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Ulta
Jun '18

This is a question for pretty much any comic that's featured on Tapas or Webtoon, specifically any that are on a once a week upload schedule (which most are from the looks of it).

With the new contest popping up on Webtoon, I quickly started to do research to see if I could get my budding comic entered into it. Up till this point, I thought I had been doing very well on it. I have a single flat colorist who helps, but other than that, I am able to sketch, line, paint backgrounds and add dialogue and panel layouts all by myself. With all this in mind, I also am able to get about 2 pages done a WEEK, which translates to about an average 14-17 panels usually for sites like Tapas and Webtoon's mobile viewing platform. To me, that's a lot! I have a weekend job but Monday-Friday I pretty much work ONLY on the comic, setting aside time each day to work on it and make sure those two pages get finished and posted on time to the schedules I've promised to my readers (which is once a week at present). In short, I felt like I was doing good. Maybe even great (well...on Webtoon anyway. My comic is barely noticed here on Tapas...)

And then I analyzed the typical panel count that most of the featured comics on Webtoon/Tapas have...35-60...on a once a WEEK schedule...

How....how? I've already tried asking the creators themselves, but have yet to get an answer...so far it doesn't SEEM like these folks get a lot of help, if any. Maybe a shader here, a flat colorist there...rather close to how I have a lone flat colorists to help me out as well. But 35-60 panels in a WEEK?? I can barely squeeze out 18 in a week...that's not even close to what even the smallest episode is on some of these featured toons...and we're not talking about the short funny slice-of-life comics. I'm talking about the comics with a story, the meaty visual novels that take you for a wild ride into a different world. And what's worse...the comics are about on par with the quality I make. Nice clean linework, doesn't skip out on shading, decent backgrounds in most panels (I might actually be working too much on backgrounds compared to them but that can be 'fixed' easily). Basically...I just can't see how they do it. Unless they work like a MACHINE during EVERY day of the week...I just can't see how they are doing it.

Does anyone know how it's done? Do I just suck? Am I just way too slow with making art? I already dedicate every day except Saturday and Sunday to working on my comic...and now I'm scared that I won't cut it to being featured if I can't seem to be able to mimic their panel-count and upload schedule...

Any replies to this will be appreciated...I really want to make my series a success, but it's starting to look like it's going to demand more out of me than my skills and time can give...and that scares me...

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    Jun '18

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fleohr
Jun '18

Some of them have someone to help them with the writting/coloring, have a pile of already done episodes, and they work full time on it

Draconic
Jun '18

I thought that is the common knowledge to who want to becoming a comic artist.

You have to draw extremely fast and efficiency. You have to be at the level of fully understand how anatomy and perspective work, no drawing and studying at the same time. You have to be at the level of professional, the level of 4 years in art college. You have to be capable of drawing nearly anything without references.

You're at level 20s and they're at level 90s. You need to grind your exp to level up.

My speed right now is at 1 black-white panel per hour, without studying pose and anatomy. If it is just a simple head shot panel, then I only need under 10 minutes to do black-white line + shade. So in theory, if I can go full time, I can do 8 panels per day or 56 panel per week. My speed will x2 slower if it's a color panel. But my real life speed is actually 1 panel per day due to studying anatomy, pose, scene, and limited drawing time. On the level scale, may be I'm at level 40s right now.

So just don't worry much about your level, as long as you keep grinding your exp, you will level up over time.

punkarsenic
Jun '18

speaking from my conversations with @LordVincent on workload and the like,

1: working full time on these things makes a massive difference. where you probably just have your free time to draw, many creators with featured comics are working full time, 7 full days of drawing and writing time - and yeah, a lot of the time, 'like a machine.' making comics full time is a lot of work

2: batches!!! the first way to speed up your process is to work in batches - five pages sketched, then five pages inked, five pages coloured, five pages lettered. i used to make one page a day, and therefor two pages a week. now that im working in batches i make five pages in 2-3 days. i know vincent sometimes works in megabatches - smth like 50 pages sketched, then 50 pages inked, etc, within a tight timeframe (two weeks or so?)

3: theres lots of little methods and shortcuts to working faster, and professional comic makers utilise many of them. you can find lots of tutorials on youtube on ways to make the process faster, and you can be looking out for your own ways too - for example, i like having hatching in my work for texture, so im always looking out for new hatching brushes that make the process faster.

working fast is key to making comics professionally, and its a skill you can absolutely learn

Hodge
Jun '18

Most of it is just skill. You can watch professional korean webtoon artists on twitch, and they are beasts. And even then they work themselves to death, hence the need to take breaks/go on hiatus regularly. Now some of them are big enough that they can afford help, but if you go Lezhin, many of those creators are single people doing 70+ high quality panels every week(especially since readers have to pay for chapters). They do take every shortcut they can get, (as well as work ahead) but they had to get to a certain point where they can work fast while still producing a quality product.

Personally, I've done 40+ panels weekly before (fully colored and all that jazz) and I just kept burning out due to the amount of time it all took. And I was also never happy with the result since I constantly had to rush. I ended up taking a long hiatus to improve my skills, properly plan out my story, and build up a buffer. About to go back to the 40+ panels weekly schedule for the Webtoon Contest, and feel much better about it now.

Hodge
Jun '18

Pretty sure most of them do, and some of them also have youtube channels. Maybe I'll make thread that's just a long list of great webtoon/manga artists on twitch. I've even caught the creator of "Let's Play" on there a couple times.

beta1042
Jun '18

They're not all full time I don't think, but a lot of the ones with really long comics have assistants to help. As others have said they're really fast and talented. They're professionals afterall.

But I've also noticed these 3 things which I think help some(not all) be faster:

I think they are at the point where they know what battles to chose. I mean if you really analyze every panel, yes you'll see some occasional funny looking hands, or proportionally off poses, etc. But they know how to draw a lot of your attention away from those details in those panels. Meaning when they do make mistakes or have weaker art, they do it in a manner where it doesn't effect the quality of the panel because its not something you're really looking at or studying when you read the comic as a whole.

Many of them use copy/paste. Oh your character didn't move much but changed expressions? Copy paste the body/head zoom in alittle to the face, and change the facial expression, boom new panel with a lot less effort. Or say you're making a background with lots of trees? draw like 3 different trees and copy paste them to make your forest (or use a tree brush if you have the right program- CSP Assets as a whole saves me SOOOO much time)

Many have 3d backgrounds, if you know what you're doing with the 3d backgrounds, you can make those faster than drawing them. And you can manipulate the angles how you like so you can have a scene in a complicated location but only make the model for that location once. And some 3d models are already made, there's a 3d model of a classroom in CSP, I've used it before cause you can just change the angle how you like and then never draw all those annoying desks and chairs in proper perspective.

inkycharland
Jun '18
punkarsenic

I feel like an idiot. I have been drawing semi-professionally for a long ass time. I have never even considered this. Maybe because I come from graphic design and everything is so project based? I don't know, but I know I'm going to have to try this.

punkarsenic
Jun '18

defo try it!! it rly does change everything - batches just feel so much more manageable. its really nice to be able to do all the sketching at once bc you get more into a groove, and the pages are more uniform. that said, i dont like to go above a 5 page batch - more than that every week gets overwhelming for me. i think everyone has their own personal balance, and finding that takes a little trial and error.

DiegoPalacios
Jun '18

Here are some tricks to work faster:

1-If you draw digitally, learn all the shortcuts to the tools needed. All of them. If you draw traditionally and painting color, paint everything that use certain color, then paint everything that uses other color, etc.. You will save the time spent changing colors. @punkarsenic `s advice about batches applies here too.

2-Get a chronometer and practice drawing random stuff: Give yourself a limited time, like 5 minutes, or less if you are in the mood to be challenged. See how far you can go in the time. This will help you to see which are the details that makes a bigger difference. Make sure you draw different things everytime you do this exercise. You want to be able to draw anything you do faster. (playing pictionary with friends can be a fun way to train)

3-Get rid of distractions while drawing: You want to put most, if not all your focus while drawing. If music helps you, i recommend to put music that match the mood of the thing you are drawing.

4-Make it a habit: If your goal is to draw one update a week, you should develop the habit.

5-Do stretching exercises before and after drawing. Your health comes first.:grin:

inkycharland
Jun '18
punkarsenic

Yeah. I will give it a whirl. I have a scheduled break in about a month. I'll have to use that time to try it. I'm not sure I could go over 5-6 pages either. But still, every little bit helps.

inkycharland
Jun '18
DiegoPalacios

This is a huge tip! I had a graphic design instructor that made you write our all the keyboard shortcuts if you were late, or missed a deadline. If you want to learn them, write them down. It works. I can use keyboard shortcuts blindfolded. You'll find ones you never knew about. (Like using the alt key as a quick copy/paste in the adobe suite.) Great tip.

Luminosophy
Jun '18
Hodge

I feel like it's really important to take your time when you're just starting out. Don't feel the pressure to match up to professionals who have everything figured out in terms of writing formulas they follow if they create multiple series, to specific rendering methods, chosen textures, a refined art style and years worth of studies under their belt. It's going to be really difficult to get there if you're spending all your time rushing out panels rather than just taking some time to experiment with different ideas, and seek out meaningful critique from various writing and illustration communities.

YangKoete
Jun '18

Overall, my list of what I think;

  1. Help from others.
  2. They do a lot of sketches first for lots of episodes each, then they ink it and shade it in batches.
  3. They're experienced. 80% of drawing is "Get good". Seriously. . w.' Just practice.
  4. They're being paid full time.
Hodge
Jun '18
Luminosophy

I agree, it's important to be realistic in your expectations. Though even when I was rushing I was experimenting a lot, it was the most productive experience I had with regards to learning about digital art. I also had a 30 chapter webtoon under my belt, which is kinda nice. Just wish I didn't stress myself out about it so much haha, though maybe there's something to be said for taking it seriously if you do plan to become a professional (which was/is my intention).