as a note to people trying to submit to publishers from experiance: personalize each submission package for each publisher, check your grammar/punctuation like a madman, and make sure you can afford to pay for everything yourself before you submit).
Anywho, back to the main topic. I think it's important to look at your webcomic as a business. In other words be careful who your partners are. You don't want to work with someone who will just flake out on your later, or someone who doesn't pay their side of the expenses. Also, realize that with this in mind you should be willing to put both time and money into the webcomic (if you're serious, and it isn't just a hobby) as investments for the future of the comic. I've worked with people who said they wanted an awesome new comic (web and print), but had no interest in paying for anything, or even doing any of the real work.
http://qwantz.com/
Do: Decide a schedule and stick with it.
Don't: Ever miss a deadline, no matter what.
Don't: Whore your comic when you only have one on your site. Give yourself a while to have a good amount of past comics. And don't post your comic the first day you join the AC unless you're actually going to contribute here.
Do: Have a good site design. Make sure pages load quickly and your site is easy to navigate. Simple and easy to navigate is better than flashy, slow and complicated.
Do: Practice art, not necessarily just art based on your comic.
Don't: Expect anyone to actually visit your site. There are plenty of comics out there already.
Do: start a webcomic because you're having fun with it.