A Few Questions for Comic Makers

1)
- I average about 4-6 panels per page, so 8-12 panels per episode.
- 1 page updates only really work if there's a lot of content per page.
- I do two pages per episode. Things are always happening in my pages, I don't really leave much space for no story progression.

2)
- One page can take about 5-8 hours to do, though I have yet to time myself legitimately because of the way I make my pages.
- Months, it really depends more on motivation and free time.
- I am a solo operator.
- Sketching takes the longest to do.

3)
- I've had the Idea for my present comic for years and I was slowly building up story elements during that time. I finally decided to do it because I found an art style that I liked working in and I felt I'd done enough research.
- Yea and that comes with a lot of writing and rewriting.
- I don't know if you can call it inspiration, I just thought this comic was something I could handle and finish in a short amount of time. (I was wrong about the time thing)

I feel like there’s already plenty of good answers for 1 and 2 but I wanted to give my opinion on 3:

Inspiration comes and goes, which is why systems, like scripting and plotting, are so important to develop your story. All those really great scenes and scenarios you have are only ever going to work if they are within a narrative framework that helps us to care about the character and their journey and what’s at stake. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend reading more about story structure.

For me, I first work on certain elements of a story as tent poles, such as a solid inciting action and mid point, a clear theme and a starting and ending image for the main character to show their transformation. If those elements/tent poles are strong, and the tent can stand on its own, I’ll begin to develop the concept in greater detail (fill the tent with ideas). If not, then I put it in the ideas pile for another time.

A cool concept and great stories are not the same thing, and the sooner you realise which one you’re working with the better, so you can spend time where it counts.

How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?

I do one page per episode, and my pages usually have between 4-6 panels each. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less, but I never go above 9 or less than 3.

If you do 1 page per chapter, what's the advantage to that?

I do one page per episode, because I grew up on traditionally-formatted comics and classic webcomics that were formatted as individual pages, rather than scrolling formats, and that's what I like drawing. I like doing it this way because it makes my comic feel more like a comic, it means I can turn out pages fairly quickly, and I can update multiple times a week for increased visibility. An actual chapter of my comic is usually about 40 pages.

If you do more than one page per chapter, what do you feel is best about that?

N/A

How long does it take to make one full page?

From thumbnail to colors, it probably takes me about 8 or 9 hours per page. Thumbnailing usually takes me about 15 minutes to half an hour, penciling is maybe an hour or two, inking is probably an hour or two, and then coloring can be about two to three hours, depending on how complex it is. Some pages take less time if they're less complicated, some pages take more.

How long does it take to do a full chapter?

So in this case, a chapter for me is about 40 pages. When I sit and work on my comic in earnest, I usually complete about ten pages a week, so a 40-page chapter would take me about four weeks to finish.

Do you have different people to help with different things?

I have an editor who will look over my story and my thumbnails to help make sure my visual storytelling is the best it can be, but that's it. Everything else is all me.

Which process takes the longest?

Coloring for sure, though now that I'm using Clip Studio more, that is going a lot faster than it used to.

How did you come to settle on one idea?

I have so many different ideas for comics floating around in my brain and in various notebooks and sketchpads and Google Docs, that I found myself just going back and forth between everything and never committing to anything. Finally I just told myself, "I am going to do a webcomic. I'm just going to do the next idea that pops in my head and do that, no questions asked." So I did!

Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like?

Yup! See above answer. I have a ton of half-developed story ideas. I'll get really into one for a while, then hop to another one for a few weeks, then back to a different one for a while.

What inspiration has made you settle on one comic?

It wasn't really a matter of inspiration making me settle on one, as it was discipline and determination. I knew I wanted to do a webcomic to help me practice my skills, and I knew that if I just relied on inspiration to strike, I would waffle about it forever. So rather than rely on my inspiration, I forced myself to make a decision and commit to something and stick with it.

That's a very thorough list of questions! I definitely should have been asking them before I began making my comic, but I just flew in blind, haha. I assume you're thinking of starting a webcomic?

How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
I'm aiming for around 17 - 22 panels per chapter now. I would like to do more, but that's as much as I can manage in one week. (I have a more time-intensive art style than a lot of other comic artists.)

If you do 1 page per chapter, what's the advantage to that?
I used to. I stopped doing it because the disadvantages on mobile apps like Tapas and WEBTOON drastically outweigh the advantages. Nevertheless, I'll list what was advantageous.

• Posting more means your series gets bumped to the top of the 'newest comics' list in your genre.
• Creating in page format makes eventual printing super easy, since you don't have to reformat anything.

If you do more than one page per chapter, what do you feel is best about that?
This is the ideal way to go. I started seeing more success when I switched to a multi-page, mobile-friendly scrolling format on both Tapas and WEBTOON.

• Longer episodes allow the reader to immerse themselves in the tone of your story, and properly 'feel' whatever emotions you're trying to convey.
• Readers prefer it, and will be much more likely to sub to a comic which has longer episodes.
• It helps immeasurably with pacing, as you're thinking and drafting in scenes, or scene-fragments, rather than in pages.
• Being at the top of the 'newest comics' list is only helpful when you're right at the beginning of building a following. Advertising your comic on social media and Reddit is more lucrative.

How long does it take to make one full page?
Between 5 to 8 hours. Every time I speed something up, I add more detail. I'll get that number down eventually!

How long does it take to do a full chapter?
About three full working days, though I often leave speech bubbles and lettering until the weekend.

Do you have different people to help with different things?
I do everything myself. Some of the more successful creators will pay for someone to help by laying down flat colours and such.

Which process takes the longest?
Lighting and shadows. It's my favourite part of the process, but definitely the most time-intensive.

How did you come to settle on one idea?
I have an absolutely massive comic project based in a huge extended universe I've spent more than a decade worldbuilding. I'm not ready as a writer or an artist to begin the main story; I've never made a comic before, and I want that story to be as close to a professional quality as I can make it. But I could choose one of many side-stories within that universe to 'cut my teeth on', so to speak. I chose Blue Star Rebellion because it would challenge me artistically, and push me to improve on things like action scenes, man-made structures and such.

Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like?
I dabbled gently with a few, but as soon as I landed on the beginning of a plot for Blue Star Rebellion, I knew I'd found what I needed, and I dove straight into it.

What inspiration has made you settle on one comic?
I really love the characters in Blue Star Rebellion. A number of them also show up in Dragonfeathers, and they're characters which don't get as much exploration in Dragonfeathers, so this side-story helps shine a spotlight on them. Also, I had a plot. I'd written out the whole of the first and second chapters, so deciding to just continue with this one was a bit of a no-brainer. Now that I've put more work into fleshing out all of the characters, I'm loving it more and more.

Hey, welcome to Tapas!

• About ten. My updates after late in chapter 0 consist of basically two print pages spread out a little and stacked. My average panel count per page is about 5.

• Switching to two pages in a single update instead of one page twice a week impacted the pacing in a good way. When you upload single pages, you can't do pages that are just building up to something or spent in quiet reflection. Everything has to have a punchline or a moment of impact. When I work in pairs, I can have longer conversations and more room to build atmosphere, plus the less "every page is a wham!" will work better for the print edition, so I'm happy with it.

• HAHAHAHAHA Oh god probably like 6-8 hours?

• Around 6 months per chapter.
• My partner is a Designer by trade so they help me when it comes to design and promo stuff, and also advised me on font choice and line spacing, but everything on the day to day page production is just me.

• The inking probably?

• Well, Errant is a reboot of an old comic I used to make nearly a decade ago. I let it slip because it wasn't quite working, but I still felt a lot of passion towards the characters and themes, so I revived it, while fixing some of the issues I felt were holding the old version back.

• I come up with ideas all the time. Usually I write them down for when the time is right or fold them into other ideas. I've toyed with other comics and projects a lot.
• I settled on this one for web because I already knew and loved the characters and was still getting fanart of them years later, and some things with a similar vibe have had success since then like She Ra, Rat Queens etc. So I felt like this was the webcomic I wanted to make and that might have a shot at gaining readers. It's not my only project though. I'm working on a different comic for print right now.

1.) How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
I do one page per update. Traditional format goes on ComicFury and Wordpress, vertical format goes on Tapas and Webtoons. Panels per chapter can really vary a lot: so far I have three very short chapters and two longer ones. Short chapters can be anywhere from 10 to 20 panels, while longer ones can go up to 60 and more panels. A single page can contain from 3 (rare, nowadays) to 7 panels.

- If you do 1 page per chapter, what's the advantage to that?
(I'm going to answer as if we're talking about 1 page per update, as I don't really do 1 page chapters :D)
First and foremost: it's a speed I can keep up with. I have a full time job and my only free time is during the weekends, so I'm lucky if I can get a single page done each week. I do have a buffer, but it's still not enough to justify longer/more frequent updates. Additional reasons: 1. one page per chapter allows me to be on the front page more often, which means more opportunities for people to discover my work; 2. frequent updates make a long story like mine easier to keep up with. There's quite a bunch of stuff happening, with lots of characters and plenty of details to keep in mind (it's a mystery, after all :D)... since I can't update faster, one page a week allows me to keep the interest high. If I were to post only completed chapters and/or multiple pages at once, it'd take weeks or even MONTHS between one update and the other... and from what I've seen so far, people are more likely to lose their interest and leave if they have to wait for that long.
I always try to make sure to "cut" my episodes in a way that hopefully feels interesting, be it by inserting a joke, or maybe a tiny cliffhanger or... well, anything that might encourage readers to want to find out more, lol.

- If you do more than one page per chapter, what do you feel is best about that?
I used to, and to be honest my experience was pretty much the exact opposite of what was mentioned above :'D I'd update with two pages every two weeks in long scroll format on Webtoons, but my numbers would grow at a snail's pace and more often than not I'd lose readers with each update instead of getting new ones. As soon as I switched to weekly/"single page" updates, however, my numbers started to grow again. I'm also losing less readers, meaning that shorter/faster updates are probably easier for my audience to keep up with.
I know that a lot of people say that longer updates are better for readers because they have more stuff to sink their teeth into, buuut... alas, that wasn't my experience at all :'D

2.) How long does it take to make one full page?
Anywhere from 6 to 13 hours.
- How long does it take to do a full chapter? If I were to work solely on my comic for 8 hours a day... around 14-15 days for longer chapters and around 2-4 days for shorter ones. But since I can't really work on the comic for 8 hours a day... around 1-2 months per chapter XD
- Do you have different people to help with different things? Nope, I do everything on my own :'D
- Which process takes the longest? Coloring and shading, definitely.

3.) How did you come to settle on one idea?
A lot of my characters were originally created for a RPG game I used to play. The game is no longer active, but I felt like those characters and their stories still had a lot of potential and really wanted to do something with them. I was in doubt between writing a novel or creating a comic, but I felt like the comic format would suit the story more.
- Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like? Nah, I'm really slow at coming up with ideas, so when I come up with one I feel would work, I stick to it like there's no tomorrow :'D
- What inspiration has made you settle on one comic? Pretty much already answered above I had a lot of material already, a story I really wanted to tell and characters I loved. Also, I really, really wanted to get back into the world of making comics, so I figured I might as well do it starting from something I'm very passionate about

Welcome to Tapas ! I think you'll feel at ease here, the community here is pretty nice and always up to provide help ^^

Now, let's answer those questions !

1)
- I tend to do a full episode per page, so about 50-60 panels, and a full chapter has an average of 10 pages, so i would say about 550 panels per chapter.
- I don't see how i could do that ^^'
-I think it let me more space to develop the characters and to create the right mood for every situation (Tension, suspense etc...)

2)
- If i can spend full time on a page i can do it in two weeks, but with my current job i can only do a page per month.
- 6 month, now i would say a year.
- Nope, i work all alone on it ^^
- Sketching... I think it's because i don't like sketching that much and tend to change some panels a lot during it.

3)
- I like to imagine stories for drawings i do, and at some point i just enjoyed to draw a bad ass lady in a suit and the story just started to pop in my mind.
- Oh hell yes, most of the time i write them all down and go through them with someone else to get another point of view and sort them out.
- I guess i'm just passionate about the setting right now ! Prohibition was a hell of a time ^^

1.) How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
I tend to do 5 or 6 but I don't like my panel setup and plan to improve that
- If you do more than one page per chapter, what do you feel is best about that?
It feels like a natural end to the scene.

2.) How long does it take to make one full page?-
I sketch the scene, clean it up, figure out dialogue, and simple colour, so about a day and 1/2 if I'm not doing anything else
How long does it take to do a full chapter?
Depends on where I think a natural end should be. A 3pg chapter takes about a week, longer...takes longer
- Do you have different people to help with different things?
no
- Which process takes the longest?
colouring

3.) How did you come to settle on one idea?
I only had one

1.) I do around 3-4 pages per update. Each page has around 4 panels. An update has around 12-16 panels. I feel like you can enjoy that more and it's also faster to finish the chapter. My comic is also very long.

2.) Around 2,5 hours. It really depends. If there are buildings, cars and backgrounds it will take longer. It takes me around a year to finish a longer chapter. I do everything on my own. The lineart takes a long time. The lineart takes an hour. There's just so much to draw.

3.)That's a hard one. I've tried out many different types of comics. I didn't just settle with one. I have multiple comics. I'm usually inspired by the things I like at the moment. If I find something interesting then that's all I want to see or hear about.

Sorry not good at advice XD

I literally only started uploading two days ago but I'll give this a shot.

1. How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?

• If by "chapter" you mean individual update, then I don't have a set amount. I try to make each update feel at least reasonably complete though so I won't leave any potential readers hanging. I plan to upload in batches of 3-6 pages, which is roughly 10-25 panels.

2. How long does it take to make one full page?

• It usually takes me around 1.5-2 hours to make a page.
• So, using simple maths, you can calculate that a single update takes me 5-10 hours to make.
• As for individual chapters of my story (which I am calling "segments"), I'm not sure. The first segment of my comic may even reach up to 80 pages in length, so probably quite a while.
• I do everything by myself (like most amateur comic creators I feel).
• Colouring takes me the longest, but the hardest step for me is coming up with panel layouts.

How do you come to settle on one idea?

• Typically, I have many different scenarios in my head from the start. Gradually, I filter out the unsuitable scenarios while building onto the more suitable ones. Eventually, a completed scene/idea takes shape.
• Yes, many times. It's quite frustrating when you just can't figure out what you want to do. I have a basic idea of what's going to happen in my story, but I rarely plan ahead any specific details because I feel that if I now everything that is going to happen in my story, I'll become bored of writing it myself.
• I really like introspective stories with intense characterization and drama. I'm also a fan of a more gradual sense of horror (paranoia with a slow, tense build up) and obscure/weird creature designs. I enjoy surrealism too. And of course, nothing is complete without a hearty dollop of slice of life!
  I think my main sources of inspiration for my story would be anime/manga like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Higurashi, Madoka Magica, the works of horror fiction authors such as H.P Lovecraft and a few webcomics that I enjoy (Ava's Demon, Stand Still Stay Silent, Ghost Eyes among others).

1.) How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
Usually it adds up to about 6-7 panels! More isn't unheard of though.
- If you do 1 page per chapter, what's the advantage to that?
I'm gonna assume you mean per update, and that's usually what I do. It won't drain me of pages and/or sanity and it's not terrible to keep up with.
- If you do more than one page per chapter, what do you feel is best about that?
Definitely exposure and viewer interest. I think viewers are more engaged the more often you update; I'd recommend that it instead be multiple updates across the week as opposed to just multiple page in one post.

2.) How long does it take to make one full page?
About... 8 hours? 12 hours? Depends on the page.
- How long does it take to do a full chapter?
Hard to say. I lock myself to a page a week, and if one chapter is 26 pages, so 26 weeks... so a couple of months.
- Do you have different people to help with different things?
Nope. All by meself.
- Which process takes the longest?
Coloring. It takes a bit longer than lineart.

3.) How did you come to settle on one idea?
I kicked around several ideas for a while and saw what one I kept coming back to? I had several comic ideas for a while, and my comic All Good Things is what I kept idly thinking about, so that's the one I did!
- Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like?
Yup. A lot. I still am, and I don't think that's ever really gonna stop. The more I intake media, the more new ideas I get that are inspired by that media.
- What inspiration has made you settle on one comic?
Probably... Dear, Evan Hansen. I love musicals, so that's probably that!

1.) How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
Uh, per chapter? 1 chapter for my comic is around 10-15 episodes, and commonly, 1 episode is around 5-6 pages and 1 page usually 4 panels. so 4*6*15= 360 panels per chapter.
- If you do 1 page per chapter, what's the advantage to that?
Uh, I don't do that.
- If you do more than one page per chapter, what do you feel is best about that?
Storytelling and immersiveness of the world the story is set at. That's pretty basic.

2.) How long does it take to make one full page?
Just a page? Eh 4 days, perhaps? sleep and other activities counted.
- How long does it take to do a full chapter?
7 months.
- Do you have different people to help with different things?
Of course, I have a penciler named Oshi who does the sketch, an inker named Oshi who does the line-arts, a colorist named Oshi, a letterer named Oshi, an editor named Oshi, and hi, my name is Oshi.
- Which process takes the longest?
Lining, my least favorite part of the making process.
3.) How did you come to settle on one idea?
Oh, that thing is called commitment.
- Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like?
Of course, so many ideas so little time, So I made the choice and stick to the most developed one.
- What inspiration has made you settle on one comic?
Eh, I have two comics here, one is the main project and the other one is just a fun occasional comic strip.

Thanks!
You're welcome.

1) Though my comic has one overarching story and several mini plotlines, I like each episode to be somewhat self-contained, so it doesn't leave off in a super awkward spot. This means finding a good ending line (similar to a punchline, though usually not an actual joke -- just something that feels somewhat final most of the time) or cliffhanger to end on. I publish an episode every 2 weeks, and that means trying to keep each one to around 15 panels or less, as I can comfortably complete a panel each day, with a few extras on weekends. Sometimes I plan an episode which ends up running too long, and I have to find a good midpoint to break it into two at.

2) I spend 1-2 weeks on each episode, though as I go on getting less lazy about my art it's usually more like 2 weeks. I do it all by myself, lineart takes the longest because I end up redrawing every line several times.

3) Since this is my first comic and most of my prior drawing experience didn't involve drawing people, I knew it was going to be rough, so I actually chose a story that I'm not as attached to as some of my other ideas. While it's a bit of a slog at times, I'm glad I did, because looking back at the first few episodes makes me cringe. Just making myself work on this thing daily has improved my skills so much already, I feel confident that by the time I'm ready to work on a story I care more about, I'll be much happier with the results.

1.) How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
I do like 50+ panels per chapter. I feel I can tell more but kill my hand much more lol

2.) How long does it take to make one full page?
it varies depending on my agenda and if Im not sick between 3 hours to 1 week. It deends on the page, some are easy for me and others I just cant do much.

- How long does it take to do a full chapter?
Im trying it be less than 3 weeks.

- Do you have different people to help with different things?
Whats help?!?????

- Which process takes the longest?
coloring followed by lettering since Im currengy using English, my third language and no beta-reader lol

3.) How did you come to settle on one idea?
I have like 20 stories but the one that torments me more wins.

- Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like?
No, the ideas are the ones that pokes at me and the one that hits more wins.

- What inspiration has made you settle on one comic?
Not sure about this question but my dreams?, my subconcicious is loud.

Dropped in for the questions.

1.1.) How many panels/slides do you like to do per chapter?
I counted and it's about 90~110 panels. If you meant 'per update' then it's 15~30. (normal sized panels)

1.2) If you do 1 page per chapter, what's the advantage to that?
(I think you meant 'episode'/'update'.) Well for continuous comic like mine, I don't like that as a reader. Not enough content.

1.3) If you do more than one page per chapter(episode), what do you feel is best about that?
Better flow for the storytelling.

2.1) How long does it take to make one full page?
Roughly a few days.

2.2) How long does it take to do a full chapter?
3~4 months. I would want to improve speed in time.

2.3) Do you have different people to help with different things?
All by myself.

2.4) Which process takes the longest?
The thumbnail stage (If i care a lot on the pages)

3.1) How did you come to settle on one idea?
I initially wanted a larger scope fantasy story but settled for a smaller contained story. I can focus on the 'inner-stories' more. I leave my original more 'outwardly-adventurous' stories for the future decade.

3.2) Have you ever jumped through ideas until you found one you like?
Maybe on brainstorming/story-drafting stages, but no when i started working on comic.

3.3) What inspiration has made you settle on one comic?
Strange similar question like 3.1.

I can´t answer the first question because I only do pages which are printed and no online comics so far

2) One full page with 6 panels, writing, pencils, inks, coloring, lettering takes me one day. Flatting and coloring takes the lonest time, it´s about 50% of the time.
Nobody helps me on my own comic projects

3) I have a hard time settling for one idea, that´s why I only do short projects. I´m working on an 8 page comic right now, I´m on page 7 of 8.
I didn´t settle for one idea, I just write from page to page without knowing where the journey goes. This only works because I have a crazy,
non linear writing and comic style. The confusing chaos is part of the package