thats sad 
well, i'm only 14! and like sandra said saying yourself that your art is really good isn't very modest 
i hope everything works out for you 
Talk to your parents about a loan. Not sure if Patreon requires you to be 18, but likely. But your parents could help with that too. A part-time job babysitting or gardening or something like that or even somewhere like McDonalds or a local dog groomer, etc may work. I had several friends with part time jobs in high-school, and the school even gave them a few hours off early at the end of the day to help them.
You may also have to consider going pen and paper. Ink is cheap and pens can be too! Just gotta look around. Keep your lines clean and scan it from home if you can or see if your school has a scanner.
Thanks for the advice. It's fortunate that I'm home schooled. I have more time but my parents doesn't allow me to do part time jobs.
The 18 thing is really do to child labor laws, nothing anyone can really do about it I'm afraid. Like peeps have said here, do some paid chores, commissions and the like for raising cash
pseudo off-topic, but how does child labor apply to digital media? iirc It was to prevent sticking children in factories and overworking them because it's cheaper. In this situation, if an underage worker works just as hard and gets paid the same, how does that compare to [above]? Also, digital media is art, an expression of creativity. Why shouldn't EVERYONE get paid for doing that?
Use whatever you have, there really isn't much to support you especially if don't have anything to support and it probably won't be enough to buy a computer. Got paper? Got Pencil make comics the old fashion way. Just use what you got. It may take years before you can make a profit from drawing even if you draw really good. There is more to comics than drawing. I even if you don't draw traditionally you still need savings/steady job just in case you need to replace something. Also you don't have to share your comics at first before I had a computer I just made comics with paper and colored pencils(birthday presents) and showed them to friends and family.
@Agentzap its 'labor' only in the sense that your pay a child to work. I you can give them part time work only but not fulltime. Its to safety guard children, a lot of companies and workplace wont employ children full stop. our news agent stopped paper rounds being done with kids 8 years ago due to tighten child labor laws.
if children were allowed to work like full adults, companies WILL abuse it. some countries still do because they have no child labor laws, most sweat shops for example. due to theor lack of experience and lack of eductaion they're open to explotiation. For someone under the age of 18 education is, and should be, full prority, since this will be the key to all your sucess in the future, via your degree's, diploma allowing to demand better and fairer pay BUT the friends you make allowing you to network and find good and better jobs
Even in the digital industry, child are exploited, how many contests have required you to work for no pay but with the slim hope of landing a job or career? How many forum posts have we all seen asking for 'free' work for the pay being 'exposure'? These are all expliotions! and most of the time its hopeful students that get whipped by them 
Anyone seen fiverr? striaght up exploition of students. its rife! Of course the arguement is 'but if it helps me build my portfolio and gives me experience its still all good right? I can make money properly later when I've made it' NOPE because the moment you ask to be paid a decent living wage these folks will go to the next batch of children and students and get free work from them instead promising THEM exposure, its a vicious cycle.
Sorry .... I've totally gone off on a side rant abou the media arts industry expliotion of kids >.>
It doesn't matter how determined or good you think you are at age 16 - these things don't apply to child labor laws, and that's why there are so many 18+ rules in place when it comes to these things. I'm sure Tapastic would love nothing more than to offer some of their monetary programs to everybody - but they can't, and it's because those laws are in place to protect children against unfair payments and unjust exploitation. There's no discrimination about it, it's to protect minors who may not be able to defend themselves or may not know better in various situations regarding exploitation and everything that's already been mentioned, and if websites like Tapastic didn't adhere to the laws of their respective states/countries, they wouldn't be allowed to offer their services at all (at least not legally).
That being said, just because you have a limited selection of money-making work right now doesn't mean you have a limited selection of jobs at all. You can still do volunteer work, work your butt off at improving every day and build your portfolio, gain new connections, etc. I was serialized in a provincial magazine by the time I was 16 and I published my first children's book (as an illustrator) by the time I was 18, and I wouldn't have gotten that if it weren't for the part-time job I had at an art store where I gained those connections through other artists. That children's book alone has landed me a flurry of other jobs, especially book covers for authors (although I got paid to do the book, I wouldn't have had the skill or contacts if it hadn't been for all the work I had put into building my portfolio and my audience).
Just because some jobs don't pay doesn't mean it's not worthwhile. Although this varies depending on certain situations, don't let volunteer work stop you from making those connections that could land you big jobs in the future. You're only 16 after all - you shouldn't have to be worrying about living off your art just yet. Start now so then by the time you -do- want to start making money off your stuff, you'll have the necessary background and connections to get you there.
What I don't get is how other sites like line webtoon allow 14 year olds to be featured. Whoever made the child labour law should keep in mind that there are children who are far more mature than adults and know the hardships in life.
There's really no rush, you'll be 18 in 2 years! just continue drawing what you love and work on improving your art even further. How about doing commissions?
Different country, different rules. Legal age of consent (and being an adult) is lower. THIS is the knowledge and experience a mature adult knows to avoid exploitation.
Thou there maybe excepts to that rule in terms of maturity and age, those mature teens will understand that these laws in the west are here to protect ALL child. Making exceptions opens up loopholes to the system to allow damaging business practice's.
Being angry at a system designed to protect you, allowing you access to better education to gain a higher understanding and a better chance at a well paid job isn't mature. Even now, a lot people who go straight into job after highschool have stunted career growth. And if LINE are hiring 14yrs olds into full time work, I'm seriously concerned at that business practise.
If Line is allowing 14 year-olds to earn money, it has either put in a lot of legwork to ensure that they meet the requirements for employing someone of that age (a quick Google search suggests that Korean labour laws permit 12-14 year-olds to engage in very light work, as long as their studies are not disrupted), or they are flat-out breaking the law.
Honestly, regardless of how mature a minor might seem or how immature an adult might seem, there's no realistic way to judge maturity on a case-by-case basis, so the laws provide a hard limit that apply to most of the population. If anything, a minor who is more mature than their peers due to hardships is more vulnerable to exploitation.
The problem here isn't the law, or the companies that have to follow it, the problem is your parents. A computer is an important and useful thing for you to have, even if you weren't making comics. They should either buy you one, or provide you with the opportunity to earn one, either by permitting part time work or by paying you for chores. Have you spoken to them and explained what you want to do? Most reasonable people would support a teenager saving up for something expensive but practical, because it's good practice for managing your money, and you're only a couple of years off potentially going to college or getting a job, where you'll have to manage it yourself anyway.
If they won't agree to that, well, they can't stop you from drawing altogether. You can always keep practicing using traditional media until you're in a position to get your own computer. You can even offer commissions to friends and family.
I'm glad your confident in your art skills! It's a rare trait to have and I'm glad you are comfortable in your work. That said, many artists make money as early as 14 with their artwork as far as I've seen. Art commissions are the number one way to do so. With a parent or guardian's help, set up a bank account and link it to a paypal account. That's the first step. After that do commissions, and (I hate to say this but;) do a few freebies now and then to draw attention to your art and it's websites.
forgive my ranting before, @gateofselidor makes some awesome points.
Now I'm going to play devil's advocate here ..... >.> <.< if you wanna save up and get your folks to help you get a 'PC' get a Microsoft Surface pro 3, it'll double up as a drawing tablet/monitor!!! make THAT your goal!!!! ... god I want one so bad. and the fact it'd be your computer AND drawing tablet would be killer!
I think you're mismisnterpreting me. I'm not angry at the system of child labour. In fact I am greatful for it. I think they should just lower the minimum age to 16. There are tons of teenagers at the age of 16 who volunteer to do work. Will they not have the choice or freedom to do what they want? No one is forcing them, they just want to get paid for a hobby. I think childhood is different for everyone. For you its school, confidence, family,etc. For me it's homeschool, religion, family, sports and comics. I can both have the the time for family and education wihout effecting my comics and religion. I have a great relationship with my family. I have a strong faith and I love love love comics. I am great at organizing and believe it or not, I have made countless stories for my comics. The fact that I can't earn a dime for comics is so sad to me.
In different states, teens at the age of 16 (and in some places even 14) can work if they like. It requires extra paperwork and limited hours though.
yes there has been a misunderstanding, your case is much different to those.
There's been a lot of advice here to help out so far, I still think you should aim at buying a surface pro sheerly because it'll save money on buying a pc AND drawing tablet.
I think you're gonna have to 'think outside the box' to get your goals , like others have said, paper and ink for your comics for now, maybe xerox print them, selling them at fetes, maybe research local comic con's, small ones and get a foot in there. This will all benefit in the long run since when you CAN set up properly on tapastic or patreon or any other they'll be your first fanbase to support you rather than starting from the ground up. I think you're going to have to do some creative thinking here and get a battle plan to get your PC and get to the next step.
