I'm scared of what my comic being ignored will do to me

[Elliart7]

This is kind of negative, I'm sorry in advance but I really need to talk this out.

Though I'm not ready yet anyway cause I'm still scripting and want a backlog, I'm scared for when the comic is live because I'm already tired of constantly feeling like the thing I want so badly to make my mark with is a waste of space, (my art). For years I've kind of been staving off the pain of being ignored when I post art of my OCs by telling myself its just cause people don't know them like I do, that things will change when the comic is out... but I know deep down that isn't true. Or if I'm lucky it just won't be for a very long time. I know everyone says "Just do it for yourself", but I can't be that kind of person no matter how hard I try. I love my story, I love my characters, I love making art... I don't want to talk to the air. I dread the moment I genuinely can't deny that the thing I like most about myself simply isn't worth a second thought to anyone else, and It's hard sometimes not to feel like I'm just working really hard to drive the final nail into my mental health.

[Thexian]

I absolutely relate to this. I've published 3 episodes of my comic, with 3 extra on patreon, I've been promoting everytime I post, have been trying to get into artsty/webcomic/creative communities to maybe meet some people who would be interested in me and my work - but it's all going VEEEEERY slowly. Barely any engagement on any sort of social media, let alone on the comic itself - and it does feel pretty bad to put SO MUCH work into something and it still not being "enough". Like hell, I'm only partly doing this for my own enjoyment lol. BUT - and this is a big but - I've learned that these things really do take time. While your comic or my comic might not be an instant hit, people will eventually find your work, you will find your audience - as long as you keep doing what you love, and loving what you do, and ofc being consistent (kinda guilty of not being that myself lol). And look, in my case - it has been like 2 months - and I only have like 10 subs and 300 views, but that's better than 0 I think. And if it's of any help - when your comic drops, you'll have me as a devoted reader!!! So keep making art, and have fun with it!

[kyupol]

You'd be surprised...

No matter how good or bad you think your comic is...

Things always turn out unexpected.

I started uploading these in Yahoo geocities and shared them on Yahoo groups

I didn't care. Just kept going and going and going...

Fast forward to present, I'm uploading these:

For the same reason a cat meows or a dog barks. Can't come up with an intelligent reason why I still do webtoons. lol

[Thexian]

Must be the human calling to do art haha, beautiful art btw!! (also geocities mentioned dang - only heard of that in legends)

[kyupol]

It was Geocities... bravenet... and other places like Asian Avenue where I uploaded stuff

Yes I'm old.

[wolflu66]

That feels terrible. I can only tell myself that having no one read your comics is the norm on the internet.
Those popular hits are actually one in ten thousand, and I'm not one of them.

[kyupol]

I will probably die of insomnia if one day, ADB will become as big as solo leveling. I won't know what to do. 🫣

[Thexian]

I went on one of those geocities archives once just to see what sites people made, very cool stuff, wish I was there to experience the earlier days of the internet lol, I feel like it was a much more closer knit community then.

[Thexian]

At least yet, it's good to keep hope I suppose.

[kyupol]

It also was a much ruder place. I remember all the "flame wars" I was involved in. Mostly over low iq shit.

Many places were like 4chan

[Thexian]

Ooh - dang. Not for me then I guess :)))

[jwabeasley]

1. You need to tie your validation to something intrinsic to the process or you will go crazy. The Social Media high is never as good as you think and you will go crazy chasing it.

2. Webcomics grow slowly for nearly everyone. My goal was 4 subscribers per month starting out, and that's often what I got. Cherish the ones that you do get. The vast majority of webcomics on this platform have less than 100 subs, you just don't see them.

3. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Getting those first 10 updates is hard, and it will seem unrewarding. But the honest truth is even at 100 pages, you're likely just starting out and there's not a whole lot for people to look at yet!

4. I recommend making a deep backlog before you begin to post. At least 6 months worth of posts. That way, you won't feel the icy cold shoulder of the internet before you have the discipline to persevere. They can't not like it if you haven't posted it yet!

5. I and the other artists here will definitely do what we can to support you and your development as a comic artist. Right, guys?

[Thexian]

I agree, well said! (I needed to hear that myself as well)

[justincluded]

Enjoy the journey, not the destination.
@jwabeasley you always come with such good advice everytime!

[moontokkym]

Gonna be honest: it sucks, but it is vital that you change your mindset because the problem is, with this mindset it'll never be "enough" attention.

Right now you have close to zero attention, and yeah you will get more after a while if you regularly publish a comic. But human brains are sneaky, once you get some, that some will seem like a baseline requirement after even a week or two. Even if you get popular, thinking like this is what leads people to say "i only got 100k views, i feel so ignored".

Making art, the thing you like most about yourself, doesn't need other people to be interested to make it valid. You don't have to be happy if something doesn't get that much attention online but you do have to feel neutral about it, otherwise it will destroy you and make you feel the same way you do now, even if you get thousands of people who love your stuff. I know you said "you can't just do it for yourself"... But that's kind of what differenciates the people who finish their comic and those who give up after a lack of attention. You love your characters and story and you want them to exist through a story that is real and readable? Do it for them, if not for you. Love them enough to give them life.

TL;DR: you shouldn't worry that no one will read your comic, because with how you're thinking right now no amount of people reading will fill the hole that you're digging in your heart. Your value is not just how people react to your art, and you need to work out the mental issues that you have independantly of online attention.

[Leyelle]

It's gotta be a mindset change, sweetheart. If you don't learn to create for yourself and not other people's opinions and approval you'll never be happy creating. Even when you get tons of success it won't feel like enough and it will become an emotional void of constantly needing more attention to feel like your art or your interests are worthwhile. You and your art deserve better than that

[Lensing]

Then maybe it´s time to seek professional help.

Most creations get ignored, then there is a smaller amount of creations which don´t
get fully ignored but with not much reaction, an even smaller amount with people being
into it and a very small number of creations that you would consider "successful".

You can´t depend on that and let that decide if you are happy or not. That´s a dangerous
path

[abigaillmartin]

You choose to be happy. Not external things. Drawing makes me happy and I’m not looking for the whole world to love me. That would be insane.

I mean, people are not going to like you but that’s okay. What do they know?

[Elliart7]

Everyone on the forums is always really supportive of each other and that's so awesome, it is easier to get through knowing we're all in the same boat. I've read the 100 pages thing before, but how does that apply to short stories? I'm starting off with something less than 50 pages before doing my passion project because I'm pretty inexperienced

[Elliart7]

Oof, the shifting goal post is so real, I do struggle to keep that under control. I think right now I really long for my original art to be appreciated the same amount my fan art was appreciated a few years ago, which... I know, story of every artist's life online, lol. I used to pretty exclusively post fanart cause of hyper fixation reasons, and it never got a HUGE amount of attention (I think my most "popular" art piece capped out at about 550 likes), but I was content with it and did feel truly wanted as an artist