My Journey as a Creator

[Jenny-Toons]

With some of the recent threads popping up, I felt making this one could offer perspective on building reputation as a creator.

Hi everyone: I'm Jenny-Toons (Jenny is just fine).

Many of you have known me around these forums. Been here since the tail-end of 2017, and I think I'll be here a while longer. I want to preface that any money I've earned hasn't been enough to provide a stable income. It's mostly money I've put into my savings (and use when needed). Also want to preface that I'm not some big-shot creator who gets 100 comments every update. But I have my readers, I have people who I interact with, and I'd say my readership is pretty nice for where I'm at.

Within the 3-4 years I've been doing this, I've gotten a couple of commissions, a few small jobs, a few collabs, and a fluctuating number of patrons. I have also grown an audience I personally would consider active, both on Webtoons and Tapas. For some, 20-30 comments per update isn’t a lot. For others, it's a large haul of activity. For me, that's the perfect amount of engagement.

To talk about how I got here, I gotta talk about my beginning. Another preface: this is just my journey. That’s all – there is nothing more to this than what I’ve done. I can’t guarantee doing this will help you. But at the very least, I can provide some perspective.

The posts are based on these topics:

My Beginnings
Joining The Forums (And Expanding my Connections)
My First Comics
Advertising Myself
Consuming/Changing Desires & Interests
Too Long, Didn't Read

[Jenny-Toons]

My Beginning:

I came to Tapas in late 2017 and migrated to Webtoons in mid-2019. Before this, I had been on Deviantart since I was a grade-school kid. I’m talking being on DA for 11 years, having gone through 2 accounts. At the time, I went as JennetheArtist (you can find my old art there if you dare XD). Also at the time, I was writing fanfiction on Fanfiction.net (ya’ll don’t need that name, it’s kinda cringe XD).

I had just left the Creepypasta fandom: I wanted to start working on my own comics that didn’t deal with fanmade material, but I still wanted to work with horror. Hence, I started researching horror comics. I read more horror material (like Itou Junji and Emily Carroll). I also asked questions about horror comics. I mostly started with reddit as a complete noob, drowning in places like r/horror and r/comics.

I had written horror novellas before, had tried to do my own horror comic, and wrote Slenderman fanfiction. But I wanted to improve. I was still a noob to digital art. I had just gotten my first tablet (which I have to this day), and I was learning how to draw digitally.

I learned about Tapas first before I heard of Webtoons, and I saw the forums. I jumped in: from there – I allowed my experiences to get me somewhere.

[Jenny-Toons]

Joining The Forums (And Expanding my Connections)

I had started by posting a lot in the “Show Your Art Threads”. I had a lot of concept art I had already been working on, and I decided why not. I gathered up each piece and began to post bit by bit. I’d say when I first started, I was posting 1-2 pieces each week. I was getting a lot of nice feedback on my work, and I was jotting down how others did their concept art.

At the same time, I created my first thread:

Hi there, guys! :blush: I'm slowly trying to post on Tapas with my comic Within the Woods. It's a horror comic inspired greatly by my love for H.P. Lovecraftian monsters and Stephen King's "fictional small towns where bad shit goes down" tropes :joy: I've got a lot of the story written out and scripted (and I even have two parts that can be made into comic pages). But right now, I just wanna post the thumbnail I've made -- just to see how people would react to it. [image] Tell me what …

At the time, I did not have ANY buffer. I didn’t even know what buffer was. Even so, I had decided to create a thumbnail for this big horror series I had been planning (and still developing currently). I had it in my head that this would be my BIG story. I had the trailer for it, I had the ideas. But I had no script. I had not concrete scenes or plot. I had stuff written down, but I was an unorganized writer.

Safe to say, I was not ready to post. I didn’t feel ready. I was excited!! But I wasn’t ready. So I backed away from the project, which I knew would be a long one, and I decided to start smaller. As I did that, I kept talking with other creators. Not just about my comics, and not just about their comics –we talked about each other. What we liked, what we desired from comics and out of life. I got to know creators as people. In fact, it was kinda awesome to get to know more about people who did comics. So I wondered,

“How can I get to know more people?”

Someone had posted a thread about discord servers. Now I was kinda iffy with that. I was in a discord for the more of 2017, and it wasn’t…. the best experience, relationship-wise. But I wanted to give it another try. So, I signed up for that discord. And then I signed up for more discords. I wanted to create a network of people to connect with: be that with sharing information, forming new friendships, and just finding comics I wanted to ready.

By doing this, I was able to get my first collaboration. By doing this, I was able to start my first real comics (Our Universe & My Demon Valentine).

What I Learned: Sometimes, the best way to get help is to join in on the conversation. I was inexperienced in all of this, but I wanted to learn. I was also a college sophomore who really wanted to make more artist friends (can’t really find those in Engineering XD). To get there, I had to join different groups and get to know people – I couldn’t just limit myself to one forum or one reddit page. I had to put myself out there, which I wasn’t really used to doing. The more I talked about my own experiences and what I liked while reading and creating comics, the more I found people who also liked the same things.

This helped me build up my reputation as a creator. Not only did I ask for help, I tried to offer help whether I could. Even more, I just wanted to get to know people and find friendships. By doing this bit by bit in different discords, people could recognize my name and go “Hey, you’re so and so from that other server.”

[Jenny-Toons]

My First Comics:

My first completed piece had been a collab with other Tapas creators (many of whom are on Webtoons as well). I had met them all through discord, and we had slowly developed a strong enough friendship that we believed we could make something of this.

Honestly, it was a joke at first.

We were all talking about ship dynamics, and someone brought up the idea of superhero X villain. And then we were like “what if the villain was like head over heels in LOVE with the hero??”

Suddenly, we were drawing different designs for the hero and villain – we were organizing who would write the script, who would do the concepts, and more, really digging the idea of this short little comedy. It was only one episode long, but it also created a ton of fanart. It became the little mascot of our small little server. As such, Rain or Shine was born:

Super Comic Collaboration

Our Universe was just a short story. That’s literally all it was. This wasn’t a grand idea I had like my horror stories. This wasn’t something I chewed on since I was 5 years old. No – Our Universe started as a simple short story. A horror romance between a young lady and the woman with stars in her eyes.

I wrote this story as a Writing Prompt of the Week submission. This used to be an active event in one of the discords I’m still apart of. You would get a prompt and try to write flash fiction for it. I still remember the prompt to this day:

When someone's heart breaks so does a piece of our world. This creates fissures, valleys and even cracks in the pavement. Tell a story about one of the broken pieces in this world.

Immediately, I thought of a woman with eyes made of stars and galaxies.

And it just went from there. The more I worked with the story and read it, the more I realized this could be a comic I could work on. Of course, it evolved overtime to become something bigger. The rest of how it came to be and what it really means to me can be read here:

Our Universe - Creator's Note

I posted the first season on Tapas first, and then I took a long break. Making regularly update comics had been harder than I thought. I had the short story for this comic, but I didn’t write a script. Just a hapharzard storyboard that was quick and easy. That came to bite me in the ass when I realized I wanted to expand on it. So I had to sit back, take a break, and write more script. While doing that, I decided to go for something smaller. I’m talking around 3-6 episodes.

And then that same server had a Valentine’s Day contest.

As such, My Demon Valentine was born:

My Demon Valentine

This time, I had stopped myself and wrote out a script. Again, I hadn’t developed any of the scripting labels I do now, but I felt if I didn’t do something, nothing could get done. So I wrote a quick script, designed a quick storyboard, and made those rough designs. In the end, I was able to complete my second finished piece: a 6-episode comic about an older woman who summoned a demon so she could take him out on a Valentine’s Day date.

This time, I did more for my story. For Our Universe, I didn’t really advertise it outside of two discord servers I was in. But for My Demon Valentine, I was very determined to win that contest. I had put so much work into it, so I was pumped up. I advertised it in the server, outside of the server, and then I went to the forums and posted the links there. Not just that, it had even convinced me to start a Twitter for my comics – putting hashtags, putting links. I wanted to win this contest.

I did not win the contest.

Of course, I had been kinda disappointed. But that feeling quickly went away when I saw how excited readers were for my stuff. There had been a smaller amount of human X non-human comics at the time, and people were just really excited to see more of it. They asked questions, wanted to know more about the characters, and kept asking for more content.

I went back to other creators about it, and they gave me some good advice:

“Seize the day and promote Our Universe on that comic.”

Well…I hadn’t thought about doing all of that. And I was worried that would get people excited for something that wasn’t ready yet. It was also because I hadn’t started to post Our Universe on Webtoons yet.

“Then post it.”

And so I did. But that day, something else happened: I discovered my brand. After the contest, my friends really pointed out the similar themes between Our Universe and My Demon Valentine: they were both non-human/human relationships. “Christina” came from the stars, and Adonis was a demon. I realized that I did like romance to an extend – it just had to be combined with horror. Horror romance seemed to be the brand that fit me the most. It’s what I really wanted out of my stories. Thus, I framed my comics and ideas about that.

What I Learned: I’d say this chapter taught me several things. I had to take a step back from bigger goals to start small. I could’ve started with the giant horror comic – a comic that wasn’t developed or even fully conceptualized. I could’ve started with that. But the more I worked on the smaller comics, the more I realized how burnt-out I would’ve been with the bigger work. As a beginner, doing everything for Our Universe and My Demon Valentine was kinda rough. I had just improved in using digital art programs, and I was still looking at tutorials on how to get more work done faster. Doing these two projects at that level was kinda daunting. Hence, I realized I couldn’t do my bigger projects – not yet.

And that was ok.

I also learned how to collab with other creators and understand what a true collab looked like. This was my first time really working with other creators and getting a project done. It took 3-4 months, we had a date, and everyone took part in the project. It also helped me break down comic-creating as a whole, and I know how my own process thanks to this collab. I also learned to spot the difference between a project that will go nowhere and a project that goes somewhere. It helped me to understand what realistic goals were.

Lastly, I had to explore other options to truly understand what I wanted. When I first came to the forums, I knew I loved horror. I knew I wanted to write horror comics. But I didn’t know how that brand would look like. When I finished the first season of OU and finished MDV, I realized my brand: horror romance. I liked human/Non-human relationships. I liked horror with romantic elements.

And I probably wouldn’t have come to this conclusion without trying new things and starting a bit smaller.

[Jenny-Toons]

Advertising Myself:
This is just a jumble of things I learned overtime. I can’t really pinpoint a linear way to how I did this. But I will give strong specifics:

Following Companies’ Social Media: I got a lot of help from this through the connections I had formed in the forums and the discords. Many creators had already been following Webtoons and Tapas on Twitter and Instagram. They were tagging them, answering their posts, and interacting to form some type of dialogue. I decided to do the same.

I would like posts that were related to my specific brand, and I would ask questions about any contests they held or any policies they were adding. I did this with Webtoons first, but then I started to do this with Tapas and Clip Studio. If they asked for certain brands, I would advertise myself AND my fellow creators. If they asked basic questions about comic process, I laid down my tips and steps. I was able to stay closely in the know about what went on with these places and what my next steps could be.

Advertising Other Creators: This is a biggie. Most often than that, I advertise others alongside me. Sometimes, they’re in the same brand I’m in. Sometimes, they’re not. But I like their work, and I want to see them grow. If I want to see more stories that appeal to me, I have bring attention to them. Going back to the social media, I am tagging Webtoons and Tapas to creators I like. I am constantly retweeting and tagging and going “If you like XYZ, you’ll like Creator A’s stuff.”

I am not only selling my work, but the work of others. Because hype helps. You gotta be excited for what you’re reading and what you’re making. People are drawn to energy, and they’re also drawn to someone who knows what they like.

It goes beyond just posting my link and leaving.

Reminders: We often talk about dead subs and little engagement – but when we dive deeper into the conversation, we realize that a lot of us don’t…do the same. We just forget to engage. We still come back and read, but we forget to like and comment. I used to be at fault for this. But those little reminders to like, sub, and comment helped me remember. And so I added those little reminders for my readers.

I did this often with my patreon – I posted it often in discords, on twitter, within my comic. That last part got me creative. I would make little signs in the backgrounds or incorporate it into my artwork. People found it funny – and I found myself with more patrons. Course, I don’t have a lot of money flowing in, but people still come by.

Being Accessible: By this, I mean being found easily. How can someone find my Twitter? How can someone find my Instagram? My comics? If someone can’t find me, how are they supposed to support me?

Every chance I get, I post links to my social media in the Creator’s Note of my comics. In the forums, you hover over my name – link to my comics. In my summary, link to my comics. Even in my discord tag, there is a link to my comics.

In my twitter, link to my patreon.

On Tapas – Links to my Patreon, Twitter, and Instagram:

Jenny-Toons

People do not know me without knowing about where to go.

Another form of advertising with helping people know where to go to support you. Let’s face it – a lot of us don’t want to dig through art upon art to find a single link that may or may not work anymore. They want to be able to go to the front of your page and see your links.

And if the internet promoting doesn’t really work out, we go analog, friends. Find places within your community that can help promote your work. Before the virus, I put up little signs for my webtoons around my campus dorm. When I got braver, I branched out to putting signs up around the campus neighborhood.

Results: I met readers on campus. They had been reading both of my comics for a few months and were happy to find that we lived in the same dorm. It was a happy coincidence – and it happened because I branched out and tried to reach people however I could.

What I learned: Couple of things: first – Be accessible. No one will know where you are and what you do if you don’t post the links. Post the links – post up reminders to look at the links – post them everywhere. Digital or analog, hell – even do a combo.

It also helps to give and receive information. I want more cosmic horror comics in the market – I am advertising cosmic horror creators. I am retweeting their work, commenting on it, and bringing attention to it. To grow the market for myself, I gotta grow it for other people. It’s an ecosystem. I also gotta try and follow on what’s happening in the community – what contests are happening, what opportunities? I will say that this has become easier when I became a part of several discords and the forums.

The amount of information I get is worth it’s weight in gold. It’s like I have my own little news hub, and it helps me understand just what’s going on in the community, and what I can do for myself.

In doing all of this, my audience slowly grew over time. I even got a few promotions from Webtoons because of the engagement on Twitter and Instagram. I wasn’t just a creator who had a horror or romance comic. I became a creator who was active in my community, wanted to engage with other creators, and wanted to see them grow as well.

[Jenny-Toons]

Consuming/Changing Desires and Interests:

This is my last point. If you’re still with me – bless XD

I am a reader as much as I am a creator.

We all are, but it often feels a lot of creators forget this (at least in my eyes).

Some become so focused on trying to work on their craft, they forget to take in other forms of media: they forget to consume the things they like and expose themselves to different things to allow their interests to evolve.

They want to write funny scenes in their stories, but they don’t want to read/watch comedy. They want to build stronger relationship between characters, but they don’t want to read/watch romance, family-focused stories or slice or life (many of which are MAINLY relationship focused).

From my own experience, I was able to get more eyes on my work as I consumed newer things and changed my interests.

I came to the forums with a vague interest in horror. I didn’t know what kinda horror, but I just liked it. As I developed new interest in different genres and fandoms, I realized I liked folk horror and cosmic horror. Even more, the more romance work I read, the more I realized I liked horror stories that had romance between monsters and humans. Thus, I had a name for what I wanted from my comics.

The more I consumed and enjoyed new things (along with the old things), the more I realized what my brand was. I had a clearer understanding rather than just “I want to write a horror” or “I’m a horror creator”

Now?

“I’m a cosmic horror romance creator. I like exploring relationships between humans and the unknown.”

[Jenny-Toons]

Too Long, Didn’t Read:

This is what helped me get to where I am. Being accessible, branching out to other places, and keeping an open mind. I allowed myself room to keep learning. This meant reading things I already liked, and reading things that might not have interested me before.

I am a creator – I am not a genius.

The moment I think “this is the best I’ll ever make” or think “I’m better than Creator A. I should be more popular than them” – I have limited myself.

I have stopped improving.

To be a creator means to also consume. It means to also create not just stories but relationships, new experiences and memories. I came to the forums as a small engineering student who just wanted to make horror comics.

It’s 2021 – I’ve came out as a creator with a few finished stories under my belt, several short flash fictions, several collabs, and a few jobs. It came with some effort, a lot of networking, and a bit of luck. But even with some of that luck, that I had to put in the effort to make that luck worth it.

I am still learning -- I am still growing. I don't have all the experience of a 10-year comic veteran, but I got something.

I rambled on a bit. But if you’re still with me and made it here, I hope you got something outta it.

See ya’ll around,
Jenny

[Black_Conscious]

Ah, your story of your creator journey is very intriguing and preetty cool

🏽

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May your future be well​🏽