Intro and new comic

[kaylagethers]

Hi!
I'm kinda new to Tapas. I started way back in 2014 with this comic and then had to take a huge hiatus due to becoming pregnant and having a baby. I am trying to start it back up and I find myself not getting a lot of viewers who subscribe. I just wonder if maybe I'm not doing something right or my comic is not interesting.
the comic is Carbon https://tapas.io/series/Carbon
Any advice would help.
Oh, please keep in mind, I also post my comic on its own web host so the comic is set up to read a certain way... Maybe I need to adjust this for tapas and webtoons. I'm not really searching for subscribers ( but it would be nice), but I'm not even getting any comments... It's kinda frustrating.

[KoreanTacos]

So I just read everything you have posted on Tapas so far. I don't really see anything wrong with it outside a bit of a tone shift between what I'm assuming is the prologue and the first chapter, but I'm just going to trust that as the writer you're going to clear up that detail. I think the arts charming and the character Nakala screamed Disney 90's princess vibe which is not a bad thing I actually like those kind of princesses (Jasmine , Belle ftw). While the genre isn't for me, I'm a little confused at who you're trying to target. I don't know if this is fantasy or sci-fi just judging from the first two chapters. It's hard to really critique things with so little to go off of. I'm hoping you do find your audience as I did think the style used for this was quite charming albeit whatever is going on in chapter 1. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations on the child.

[kaylagethers]

Thank you so much. I will def get to the point where everything is clear, I hope. It's just the build up.. I think that might be an issue :).
I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to read my comic.

[XzynderVexymous]

Advertise.

That’s really it.

[kaylagethers]

Thank you very much for taking time out of your day to check out my comic. I appreciate it.

[XzynderVexymous]

Np. Your drawing style is already well done. I see that's obviously through your views. But, you need to ask for subs.

[kaylagethers]

Like just literally say, Please subscribe?

[KoreanTacos]

ha ha~ that was quite a charming and innocent response it made me smile.

It is as simple as that, but here's the thing you have to consider. People read webcomics/novels as a form of relaxation, some don't understand how important it is to have some form in interaction with the creator and don't understand how it benefits both you and them. Honestly in my opinion, sharing is far more useful than sub count, with sharing you comic is being introduced to a larger audience, but readers may not understand the importance of it. I usually end each description with a Like, Share, comment, sub at the bottom. It's just like with how youtubers do it.

Rule of thumb:

If someone unsubs please don't hunt them down like their some kind of bounty, you have to just be able to accept that they just aren't interested anymore, and just do your best to improve in the hopes to get another sub or better yet two. (Trust me getting a PM screaming at you going "Why'd you unsub!?" makes it seem like I have a psychotic ex instead of a professional creator talking to me)

Do not sub for sub, this is annoying, discouraging and most importantly absolutely disrespectful to the second party. Think of it this way, if you get a sub how good is it that they sub, bun never actually look at your comics? Don't do something you wouldn't want someone else to do with you. (I practice, if I like it I will sub you, and if you like what I make you can sub me. Do not sub to me in the hopes that I sub you back).

Be active with your audience if you can, this doesn't mean you have to be best buds, just be respectful and kind to them. They are what are making your comic work. (Always love the people you create for, your story may touch them more than you give yourself credit for)

[DiegoPalacios]

Hi kaylagethers, welcome back!

Make sure you are not begging for subscribers and avoid being a spammer.
In the forums there are topics like: "show your latest page", "¿Any comic of (insert genre here)?" . Some topics in the forum encourage people to share their comic. In those topics share it, as long as it fits the topic.
When you show your comic, give a short and cool description.
Don`t ask for subscribes, that seems desperate.

I once read somewhere that 90% of the success of a story is making the people be interested and/or care for the characters. In your comic we still don`t know the princess personality. ¿Is she introverted or extroverted?¿why she dislikes being a princess?¿is she hot tempered or is hard to get her angry?¿what does she wants?¿does she know what she wants? ¿what makes her interesting and likable?

Also, the pacing is important, there are many pages where nothing happens. Building up suspense is good, but only if you give something satisfactory.

For now, we only know she dislikes being a princess and would prefer to be free. Also,she has some horrifying nightmares.

Improving the characterization can make a great difference in the story. Good luck and wish you the best!

If you are searching for writing tips, with definitions of story conventions and examples of those conventions and how they defy it, this is the page.

TV Tropes

Also Congratulations for your baby!.

[KoreanTacos]

In the forums there are topics like: "show your latest page", "¿Any comic of (insert genre here)?" . Some topics

Actually I do have an issue with forum topics like these. They usually get extremely overcrowded, and rarely do people actually go through and look through the posts. I mean the latest page topic while a nice idea it doesn't really work well, if no one actually looks through other peoples comics. Nice thing about the forums is you can see how many times a link has been clicked, and almost a good majority of the time (especially when everyone rushes right into it) none of the links hardly get clicked. Something like the comics based on genre is a better option, but like I said it's pointless if

a) no one is actually taking time to explore the options.
b) your comic doesn't stand out enough to catch someones eyes. After all so many people are throwing their works in for the hopes of that sweet sweet sub.

However don't feel discouraged, it's important that you remain to have some level of faith and love for your own work, and if you strongly believe your comic can stand out then by all means go for it (This is not an attack, "self hating artists is a shame and can prevent themselves from trying to improve themselves" -KNKL show)

One advice I forgot to mention...

just read other peoples comics and see what they do that makes things work for them. You may find something you really like, and if you become a fan of their work hooray! You're helping out a fellow creator!

Another practice that some creators do which I'm thinking of doing myself later:
Offer to draw other people OC's for free. Give back to the community ya know? Don't half ass it either, take the time to understand what makes that persons OC so important to them and reflect your understanding into the picture.

[DiegoPalacios]

They usually get extremely overcrowded, and rarely do people actually go through and look through the posts. I mean the latest page topic while a nice idea it doesn't really work well, if no one actually looks through other peoples comics.

in my case it worked sometimes, but you have to get early in the topic. But you have a point, i had better results when asking or giving feedback. I forgot to mention that.

[XzynderVexymous]

KoreanTocas got it haha

[nikaalexandra]

hey! congrats on the baby! you're out there creating great new things all the time!
just here to jump in with an aesthetic suggestion- at least with my monitor's calibration, the brown color you use for outline makes the whole comic muddy and hard on the eyes, and might be part of the reason you're having a hard time netting people. i can tell you like to draw, but i'm having a hard time seeing the drawings with how much the outlines clash with the dark colorings underneath. a good rule of thumb is to keep your outlines the same color or darker than the darkest flat color on the page. black might be kinda harsh, but maybe a nice dark maroon would work well?

[kaylagethers]

I see what you mean. I'm hoping to get more into the character as the pages move on.
I guess I'm spending too much time on the build up. I will take this into consideration.
thank you for taking the time out of your day to help.

[kaylagethers]

Thank you so much.
I will def look into using a diff color for linework. I wanted it to be a sepia tone but if it's not working, I might need to look into changing it.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to help. I appreciate it.