Editing Your Comic?

[BohoMynn]

I've only been on Tapastic for a short while now, and I've been drawing comics for an even shorter amount of time. The more I draw and read comic, the more I learn, and the more I learn, the more I want to constantly change and edit the comic I'm currently working on. >> The Dragon's Lamb << I wanted to know if any other artists out there have changed their comic right in the middle of it. I'm not the only one right? I feel like the more I work on it, the better people will like it, but I also kind of worry that my subscribers are growing tired of all the changes.

[AnnaLandin]

The urge is always there - I'm a better artist now than I was a year ago, when I started my comic, and I'm going to be a better artist a year from now. And that is always going to be the case. I'm always going to be improving.

I've decided that aside from corrections of obvious mistakes (like, stray ink-lines I forgot to erase, instances where I missed colouring someone's eyes, or moving a confusingly placed speech-bubble) for print, I'm not going to go back and re-draw anything, because it's very likely that if I started doing that, I would never stop.

I'd get stuck in an endless loop of re-drawing old stuff, learning better, going back and re-drawing stuff that isn't up to scratch, learning better, etc. - and so on forever and ever.

The best advice I can give you is to stop re-drawing stuff and start moving forward. It's okay if your first pages aren't perfect. It's okay if your new pages aren't perfect. It happens to everyone - including professional artists who have worked for decades.

Let go and move on.

[carloswebcomic]

My motto is this...
"My best page is my next page"
Don't look back, and give your new pages all you have.
Be proud of your progress.

I used to do a comic called Lowroad which started in 2003. I did it all the way till 2007 or so. My art style changed and improved dramatically during this time and my readers loved looking at my old stuff and see the changes I had made over time.

[BohoMynn]

What if you want to print it eventually though? The pages I began with compared to the pages I have now are dramatically different in color, style, page layout, text, everything. I'm not too far into the series at all, so it wouldn't be a too much of a chore to edit what I've already done. Do you think it would be worth editing then? It's a story I've put a lot of thought into and written out word for word almost. I want to put my all into it. I think I'm just scared that if I do go back and edit it all, I'll keep on editing and editing like you're warning me about. At the same time, if I don't, I won't ever print it and attempt to sell copies, which is something I'd like to try out at some point.

I'm sure the decision is something I'm going to have to make on my own, but I really like hearing other artists' opinions on this, especially ones who are probably more experienced than I am. ^^

[AnnaLandin]

If you're going to print it, you can do corrections when you get to that point - you're going to have to reformat stuff to fit on printed pages anyway. But you can do that THEN.

Until then, move forward. You're never going to GET to the point of printing anything if you don't finish stuff.

[BohoMynn]

Yeah, that makes sense, I'll do that. Thanks, I really appreciate the advice, I've been stressing over this for a long while now.

[TheVoidchildProject]

I've gone back to edit little things. Like lettering and such. But no page has ever been reworked and my art has REALLY changed since I started.

I'm more in the camp as @carloswebcomic. I'll learn from my mistakes and bring them with me to the next page. It's worth more to move production and story along than getting stuck on previous work.

[yvettegustafsson]

No! So many comic artists have ended up in the big black hole of re-doing old work. Unless it needs re-making because someone says "we want to give you a chunk of money, but first you need to do some touch ups.." then NO. Keep it as it is, and let your next work be better than ever. No one is going to thank you for doing all those changes in the long run, but make it a learning experience, for sure. There are always things to improve on, but keep the old things. After a couple of years it's going to be fun looking at what you've done and notice the progress you've made.

[zaksimmondshurn]

I'd leave it be for the most part.
When I started posting my series here I went back and touched up the colouring a teeny bit, just to balance it out a tad better and redrew one or two faces that had bugged me for a while. However, I think that as soon as you start redrawing whole pages it prevents you from making progress.

[eleoza]

Editing a comic? I just did that actually ^^
I think it's ok to edit your comic and change a few things as long as you don't over-do it. Like taking out a whole chapter jsut because you didnt like how some things turned out would be a no-no and you'll confuse readers.
But little edits and a few re-drawn pages are fine, otherwise you'll just be dissatisfied with it and might result in giving you an art/writing-block. You gotta stay happy with your work!

I took out just a few pages from my comic and redrew them as well as placed a couple of pages between the re-drawn pages, so it would have a better flow. I wasn't happy, but after the fix I was content with it again.
Also on the bright side, these pages weren't uploaded on tapastic yet, only on patreon. In the end, as long as you don't over-do it and go crazy with editing and replacing tons of pages I think it's perfectly fine to edit certain things along the way.

[elixiadragmire]

In contray to what everyone says here, I edit. I change text, move speech bubbles even add whole scenes and pages to help narrative flow! there is a temptation to get stuck in an endless loop of editing but budgeting time against what can be gained is key,

will this edit help readers? then do it. His knee looks a little wonky, then dont. Weigh the pros with the cons, if the edit will cost too much time for little gain then don't do it. But if it can MASSIVELY improve the quality and reading then I say do it.

Lately I retweaked the intro of Silversong, EXTENDED 2 SCENES. it was needed. wintrekitty review highlight a massive narrative flaw that couldnt be left unchecked.

[sarrowsmith10]

I did some editing like this right before the volume went to print. I had received feedback from online readers and I had some time before my print deadline, so I went ahead and added a page/ adjusted some text/ etc. So folks might notice a bit a difference between the print version and online version, but ultimately the story is the same.

But like other folks said, keep moving forward. Honestly as a reader I really don't want to your pages over again just because the art is prettier. That's the fastest way to kill readership for me. I really just want to know what happens next in the story.

Good luck!

[apurviance]

As most others have said, never look back.

If I could give my newbie comic self advice it'd be, "Do short stories for two years."

Styles and abilities change drastically when starting out, which shows more up in longer series. Doing short projects allows a lot more experimentation. Long stories tend to lock artists into a single style for years. Still, if you plan a long story at least set some story arc points so you can take breaks and refresh your brain.

[sorrelma]

I used to do a comic called Lowroad which started in 2003. I did it all the way till 2007 or so. My art style changed and improved dramatically during this time and my readers loved looking at my old stuff and see the changes I had made over time.

it's tough when you feel like the beginning of your comic - the first bit that people see - doesn't reflect your current abilities BUT it is honestly so satisfying to see that growth? ^^^^^^^^^

[carloswebcomic]

it's tough when you feel like the beginning of your comic - the first bit that people see - doesn't reflect your current abilities

I would argue that the first thing that people see in your comic is the latest page, not the first, and they will make their judgement accordingly.
As far as I know, most people don't close their eyes when your website opens, generally showing the latest page, then navigate straight to the first page.

[sorrelma]

that's true! i guess it depends on the site and the style of the comic but i think you're right that, for the most part, the most recent page is what shows up first

[demthorshie]

I can definitely relate to your concern about past pages and improvements in your comic. But I think the best thing we can do here is move forward and try not to look back on your mistakes in a comic. I think the more you improve, the more others will take notice and appreciate. Artists have that tendency to grow at an almost constant rate, that's just how it works and I don't think any new or old readers would hold that against you.

[slockins101]

I will follow your advice, wise one.

[JamesMulhollandFilm]

From a writing POV - I usually have an idea of where I want to go but the journey is sometimes loose. TBH, I've been developing my style for a while over the last few years, trying to see what works best for me and I think knowing the spine of the story helps, but the skin around it can change. I wrote a story once where a certain character was supposed to get back with an EX, but it didn't feel right. I wrote my first draft and ended up coming back to this issue on the fifth draft when I realised I was trying to force this character to do something should wouldn't do. So, the story changed in that sense because I had to come up with a new (and I believe better) way of getting to the end

[Nerdicon]

I say you shouldn't worry about what others think, yes you want constructive criticism but you shouldn't loose the fun of doing what you love. You make a mistake and learn from it. I have been on and off again with my own series due to personal reasons. Youtube creators have said it enough if you overwork yourself you'll loose the drive. So be free to experiment, a series of comics are not always done by the same artist so their styles tend to vary and despite that people still enjoy them because the characters are the same.