Does a webcomic need to have detailed art or shading to be successful?

[aqua03]

As I begin work on DRGN I wonder, does a webcomic need detailed or shaded art to be successful? This is something to do with my perfectionism and "all or nothing" thinking that I need to be successful right out of the gate or my time isn't worth it.

I tried going for a light watercolor look or the shading, but it ended up looking weird with my in experience. Do you think it would be fine I started relatively simplistic art and shading and evolved more as the series went? Do you think people would lose interest or be turned off by giant leaps and changes in art style?

(Sorry if this sounds like it answers itself, but it feels good to get these things off my chest before they become too much of a problem.)

[Hexigate]

Nah, it doesn't need it. Detailed art and shading only supplements the comic if the story calls for that level of detail, like a realistic or period drama. On the other hand, would detailed shading supplement a comedic slice-of-life?
I don't know what your story's tone is like. Is it dramatic and serious? Is it lighthearted and silly? The art is supposed to convey that.
Now I'm not saying that a period drama with realistic shading can't be silly. It absolutely can, and cartoon-style things can have serious moments too. (And I personally quite like it when a cartoon-y or lighthearted story sits down and gets serious for a moment.) But on the larger scope of things, you'll need to understand how the art style is going to make your audience feel, and how you want your readers to read your story.

[Kann]

I don't think webcomic needs detailed or shaded art to be successful. There are hundreds webcomics with simple artstyles, that are doing great. On the long run highly detailed art might even hold you back, so yeah, starting with simplistic art and evolving it from there would be a good idea.

[MangoTango]

Not exactly no.,, I separate my own art style from my comic art style xd my art style is very detailed on shading and coloring while my comic art style is just more simpler and something that you can manage and finish at doing comics. It depends on your preference c: Detailed artwork and shading takes a lot of timee ah
Just do what you can manage to do in your time schedule and it's nice enough.~

Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell

This one is even featured on Webtoons, the art style is simply gradient shaded and even sketchy but it got positive feedback and it's quite unique fitting with the story.

Just go for something simplistic but recognizable and at the same time something you can manage enough with it! Good luck~~

[colinmooredraws]

Not in the slightest. In fact, going overboard on details/shading can be detrimental. To you AND to the image.

I've seen comics do well that were just black and white. Or just flat colors. It's all what you feel comfortable doing to the point that you can do a lot of it. That's really the only thing "popular" comics have in common. a LOT of content (and a bit of luck).

You don't have to worry about style changes, unless you're planning to go from super realistic to chibis for no reason (I've seen comics do that). But if it's style experiments, or the natural progression of your style, that's kind of expected. Compare almost any comic that's been running for a long time, look at the first page and last page. Unless they started out super seasoned they're going to look very different.

[JRHoch]

Sometimes you just need to dive in. You can learn a lot by making mistakes.

If your style evolves over time, you can always go back and update earlier pages or panels. My style changed 15 pages into my story when I had a breakthrough moment. Growing and getting better is a good problem to have.

[Shanny8]

No a webcomic doesnt need detailed art or shading, but shading can provide an element of depth in the art so that it doesnt look so "2-D'. It doesnt even have to be complex shading- just a layer of a simple shading in the same color to show where the light is coming from and to help the art stand out.

[aqua03]

Thanks for all the advice guys. This really helped get a load off of my chest and keep working. I decided to go with a simple soft cel shading brush to start with and hope to move up to something more complicated and detailed down the line.

[IdiotWithPencil]

doesn't need it but is a nice thing to have, if you can't then don't but if you can then do is basically the end of it

IMO =P

Do you think people would lose interest or be turned off by giant leaps and changes in art style?

if it's a jump in quality then no, but if it's a drop then yes, I stopped the moonlight sculptor when they changed art style (went from an awesome painterly style to generic sketch up background webtoon >.< ) so be careful and take it slow

[Wumbl]

Not at all...

Plenty of comics are able to succeed in black and white, or with cutesy simplified styles.

I'm making a comic that's got only flat colours and it's already bringing in the subs after a few updates.

[unknown_user]

I'm just going to leave this here

Sarah's Scribbles | Tapas

[punkarsenic]

nah

webcomics, in my experience, have the widest diversity in styles of anywhere in comics. anything can succeed, if it finds its tribe.

that said, there are trends in webcomics. the trend right now is for korean-derived romance-dramas that all look A Certain Way, there was previously a trend for very intricately rendered, painterly webcomics that took waaaay too long to make. but both then and now things that didnt fit these moulds still break through

Do you think it would be fine I started relatively simplistic art and shading and evolved more as the series went?

yes!

Do you think people would lose interest or be turned off by giant leaps and changes in art style?

no!

theres a chance some people could be really into your old style and really not into your new, but its unlikely and would not be the majority at all

[nixxusnibelheim]

You don't need to BUT I feel like you must understand why you don't need to in order to make that creative decision.
I think most of the consensus is "you can go as simplistic as you want", it can work but you gotta know what you gain and lose from that decision.
And from what you are sacrificing, you have to find solutions to make those losses, a win.

I've read so many webtoon that made the "creative decision" not to be detailed with their art just because of efficiency (or lack of skills) and it affect their decision when it comes to tell their stories.
To give you an example, if you go for flat colors no lighting, no shading, would you be able to portray certains vibe and effect that can only be done with lighting and shading ? If not, can you utilize the pros of your creative decision to make your intention happened ?
In that scenario, are you confident with color theory to the point that you can play with it for specific emotions ?

Another example which is a bit off topics but it's about backgrounds, some artists decide not to spend time on environments because of lack of time. But then, are they aware that environment can be a great tool for storytelling ?
Almost everytime I read a comic that made this creative choices, end up having a bland way of portraying a back and forth conversation.
It's already hard as it is with backgrounds, I can't imagine without any xD

At the end of the day, to be "successful" you have to make people feel that your creative decisions were made out of confidence and that you know what you are doing.

[JRHoch]

I have two comics currently posted. "Afterlifer" is pretty complexly illustrated and needs to be because of its surreal nature. "Cucumber Salad" is more silly and can get away with a rawer, simpler style. It will be interesting to see which one will end up resonating more with readers over time.

[ble]

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