Just some questions about starting a comic from a newbie!

[yueu]

Hi there! Just to introduce myself: I'm Izzy, fifteen years old and (hopefully) starting my first comic soon! I've looked around the forum for some answers to my questions (apologies if they're floating around somewhere and I just haven't been able to find them) but ultimately decided to just make a new topic. Here are some things I want to know:

• Is it bad if I can't update regularly? Since I'm still in high school and trying to work hard and get into a good uni, I probably can't update much. I would say maybe a few (3-4) pages updated once per month, maybe more, but definitely not a weekly schedule. I understand that would probably put readers off; should I persist and try to get my comic out there anyway, or is Tapastic just not for me?
• How much do I have to script or plan before I start drawing and posting? So far I've got a start and an end in mind, some main characters and backstories, as well as some jigsaw pieces of the plot in the middle. I know it's definitely not enough to start yet, but I was also wondering, when should I? Can I plan as I go along or should I plan the entire thing? I'm thinking 8 volumes of 5 chapters / 120 pages each; would I need to script it all out before I start? And leading onto my next question...
• Is that too ambitious for my first comic? I'm keen on trying, but unfortunately self-doubt likes to punch me in the face every once and again.
• If I intend to print my comic eventually, should I think about that when I'm deciding on canvas size? I don't want to have to redo things when (or if) I print my comic one day. Should I be worrying about technical things like that or is it too early? And finally...
• Do most of you draw your comic on a larger canvas and make it smaller to post here? I believe the maximum width is around 940px if I remember correctly? And personally I find that incredibly small (at least for printing?)

Thanks in advance, and sorry for bombarding you with so many questions!

[thomassayle]

updating irregularly is only bad for you,it limits your exposure only updating a few times a month it also might put some people off. It might be better to just upload in batches.

for planning it's different for everybody, some like to plan it all out some dont as the feel constricted to follow the plan which sucks some fun out. For me personally I plan by having basic goals for a chapter or scene and improvised the in between, but there are advantages to both. Planning keeps consistency.
Besides your 15 and 8 volumes is a big commitment, you might get bored quick.
best thing to do is just start drawing, its going to be bad either way. Its your first but you got too start some time.

You never know...but its a good habit to get into now and you'll appreciate it down the road.
Yes we all make a larger canvas, i personally do it twice as much but feel free to find something you like.

[MaggieW]

Is it bad if I can't update regularly?
If you can't update regularly, I recommend having a buffer of pages, so you can at least upload something once a week. And like Thomassayle above me mentioned, it hurts your exposure, and your fans will never know when they can expect the next update.

How much do I have to script or plan before I start drawing and posting?
It's best to have your story all planned out, from beginning to end, but don't worry about the details. You just need to know the main things that happen in each chapter, and make sure to maintain the flow of the story without getting wrapped up in the tiny insignificant details. As for scripting, I personally don't think it's necessary to write out EVERYTHING, I know some people do it, but I tend to focus on the script per chapter. If your plan is set up properly you don't have to worry about inconsistencies in your story if you write it per chapter.

Is that too ambitious for my first comic?
I'm in exactly the same boat as you on that one xD I have attempted making long-running comics in the past, but never finished them because I lost interest over time. But if you're dedicated you should be able to pull it off.

If I intend to print my comic eventually, should I think about that when I'm deciding on canvas size?
Yes, you should. You can look up the standard size for comics, there are several standards. The most important thing is to keep the bleed in mind: that's the part that will be cropped from the printed version, so the canvas has to be bigger than intended.

Do most of you draw your comic on a larger canvas and make it smaller to post here?
Yes, everyone does, if I'm not mistaken. ^^

I hope that was useful! >.< If you have more questions, just ask away!

[dojo]

Is it bad if I can't update regularly?

School should always come first, so I would encourage you not to worry about how often you can update. Some people (like myself) do like to create a buffer to work around drawing slumps, but I wouldn't stress too much about it when you're just getting started unless you think it'll help you keep updating, because for some people (again like me) it keeps them more motivated to keep working because the stress of having to hit a deadline on a regular basis can wear them out, while other people, that stress is a motivator, so they don't bother with buffer in the first place.

Regular updates are all well and good, but as long as your readers are aware of what's going on, they're usually okay with whatever you need to do. Regular updates are really only important if you're trying to be a professional (and even professionals need to break up their schedule sometimes)

How much do I have to script or plan before I start drawing and posting?

As @thomassayle said, planning is different for everybody. Some people plan as they go, others plan ahead of time, just as long as you do start eventually, there's really no rules on when you should start. Some of my projects I knew exactly what I wanted going into it, while others, I'm flying on the edge of my seat with the planning. What you've mentioned just there is absolutely enough to start, in all honesty. There are definitely people with successful comics out there who've started with less.

And for that much work, I personally wouldn't try scripting that much before starting. You're talking years worth of comic right there, and I can guarantee you're going to want to change things along the way as you're working on the art that could force you to either want to rewrite it all long before you hit the end, or make you feel like you have to stick with an idea in the story that you're no longer feeling. I mean, if you really want to write that much ahead of time, more power to you, but my recommendation is maybe write one or two chapters ahead, and maybe just keep your rough outline on hand. (But again, some people don't do this. One of my comics, I don't even have a script for it, because I've never felt like I really needed one. I just thumbnail the chapter and my edits come in the form of taking my thumbnails and placing them in my page files and looking over the story again, and then a third time when I'm cleaning the roughs up. Not my recommended way of doing things, as scripts are helpful for helping you feel like your story isn't going off the rails, but its doable)

Is that too ambitious for my first comic?

My honest answer is yes. If you want to make sure you're going to finish it you'll want to start smaller, BUT!!!!! I also think if it's what you want to do that you should absolutely do it. Being really ambitious helps you learn what your limits are, and dude, some people their first comic really does end up being a thousand page epic. Who says you won't be one of them? I would never have learned anything about my own limits if I didn't push myself to the extreme, so I am not one to discourage others from doing the same.

If I intend to print my comic eventually, should I think about that when I'm deciding on canvas size?

Okay, this one you do need to keep in mind ahead of time. Standard comic pages are done at 11x17, and you'll want your DPI at 300 DPI or higher (I work in 300, some work as high as 600-700). If you're planning on doing your comic in color, some would also recommend you stick to CMYK and just change your jpgs or pngs to RGB when uploading (CMYK doesn't always work when uploading on the web, but what you send to printers you'll want to leave in CMYK). You CAN stick to RGB color mode as printers are getting to the point where it doesn't really matter which you use, but if you want to be safe, use CMYK (this does change how colors will look in your paint program so if something isn't showing up exactly right or how you want it, this is probably why. CMYK's purpose is to avoid colors that printers can't print)

If you want to be really fancy you can also look into methods of preventing color bleed and all that, but that's something you'll probably be okay if you don't really get into until later. I'm pretty sure most webcomic artists aren't even aware of these and again, they're mostly methods that HAD to be used in the past because comic printers were a lot shittier than they are now.

Do most of you draw your comic on a larger canvas and make it smaller to post here?

Absolutely, even folks who aren't planning on printing. If you want to print your comic later and want good quality prints, this is pretty much a requirement, but if you're just doing whatever and don't care if your comic makes it to print, it doesn't really matter if you do or not, but it does make it easier for if you decide to post your pages on other comic sites or even make your own site, as size requirements and recommendations are different depending on where you are.

[Candel_and_Goji]

On whether something is too ambitious for your first comic or whether you should plan —

Just go nuts! I wrote a book when I was 14 (as in, 400 pages, full-length, 24-chapter high-fantasy novel) which is RIDICULOUSLY ambitious. You know why I was able to do that?

Because I had no IDEA how hard writing a book was supposed to be. I just went for it and did what I loved and was passionate about. You've got a LOT of time to learn how be professional/successful at comic making. So lighten up, do what gets you going, and go for the jugular. -C

---

https://tapastic.com/series/ParlorTricks

[shazzbaa]

Updating:
It helps to have a specific update day, but it's not required. Just be honest with your readers and keep them posted when there are going to be long delays.
As a couple people have mentioned, a buffer can sometimes help with this: if you're able to do ~4 pages a month, and you work four pages ahead before you start posting, then you can schedule each page to go up once a week so that you have a regular update schedule, but you don't have to finish one page at a regular time to keep up.

Scripting/Planning:
As others mention, it depends on what works for you -- there's not really a point where You're Ready To Begin, it's just, when you feel ready to begin.
When I started my comic, I had half of the first chapter mostly scripted, some rough ideas for the next four chapters, and a general timeline (that would later be completely rewritten) for the rest of the story. I don't regret starting at that point! If I'd planned any more, i would've had to rewrite it, because I needed the experience of making a comic before I really knew what I needed to plan for making a comic. But thats just my personal experience; others found the most success when they had everything all planned out. Follow your heart!! When you feel ready to go, go for it!!

Re: too ambitious:
A lot of folks will advise a shorter story as a good way to learn how you work, and it's good advice! But if this long story is burning in you and it's the thing that gets you fired up enough to draw, it's better to start with a long story you love than a short story you're ambivalent about.
The one piece of advice I'll give if you decide to stick with the long story is to let yourself be flexible. You might want to change the style or techniques you use after drawing the first 50 pages, you might want to shift a character design, you might want to rethink character motivations or change the upcoming plot to be different from what you planned because you had a better idea. These are all normal, and for a first comic that's going to be running for years and years, you don't want to make yourself feel locked in to your earliest choices. Let the comic grow with you.

[Shanny8]

Is it bad if I can't update regularly? I would suggest building a buffer first- get a bunch of pages done before you roll out the "grand opening" of your comic. That way you can be ahead of the posts, and if something happens that you have to stop to focus on your studies, your comic doesnt suffer.

How much do I have to script or plan before I start drawing and posting? That, is entirely up to you- if you have a clear vision on where you want your story to go, then I would say write ahead and save some time, but leave the structure fluid enough if you decide to make changes.

Is that too ambitious for my first comic? If you plan accordingly, then that elminates a lot of "ambition"- especially if school/studies is priority.

If I intend to print my comic eventually, should I think about that when I'm deciding on canvas size? Work at a larger size- I dont site specifics via pixels, but I usually work at 11" x17"(traditionally AND digitally)...I then reduce the size to 7" x 10" before doing the lettering. After I do the lettering, I save a copy in the format that is need to upload to Tapastic. 7"x 10" is also the standard comic book size for print unless you want to use another style of print format.

Do most of you draw your comic on a larger canvas and make it smaller to post here? Some artists work larger then reduce, while others may work a little smaller.

[revisionstudios]

I want to talk about the "is it too ambitious?" question primarily. I think it's really important for you to know what you're getting into.

If you have 8 volumes, each being ~120 comic pages, that's 960 pages of comic. And at a rate of 4 pages per month:

960/4 = 240. 240/12 = 20. That means it will take you 20 years to complete it if you don't pick up the pace at some point.

Which, I'm sure you'll get faster and you'll be able to start doing more as you progress! But it's something to keep in mind, especially since life has a great way of messing up plans.

Doing a comic and sticking to it will teach you a lot. It's a great way to foster skills like self discipline, scheduling, project management, etc. in ADDITION to the obvious ones like improving your art, pacing, and writing. But I don't want you to overwhelm yourself and then beat yourself up if you can't do it. I see a lot of artists go through that.

You're young, and this is a great time to make a lot of things for the sake of it. If this story is YOUR BABY, and you think you would regret doing it now and potentially having to drop it because you don't have time, or if you want it to be perfect and won't allow yourself mistakes, I would either find a way to cut down the story by half (and be okay moving on from it because you'll have newer, better ideas as you progress) or think up something shorter that is super fun for you but you're not INVESTED in long term.

Personally I think a project for your situation should fit these criteria:
+ Fun to do
+ Low pressure to do it well (quantity over quality in this case)
+ Start small and expand if the story opens up organically.
+ Small scope/expectations for how it does online
+ Not being devastated if you have to set it aside one day

For example, in my junior and senior year in high school (I was 16/17) I literally did a page of comic every school day. It was on lined notebook paper, and usually with pen, following the misadventures of my teachers re-imagined as sea life creatures fighting against aliens. Me and my friend would go to my teacher's room (who was the main character) after school each day and give it to him to see his reaction. It was wacky and silly, but eventually grew to have a plot. I didn't care if it was pretty and I was invested on a personal level, even played with the idea of redoing the pages to make something of it, but in retrospect it was great for what it was: a building block.

Despite them being crappy, I ended up learning a lot about pacing, different kinds of panels, and bubble placement from it. It helped my fundamentals without being bogged down by a need for perfection. You don't have to swing it to be as quick and crappy as mine were, but that's the kind of thing I think would help you most.

Of course, my experience is one in millions, so if you feel strongly about a different path, do that. Best of luck no matter what you choose!

[ItsKkYo]

I'm fairly new at this too, but I'll do my best to give advice that helped me get started.

Is it bad if I can't update regularly?

When it comes to updating, I agree with the others. It's better to have a solid update schedule and to update weekly if possible.

You say you think you can make about 3 or 4 pages a month, so if you can't manage to do one page a week, then I'd recommend building a buffer.

I'm currently taking a break from school (I know I won't be able to draw as much when I start taking classes again), so I'm spending a bunch of time drawing the pages. I launched my comic this week, but it was after already finishing 14 pages. If you can finish a bunch of pages and then launch that could help you have a regular update schedule.

How much do I have to script or plan before I start drawing and posting?

To be honest, the most important thing is to have an ending in mind. Scripting the whole thing out didn't work very well for me because I always write too much dialogue when I write a script. So I ended up doing layouts by chapter based on this video:

Obviously it might not work for you how it worked for me, but it was helpful and helped me get out of my creative rut so I'm sharing it.

Is that too ambitious for my first comic?

One of the best pieces of advice I got when I was starting out is that your first webcomic should not be a project to close to your heart and do you should come up with a different idea to start off with. I came up with my idea and it was supposed to be a ten part mini-series, but it ended up expanding past as I fleshed out the characters and worlds, but it's still a smaller idea than any of the ones I've been working on for a really long time.

Starting with a different project will give you room to grow and mess up in ways you might be afraid to do with a project that's really important to you. (Though if your anything like me, the project will become important to you.)

If I intend to print my comic eventually, should I think about that when I'm deciding on canvas size?

Yea, if you intend to print you'll want a more standard size. I can't give you much advice on that front because I formatted my webcomic for tapastic and tumblr. If you need any advice on formatting for the web though I'd be happy to help!

Do most of you draw your comic on a larger canvas and make it smaller to post here?

Yes, it's kind of necessary to start off bigger if you want room to draw.

[punkarsenic]

Is it bad if I can't update regularly?

itll make gaining subscribers harder. some people care a lot about the reliability, and either way people will lose interest over time. that said, it wont stop you from gaining subscribers, just slow the process.

id say your best bet is to not start posting your comic until youve made something like 50 pages (or, post them on a tumblr at a page whenever you make it, but not on tapastic until 50 or so) so you can maintain regular updates even if you cant draw regularly. with your kinda schedule, which i imagine is already quite busy, this could lead to your buffer running out every so often, in which case youll take a hiatus to build it back up again.

How much do I have to script or plan before I start drawing and posting?

the more you plan now, the less stress itll be later.

id say, at the very least, bulletpoint out your story. all its plot points. if you get stuck, think backwards (so this happens at the end - why? because plot point y. why did y happen? because x. because w. etc til u get to where you got stuck)

at most, write your entire story. in its basics; dialogue and actions, plus maybe how the characters feel. look at films scripts for inspiration maybe, or plays if you want sparser scripts. this is long and can be boring but it means you can catch any important plot points you tend to stumble on as you get into the flow of writing, and means you can make any edits to your scene and character designs you want or need before you start drawing pages

Is that too ambitious for my first comic?

it is if you wanna stick to a tight schedule. because shit will go wrong, on your first go. youll take a sudden hiatus to improve your art, or for exams, or because its not whats in your head and its really bogging you down. but if youre gentle with yourself schedule wise (be gentle, always) then i dont think so. if youre worried about not doing the story justice, you can always redo it when youre a bigshot professional.

for this first comic, accept that its gonna be a lil awkward, and over time youll come to hate the early pages and youll change so many things half way through because this is your space to experiment and learn and figure out how to make comics and art and writing work for you. dont get boxed into a stylistic choice or drawing style you grow to hate just because thats how you started the comic. change drastically and unapologetically, and take note on what youll do better next time. eventually, you wont be able to do this, but right now you can.

If I intend to print my comic eventually, should I think about that when I'm deciding on canvas size?

the bigger the better. im talking bigger. use the biggest canvas your computer wont freeze working with (when you have 3 or so completed pages open, with layers, and your computers throwing a hissy fit id say thats your limit)

you can always scale down, but scaling up is a bitch. that prolly answered your last question too.

good luck, man. youre gonna be awesome - eventually. everyones allowed a crap phase, rejoice in it, remember that youre a superstar next to yesterdays you.

[yueu]

Thank you all so much for your advice and answers; I really, really appreciate it! I'll definitely be building a buffer, so thanks to all those who suggested that! I think over the next week or so I'll work on just outlining my entire plot and hopefully developing my world and characters further. I'm going to stick to my current long story idea knowing it'll probably be incredibly hard and not turn out GREAT, but hey, I'm really loving the concept and it'll be a fun first comic.

I do have some follow up questions:

• When I said I can't update regularly, I didn't mean I'll have erratic updates as much as I mean't I can't update very often. Would waiting a between a fortnight to a month for updates put people off? I've been browsing some comics here to get a good idea of how often people update, and some of them update daily! Is releasing, say, five pages a month too slow?
  • Also, is taking a hiatus (giving notice beforehand to readers, for example, because of exams) something that's tolerated?
• I've looked at standard comic book sizes a bit, and I was wondering if the sizes are international? Because I've never come across these before (especially since we don't use imperial units where I live)! Or maybe I've just been living under a rock with little to no comic book knowledge. Is it particularly difficult to print custom size (I was thinking 15px width, 20px height), perfect bound comics? Since I've realised that the common service printing companies offer is standard comic book size saddle-stitched products?

Again, thank you so much for the helpful replies and encouragement!

[revisionstudios]

I update my comic every 2 weeks with 3-5 pages because it's a long form story that doesn't do as well with single page updates. I don't know if I would push it to a monthly update though, I think people would forget about it faster and not stay invested. Maybe you could do something similar and schedule 2-3 pages every 2 weeks?

That said, if you really want to do a monthly update, that would still be okay. Consistency in when your readers should expect an update is always better than being sporadic.

Unfortunately, comic sizes aren't standard internationally from what I've seen. I know there are comparable sizes between countries, but they tend to be slightly different (Or maybe it's just America that's weird since we're backwards and won't convert measurement systems!!). I use the american manga size so I can't really help much on that front, sorry. :x

If you can look up some printers in your country, check out their printing options and download some templates if they have them. That'll give you the size you need. Just remember it's always gotta be at least 300dpi and include a bleed.

Here's an example from a U.S. printer:

The red is your bleed. You need to draw your art all the way out to the edge of the document so that when it's trimmed, the printer has a margin of error. Where the red meets the yellow is the trim line, this is where the printer will cut the paper. The blue is your safe area--you shouldn't have any word bubbles or important imagery beyond this point, otherwise it runs the risk of getting trimmed off.

[yueu]

I update my comic every 2 weeks with 3-5 pages because it's a long form story that doesn't do as well with single page updates. I don't know if I would push it to a monthly update though, I think people would forget about it faster and not stay invested. Maybe you could do something similar and schedule 2-3 pages every 2 weeks?

Ah cool, thanks for this info! I'll consider it once I build up a buffer and get a better grip of how quickly I can work.

And about the bleed; I've been seeing lots of posts mentioning it and I understand what it is and why it's important but, wouldn't the obvious solution be to just draw your page normally and extend your canvas to include a larger margin afterwards? This mostly applies for comics where there's a blank border or margin around it, but I don't see why you can't go back and just add the bleed area to your page and add to your drawings that touch the edge of the page a bit after? Is there something I'm missing here?

[revisionstudios]

I mean, I guess you CAN add extra after the fact when you're preparing your comic for print, but why give yourself more work? I would hate myself SO MUCH if I had to go back and edit the 160 pages I had to account for bleed. (I already hated myself for having to insert all the page numbers. Geez.)

If you really feel you're going to keep your comic contained with a border all around it and the art never overflows, it may not be an issue. But it's so much easier to just draw the panel a little further while you complete the page and then save a different, resized version for web.

Here's one of my pages with the bleed line. Keep in mind, I play it way safe and do a half inch border on every side. Yours doesn't have to be this excessive, probably---but do you see why it would be crazy for me to try and draw the bleed later?

Like I said before, the printer needs a bleed because it won't trim 100% correctly every time. It's just a margin of error.

You've also gotta be aware of where your spine is, lest your word bubbles or important images get lost in the center. You don't want people trying to pull the book apart trying to read it. It depends on your page placement, but I now know that if the page is an odd number, the spine is on the left, and if it's an even number, the spine is on the right. That way I can avoid putting important content next to the spine.

It honestly takes a lot of organization and structure to streamline the process of making something both for digital and print. You're going to have to learn a lot about formats, dpi, color profiles, sizes, and more. Just comes with the territory.

[yueu]

Ah cool, thanks for this info, I definitely understand it a lot better. I really appreciate the help; hopefully this is the end of my newbie questions (for now)!