Hey guys what inspired you to draw/advice to starters

[Purplegirl]

What inspired you to start drawing/making comics and if there was any advice you could give to starting comic book makers what would it be?

[TomorrowShines]

Inspiration: Bad college newspaper comics + a terribly boring electrical engineering lecture.

Advice: Drawing comics isn't a short term project that'll make you popular or rich. It's a way of life that most don't have the patience or resources to pursue.

Welcome to the Thunderdome...

[Purplegirl]

lol, that's true it takes a lot to make a comic look decent, there's so much stuff to do, the stakes are high and it requires a TON of patience

[dawgofdawgness]

Inspiration: reading too many comics as a kid and liking the pretty pictures

Advice: don’t be a perfectionist when it comes to art in webcomics (or in general). This is especially because you need to be able to pump out pages relatively fast. Also, being a perfectionist will ultimately slow your improvement down
Remember that you’ll be working on your comic for a while (if you choose to make it a longer story) so the plot doesn’t have to be perfect since it will change a lot.

[EntropicalForest]

Comics have always fascinated me, so i was probably always going to end up making one.

My advice to you is dont steer away from challenging aspects of your art, test yourself and practice your weaknesses.

[jpnakashima]

Inspiration: I fell in love with comics since before I could read and my parents read them to me. Never stopped loving them.

Advice: Be proud of what you do. Comics are hard to make, they demand time and a lot of effort, so you got to love comics, and you got to love what you do. It's though sometimes, and being proud is not being arrogant, but be proud. Even if you're a little (or a shitload) ashamed of the end result, still allow yourself to be proud of what you accomplished. See what you did wrong, acknowledge what you did right. As said above, perfectionism in excess is not cool, it's better to do it than to keep thinking of doing it. You can and might always do better next story/chapter.

Please share your comic with us when time is due!!!

[LittleMissDevil]

I got inspired like many through comics at a young age and later rediscovering that love and gaining appreciation for the medium as an adult. That my parent reinforced my creative side with encouragement also helped to develop a love of drawing as a child that I also later could rediscover =D

Advice: Just go ahead and try it without overthinking it, especially if it is your first comic. We all start out as beginners, but just starting out helps you to develop as an artist and enjoy making a comic without to much pressure. I really recommend just testing out the waters before getting into the theoretical background, because this way the fun comes first. Challenge yourself and see how far go can come and the improvement will happen Be aware hat a comic can be a year long project, so pick a subject matter you love. It will help you get through harder times.

I also think jpnakashimas advice is really good.

What inspired you? I love to look back to work I admire and get my motivation back though that =)

[storytimebiondi]

Inspiration: I used to read Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes a lot as a kid and loved them. In conjunction, during the same period in my childhood, I read a lot of Michael Crichton techno-thrillers. One inspired me to draw, the other to write. That has been with me ever since. In fact, i gave up drawing for a while to focus on writing (a long while). But, after meeting a few prominent comic artists and writers at my local Comic Arts fest, it inspired me to keep going and to pursue comics to the fullest.

Advice: If you're feeling low about your art or your writing, find people to be inspired by and to look up to. Mentors (even ones you haven't met) are the best teachers. Emulate the best you can and learn as much as you can from their techniques and styles before moving on and developing your own. Knowing what works and why is the best tool you could ever have

[nikaalexandra]

Inspiration: Great webcomic artists who came before me like Tracy J Butler, Ashley Cope, and Tyson Hesse (as well as Brian Konietzko and Mike DiMartino’s testimonials to compiling the phenomenal ATLA universe)

Advice: Start your comic right now. Start it yesterday. Working on actual pages is 100% more effective at improving your work and honing your style than any doodle or draft you could make. Starting is daunting, and you’ll always have the voice in the back of your head saying “no i’m not ready yet! It’s not perfect yet!” You’ll never be ready, you’ll never be perfect, just take the plunge.

[IdiotWithPencil]

inspiration for making my web-comic: a nuzlocke of pkmn yellow by a guy called land walker ^u^; he was a lobster in the great big shrimp tank that was the Pokemon nuzlocke fandom, dude could spin a story like Mainstream media spin youtube drama.

but that just got me into writing a web-comic, what got me into the dark and happy world of drawing one was looking at my sister struggle on the ground gravelling(she was drawing my web-comic) and I wanted to help her with anything I could. so now we are both on the ground gravelling like pros.

advice: if you're just starting out I would say learn how to plan ahead, many noob web-comic artist, yours truly being the lowest in that totem pole XD, really forget the mystical and almost godlike power of planning things in advance, have at least a beginning and an ending in mind, or etched in a stone slab on a mountain like I do, and start making a rough draft of where the story should go, if not you'll be like shyamalan and no one wants that, and what your characters do to take the story towards that route,like killing the place that your dear brother killed his whole family to protect...wait, also having a check list of the things you want your story to have is a life saver for those day you wake up and go "WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING!!!!".

this has been advice from an idiot, follow them on your own peril =P

[fuyudust]

My story: One day, I found out webtoons is paying up to 1000$ for comics. The end.
Advice: Hold up your pen and start drawing right here, right now. Dont look around for anymore inspiration, don't try to make everything perfect then give up halfway, your stories can be lame, your art can be unstable, dont think too much about it, just do what you can, the most important thing for a starter is finishing a chapter.

[MGComics]

Inspiration: Had no TV when little so I loved reading books, comics and creating stories from a young age.

Tips: Start, wether you publish or not. Just start. And, If you like it, watch/read at least first chapter of Bakuman.

Also, work super hard, but also smart. Smart means, take breaks and rest or you will have artist's injuries you may take a very long time to heal and can be more damaging to your dream. Also, always be learning to make your comic better and don't settle for comfort.

If you're serious.... videogames and most shows have to go. You have a comic now. (It depends on your age...)

• If you're young and haven't drawn for a while: You have many years ahead of you, and before graduating highschool or college you will have more time that many adults don't have. Take advantage of that with as much strength as possible, to become better as an artist and/or telling stories. Take advantage and experiment. Marketing and publishing can wait (though you choose), focus more on beating the crap out of everyone who is older! (Including me).

Don't settle for a normal career If your dream is to make comics. Focus on art. If you become so good nobody can ignore you, and people find value having your comic in their lives, this is 100% possible.

• If you're older: You and I may have less time than youngsters. So, choose wisely. You will need even more discipline (but it's possible). Start both creating your comic and marketing to make it possible. Marketing for you is vital, to make your comic successful and known

The story is more important than the art, but the art makes it stand out from the crowd at first glance. Is more common well written comics with crappy art are successful than those with beautiful art and less good writing. (That doesn't mean you should neglect your art). You can try to do what's popular or your own story. Play by your strengths, and don't settle. Your goal is also to be so good nobody can ignore you.

Also, If you want to learn a couple of links:

Final tip - No matter what everybody suggests you, at the end you choose how to do it!

[lil-sea-salt]

Honestly I got to a point where I just didn't care if I put the worst comic on this website out -- I just wanted to create my own stuff.

I enjoy writing and creating worlds, I did it on my own for years. I have 3-4 notebooks with stories I wrote to entertain myself. I just have such a deep love for creators and the creative process.

The audience part never really mattered to me. I love creating. I think to new creators the best advice is to just do it. Write that horror or romance comic for you -- do it because you love it. It can be the worst most badly drawn comic ever but at least you did something a lot of people can never get past which is START!!

I'm really happy right now with the progress I've made creatively, I have a YA Romance novel in the works. I can actually complete stuff, I know the whole process so well. I have confidence which I didn't have for a long time. It's totally worth the horrible work to get to the good stuff. It's like a faucet, you need to get the gunk out before the water comes out clear and clean and tastes good.

[MGComics]

Just endorsing that this is the best reasons to create something. Because you love it. ^

Respect to you @lil-sea-salt

[awesomefeelsman]

Inspiration: my sister taught me to draw, she read me classic fairy tales booklets. Then I was given my first ever Marvels comic book (a spider-man comic) and was introduced to cartoons, anime and then Disney. It all went downhill from there.

Advice: There will be times when you don't feel like drawing and or writing. There will be times when you just feel like not doing stuff like that. When that happens, step back, look back, rest for a while, spend time relaxing and giving your brain some space to breathe, watch a good movie, listen to new music, practice improving your drawing or writing skills. Then when you're ready to go back carrying fresh ideas and a new and better style, return to your people like a hero who went through a perilous journey for the sake of enlightenment and share your elixir of knowledge to them.

[Rhombik]

I don't have a good back story for my drawing skills. I just was okay at it in school so teachers praised me. I liked being praised so I did it more.

My advice to you is to look after yourself. Sit properly, invest in a decent chair and desk, drink plenty of fluid, take a break every hour and don't over-do it.

[Nullyish]

I start drawing when my friends tell me that I can copy textbook drawings in school better than them. However I believe thatwasn't what you ask XD

What inspire me drawing comic is my own ideas for a comic. When I think my ideas is good I'll just go with it. Reader responses play big time to continue drawing after that. Because I wouldn't get my mood right to finish each episode of my comic, say, weekly, without positive response from my readers and I am grateful for it.

[AVXP]

Inspiration was from everywhere. Japanimation, video games, comics...movies, etc....
Oh books heavily.
My advice to those starting out?

1) Work in some kind of down-the-line format from the start. If your comic hosting site says 800 X ? sized pages, do NOT make that your working size. Work big and scale it down from there. You never know.

2) Save EVERYTHING. I do not care how much better you get or think you'll get. Save everything. Out of HD space? - buy some flash drives.

3) Save often and save multiple copies/versions in case of HD failure or corruption.

4) Don't share everything, Just because it's 'finished' doesn't mean it has to be uploaded. Spend some time getting good. What comes out should be your best. No one would ever know it took a hundred tries or 50 other pieces of crap to get those few gems. All we'd know is 'you're a gem maker' lol

5) Start small. Yes, you want to do a sweeping saga with 100s of characters. Start with learning how to tell an interesting short story. Why? Your future dream saga is actually a chain of interesting short stories.

6) Once you're decent, get to your readers as soon as possible. Do not get stuck making comics or art for other artists or other comic creators. That's a feedback loop of static and noise.

7) Get a thick skin ASAP no one should like your work. No one SHOULD like your work. Either they will or they won't. If you did your best, you should be comfortable with their feelings and they should not affect yours. If you did the right thing during your working-stages, you should be able to defend your work, not argue against their feelings/opinions.

8) As far as getting critiques and opinions and feedback and reviews. If you know you have an issue and feel like preparing people before they check your work, you should fix that issue first. If you are tempted to say things like "Hey, I know...[insert thing that's lacking] needs work/could be better" just go fix that. Listen to your little voice. It rarely lies.

9) Know the difference between all the feedback(s). Throw out someone who says 100% dislike and throw out someone who says 100% like. You want the " I like it and would like it more if you..." and "I don't like that much, but might if you...." those two are worth paying attention to. Which is totally different than "WHAT I WOULD DO IS..." that's creator-level feedback. Again, there's a difference between "What you should have done is..." and "Oh, I see what you did there, but I was expecting...".

10) Just start. Nothing ever gets finished that wasn't started. Part two: know why you're creating and what finishing means to you and act accordingly. I know a lot of people with "plans" and "dreams" and "passion". Sadly, not all of that translates into real time, energy,effort and work.
Beware of those who know everything, but do nothing.

[Vanesalisa]

oh I had a habit on copying my sister's interest as a kid and her interest was drawing this is before she made friends then when she made friends she stop drawing but I keep drawing because it was fun

[PaulDevers]

Inspiration: My brother's also an artist, and when I was young, I just started aping him, so here I am today, making my own stories!
Advice: Just do it! Just get in there, and be proud of what you make. If you spend too much time planning, your never going to actually get started. You never know if you'll succeed until you try!