Does art precede story?

[Jelw]

If you feel like like bad art will get in the way of the understandability of your comic, then wait if it's a project you adore. Try another project to test the waters- I think more important than having good art for a story is having good understanding of technical aspects. Learn about paneling and speech bubble placement and action flow with a test run, and improve your art while you're at it. That doesn't mean make a throw away comic necessarily, but maybe if you have an idea that's close to your heart and you want to do full justice for, do a little practice first on another project. You might get feedback that will help with both projects as you go.

[scythe]

Think of it like human attraction. The looks are what everyone notices at first, but unless they have a good personality, that will only ever take things so far. At the same time, if someone has a great personality but is severely lacking in the looks department, they're going to have a hard time attracting someone.

Comics is a visual medium, so I won't lie and say the art isn't as important as the story. A lot of the time, it IS the story.

That being said, I think the right time to start something is usually now. I mean, we're not getting any younger.

[scythe]

And to answer your last question... no. Great art cannot turn a poor story into a good comic.

If anything, it'll just make it a wasted opportunity.

[Aeonhue]

@marshal
Personally there has to be some sort of art foundation for me to even look at it. It doesn't need to be perfect but shows they know what they should be doing even if it doesn't look good enough. For example your profile picture shows some sort of structure so I would look at it. So Intially art does but then story does. So I thnk the right time would be the fundamentals not a highskill but just application of that knowledge have those and I think you'd be fine. But making a comic regardless of skill is good practice to get better by applying the fundamentals. I could be wrong but...whatevs.

Also I don't draw my best because that would take forever to do and I just don't have the time to be good & perfect.

[Spinester]

Good art is the gateway drug for me. I'm more likely to give a story/comic a chance if it has nice art but it's the story that will ultimately make me stick around.

[Doubtcent]

This has been said almost everywhere on the forum:
People come for the art, and stay for the story.

A good example of this is Homestuck.
It was literally made in MS paint, and yet for its complexity, charm and story, millions have become dedicated to it. (Of course the art got better as time went a long, but if you look at the beginning, you can tell immediately why people stayed)

[yvettegustafsson]

Start your comic I think! You'll never feel good enough at drawing anyway because there will always be someone out there who you compare yourself with (the curse of wanting to always learn and get better all the time) so get started, publish it and before you know it you are both better at drawing, better at telling stories and you've made a bunch of friends at the same time

And your audience/friends will be delighted to see the evolution of your art - they'll feel like they've been with you for a long time and their bond to you will be stronger.

[UzukiCheverie]

There's a reason why series like Cyanide and Happiness, XKCD, Homestuck, etc. are so popular - they don't need to look good to have good content.

You're always, -always- going to find some kind of excuse related to your artistic skill to push off a comic. Just start it. There's no point in waiting and waiting because most of the time, by the time you do choose to do it, it's already too late and you'll still be looking for ways to improve because you never truly master your craft.

If your content is good enough, the art won't matter. Just do it.

[eagle1]

The only thing that I can add to all of the excellent comments on this thread is this. Art does not precede story in comics. Art IS story in comics. Comics are writing and art come together to tell a story. That being said, having a good story is far more important than good art. If you can draw to the level required to tell the story (not look pretty), then do so.

Eagle
(The Gods know my art is not going to win any prizes)

[ck_tapastic]

Good art is the gateway drug for me. I'm more likely to give a story/comic a chance if it has nice art but it's the story that will ultimately make me stick around.

Nailed it. Can't be said better than this!

[TAMAnnoying]

There is a comic called One Punch Man: This is all I have to say about it. http://missannoyingtam.tumblr.com/post/117303305160/an-important-message-to-aspiring-comic-artists

(also go read it : I )

[Raven_C]

I totally reblogged it from u now xD

[joannekwan]

I actually thought about that post for this thread but couldn't find it!

[abbastudios]

Art can be created without a story. A story can becreated without art. A comic can be created when a story is written and art illustrates it.

[marshal]

Whaaaa!!! I think I've actually heard about this comic, maybe in passing. That's amazing!

[TAMAnnoying]

I was just lucky that I reblogged it recently or it would have been lost to me also XD

[punkarsenic]

Overall, story > art.

there is a certain minimum standard required, but really it depends on your target audience. age? tastes? how good at art are they?

if your art isn't all that, your story better be. but so long as the story's good, the art will improve with time anyway, and people will be interested. there are some really successful comics with art that's often quite ugly, and while some of them may sell on name alone (long standing franchises that is,) others, like Runaways, had 'bad' art from the beginning but was massively popular in its time. (also, funnily enough, the original Runaways artist makes amazing artwork these days)

[ridokauchi]

Art don't precede story, but if the art isn't good enough, it doesn't matter how amazing is your story, it won't be atractive to read.
Try to make your best on art, and draw as much as you can, and, when you're good enough, redraw your pages

[Freith]

This kind of strays from the original question, but I want to hear what people think - what if it's the other way around? If an artist has decent art that they don't mind putting out there, but he/she's not so confident about their story idea or delivery? Should they also just go ahead and start as long as they love it and believe it's good, or should they wait until after they grasp a good sense of what a good story consists of?

Then again, who knows when that will be? Telling good stories is a skill that one can always improve on, so I don't know. ><

[GouFigg]

I feel like it's sort of a 50/50 situation. Some people might read because of the art, others because of the story. In my opinion the writing is far more important but I think most people prefer style over story telling.

In terms of "when" to start or "the right time" I'd say there won't ever be a time when you'll think "the time is now", there won't be a "right time" to start, ever. You want a right time to start? Do it now, so what if people don't like it? So what if "it's not that good"? You're learning and that's the most important thing. Don't worry about how the art is gonna look, as long as you're willing to improve YOU WILL improve. Besides if you're planning to do comics in the future is good to have some experience before hand. Enjoying the journey should be your priority.

As Shia LaBeouf said: "JUST DO IT!"