So, I think I’m almost ready to start drawing a comic once I figure out what it should be about, and so I want to know what advice y’all had, things you wish you had known when you first started, etc. especially really weird and not obvious things
Dec '22
Jan '23
Although I am not an artist but a writer on tapas specifically, I have drawn, or attempted to draw comics before.
My advice is to first get a proper plot laid out. Some artists work with authors to do that because they believe that they're not adept in that area. Then, you can start designing characters. Figure out how they'll act and maybe practice some poses. It's useful to to know is that some poses that the character(s) make are often difficult and annoying to draw along with backgrounds/landscapes. One last thing is that repetition always helps improve drawings.
Hope this helps.
First comic?
Just have fun, no preparation, don´t think / don´t overthink, just draw those pages.
For maximum improvement:
Draw some pages, show it to pros who´s style you admire. Let them give you feedback.
A lot of professional artists are very nice and will give you free advice.
This feedback is gold and makes you improve more than every book you read or every
tutorial you take, it´s better than hours of training and trying to figure out stuff for yourself.
Most people are scared to do this but it´s a mistake. The pros are doing that what you
want to learn, ask them how they do it.
You think someone draws fantastic backgrounds and your backgrounds look like shit? Ask them how they do it.
The same goes for everything else. Dynamic figures, how to draw hair, whatever you can imagine. Ask the people
who do it. Don´t be scared of feedback. Don´t ask strangers on facebook, you will get wrong advice from amateurs
It could take a lot of time. Like, a lot. Especially if you haven't done much stuff like drawing backgrounds and characters in various poses and from different angles before. Of course, everything depends on your style and the specific style of the comic, but just be ready that it could take you a lot of time and it could be frustrating.
Character sheets are not necessary, but they might help you stay more consistent. Even if your style will change and you decide to do something crazy with colors, they will be there with their original style and colors to track the info back. Write the notes on important details you might forget or if you realize you're forgetting them later (I used to forget drawing sleeves for one character's blouse like literally all the time).
It's okay to feel like you suck at doing stuff, whether it's something completely new or something you already did before. You are constantly learning and you can't be the best from the first try. It's much better to try doing something new than to forever get stuck at drawing flying heads in 3/4.
Use references. Use references! For poses, for angles, for shoes, clothes, for hands, for emotions, even for panels if you don't know how to approach them. Your phone camera may be extremely helpful.
It's okay to be inconsistent in style/coloring/how characters look or not knowing how your comic should look like. Try as many different things in your comic as you want, be bold. There's a huge chance that something you consider a big change for your style, the readers won't notice 
Tips I recommend for a beginner to Tapas comics:
Spend time doing prep before you launch!!! I'm an impatient person, so I can completely sympathise with the desire to just throw up a placeholder thumbnail and banner and to start putting up pages the second they're finished... but don't do it! You will have a much more successful launch and a higher chance of early "new from the community" features if you...
Search the series name you want to use before you commit to it. If somebody else has made a comic with the same name, come up with a different one. You can have the same name as another comic on Tapas... but you'll have a number stuck on the end, and even if you become the most popular comic of that name on the site, the first comic with that name will always appear first in searches (yeah, I know, the Tapas search feature is...er.... not as good as it could be...).
Plan your first chapter as an overview, and write scripts or draw thumbnails for your first three pages. Make sure something exciting, cool, weird, spooky or funny happens in your first few pages. If your first three pages are the protagonist waking up in their usual bed, putting clothes on, walking downstairs and greeting their mum who has made toast, and eating toast... Or if it's three pages of vague stock imagery and narration about the ancient dragon war without showing how it relates to a character... you are wasting readers time and you'll struggle to get an audience. Give them a show! Make the audience feel like you're going to give them a good time!
Make at least three pages or a few episodes before you do anything else. Send one to your phone and check that the text is comfortable to read on there and not too small. Most Tapas readers read on phones, not desktop. Oh, and for fonts, pick a digalogue font off Blambot. Don't use any default font off your computer like comic sans, papyrus etc. There are some great free fonts on Blambot. If you feel overwhelmed by choice, pick Anime Ace 2, it's always a solid bet.
While you're on Blambot, maybe look at some Design Fonts, and check Google Fonts too, maybe Fontsquirrel and find a nice, bold, but easy to read font that fits the tone and genre of your series and make a title. You can hand-draw your title, but if you do, keep it simple. Hand-drawn titles with really fancy effects tend to look a bit... amateurish... and you'll notice that comics with a handwritten title font (like mine, Heartstopper etc.) it's simple, flat and deliberately going for a "raw" look to match art with a slightly rough, handdrawn "indie" vibe. Picking a nice font and overlaying it with a cloudy or grunge texture, or even just leaving it flat, is a very solid option. Don't overthink and overdesign your title; it doesn't need to be like... wrapped around a vine that's on fire and written in cracked stone letters. Simple, clear and easy-to-read is best. Look at popular and premium comics for inspiration!
Now that you're used to drawing your characters and feel relaxed into the art style of your comic, and you have a kickass logo, you need to draw a killer cover. It should:
Have your main character on it and we should be able to see their face.
Have your logo on it very clearly readable (avoid busy backgrounds around the logo)
Have strong contrast so the characters stand out from the background.
Hint at what the comic is about. If it's about people fighting with swords, have somebody holding a sword. If it's comedy, have the characters goofing with each other, if it's set in space, put them in space! Don't be subtle; somebody will make a decision about reading your comic or not in literal seconds!
Now write a blurb. Tapas readers are generally interested in characters over plots, so describe your comic in a way that focuses on characters, feelings and relationships.
So instead of:
"For millennia, the elven republic has stood against the Evilor Empire's expansion, but now, due to the emergence of a new superweapon, they have fallen. In the ashes of this conflict, a young elven man must avenge his family and claim his birthright."
On Tapas, you're more likely to catch interest with:
"Still reeling from the murder of his family, and crushed beneath the boot of tyrannical invaders, Aldeth, a deposed elven prince, sets out on a quest for vengeance to free the oppressed people of his land, and to rescue the love of his life."
Because it's more focused on the character and things that affect his feelings.
Okay.... Once you've done all that... upload it all, schedule the few chapters you made to go live one a week at the same time on the same day and celebrate being AWESOME, 'cause you just launched a comic, you absolute legend! 
And then tweet about it, post it in a promo thread or two, introduce it on the Tapas discord, make a tiktok about it and get ready to make more updates!
I have three tips that I did not know and will share with you so you start off strong;
1- Make sure you join listings and have mirrors so people can find you and meet you. Same goes with ad sites. 97% of these places are free, but they make a huge difference. And be active everywhere. Running a webcomic requires commitment.
2- Make sure you know how to make speech bubbles and backgrounds properly. Believe me, little details like that make a huge difference. You don't have to be a great artist like Picasso, but good art takes time and dedication.
3- Have your manuscript completed and in its finished draft before you start writing your comic if it is a story based one. Don't do things on the fly when it comes to deep plots. Same goes with characters, concept art and such.
Hope this all helps!
These are less to do with making and more to do with preserving your mental state while making comics:
Back up your project on an external hard drive. If you don't have one, get one! Nothing is worse than losing part( or all) of your comic because your computer crapped out.
Listen to your body and know the the mental and muscle tolerance for comic work will come with time. Take breaks and let your eyes rest, especially if you are doing digital work. The amount of forearm strain and tension headaches I gave myself in the beginning from overworking is embarrassing.
*Do some test pages at the correct size for your working file(it will be larger than posting file size) and get all that messy style decision making out of the way before you start. Things will change as your tastes and skills do but it's useful to have a go to example page to fall back on for a guide while your still getting in a rhythm.
Good luck! Super excited to see what you make!
closed Jan 12, '23
