I want to make a comic but I can't draw well

afuji 2021-09-16 18:33:26 UTC #7

I mean there are always ways to make offline with odd-jobs, overtime etc and save up little by little so you have a good fund for the artist you're commissioning.

Maybe you could pitch your idea as collab, and promise half payment for any income that you may make in the future if you can't pay them now. There might be artists that would be interested in doing that. You've said that you've already commissioned some pages? Perhaps you could use that as reference for any future artist and have them redo/adjust to your changes that you made for the story.

Art isn't everything for sure, One Punch man and Mob Psycho 100 were very popular onlin first, despite the artwork not being amazing. It has it's charm in itself and his writing is very well done.

BLTX 2021-09-16 18:45:25 UTC #8

I couldn't draw very well when I started my comic either. I had to find my style first. And when I did, I had to brush up on it. For an example, here's a comparison between the first and current version of the main character.

This took quite a few months to achieve, but eventually I got it down to the point where I could make whole episodes like this! So I recommend just finding your style and drawing in that style till you've got something that looks good.

dewarcomics 2021-09-16 18:45:53 UTC #9

There are many ways to tackle this.

I'd say do it anyway and you'll get better at drawing.
Or you can either put your story on hold and maybe work on a shorter project to help you practice and get better at drawing. (same concept as the first suggestion)

you could also put everything on hold and focus on getting better at drawing. and once you're satisfied with a close enough to what you imagine your project to be you can start.

P.S. I think most artist here have their own project they want to focus on but wouldn't mind working on another person's project as long as it won't take 10 years of their lives, you know what I mean? If it takes a lot of their time away from their own project then they would want to at least get paid for it.

spiderbrahdfo13 2021-09-16 19:26:25 UTC #10

I've been trying to draw for 4 years man I'm not going to improve if I haven't already.

spiderbrahdfo13 2021-09-16 19:26:46 UTC #11

I've been drawing for 4 years I have not improved

BLTX 2021-09-16 19:35:11 UTC #12

I see...

BLAH BLAH BLAH MUST FILL REPLY WITH 20 CHARACTERS FOR SOME REASON.

CommanderMarty 2021-09-16 20:39:03 UTC #13

how about you show us your art work then?

fleurravenbooks 2021-09-16 20:42:23 UTC #14

hey, no one is born perfect, if you want to draw, draw. You will improve im sure of it! If you don't want a lot of people to see, make google doc and share with few friends.

spiderbrahdfo13 2021-09-16 20:46:14 UTC #15

CommanderMarty 2021-09-16 20:47:09 UTC #16

how is that not drawing well? you draw better than me and I am not a good artist

fleurravenbooks 2021-09-16 20:47:18 UTC #17

it seems fine to me, it doesn't look bad as you said

spiderbrahdfo13 2021-09-16 20:48:51 UTC #18

Because it lacks fundamentals

CommanderMarty 2021-09-16 20:57:37 UTC #19

have you tried learning of human anatomy?

Sethstiel 2021-09-16 21:00:59 UTC #20

Okay, so I also sucked at drawing first, but now I'd like to think I'm a bit better
One of my first full colored character drawings;

And now;

I can suggest you Clip Studio Paint EX
It helped me with its 3D models A LOT when it came to posing etc.
Oh and it was on sale but idk for how long
Related topic;

Also this course thought me a lot about the basics of drawing. Mr. Harris was extremely helpful and he replies DMs as well

Kelheor 2021-09-16 21:02:01 UTC #21

If every artist out there would not draw anything because they art lacks fundamentals, all the webcomic sites would look like this

You're doing well in the art part. Now whether you have the guts to start drawing a comic is a whole different thing
(not saying this in any diminishing way btw, because it could be really hard to start...but you need to just do it)

frgmnt 2021-09-16 21:04:33 UTC #22

You have four options:
1. Learn to draw better. Depending on the amount of hard work you put in, taking it to a presentable comic level should take anywhere from a year to five or so years.
You say you have not improved for four years, which to me sounds like you just haven't been studying in a way that works for you? Find different resources, YT channels, online courses, offline art courses, there are countless options really. I know how frustrating it is to try to improve and make seemingly no progress for years, I've been there.
2. Hire an artist. Good if you have lots of money.
3. Draw it anyway. ...but let's face it, there can be only one One (heh), and only this many comics with poor art can be famous. The other 99.9999999% will be just completely overlooked, unfortunately.
4. Give up? I guess this too is some option, not to say I recommend it though.

CommanderMarty 2021-09-16 21:06:35 UTC #23

for the third option I would get rid of any expectation to become popular, I'm speaking from experience here

GloamingCat 2021-09-16 21:38:20 UTC #24

Honestly, earning money through webcomics is REALLY hard, but you can just earn money with something else and then use this money to hire an artist. I consider doing this myself if I ever get a good job in software development, even though I AM an artist myself. I just think that drawing a comic is too much work.

You can also try to do part of the work yourself so you can pay less. For example, do the storyboard too, so the artist don't have to do it. Or only ask for sketches, and then do the lineart/coloring yourself on top of the sketches. It should be cheaper this way.

crimson_mystery_cake 2021-09-16 21:41:20 UTC #25

My guy I totally understand the way you feel. Your idea is really special to you and you want it to be the best it can possibly be, so you want to find someone or something that can make your vision come to life. I get it because in a lot of ways I am like that, and I think a lot of people who want to make anything creative are like that.

Here’s the thing though, if you really are anything like me you are letting your perfectionism hold you back. You’re happy with your idea now, but who’s to say that in another month or another year you won’t be happy with it again? Who’s to say that you’re not happy with the art in another years time or you find some other flaw you want to fix? The way I see it is that your options for the baseline problem is to hire an artist to draw your idea for you, which is really expensive and forming partnerships can be dicey,or to learn to draw better which is something you seem uncomfortable approaching since it’s something that you’ve tried before but it hasn’t bore fruit like you had hoped. That is completely fine and I understand.

However even if you do do those things I don’t think that they will solve the underlying problem, which is your perfectionism. Personally what I think you really need is to let go of the perfect vision of your comic that you have in your head. I need you to realize that the idea of your story can not and will not ever exist in reality. I know that that can be a bitter pill to swallow, but if you keep trying to translate thoughts onto paper it’s just not going to work out. This is something that I had to learn about myself too. What you really need to learn is to have fun making your project. Even if the art is bad and the writing is crappy if you enjoy the process and you actually create something and have a physical thing in front of you then that is a thousand times more valuable then just having the perfect creation just right in front of you. You believe in your story and you want it to be the best it can be because you want to put your best foot forward and you want everyone in the world to see your vision. I get it, I really do. But if your vision really is as great as you think it is then it won’t matter if the art is bad or the story has some flaws. Comic readers care far more about story then you might think. While it is important to initially attract readers with pretty art and a flashy thumbnail once the story gets into the hundreds of chapter that starts to matter less and less.

To me the thing that seems to be holding you back the most is you. I know because I see a lot of myself in what you’ve been writing, and once I’ve realized that the only thing holding me back is perfectionism and ego I actually started making a project that I’m really happy with. Like, I am happy with the story I’m making right now and I am happy with my art. Both the writing and art are far from perfect and I still plan on improving but I am so close to having that first chapter done and I’m almost ready to share that vision with the rest of the world and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. My only regret is that I hadn’t done it sooner. So I really strongly recommend that you just put your stuff out there, even if you’re not happy with the writing and the art and you try to focus on curbing your perfectionism. We really don’t have as much time as we like to think and it would suck if your vision were to never exist because of perfectionism.

crimson_mystery_cake 2021-09-16 21:41:57 UTC #26

Sorry I kind of wrote an essay there lol