Old vs New, Start vs Current!

[wbparham247]

Have you guys ever looked back at the start of a comic you've done versus now and appreciated how much that comic helped you improve, all the work you've done just to consistantly better your craft? For my main comic, which I've been doing since the 7th grade over 13 years ago, I always think it's crazy how much it's progressed while keeping a lot of the same feel and nuances as before. I encourage you to post an early artwork along with a recent page or drawing, highlighting how far you've come since the beginning.

Here's something I did a while back where I took one of my oldest comics and redid it in a more recent style.

Since making this I've changed up my style so I've added some newer stuff as well.

[Aetherwing]

One of my favorite things to do is compare old drawings to new drawings! It's a great motivating tool that I use if I'm feeling particularly down. And geez 13 years is a long time that's really cool! I've only been doing comics for around 3 years ^^'

Here's some pages from my current comic, Aetherwing.

(Page 2, issue 1)

(Page 3, issue 3)

(Page 5, issue 4 (second most current.)

[heterodont]

Your anatomy certainly improved and your placements of speech bubbles are also much better - great work!

Comics are great way for both 'recording' improvement as well as motivation, because you have to keep to a schedule and most of the time working on a comic can help one break out of an art block. Not to mention a treat for a reader when you can see the artist improve as you read through the pages!

My comic pretty much forces me out of art blocks because I don't have a big buffer so I have to constantly work on it every other week. I started it in 2012 so...I think I was in 9th grade at the time? Either that or 10th, I can't remember. Granted, after a few months in 2012 I stopped working on my comic and picked it up again in the summer of 2013 so theres a big ol improvement gap in the prologue anyway cutting to the chase, first is the first page I have uploaded (august 2012) and the second is an update from last week.

[kazumaoboro]

Well i think i started to draw comics like 3 years ago....and it has pretty much been the same comic, but before i used to say "Well i can do it better" and restart from scratch without showing to somebody and this went on from 2 years, until the actual version that i started posting in tapastic last Year.

i think this the page 1 from one of the first versions

and this another "iteration"

and this the one i thought "this pretty good!" and then i got the idea to change the design of the main character and i did the last "Re-do" and the one i have been posting on tapastic

this is the first page

and this is the lastes page
but i am pretty impressed of you!! 13 years!! thats commitment dude and even if your style its pretty similar it has really improved!!! keep working!!!

[vinnception]

Here's the same scene from my comic Lucky Hazard. FIrst one is early August, second one is late September.

[Kura]

One of the first pages for No Future. Was originally a sketch a page a day comic that I thought no one would read.

Cleaned up redraw of one of the first pages after I realized people were reading the thing. (still work at a page a day though)

One of the more recent pages.

[J.MORK]

i have definitely learned some things since page 1 on my project
i started in summer 2014

[wbparham247]

Love the updated art style, you really honed in on a one-of-a-kind technique!

[AnnaLandin]

I've only been posting Grassblades since March, and I've been drawing it since about November last year - so it's been a year now! - so the difference isn't dramatic or anything, but it's definitely there!

This is page 1 of chapter 1:

and this is the latest page, page 18 from chapter 3:

The changes are mostly subtle. I've gotten more comfortable with drawing my main character, and I've gotten braver with my paneling, etc., etc.

[mappypaint]

For my comic U-Speed, here is one of the pages from part 1 back in 2010...

After hundreds of pages in a span of 5 years, here is the latest page...

I did however updated part 1 with colors when I got here in tapastic...

And now i'm currently updating part 2 as well...

After drawing and drawing hundreds of pages, your art will definitely improve. ^u^

[Chiper1811]

@wbparham247 It's always fun to see your style changes over the years. It's kind of looking at an old photo album of yourself as a child. I love how you didn't really change your character's style but change your finishing techniques over the years. I actually drew the prototype of my comics Veronika's Little World in 1999, and by the time I pick it up again earlier this year, my style has changed immensely.

and this is how I draw when I picked it up again April this year...

and this is how it changed into in the past 6 months or so...

Pretty drastic, hey?

[mjmassey]

It'll be 4 years in February that Vatican Assassins has been published on the web, and the change from beginning to present has been dramatic. I started drawing the actual pages in December 2011....

Here's a recent page, posted in October of this year

I've been pretty ecstatic overall with how much I've improved. Over time, everything has become more natural, detailed, and I've tried different things with extreme foreshortening and panel layouts. I still have a long way to go though.

[wbparham247]

Very cool! I think all of them look great but I see what you're saying. Sometimes you have to tweak and fine tune til you get what works best for you.

[wbparham247]

It's funny how those slight changes can make such a great impact on the feel of a page!

I believe that all of us, no matter our style and talent level, will always have something more to learn, and something we can always improve on in one way or another.

[Chiper1811]

@wbparham247 Yep, and from design point of view, once you nailed a particular style for a particular series, it might be best to stick to the style as much as possible to the series could is recognisable just by looking at the colour, layout and character style. Kind of like a brand. Just my thinking

[Kayke]

I actually started drawing my comic twice before I got "serious" and committed to it, so I have some old pages from those past attempts:

Here's the first official page I ever posted online (2012):

and here's are some recent pages (2015):

My color sensibilities have definitely changed and I've gotten way more comfortable drawing my characters (and drawing in general).

[wbparham247]

Love your improved style! It's funny how once you really commit to a project it shows in the final product.

[Kayke]

True! drawing a webcomic is a really good way to improve as an artist and hone your craft

[Damatris]

Ooh, I love seeing other people's improvement! <3

As for me, here's the first ever page I drew for Fallacy

And now we are here, 2 years later

And after I tweaked the coloring method

[Chopythes]

This one was made in early December 2012.
I wasn't sure how I wanted Beive to look like, but I kind of just settled with this design.

This page is the one I liked the most in the chapter that's finished now, so I grabbed it as you can see Beive more clearly here.
I made it earlier this year, in June or so, I think.

And this one's just a teaser for what's coming up next, made in September.

My comic's just getting darker and darker, HAHA!