Advice for refining humor?

[dainejensen]

Hi, i recently started a new comic series on here ( http://tapastic.com/series/HYPOTHETICAL-HAPPINESS ) i have seven episodes already, but i can't seem to get many subscribers, personally i think that my comics are okay, but i think need advice from some other creators about refining my humor a little bit.

[UzukiCheverie]

Your humor is actually okay. It's your art and expectations that need refining u o u

The art is fine in terms of style, but a lot of it is hard to tell what we're actually looking at. While I looked at some of the episodes, it took me a few minutes to actually understand what was happening in some scenes. Make sure what you're drawing is clear and concise. It doesn't matter if the illustrations are good or bad, what matters is actually being able to tell what's going on in a scene. Just pay attention to your line quality, line weight, etc. Text is also important for this - try and use a text tool or just be a little neater with your writing, because the way I've seen it written, it's a little hard to read.

As for the last part of my advice, your comic has only been up for a week, which is why I say that your expectations need refining. You have 14 subscribers, which isn't bad considering you've just started your comic. Don't expect hundreds of readers after just a few days; there are people who have been here for years and are still building their fanbase. Patience is the biggest part of building any fanbase, so you can't expect results right away no matter how much you hope and dream for it.

You should also come up with a structured schedule so people know when to expect an update. I know "UPDATES WHENEVER" may work for you, but having a day where you upload two pages and then not uploading for another week, etc. etc. isn't going to work for potential subscribers. Update daily, update twice a week, once a week, etc. Come up with a structured schedule that works for you so you can draw as much as you want, create a buffer, but not fall behind. This will also allow you to focus more on the creation of the content itself, including the art and punchlines, and will make you feel less like you should be updating every minute of every day just to get readers (believe it or not, this will do more damage than good - people will get burnt out from reading so much in a day).

That's pretty much all the advice I can give. Good luck! (:

[Doubtcent]

Humor is comprised mainly of three things:
Delivery, setup, and punchline.

1. delivery - creating the situation for the joke to take place
2. setup - the circumstances leading up to the punchline
3. punchline - the conclusion, often betraying the expectations of either the delivery or set up.

In the simplest of terms, that's what a joke is: Betraying the expectations of whoever is receiving the joke.

A good example is in the form of a knock-knock joke:
"knock-knock" - delivery - this tells us what kind of joke we should be expecting, or to pull the person in for the joke.
"who's there?"
"boo" - set up - this is where the joke teller would be setting up a circumstance within the joke, ready to tell to punchline.
"boo who?"
"Why are you crying? It's just a joke" - punchline - by using wordplay, we betray the normal expectations of how the act of answering a door can be.

However, a joke can take on many other forms, from visual, wordplay, how a voice sounds, or in a comic's sense, anything that can be displayed on the page. If you can map out each part, delivery, setup, and punchline, you'll start to understand your timing for when to do each in your comic. You have a good idea going, but that's just the technical stand point.

Suddenly, pineapples.

[dainejensen]

Thank you, this helps a lot. I like the fact that you were honest, and i'm revising the way i lay out the frames. Also i'm gonna try to update twice a week, on saturday, and on wednesday, cause i have the most free time on those days. i greatly appreciate the feedback.

[jessiepolfliet]

I think your comics are funny, especially the pineapple needle one I can relate.
Good humor comes from misery, and that is something you have down.
But I must say the text is sometimes difficult to read, try to have a concistent font for your comic, that is easy to read(most tapastic reader read on their mobile phone wich is smaller)
I had the same problem when I started.
Don't worry about subscribers, if you love making your comic and you progress they will come. Coming to the forums also helps for more exposure.

Hope this helps:)