Is vertical really better?

[Shanny8]

I prefer to work on my comic in page format. I tried to chop up my pages and format them vertical, but the res quality kept getting worse, so I dumped the plan and decided to stick with page format. I dont have an issue reading vertical comics, but I really do hate when there are big ass gutters between panels(and I mean gutters that are big enough you could basically stick another panel in that gutter)...

[bakasama25]

... I really do hate when there are big ass gutters between panels(and I mean gutters that are big enough you could basically stick another panel in that gutter).

Then that empty space is doing it's job. It's SUPPOSE to slow readers down. The "webtoon" format is the only one I know of where the spacing is used to control time. Still, not a lot of people know they can just speed it up by using the space bar or PAGE DOWN keys.

[otterlyhuman]

Thanks, I like that idea! It would feel better to switch up the style for a completely different project rather than to do it midway with our current one.

[ailatte]

I personally feel more comfortable with the webtoon format compared to the more traditional webcomic/printed comic format.
I like the verticality of it, its comfortable to read from my smartphone.
Yes, some artist do leave plenty of white space in the gutter, but there are other creators that experiment more with it.
Honestly there are plenty of things that could be improved from the format, and it would be nice if creators did like the UI-UX designers that they check how the content would look on a smartphone/desktop before publishing to make sure that things are legible, but that might take too much time to do, and more knowledge in readability.

[otterlyhuman]

Let me know how that works out for you! I considered doing the same thing but realistically I worry it could end up being too time consuming for me.

[otterlyhuman]

Awesome, I'll be sure to check them out!

[otterlyhuman]

Yeah the spacing between panels does seem a bit tricky to get right. And I didn't even consider how the resolution would get lower if you start splitting up your panels individually.

[Darth_Biomech]

80 percent readers use mobile phones yes, and it's more logical to read it vertical if you can scroll.

Just another proof that smartphones are an aberration that shouldn't exist, honestly.

[otterlyhuman]

I actually never knew that about the space bar and page down keys!

[bakasama25]

One more thing, use those in tandem with a scroll wheel on the mouse makes for an even better reading experence.

[Iris-Grimoire]

I beg to differ. Ever since I starrted reading stuff on Webtoon, my mouse wheel got noisier than the keyboard and I might have to replace the whole thing soon. When people exaggerate too much on gutters, I just leave it at scroll mode and let it sloooowly go down on its own, which is kind of boring.

[otterlyhuman]

Good point, I guess there's a lot of variability with technological capability when it comes to comic creators. I don't know too much in that field so whenever I post a comic I'm basically just praying that it will look legible.

[otterlyhuman]

Haha that's one way to look at it!

[ailatte]

I think tapas and webtoon allow you to try it out for a smartphone, but also the opposite can happen, that it might look ok for a smartphone, but if you look at it from desktop the text is all stretched out, and stretched out typography is a reason for my to drop a comic

[otterlyhuman]

Never knew this either! I am learning so much valuable information from this thread.

[otterlyhuman]

Yikes! Reading this makes me feel thankful that I have a touch pad and no mouse wheel to destroy.

[otterlyhuman]

Thanks for the tip, that is good to know! I will exercise caution when using the preview button haha

[Coati]

For me, the reading flow is so much better in vertical form

[otterlyhuman]

Thanks for your input! Is your name Coati on here like the animal? I love those little guys.

[Coati]

Hahahaha yeah, is my pen name XD