How to make a comic enjoyable to read?

[avalonmao]

noooooooo no you didnt trigger me or anything!! I have strong feelings regarding redoing work and all that but like. You're fine lol. Just keep at it and enjoy!

[PorcheJ]

@blacknwhiteeagle100 Ooh, okay! Thank you, Blacknwhite. You too!

[sarrowsmith10]

The thing that makes a character interesting is the choices they make, and if the plot doesn't present them with choices that will help us learn more about them -- about what they want, and what they think is important -- there's nothing interesting to see.

I really like this. I struggle with this alot. I think as creators we design a character first, then attach a story to it. Where perhaps we should tell our story and design our characters in a way that best tells that story.

I don't think you have enough pages to really do this yet. You need time and pages to really make the story meaningful and for readers to connect to your characters.

In many ways I think this is why people had a hard time connecting with Rey from StarWars. She has super awesome abilities and bad things happen to her, but we don't really know her as a character. In the comic I illustrate Goblins of Razard, a lot of people had this complaint about supporting character Hawk. She can hold her own in a fight, but no one really had any idea of her motives. That gets cleared up later, but it didn't happen until chapter 5 thru 6. (Although in defense, the comic isn't about her specifically, so it's not a deal breaker for many readers)

Moral of the story, don't give up on your comic, and don't get upset that you don't have a huge following yet. The most you can do, is keep creating, keep learning, and keep doing what you are already doing.

[Greg_Dickson]

If it helps, I know one factor other than story that might be a good thing to keep an eye on, would be to keep track of character expressions. I feel that through every panel of the comic, Celeste always looks sad, even in those few panels where she's supposed to be smiling. I get that character-wise, she doesn't really have a reason to smile early on, but giving her a wider variety of moods and expressions could really help readers connect. For example, my main character in my comic isn't going to smile in the prologue. But I do show moods from anger, to frustration, to feeling a bit conflicted, and eventually, there will be some sadness there. Later after the prologue, I plan to also show her snarky side, her happy side, her worried side, and so forth. And the story will put her in situations where she will naturally and believably change those expressions according to the circumstances.

In those panels where Celeste is smiling, I think all you really need is an eyebrow change. Instead of putting the eyebrows always on a sad angle, try to straighten them out, or put them in a small, faint upside-down "U" arc (if that makes any sense explaining. Just flip a U upside down above the eye and straighten it out more, giving it a very slight arc).

But yeah, it's not just about giving characters different expressions just for the sake of variety. I mean, you can't put your character in every mood under the sun just for variety, or they'll seem completely unbelievable or un-relatable. It's all in the writing, and how the story will fuel the change for your character's moods as time progresses. I know I'm rambling, so please don't take it at all like I'm chewing you out. I'm notoriously bad at not knowing when to shut up and end a comment. Haha. Seriously through, I admire your enthusiasm and potential for your comic. I know you genuinely care for it, and asking for help and taking things into consideration is a huge step that I respect. I hope my advice isn't something that I'm only over-analyzing. But I wanted to chime in on a comment that was more about the art and less about the story. I hope that it helps in some way.

[PorcheJ]

@sarrowsmith10 Thank you so much for the advice, Sarrow. I'll keep in mind to show/explain to readers each characters motives and what makes them interesting. This is very important. I hope to show this in the next chapters as well. Thank you again.

@Greg_Dickson Thank you, Greg. I've actually been working on my expressions over the years.

Keep in mind, Chapter One of Cryptic Yume was made years ago. But I still very much appreciate your advice. And no, you were chewing me out or being wordy. Haha! If anything, you guys are helping me out as a person and artist. I really thank you all for encouraging me to keep going and learning.

Here's a few sketches I did for expressions:

This is for another comic I'm planning to do:

This is a new character design for Celeste, ready to take on the enemy:

I'm not saying that I've perfected expressions. Lol I'm still learning. But over the years, I've been working on them. But thank you again, Greg, and I'll definitely keep in mind what you all have taught me.

Cryptic Yume is part of me. My passion. And I truly love this comic. I'm not saying that is SUPER great. But rather... it's enjoyable to do. Back when I was young, I had a burning passion to show the world my comic and tell them a good story. And to send a good message to those who felt the same way as Celeste: The lack of friends and the lack of courage. Sending a message of Hope, Friendship, and Courage through my characters and story are my goals. I want people to feel that they're in a new world and feel connected with these characters.

I'm no Edgar Allan Poe, Jeff Smith, or even Stan Lee... But just a normal girl wanting to learn and grow as an artist and person. And to have fun making comics.

[Greg_Dickson]

Oh, okay Porche, now I really like the expressions that you've just shown in your pictures there. The top left character on the first page and Celeste on the second page especially. And I had no idea that Chapter 1 was made years ago, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what you can do. You've made a huge improvement with your art over the years, I think you'll be just fine with art and expressions like that! Great job!

[PorcheJ]

@Greg_Dickson Aww, thanks again, Greg. Haha! Yeah, Chapter One was made in the early 2010's. ^^; But yes, I still have a long way to go. I'm just your average girl wanting to share a comic with a good message and adventure. And most importantly, I'm willing to learn and grow.

[shazzbaa]

I think as creators we design a character first, then attach a story to it. Where perhaps we should tell our story and design our characters in a way that best tells that story.

I don't necessarily think it's a bad idea to do it the other way around! It's just a matter of not thinking of story as a separate, attached part -- to not just think, "I have these characters, now I have to come up with a story to put them in." I think if you have characters that you care about as people, you can build a story that complements and drives who they are and who they become!

There's a question I asked a lot in building my story, which was "what does this character need to learn?" I need to make sure the story isn't just... happening around them while they magically learn that thing for no reason. The things they go through and the choices they make need to be things that either guide them or challenge them to grow. People don't change their minds if nothing happens to challenge their worldview.
Tho not every character is gonna change or grow in that way, and at that point I think the question becomes "what do I want to show about this character?" If I had a character who is kinda a jerk but would give his life to save an innocent, we'll only know him as a jerk if I never put an innocent's life on the line.

I think you can start with characters and it's not necessarily a detriment! You start wherever the ideas come from, and both characters and story get tweaked as you develop, I think. Ultimately, they both have to serve each other!

[sarrowsmith10]

Yes, I definitely see your point there. I'll give you that. I guess I've just seen a lot of token type characters, where I feel like they were inserted just because they looked cool or something like that, and the character felt totally out of place. I really like characters were they really feel like they belong to their environment...

But yes, were ever inspiration strikes I guess. I'm not really a writer, so there is that. My writer often doesn't even include how the character looks, so when I'm designing characters its really based heavily on their mannerisms and situation.

[PorcheJ]

I found this article by David, the creator of Dreamkeepers. It talks about how to make good characters that you and readers can love and connect with: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2015/06/06/be-clueless-write-awesome-dreamkeepers-volume-4/

I truly love reading this. It tells you that when you make a character and story, you've got to have passion and dedication. If you don't care what your characters do or what their motives are, why should the readers?

Treating your characters as if they're a part of you, what they go through, and how readers connect with them are important.

[omarsassi88]

Hi there! I look after your comic. And my advice concern about the color. You use like a really saturated color. is better to use something less satuated color and choose a limitated palette. Now I'm new here on tapastic. And I can give just an example on my comic. you can see the really BIG DIFFERENCE between my first episode A strange story and the second one Narcoleptic part 2. and this big different is due to the color.If you want to now more about that just look after color and light: a guide to realistic painter. by james guarney.
Hope to have been able to help you!!!

[PorcheJ]

@omarsassi88 Thank you so much! I'll definitely keep this in mind. I'm actually planning on using different types of colors, whether it be dark or bright. What I learned in college (about color usage) is that each scene tells a story with color. It tells a certain story. Here's a god example of that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXgFcNUWqX0

But thank you so much!

[ahkwardkat]

My only problem with this is that color does NOT have to be used like a painter does. Everyone keeps trying to put painting ideals on people and I'm tired of seeing it. Using it as a way to study color is one thing, but why do people have to use color like painters do?

Sometimes going outside the realistic choice can have a real impact on things and although it should be used wisely and color is important, if someone isn't 100% realistic, it shouldn't always impact the quality of a work.

Lots of comics use very saturated colors, as an example look at Adventure Time or even lots of Marvels comics. The saturation is insane in those books. So I don't think it's necessarily bad as long as it's used properly.

[quakeulf]

Make it easily readable, as in the text needs to be clear and the drawings even clearer. As long as you master focal points and composition you can pour on as much detail as you want, and I will like it even more.

[eslameldeeb]

wait wait wait
your artwork improved soooooooo much over the course of only 24 pages till now
WOW
'am really impressed, keep the progress at this rate and your're absolutely fine.. until what point? THE NEVER POINT, make this the everlasting norm of your life!.. we do art, not the dishes

also, check out this topic: http://forums.tapastic.com/t/how-do-some-comics-get-instant-subscribers-fans/923/12

[camillabluejay]

@shazzbaa You are super smart! I am subbing to your comic and adding you on Twitter. Nice to meet you

@PorcheJ most people have already said what I would've, but I do have a couple tidbits I learned:

In a screenwriting class I took, on the very first day, our professor made us do an exercise that I found SO helpful. She didn't explain what she was doing, she just led us through the steps one at a time. I suggest you grab a piece of paper and follow along with me without reading ahead if you wanted to do it too.

STEP 1! Write down your three favorite movies.

STEP 2! think about each of those movies, one at a time. REALLY think about them. What's their log line? If you distill the story down to its base theme, what is it? WHY is this your favorite movie? Write all of this down, let your mind wander. You want to take your emotional love for something, and turn it into words that you can grasp onto. Take your time on this step.

STEP 3! You now have a bunch of writing, probably for three pretty different movies. The last step is, "What do they all three have in common?" This was such a hard question for me to answer. I had an action adventure, a Disney movie, and a dark romantic drama on my list. They had NOTHING in common. It took me most of the class session to figure it out, but when I did it was a lightbulb moment. They all had the theme of family, not related by blood, taking care of one another. That's my subconscious want in a story. And then, knowing this about yourself, make sure that's in your story. You'll draw in the people who feel the same way as you.

Another thing she told me, is after you've written the script and characters, write down your character's traits. There should be at least two positive traits, and 1 negative one. (or vice versi, for bad guys) You DON'T want to simplify them down into just those traits, but go over the finished script and make sure you have moments that illustrate those traits you wrote down. Your character is selfish? Give them a moment where they can be selfish. Don't just rely on how real they feel in your head, readers need to see things played out.

HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR SCRIPT WHEN IT'S FINISHED. Some things will be SO clear in your head, until someone else reads it and goes, "I have no idea what's happening in this scene here."

And FINALLY (sorry, this got really long ) don't be so hard on yourself. We're all learning. Trust that you're doing the best you can and that you'll get better as you go. I really want my comic Kindred Skies to be this beautiful, perfect epic, but it won't. It's my first comic and I have no idea what I'm doing. So enjoy the process, and see where it takes you. Let yourself be discouraged sometimes, but always believe yourself, and don't put yourself down in front of others. If you don't believe in yourself, how do you expect others to, you know?

[jonufele]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[maty]

This has probably been said a thousand times but cramping too much text in the pages is a huuuge, huge turnoff. I've stopped reading comics with wonderful art and novel-worthy storys just because they were a pain in the ass to read. Pages with little text that convey the actions more visually work best in my experience, because people are lazy

[maty]

Those are some pretty awesome tips

[camillabluejay]

Thank you! haha, sorry I stopped going in the forums when I started working overtime. I just saw this. But I'm glad it was helpful