Do your friends and family read your work?

[ErithEl]

My parents follow my comic weekly and I think my siblings have the link at least. My boyfriend's parents and some of my extended family read it as well. Some of my friends have subscribed, but I'm not sure if they actually read.

On the one hand, it's nice to get the support, but on the other hand I think I'm going to have to make a post one day saying "Soooo everyone that I know n real life might want to take a break from reading for the next couple weeks. Or if you choose to read, let's agree we do not speak of what happened in the comic. Ever."

Sometimes it's nice not knowing who your readers are outside of the internet!

[Damatris]

I have a bunch of friends who read my comic Fallacy and some of them even work as my sounding board for ideas and read the thumbnailed pages in advance offering critique/insight/comments. Which is absolutely awesome and makes my heart all fluttery.

I also know that my mother reads every update it has and she even agrees to proofread my thumbs sometimes when I visit her. As she normally doesn't read any comics (unlike my friends) it's really interesting to hear her opinions about how things flow.

Sometimes I do get really self-conscious about the fact that so many people I know in real life read it as it has / will have some themes that aren't appropriate for all ages. Even if there's nothing that that drastic, Game of Thrones is more graphic than my comic but still... And add LGBTQ+ themes to that and sometimes I wonder why I ever told people.

[serenitysquirrel]

Maybe some day some other comic, but the current one is about two dudes in a magical romantic adventure with some lady love and such thrown in. I"d still like to be able to come to Christmas dinner.

[Cielle]

My Mom and Grandma read my comic regularly, and my cousins read it on occasion. My Dad reads what I show him, but he's not really that interested in comics. Usually he says "why aren't you making money from this yet?" I think he means it as a joke, but whatevs. My brother has seen a couple pages of my comic, but he definitely doesn't read it. None of my IRL friends read my comic. Only a small handful of them even know I'm working on it. I guess I worry they won't like it. Even when I do tell my friends I'm creating a webcomic, most of the time their reaction is something along the lines of "oh...I didn't know you like drawing." =_= In any case, I don't have a lot of friends who are interested in comics regardless of who created them.

[Chiper1811]

A big YES. My mom, my sister and my husband shares Veronika's Little World on regular basis on Facebook. And because I drew about living with small children, I have a decent followers among friends and family who are raising their own children. It is great to see how others relate to a particular episode and comment with a similar experience of their own. People who personally know my children also follow it, and they use it as a way to get in touch or to get news about our family. And my daughter definitely reads it and looks forward to her own appearance in the comic! And it is always a great pleasure to hear from family members who read the comic. I dunno, but I feel like they accept me the way I am and I'm truly grateful for the love and support. But then again, if I draw a more mature romance comic in the future, I'm not sure if I want my MOM to read it, lol!

[Chiper1811]

Your dad is so cute! I never ask if my dad actually reads my works (he did when I was really young) but reading about your dad makes me curious. XD

[AnnaLandin]

@Chiper1811 Thank you! XD My dad is pretty cute, yeah. He's one of those lovely men who, despite having a traditionally masculine occupation and enjoying traditionally masculine stuff (cars, mechanical stuff, etc.) also has absolutely no problem being emotional and admitting weaknesses and being sweet. And politically progressive. Like, he has been known to spout entirely spontaneous tirades in defence of intersectional feminism. Even if he doesn't know it's called intersectional feminism, he's still in favour of it.

My dad is the best dad. <3

[KSlinger]

My sisters and a few cousins read West, also a number of my friends. My mum can't get her head around comic formats and so she hasn't read it, though she likes the art a lot. Everyone's very nice about it, and one of the friends offered to help me make it into a game in future, if I wanted to, which was very kind. I'm aware of people I know spreading the comic around because they enjoy it and that means the world to me. On a day to day basis, though, the subject doesn't come up. I don't actively encourage it, either, because I'm terrible at taking compliments and kind of clam up when they ask questions about it. It's very personal, you know? I can't just gush.

[TristanJensen]

My family definitely knows about my comics, mainly become I run ideas past them all them time...
And every now and then I'll see my mom showing her fiends my comic or hearing from friends that they've read them.
The most common thing for me to hear from them when something funny happens is
"This would make a good comic, right?"

[BraveHeartTatsumaki]

My mom knows I make comic, but she doesn't read it cause she's not into these stuff.
My friends do read it, but it's kinda different, because part of those friends who read my comic, used to read a very old comic I used to upload in forums from those years, so they know about these stuff, but none of them bother my content or anything, unless if I ask for critique.

[Chiper1811]

Awwwwhhh!!! You dad sounds wonderful! Actually, my dad was the one who always encouraged me to draw comics and publish it. But I quit drawing 10 years ago because of my work and have just started to pick it up again this year, and for some reason although he sees me drawing all the time somehow this time around I haven't got the courage to show it to him directly (he's the sweet but gruff type). But reading about your dad brings a lot of memories from before I quit, so I think I have to start showing it to him directly and find out what he thinks Thanks for giving me the courage.

Oh and I need to look up intersectional feminism. Haha.

[Helera]

Unfortunatly I have to say "No". My friends doesn't care of my comic, even if I've told they a lots of time.
My family knows but only my sister read.

[junedabest]

If you've ever read my comics, you'd understand why I would barely show it to most friends and never show it to family(except for my lil sis and rarely my big bro). =w=;; It shows how violent and creepy my mind tends to go, but even so I only ever scratch the surface of my strangeness. I already get enough embarrassing commentary from relatives whom I've only showed DA pics I made long, long ago. My parents are aware I make comics but they have never seen it themselves. As for friends, only for my friends irl who actually ask to see it politely will I show it to them. ^u^

[Helera]

Don't be afraid to show your mind! Maybe the would think that you're awensome

[Dorian_Grey]

I share my comic with friends and family and even some co workers who are avid comic readers.
I figure the more I share it with others I know in real life, then it is better for me to be brave enough to show to complete strangers on the internet. Because that is terrifying for me.

And even though the majority of people I know are heterosexual, (seeing as my comic will show lgbt+ themes later) all of them have no issue reading my work and supporting and asking questions about my comic mostly: "when's the new/next page" is the common question. And that they like the lead character which was a huge concern for me.
My siblings and parents don't keep up on a daily basis, but my siblings will read my work given the time and give honest critique. My parents will respect my privacy if they know I'm drawing with a "oh you're working on your comic again? Well I'll come back in an hour or so" haha!

[Miokka]

That's funny! Most of you guys seem to have a second persona in the internet that exists safety without touching 'real life'

I can understand that It's awkward to show somebody you know your work like "here, look at this!"... And certainly their judgement can be more hurtful than somebody's judgement that you don't know really.

Before I uploaded my comic here I had my closest friend reading through the first chapter. I wanted to see reactions and suggestions and it was also fun to hear what tackled them the most...

[Miokka]

Oh really?

I would have thought most its exactly the other way around!
Well at least it is for me

I think its horrifying to share my work with close friends because I can't ignore or avoid their critique. It will somehow ALWAYS be more effective than a critique on the net... Somewhere between the lines "those who are the closest to you can stab you the best"

[Stellamari]

Nope! In order to cope with life back then (it was a few challenging years), I compartmentalized my life hence none of my family or real life friends read my comic or see/knew that I draw, for that matter, except for that one artistic online friend.

[globuline]

Ah yes, they do ! They were my first critics. Now it's my boyfriend who even proofreads me and gives me better ideas !
It's weird sometimes though, cause some topics are quite personal (each strip is a slice of life I usually really lived), and some talk about sex. So when my mum comments on it, it's just weeeeeird.... ><

[CiciEnixa]

Mostly my friends. My sisters also read, but it's usually while I'm making the pages, not after they're uploaded. Occasionally my mother will walk into the room with a clear view of what I'm working on (thankfully she hasn't walked into me murderizing a whole city population XD). She's an architect as well as the one who first taught me to draw, so she'll point out and correct wonky perspective, advise me on how to define Levon's features more, stuff like that