Can Art Make Or Break A Comic?

[ErithEl]

There's only been one webcomic I've come across that started with an art style that didn't really appeal to me, but I found the story so different and intriguing I made myself keep reading. I'm very glad I did, too, because the art style VASTLY improved and the story and characters just kept getting better and better.

Now, I know this may be taboo (since the comic is not on Tapastic as far as I know) But either way, I would highly recommend checking out The Archipelago. If you can make it through the first couple chapters, you'll be hooked by the time the art style changes!

[Entoxia]

Unfortunately for me, yes.

For me personally, half of comic work is all about the artwork and reading a story with a style I find appealing. If I don't find it visually tasteful it's going to be very difficult to keep my attention. In fact, I can only think of one comic which style I didn't particularly like win me over with the story.

In the past when comics or TV shows I watched had a sudden and drastic style over haul is usually when I dropped out. For some reason I don't feel like it's the same story, kind of like when a band gets a new singer; no matter how good the material I can't let go of what I loved before. An example of this is when Foamy the Squirrel got the style change. I had followed it for a long time but I just don't like the chibi look and feel the show should have been put to rest.

I don't however feel the same about an artist developing style over time. Small changes and improvements aren't something I mind, as long as its not a sudden jerk in a different direction. I know from personal experience that when I changed my style completely in the past, I lost 50% of my watchers attention. People tend to want the style they followed to begin with recognizable and in tact.

[LTyler]

I think - at least initially - art does matter. The way I like to think about it, is that the art is the bait... But the story is the hook. You can have a really great hook, but without any good bait you probably won't be catching many fish (fans) so to speak. But, once they are hooked, they're unlikely to go anywhere.
But, likewise, you can have the best bait in the world - but without a good hook, you're not going to be catching much, either.
So in this way, I don't think art will ever be able to 'make' a comic - I've seen quite a few comics with fantastic art, that just can't keep me reading beyond a few pages... The story rendering it unreadable, or unappealing.
And I've also read some comics that, due to the art, I was hesitant to pick up at first - but afterwords, I was glad I did... The only time the art would 'break' the comic, for me, is if the art simply can't portray what it needs to be portraying - be it expressions, actions, character consistency, ect. If I can't follow the story properly because the art falls short, then that can break it.
Though, it's worth noting that most artists I know tend to be very picky about the art in comics - because they're artists! If the artwork looks like I, personally, could do a lot better - that does put a dent in things...
But for non-artists? Awesome art is cool and all, but it's not the end-all-be-all.

People will make snap judgements. After all, the art is the first thing people will see - it's good to make a good first impression. But beyond that first impression that gets people reading, it's not nearly as important as the story quality.

[Entoxia]

Though, it's worth noting that most artists I know tend to be very picky about the art in comics - because they're artists! If the artwork looks like I, personally, could do a lot better - that does put a dent in things...

^^^ yeah this is actually a good point I forgot to mention. As an artist myself, if theres an element in the comics art I feel I could do better, its going to drive me silly trying to read through it. Especially if its something like anatomy (which mine isnt perfect either! but the point still stands.)

[L4213]

art is basically the foundation of a comic, a comic without art is basically.... a novel?
just like in animations. the story might be well written. but if animated badly could be shoved aside for better works

art is very important in the process of making a comic in my opinion. because its what defines a comic. "telling a story through pictures" another term for comics would be "sequential art" if i can remember

of course a comic can have bad-mediocre art but still have great writing to attract readers (e.g. cyanide and happiness). but the art can be that defining moment wherein a moment can be fully immersed in to the world you have drawn out for them. the way you compose your scenes in how the story is told. the way you use colors to settle the atmosphere. as well as pacing of your panels down to the position of you text bubbles. you can say that a well drawn comic is as complicated as a well written script.

Art is a part of the comic writing process. of course styles and the like will differ and vary. but by art as a way to convey a better story. it is integral and if i can say mandatory even to make a good story.

i think a great way to express how art is an important way to express a story is this little book by matt madden called. 99 ways to tell a story:Exercise in style its basically a book about one scenraio drawn in many different ways. showing how art can be just as diverse in telling a story.

i think the best way to think about it is that. a comic has to equally important parts. Art, and story telling. both need peculiar attention in order to make a good comic.

[Raven_C]

Story is much more important to me. But art is what attracts me to a comic/animated show in the first place. If there was a major change in the art that it no longer has a resemblance to the old style or the characters are suddenly unrecognizable because of it, then it might turn me off from it. That being said, I don't mind at all if the artist gradually improves their art because that's inevitable. That even applies to me when I look back at the first page of my comic vs. the latest. All in all, it's the story that counts. But! There are certain art styles that don't appeal to me at all from the get-go and I'm less likely to give certain comics a chance than others simply because of said style.

[cthlatu]

Art, for me, is a little more than half of the deciding factor.

[IgnightedHell]

I used to be picky about art in comics, but a friend back in high school was working on a comic. He was writing it out and drawing it out-- in the end he had me look at it. I personally was thrown off by his art and the fact it was drawn on lined paper. It was not the best to look at or something that I would typically read, but every panel was flowing with a story, and every picture representing a situation. I can respect anyone who can think of a story-- even if the art dose not meet the standards of others. They got it out and got the courage to show it to others. It is worth checking out to see how they put together a world they wanted to share with us.

In the end art dose not matter as much as we see it at the end of the day. It is the experience that is shared. As much as I hate to admit it I don't see my own art as good enough and put aside my 20+ scripts. I want to get them to the world and I will. It just takes some bravery to get out there. To "make or break a comic" is to share it and see how the people enjoy or respond to it.

[angelicempyress]

I agree... working on my comic has been the best and most fun way that I've improved. And while a lot of artists tend to go back and redo old pages as they improve, I rather like seeing my growth.

As for the general question I agree with what some others have said, art is the bait, but its the story that keeps them. There are certain art styles that will drive me away from giving comics a chance, something in the art has to really catch my eye and make me want to read it. But if I get to reading one with art I like and there is nothing that excites me about the story, I'll drop it.

[groovykinda]

Nope. The story is far more important than the art.
Yes, the art is important. No question. Comics are a combination of art and writing.
But it's the writing that holds the reader. I've seen beautiful comics that are a joy to look at, and boring as heck.
Some of my favorite comics don't have the greatest art, but they have compelling characters who I want to know more about, and stories that make me come back for every update.

[Alli]

It doesn't matter to everyone, but I value it pretty highly. There are some stories I just can't take seriously if the art isn't up to par. Of course, "good art" is pretty subjective. More detail and shading doesn't necessarily make it good. More realistic doesn't always make it more appealing. Stick figures that show a lot of personality in their posture and expressions can be more appealing than a "well-drawn' character with dead eyes.

For instance, wlop of Ghostblade has some really nice art like this right here: http://wlop.deviantart.com/art/O-o-453396896. Wlop has some excellent sense for detail and scope. However, to me his characters seem pretty dead in the face. The girl always has the same expression and I can't completely tell what it is. There is very little non-verbal communication going on between the characters. If not for the speech bubbles you would not have a very good idea of what people are feeling.

This, on the other hand: http://www.deviantart.com/art/GND-Hallow-een-MONSTER-184410349, while very rough looking, has a lot of life in it. Both examples have their merits and drawbacks.

And then we have tracyjb who is just all-around amazing: http://tracyjb.deviantart.com/art/Lackadaisy-Troubadour-360936619.

And here is a sketch dump from Phobs: http://phobs.deviantart.com/art/Ivan-the-Terrible-dump-VIII-260614659 where all speech is in Russian but it doesn't matter because DEM FACES.

If you want to change your art style feel free to do so. It's your art.

[balalaikayon]

I think the art is important.

And by that I mean that I can tolerate bad art if it still tells the story, but usually if the art is bad the visual storytelling is bad too. Sometimes I can't even understand what the hell is going on the page, it's like reading a book written in l33t speak. I don't wanna hurt my brain and eyes decrypting the story, so I drop comics like that.

About the art-styles, I won't read the style I dislike. Even if the story is good, I will keep nitpicking its faults just because the art is irritating. So if the art-style changes suddenly into something of not my taste I might drop the comic.

Also, what is the good art? For me, it's something I like of course. Some of the art can be highly realistical and well-rendered, some of the art I liked can be cartoony, but charming this way or another. There's actually no right answer, and every person decides to themselves what is good and what is bad. Of course, there are overall rules of goodness, but as lunox99 said, if the style is "dead" it doesn't matter if it's "well-drawn".

Though, as many people said already, if the story is bad, I will drop it too, no matter of the art style.

[Iron]

My thoughts exactly! I miss the initial style D: The characters seem so much different although the writer is still the same >_<
I'm still reading it, but it's just not as enjoyable as before ;_;

Art style can be a huge turn -off for me ;d. When I hear good reviews of a comic which doesn't correspond with my sense of beauty, then I wish I could read it just as a regular novel ^^;

[Momo]

Well.... if so my comic is broken... :T
But I think it really depends on the story! If story is really good and interesting than the art dosn't have as much weight so to say. But art is important!

[DragonPena]

As @keii4ii I think art is important depending of tour audience, imagine if someome makes a shojo manga, the best story ever but with Kaiji's artstyle (Fukumoto) I dont think it would sell as much

[nergal]

I dunno, I found myself subconsciously liking the story much less once the artwork declined.

[nergal]

Both are obviously important since a comic is basically a marriage of the two. For me it has to be somewhere in the middle ground.

I won't read a story that looks beautiful if it his horribly written.
Just as I won't read an amazingly written comic if the artwork is distractedly bad (in that case just make it a novel)

That being said I am way more forgiving of artwork than I am of writing. The artwork has to be extremely careless and crude for me to not read something so long as the writing is somewhat decent. Whereas no amount of beautiful artwork would get me to read something that I find dumb or poorly written.

[eagle1]

Let me put a different spin on this. Comics are a visual medium. The story is a combination of the writing and the art.
If the art is bad, the story can still be good if the person doing it understands visual story telling. How to lead the eye, how to place balloons, how to engage the reader. I can point out numerous pro artists who's art actually sucks, but keep going because the story telling abilities are wonderful. By the way, learning these things is not as hard as learning art in the first place.

Eagle
(and there are lot's of tutorials on visual story-telling)

[punkarsenic]

I think art in comics is important, but not as important as some people think. It's mainly about cover art (or like banners and icons in the case of tapastic), because that's what people see first. that has to be the best art in the entire comic.

If you look at comics as a whole, you get a lot of cases where you either have amazing art and bland story, or bland art and amazing story. Obviously, there are exceptions, lots of them, but I can't think of many comics with art that looks like it's been deliberated over for more than, say, 5 hours per page.

I don't think art needs to be amazing for a comic to be successful, look at the old Ultimate Spider-Mans (before issue 100) or the Runaways series (love it to death, but honestly, the art was always awful.)
however, art can drastically change the tone. Something like, say, Lucky Star type art - cute and pastel and sweet - would never work on something gritty and action packed, whereas something like the art from the Walking Dead would NOT work for a romantic comic. you get the idea.

[danitasibert]

I always feel as thought it depends on the story that the creator is making, as an artist you want to know your audience is, that is the most important thing. If your work is more gear towards adults then use more details, more realistic proportions or focus more on the dialogue, if its gear more towards children then make the character's proportions more exaggerated, make is more colorful, or use lots of simple shapes (simplicity!)
BUT there has been many shows or comics that have child like qualities but have mature themes in it, that is when this topic (for me) get difficult to decipher.

I like to think that my audience is pre- teens to young adults, i know is a little wide but i try to think about myself when i was that age what was i into an then expand that to maybe other thinks that other are interested in.

Maximum Chaos is my comic here:
http://tapastic.com/series/Maximum-Chaos