I'm starting a long comic for the first time! Any tips?

[bluebutnoclue]

In all comics I created, the idea sorta came into my mind and I was like "okay gonna draw it" without any idea of how it was going to work. Now, for the first time, I have a plan! I have characters designs pre made and everything. I just need... to do it. But I'm pretty afraid, because it's a long story and I don't wanna abandon it because it was too much for me. Does anyone have tips?

[theyrebothakilogram]

My best advice is that the worst comic you can make is the one that you don't make at all. I had a comic awhile ago that I kept putting off because I wanted to wait until my artstyle was better or until I could have more professional software and I just kept putting it off and it never happened. To get the one that I'm currently making going I had to just do it. And I still have this problem where I wont like a pose or the way that a panel turned out, and I have to tell my self "This isn't the worst version of the panel because at least it exists" Another thing is deadlines, be very lenient on yourself. It gets exhausting when the comic is just another assignment, so keep deadlines short and don't worry too much about it

[Awesomeness_Studios]

Here’s my tips as someone who has been making her longest comic for the past year and a half and also has read 400+ webcomics for even longer.

• Make a buffer!!! It will save your (webcomic’s) life!! Hiatuses are normal and will happen, but you want to avoid having them too often or it can hurt your comic’s growth.
• When you decide to have a hiatus, try to plan it at a normal stopping point, like after you finish a chapter or an arc or a season etc. It makes it easier for readers to keep track of the story since they probably won’t need to backtrack as much to remember what’s going on. But life happens, so don’t beat yourself up if you need to take a break right before the climax.
• And speaking of stopping points, consider letting your comic have those. You don’t need to have chapters that end every couple of months like I do, but I highly recommend doing seasons (and you can call them other names like parts or chapters, I know a comic that calls them “clusters”, so whatever you like best). The reason why I recommend this is because it can be jarring to make a long comic, so breaking it up like this can make it less scary. Also when you end a season you can basically go on the biggest and most justifiable hiatus ever hehe.
• Appreciate the length of your comic, but don’t abuse it. Yes you have more time to more deeply develop the characters and the world, but if you spend 500 pages talking about a side character’s backstory you might risk boring some of the readers. Quality over quantity is VERY important for long comics.
• And last but not least, don’t worry about it. If it’s an idea you really like, you’ll naturally put all your passion and try to push through to make it to the end. But if it turns out it actually isn’t something you want to continue, there is no shame in canceling it. I canceled my first series in an attempt to find out how to make the best comic I can make, and 4 years later I finally made it.

[XiuLyn_12]

The best advice I can give you is to make a story draft. Make sure at least 10 episodes are fixed first. If you don't prepare ahead, sometimes you'll feel like you've missed something in your story flow and can't go back.
Don't worry too much about the length of your story or whether you'll drop it. Enjoy the process.

[AmazementComics]

Yeah, I would reiterate about creating a buffer of episodes prior to your release. Sometimes life can get in the way, and depending on how invested your audience is, they’ll still be around if you need to have a mental detox and go on hiatus. What I like to do is create long form comics that are 5-10 pages long.

If it’s more of a fight oriented episode, then the episode will be dedicated solely to the one fight scene. If it’s more exposition and plot focused, then I can shoot for that 10 page goal.

Having an outline like this can make your stories easier to manage, ESPECIALLY if you intend to have a comic that spans multiple chapters. Good luck .

[BoomerZ]

I would suggest not making your massive comic your first comic. Know what you are getting into before you try a big one.

[bluebutnoclue]

Thank you so much for all the replies!! They are all helpful and cool, thank you!!

[system]

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