Tips on Starting a Webcomic! Pt 2

So.... remember when I said I would update this blog twice a month....? Hah! Me neither!

 So far I've gotten to a rocky start when it comes to blogging lol. I'm surprised how hard it's been to really get motivated to work on my comics since the new year started. I think I was in "Comic Limbo" since I finished up the volumes I planned to get done in December. So now I've gotta do a ton of storyboarding which is always a bit draining for me lol.

 BUT! This time away from working on this new blog post has actually been a good thing! Within this month, I stumbled upon new sites and some new info that I'd like to briefly discuss for this blog post. I'll talk about Places to Upload your Comic, Building a Fanbase, And Comments, and what they really mean!
  So with out further adieu, here's Part 2 of "Tips on Starting a Webcomic!"

1. Sites to Host Your Webcomic
First off, here's a list of sites that are tailor made for hosting webcomics.
-Smackjeeves                   -Tapastic           -ComicFury        -Comic Genesis
-MangaMagazine              -Komikia           -GMI Manga      -Drunk Duck

Out of all these sites, I have experience using Smackjeeves, Manga Magazine, Tapastic, Komikia, and GMI Manga.
Smackjeeves
Pros: This is so far my favorite place to host my comics. It was the first place I started uploading my works, and it's where the latest updates can be found. This site has a special place in my heart. It's easy to stumble onto new comics that are similar to your own, and you can customize the layout and overall look of your comics page!
Cons: You'll have to know some basic coding to be able to customize your comics page. (Looking through the forums helps tho!) That's about all I can think of for Cons.

Manga Magazine
Pros: This lovely site offers the opportunity to get paid to draw your comic. I'm not too sure how the folks at Manga Magazine find candidates among the sea of comics for Featured and Premium Status. So my only tip would be: Stay consistent with updating, and just work hard to make your comic the best it can be!
Cons: It's a lot harder to just stumble onto new comics. And you also don't get to customize your layout.

Tapastic
Pros: This is a very recent discovery. And I signed up to try out their Primetime Publisher Program where you get paid depending on your page views. You can learn more about the program HERE. So far this site has be awesome.  And they layout their pages all vertically, which translates well for viewing on phones and tablets. It's still a fairly small community, but it's growing everyday and has so much potential so definitely check it out!
Cons: It's still a little wonky on a few things. When you get a comment on an "Episode", it's hard to track where that comment is if you have a lot of episodes. And if you sign up for the PPP, you have to upload a new chapter or "Episode" every week. So if you have very long chapters, you can't just simply add more pages to a current chapter. It won't count, so you gotta divide up the chapter. Example: Chapter One Pgs 1-12. That's one episode. And Episode 2 would be : Chapter One Pgs 13-20.

Komikia
Pros: This is also a fairly new discovery. It's also trying out paying for page views. So for every 1000 page views they reward $1. You can find out more about it HERE. So far it's a nice site. It's new, but you should check it out none the less!
Cons: The overall layout is still a bit confusing. It feels a bit unorganized I guess you could say? Hopefully they play around with their sites layout.

Global Manga Initiative
Pros: You can learn about them HERE. Basically, they host your webcomic, and promote it! Think of it as an online Anthology. They go to NYCC every year, and they're also working with Pronto Comics! They're still new, but their future as a growing business is looking great so far!
Cons: You gotta send them a pitch. So be sure you're ready to show samples of  your comic, and that your story is ready for on going updates.

I suggest you check out all the sites. And decide which one is best for you. Also, it's a good idea to pick one as your main site to host on. Where all the latest updates can be found. You can also use more than one site as a way to gain more viewers! Just be sure to link back to your main hosting site.

2. Building A Fanbase
 This also ties into what I brought up about using multiple sites for hosting your comic to gain more viewers. But there's 2 things you should keep in mind. Write the comics you want to write. And building interest in your comic takes time. A lot of time!

 When it comes to your comics. You should feel free to write whatever story you want. With THAT said, it's ALWAYS good to hear feedback and criticism on your work. There are things other people will notice that sometimes will fly over our heads as the creator. It happens and we should always be open to listen, and improve. Plus, you'd be surprised, maybe it helps spark new inspiration for your story!

 And when it comes to building a fanbase, just remember it isn't gonna be an overnight success. It takes time and a lot of hard work and dedication. I've been uploading my comics since I believe 2010 or 2011. I honestly can't remember lol. But I've been doing my best to be consistent and promote my works. So remember to work hard, and to keep going!

3. Comments and What They Really Mean
 This is a personal observation I've noticed. Don't ever think your comic isn't doing well because of a lack of comments. This post on Tumblr is fantastic and really eye opening. It sums up everything so check it out HERE.
 So just keep in mind that certain comics have certain audiences. As part of creating comics, you should think about who's reading your comic. Who's your target audience. It's important you know this, since it's something publishers look into as well. So just be ahead of the game and have this in mind.

I hope you enjoyed reading  these little tidbits of Info I have to offer! I'll be going in depth on these topics in later posts! Again, thank you for reading and see ya next time!

Tips on Starting a Webcomic! Pt1

 I made this blog maybe a year & a half ago, and it just ended up collecting dust bunnies lol. With the new year, I wanna start fresh and try new things. One of them being Blogging! And on a regular basis at that!

So lets get this started with my first official blog post of 2013!

 I decided to make this 1st post pretty general. Just some various tips that i'll briefly discuss in 2 parts this month. Then I'll go into detail in later posts that i'll divide into 4 parts:

-Storyplanning/Storyboarding

-Penciling/Inking/Toning

-Online Marketing

-Printing

1.Start Small.

Short stories are the best way to practice 2 things: 

-Learning to tell complete stories in a small amount of space.

-Test out new techniques without having to commit to them long term.

A big problem I ran into when I first drawing comics this: Wanting to draw that really long, on-going, epic series as your first project.  It's something a lot of want to do when were first starting out, and I ended up not thinking things thru and just diving right in. That series happened to be Nigh Heaven & Hell. It took

4 Different Attemps before I got to This Version. And I got about 3 volumes in before I realized my art & story were all over the place and that I wasn't happy with the final product as a whole. So I Redid It.

When I first started out, I could't fully comprehend the importance of short stories. That's not to say my attempts didn't help me improve in multiple ways. But short stories force you to think in a different way. You don't get the luxury of killing space with short stories. You only get X amount of pages to tell a complete story. So I suggest you keep your long/epic series on the back burner for a bit. Practice your basic skills 1st.

Another great thing about short stories is getting to test out new techniques without the long term commitment! Say your gonna try brush inking, but quickly realize you don't enjoy it, the great thing is if you're  working on a short 10 page story, you only have to really commit to it for those 10 pages. Let the short stories be ways of testing out new materials. You can even you the short stories to try out new page layouts or test out a new way of drawing! And it's also a good way to test out the final look for your longer series. Try out side stories and see what works best for how you'd like the final product to be.

2. You Don't Need To Buy Expensive Materials!

One thing I've learned while making comics is this: It's not the materials that make the artist, it's how the artist molds those materials. You don't need the most expensive brand name products to create comics. In the end, it's the final product that matters the most. Not what you used. And i'm not saying you're not allowed to buy Sakura Pens, Copics, or Deleter Paper. They're top name brands for a reason, because they're good. What I'm saying is to try out alternatives. There's so many products out in the market, some that even compete with the products I listed above. Branch out and try as many things as you can find! As of right now, these are the products I use for making comics.
- Hammermill A4 Printer Paper
- Prismacolor Col-Erase Light Blue Pencil
- Hunt 102 Nibs
- Bombay Black India Ink
- Royal Langnickel Nano-Liner

Use whatever feels comfortable. Take your time testing out products and finding what works best for you. 

3.Get Pages Done Before Hand.

If you plan to start a webcomic, then I suggest you get plenty of pages done before you start releasing them online. This goes hand in hand topic 4.The Importance of Update Schedules. When I first started showing my comics online, I already had them compiled into volumes because I didn't know anything about Webcomics! lol. So I had plenty of content to show without much worry. By having plency of pages ready before hand, it allows you to be more flexible, consistent, and 100% in control of your update schedule. 

You never have to stress yourself out getting pages done the night before your update schedule.

4.The Importance Of Update Schedules.

This is a Golden Rule: Be Consistent with your updating. 

Have your update schedule set, and stick to it. Be sure it's displayed somewhere easy to find so everyone knows. And if you know you'll be missing an update or that you're taking a break, let pepole know ahead of time. We're only human, and we DO forget sometimes and mistakes happen. But it's important to let your readers know out of common courtesy. And overall, just try to be as consistent as possible. <3

When it comes to deciding what days you'll update or how many pages to upload. Go for whatever works best for you. I've been trying out different ways of updating with each comic. Freakshow and Nigh Heaven & Hell update every Friday. But, I only update Freakshow with 1 page a week. Where as N.H.H updates are in batches. And Technicolor London updates with 1 page every Tuesday and Friday. It's interesting to juggle each series and see what works best for each series. 

 I'd have to say, the more days you update in a week, the better. Think of it this way, if you update your comic once a month, how many opportunities do you have for people to stumble onto your comic? Only once a month right? So keep that in mind when choosing your update schedule. But also keep in mind your own schedule too. Take it easy and slow at first. 

5.Printing Tips.

Before you start your webcomic, ask yourself this: "Do you plan to have your comic Printed?"

"What size would you like it printed at?" "Will it be Black & White or in Full Color?"

Here are some Specs to keep in mind for good print quality.

-300 DPI  A.K.A Dots Per Inch (It's the DPI I use and it prints perfectly. But feel free to go higher in DPI.)

-10.45x7.5 is a about the average size my pages end up being once cropped from the A4 Paper. If you plan to make smaller books, Keep Your Original File Sizes! You never know when you'll need them. 

-If you're going to use screentones, make sure they're High Resolution and for Printing. Here's a good place to find High Res Screen tones. Manga Apps & Rayedwards.

-If you plan to color your comic and print at some point, use Cmyk.  Check out this Tutorial and this easy Chart 

-To keep your print version different from the online version, try to have extras that are exclusive to the books. Technicolor London is a good example,. About 100 pages are dedicated to story pages (the ones you see online). And 30 pages are dedicated to Bonus Material. That includes Character Sketches, 4 Panel Comics, Fanart, and one Bonus Comic that's 10 Pages. 

You don't need that much in Extras though. If someone likes your comic, they're gonna want it in print and in their hands no matter what. The bonus material just helps make it a little more special!

That's is for Part 1! In Part 2, I'll discuss sites to upload your Webcomic, Building a Fanbase and Comments, what they really mean!

I hope you enjoyed reading! Feel free to comment below <3

My Work Space!

Im gonna show more about what my workspace looks like, as well as my bookcase and some of my fandom collection!

This is my desk area. My uncle helped out with the computer (He sold it to me :3)

Its a good little computer <3

This is my desk! I actually dont draw on it much, I usually use that Purple laptop desk and go mobile with my comic pages. XD

My Bookcase~~

And here's my nerdy love for evangelion and other stuff XD

This right here is my Baby Frostie! He was so cute as a puppy!

(R.I.P~ He lived a long, good life TwT)

And to end this little post, here are my favorite comics of all time!

That's all for now, I'll do my best to post more here and go in depth on making comics! >=3

 

My First Blog!

This is officially my FIRST time writing a Blog! Im still very new to this and It'll take some time to get used to but I hope you enjoy what I write, as well as find the Tutorials/Reviews/ and Process' I talk about!

I wasnt sure what I should talk about for this first post. So I decided to show you guys the tools I use for making my comic pages! ^^

These are the tools I use for making comics. Various things I've accumulated during the years.

My Favorite Ruler is C-Thru, Its got red gridlines and its small enough to carry anywhere.

I also use that brush a lof for dusting away all the eraser shavings XD (It comes in pretty handy)

From Left--Right

*Sakura Permapaque Dual Point

*Zig Millennium Pens

I HIGHLY recommend the Permapaque for coloring in Large Black areas. It doesn't bleed thru the otherside of the paper (Which if your like me, you can still use the other side of the paper just fine XD)

The Millennium pens are great, Theyre only 9.99 and work just as well as the Sakura Micons.

Left--Right

Top--Bottom

*Dr.Martin's Bombay Black India Ink (Its the only ink I use and trust <3)

*Gauze w/Cotten for Special Effects

*Napkins for wiping away excess ink off nibs

*Various Nibs (Favorite one is Hunt 102)

*Various Nib Holders

*Zebra and Deleter Brand Maru Pens

Left--Right

*Leads 0.5 and 0.9

*0.5 Mechanical Pencil (Blue) 0.9 Mechanical Pencil (Black)

* Retractable Eraser

* Erasers: Pentel Hi Polymer, Papermate Pink Pearl (When it comes to erasers, im not too picky, as long as it doesnt mess up the product thats all that matters)

My Awesome(Lame) Pencil Cases!

That's all for now. Next time ill show you my Workspace! See ya guys next time.

UPDATE!

Im finally gonna get around to fixing up this blog! Ill be using my Tumblr as a

Sketch Blog. And this blog will be used to talk about my Process, Tutorials, Reviews, ect!

I'll get to work on it after the holidays ;3

Page 9 out of 12 for a new one shot im working on for a contest.

Its called "The Lone Cowboy"

Some Sketches for the Technicolor London Calender! <3