Making a new comic, please give me some advice! ; u ;

[keac]

I was struggling with my comic-making. Whenever I make a new story, I always think someone must've already taken it.
I also have a new character, which is a human-like animal, and the setting is based from a REAL place.
So, personally, I think people might feel awkward reading a comic with human-like animals living in a real place, rather than real human characters inhabitting it.
I can draw humans, but I personally feel much comfortable drawing other creatures. But since human characters are usually drawn in comics as the norm, I have no choice but to force myself drawing humans even if I'm not even comfortable drawing it.

I'm scared of what people might think. Somehow, I'm not sure if people might read it as well. I don't know how to deal with this, and I need some advice.

[sistalsartworkshop]

Well I don't think you should worry that much about what other think. having animals acting like human, or stuff like this is not uncommon, so I don't see why people would react badly.
Really don't be scared, do what you love and want :).

[poleronepeix]

Don't worry about drawing or not humans, you should draw whatever you are confortable with, it's your own comic you make the rules!

[J.Lovelace]

There's no reason good enough for you to draw things that you're not comfortable with. You should enjoy your work and don't feel forced to please other peoples standards. If you want a comic full of creatures, then go for it. Give yourself some artistic freedom, and just draw what you want. There's no editors that will yell at you for not following their advices. The audience will come along, slow but steadily.

If you force yourself you will burn out and hate your comic in the end. I saw that happening a lot.

My advice: Draw a comic that YOU would want to read.

[mariusthered]

my advice ..run for the hills! ..... no i'm kidding.

when it comes to writing comics or any story don't worry about other people, just enjoy the writing. If you have a story to tell and opinion that needs to be out, then just do so and if other people don't enjoy it well they have plenty of other stories to read. I read a meme on face book today that rings true. it said a writer not wanting criticism is like a boxer who don't want to be hit in the face. Besides it's a comic what's the worse than can happen? it's not like your a newspaper reporter risking stories that might get you shot ( as as happened in history)

so get creating and enjoy.

[keac]

Oh dear... And I have a ton (When I say ton, I mean for real) of stories I wrote for my comic. But all of them were kind of scrapped. My stories are mostly about supernaturality. Something that is god-like. But since I'm also planning to publish this to a local audience, they might not like it, because they are quite sensitive when it comes to supernaturality. shivers

[shazzbaa]

The more work I make, the more I see that if there's something I'm self-conscious about because I think I'm the only person who will like it, or I'm afraid people will think it's weird, it turns out to be something people get really excited about. I've started to get less afraid of making "self-indulgent" work, because a lot of times, the things we think are "self-indulgent" or things that only we would like, those turn out to be the parts of our comic that are the most interesting.

There's nothing wrong with reaching outside your comfort zone. I really like fantasy stories, but my first comic was a diary comic, something I had no experience with at all! But the thing was that I enjoyed making it, and that's why I put it online and kept drawing it. If you're making a comic you don't enjoy, then I promise you, it won't get far.

Ultimately, it's up to you. But when you're just starting out, it will be slow going to build up an audience, even if you decide to draw the most popular concept in the world. You have to have something you enjoy drawing to get you through that first year when very few people are reading your story because no one has found it yet. For your first comic, I would worry more about drawing something that you love and want to draw for pages and pages even if nobody is reading it.

[dojo]

I want to add that when you're getting started early on it's way better to not focus or worry about what your audience wants to see at all. It's ridiculously easy to get caught up in that if you're not careful, but when you've only been going for a month or two, it makes things VERY hard to want to keep going, because you're not making something for you, you're making something for your audience. There is a point where I do think knowing who your audience is does matter a little (but only just a little), but the first few months, or even the first year, just isn't then. And ultimately, even if/when your audience and what they want to see DOES start to matter a little (because they're paying your bills), you shouldn't push yourself to do things just for them that you don't have fun doing (because they'll never matter more than your happiness).

BUT YES, first few months I really do think should just be focusing on getting the hang of things, pushing your art to where you want it to be, and just plain doing what you want to do. There is a MASSIVE anthropomorphic animal/alien/creature comic audience that far outmatches any folks that dislike 'em, and there are comic groups completely dedicated to that sort of thing. Don't force yourself to draw humans for things just because it's "what people want to see", cuz as someone who did that in college, I can safely say you'll hate it even if you manage to get good at it. Not saying you shouldn't try drawing people, having that tool in your toolbelt is extremely useful if you ever decide to do professional work, but if you genuinely want to get better at humans for yourself and not for others, it'll be a much easier, less depressing, road to tred.

(as an aside, even though I forced myself to do that in college, I don't force myself to now, I started genuinely wanting to later on and just plain enjoy it more now. STILL LOVE ME SOME ANIMALS THOUGH)

[hushicho]

I think it sounds wonderful. Go for it!

[Devika]

You have already gotten excellent feedback on the core problem, so let me just address this part:

So, personally, I think people might feel awkward reading a comic with human-like animals living in a real place, rather than real human characters inhabitting it.

I don't think you need to worry about this at all! I mean, just look at Disney making a multi-billion-dollar industry on human-like animals. I think many of us have grown up reading Donald Duck and watching their movies and are both used to and generally comfortable with the concept.

I'd say it's all about context and execution: Compare the depths of deviantART (definitely niche) to Zootopia (huge success with a wide audience). Or look at MAUS, a Holocaust comic featuring mice. Heck, fables have existed for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Even Buddhist monks were making animal comics - over 800 years ago!

So in conclusion, while I haven't seen your designs, it's pretty safe to say that the concept itself of anthros is not just a niche!

The more work I make, the more I see that if there's something I'm self-conscious about because I think I'm the only person who will like it, or I'm afraid people will think it's weird, it turns out to be something people get really excited about. I've started to get less afraid of making "self-indulgent" work, because a lot of times, the things we think are "self-indulgent" or things that only we would like, those turn out to be the parts of our comic that are the most interesting.

Really? That sounds like a creator's dream come true! Do you have any examples?