I am rather new to tapas, but I've had trouble getting my series off the ground here. I also have my comic up on webtoon and facebook, which are doing a little better. but it seems facebook is the only place i can get any traction. I have a pretty consistent upload schedule and am trying my best, so what am I dong wrong?
Jul '19
Jul '19
Patience and competition, dont look into why you arent popular and just keep doing what you do, theres other people making their comics too. You literally only just started posting here a weeks ago.
It takes time to build an audience! Especially on tapas. You literally just started and if you're in it for the numbers then comics probably aren't for you. It's a long haul with lots of patience required! Right now you should be focusing on your craft and networking with the community.
However, one way you have hurt yourself is by uploading soo many episodes on one day. By doing this your comic will only show up in the Fresh section for that one day and not again until you update on a different day.
I am not in this for the numbers, as this is more of a hobby for me and i don't have the goal of this becoming a source of income. However, after being on webtoon for half a year and not getting much traction, i heard tapas had a much more supportive community. i thought this meant people would be more willing to hand out likes or save my comic, and was afraid i wasn't getting that support because of something had done wrong. I'm sorry if i came off as arrogant or sounding like i thought i deserved more views, that's not what i meant.
The main way a new comic grows on tapas is through appearing in the fresh section when they update, but that only happens once per update per day. So if you upload a lot of content in one day, you gain the advantage of a backlog for people to immediately read, but are going to experience less exposure as a result.
You're not doing anything wrong, but you should continue to strive to grow as an artist and writer. Comics are a long game. These things happen slowly.
Other than the length of time ones been posting, some content does just do better in some locations over others. So maybe your comic strikes its audience better on facebook, who knows! It's pretty hard to tell after a week, though. ^^
Tapas users, in general, are a pretty positive community. However any small comic just starting out will struggle, and you'll earn likes through your hard work, improvement, as well as some luck. Where we are a very supportive community comes in more here in the forums. This place is full of creators who are happy to discuss, learn, teach, share resources, etc etc etc. Interact here, you'll probably find lots of support. =)
that might be the case with being better on facebook. and I know i uploaded a lot at once, but that was to transfer my content over from webtoons. i will say if i knew about the fresh restrictions i would have uploaded them on here slower.
Sorry if that sounded harsh - I don't think you are being arrogant! It is harder to build an audience on tapas up front because the fresh section is your only avenue to gain new readers. Once you start to gain a following then you have a better chance of showing up in sections like popular and trending - which will open you up to more readers.
Being active on the forums is the best way to get your comic noticed among the creator community who tend to be more active since we are creators ourselves and therefore know the value of a like and or comment on another's work.
i am also excited to see how involved the forums are, and excited to learn from real artists (which i am not).
That is probably the best option, and should be stated more when someone joins. the forums really is where the positive community lives. i think i will stay active here and see if that helps.
I'm an artist by hobby, but I've never had the education or lessons to make high quality art. everything I've done has been learned by myself or on the interwebs. so when i see you guys here and on webtoon, i feel bad grouping myself with the talent i see
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Hiya! Well, I checked out all the pages you've uploaded and I've got some suggestions for you! First off, hobbyist or no, you're conveying your story through art so, don't feel down on yourself for the things that you don't know art-wise yet, and don't feel like this doesn't make you an artist. You're an artist that's evolving as you go just like any other; everything comes in time and you're doing just fine.
Second, I know you were migrating things over. I did this when I first joined Tapas too so, hahah don't worry about it with regards to what's already made. Just make friends with the scheduling tool for your next uploads. If you make enough, you could upload twice (or more daring) three times a week, or once a week after you get your archive moved over. That's entirely up to you!
With regards to your comic: it's actually quite charming. Al and April play off each other in a fun non-contentious way and that's refreshing to see. They rib each other, they have a laugh, and their relationship seems believable. All in all you've got an upbeat tone and it makes it easy to read right through the whole comic. What you have in the writing department is light, fun, and it's easy to digest tone fits well with the art style because it's light so, that's a good thing!
In the art department, you said yourself you're just learning and you're weren't a trained artist to start out. This is okay! The best part of this is, you can take what you learn anywhere from here! Whether it's adding color, or backgrounds to panels (since generally the main character's don't have a background, the gag with Al running past everybody to the bed would've been funnier if we had a panel of him running past his couch and video games as well, just to show how desperately tired he was and how many barriers he had to pass. It would also help us, the audience, get familiar with his house. Personally I thought he was gonna run past April and Horatio and plop himself in front of the TV, controller in hand so that's a suggestion just for further establishing a joke or environment as you go) there's a lot you can do with adding little touches.
One small touch you might try out first, before getting into complicated stuff, maybe try a little shading on the characters to start. It will make them pop and feel like they're coming up from the background. Everything is a little flat so I feel some of the jokes that could really pack a punch with regards to background gags (such as the coffee truck and the building it's in front of would be more noticeable, on first glance, as separate objects.) Adding little shades here and there (like I said, maybe start doing this with your characters and objects they interact with, like the couch or the bed) can make all the difference. It also helps to attract the eye to an object in the scene which, since you want people to read your comic, sometimes when browsing a site, having an object catch your attention because it pops, can encourage a potential reader to take a look. It also might help to darken the panels that take place at night so they stand out and we, the audience, understand that it's night-time. It helps create a little bit of atmosphere and it's a simple addition that can make a world of difference look-wise.
Color also attracts the eye but, with the style you're using you don't really have need of a lot of color, just make what's there stand out like you've done with other panels and you should be good. On those panels that you did use color, those stood out because it was out of the ordinary so, that little detail could work in your favor. Ultimately it just comes down to playing with ideas and since you're in the best position to do that, have fun! You've got plenty of time to improve your work with whatever you want to add to it. Now, I DO have some resources for you, just a couple, for whenever you have the time to look. Here's one about figure drawing for cartoons1, in case you're ever interested in playing with your art style (when you feel comfortable enough to do so). The next is a basic tip about shading1. I know it's technically for photoshop but the technique itself could really be applied anywhere. If nothing else, it makes for a good primer.
All in all, you're not doing anything wrong. You've actually got a good start, things just take time and building up an audience is just one of those things, particularly on comic websites. Your best bet is just to keep sharing! And hey, reach out in the forums if you ever have other questions in future, participate in threads if and when you've got some time and if you feel like it, meet people, make friends, it all makes a difference and, on the whole, can help you grow. I hope that the resources I've given you help you out, and I wish you luck as you enjoy your hobby and hopefully our community! Hahaha! You're doin' great. 
I just binge read like 15 pages. It's a really funny comic! So much of it I feel I can relate to XD
So I've not much to say that others haven't, but patience and interaction is going to help. Promoting, posting, helping others out where you can.
Maybe suggest on Facebook peeps check out Tapas, to see if they're interested and tell them the perks of Tapas (Place holder, notification for when the comic updates, etc.) They might find they like the site and may promote it to others, also.
️️ keep up the good work. Try to get a listing on 'Comic-Rocket', it drives traffic to your other sites.
There's also advertising that you're on Top Webcomics once you register a comic there! This is important because they reset at the start of the month, so if OP has spare time in the next two days for a simple banner, it might help out a bunch. I'll try this myself even though it's usually for people with a bigger fanbase, but there are readers that look through there to find new things to read, so no harm in trying.
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