One thing you wish you'd known when you started?

[Ayumi]

There're plenty of things I wish I had known when I started... for example I wish I'd known more about picture editing, and printing. I started to draw my first comic in a really bad quality. i know that some of my readers wanna have a printed version of it, but it's just impossible to print something like that (or it would look simply horrible). And I wish I'd plan better the story. Now I know what I want with it, but it's so chaotic XD

[AnnaLandin]

@maeaton08 I feel you! I read a LOT of varied genres and types of stories, but when I put pen to paper (or stylus to cintiq-screen), it almost always turns into some variety of fantasy.

HOWEVER - I've found that I can push my limits by "tricking" my own brain. So the story I'm making is a fantasy story - what if it's a fantasy slice-of-life story, huh? A fantasy comic about people going about their daily lives, with 0% dark lords and ominous prophecies! And voilá, I suddenly get the opportunity the try the slice-of-life type of storytelling - and next time I try to do something in the genre, it comes easier.

[VermillionWorks]

When I started Daniel:
I wish I had known how to draw hats and "from the back" profile views properly when I started. >.> I also wish I had considered all vampire myths a bit more...

I wish I'd taken the time to do more pages and get a larger buffer going before launch.

Also, this. Majorly.

When I started my first (serious) webcomic:
I wish I had known how to webcomic.

[iddqd]

I think your note on the compulsion to do EPIC story hits the nail on the head: less is sometimes more! Growing up reading Tolkien and other fantasists, I just had to go with an epic story, thinking maybe not the scope of The Silmarillion, but definitely the scope of the LotR. Ok, so first thing, I need a party with a wizard and a dwarf and two warriors, check... jk! I just wish I kept drawing short stories for a lot longer before taking on a major plot.

Challenges of writing and managing multiple subplots and characters aside, taking on short stories would have let me play more with different art styles. Trying something new for a couple of pages art-wise and then realizing it's not that great is fine for a short story, but jarring on the eyes within the same, much longer narrative. I started with a meticulous pen-and-ink work, only to realize it's way too time-consuming, then made a noticeable shift to more economical inking, and recently started adding a gray watercolor wash for midtones. Because it's a longer story, I had to try and make the art-style changes at strategic points in the narrative, and even that I find is still somewhat jarring.

[bsienk90]

hm. That's a good question. Probably I wish I had planned out my series. I actually have a 20 page version of Confessions from 2010 that is just one scene, actually the scene this series is building up too...I got a lot of followers from it on DA but it was more smut then actual plot and SUPER silly dramatic. Now 5 years later I'm relaunching it with the intention of it being a much longer series and more a drama/slice of life piece. But I guess I wouldn't do anything different. I do also wish I knew how much work I was getting myself into. I just don't have the time to do more than one page, so it's starting off slower and I'm so blessed to have patient subscribers.

Though I am worried about having issues with flow of the plot and tempo. It started out focused on Rick, jumped to Thomas and I opened a new chapter with Thomas. I'll need to make sure I don't spent TO much time one character and get them interacting sooner then later.

[DynamoToon]

One thing, I wish I knew i could draw different panels XD

[bsienk90]

I'm having a similar problem. I'm actually cutting scenes and doing two pages at a time to get through to the actually point it starts to pick up. I find it hard to juggle a full-time job, life, AND finishing a page for the comic. I'm usually spending a straight 3-6 hours on one page the night before it's due. I have to say my subscribers are being super patient with me too.
I'd LOVE to give them what they want right NOW...maybe the antici...pation keeps them around LOL.

[Aspie_Gamer]

A larger buffer of pages would've been nice to know when I first started out. That and don't rush out pages just to receive ad revenue money for that day. So far in my experience as someone starting from the bottom just like everyone else, one page equals one cent of ad revenue whereas multiple pages being uploaded in one day seems to result in slightly more ad revenue. That's why I'm taking my time with the next few pages of chapter one of Life of an Aspie. If my theory is correct, it may be more beneficial for Tapastic newcomers like me to first draw a lot of pages for their respective story focused comic and then upload them in large chunks (like 3-6 pages) so that way, one can potentially receive slightly more ad revenue for that day.

[keii4ii]

If my theory is correct, it may be more beneficial for Tapastic newcomers like me to first draw a lot of pages for their respective story focused comic and then upload them in large chunks (like 3-6 pages) so that way, one can potentially receive slightly more ad revenue for that day.

Which would be more beneficial: to receive a little more ad revenue for one day, or to receive little less ad revenue per day while multiplying it by 3-6?

[twjalkh]

If I knew how to make the comic neat and presentable, it would have saved me hundreds of hours of having to tinker with borders and text boxes.

[Kayke]

I wish I had known more about self promotion? For a while I was really hesitant about promoting myself on social media because I didn't want to be annoying or "in your face"... but I don't think people really get annoyed by page updates and stuff on twitter/facebook/tumblr

It pays to get your work out there and into the most hands possible.

[KSlinger]

Wish I'd known how to use photoshop effectively, that would have saved me loads of time. So many life-saving short cuts!

I still wish I knew how to produce something to a very high quality. I would like to make merchandise, but have no idea where to begin. If it ever comes to printing god help me because most of my pages are of such awful quality that I'd have to make them all again from scratch.

I wish I had read more comics before beginning my own. I'm beginning to worry that my panel layouts are uninspired...Comics are such a flexible art form-- you really can do anything--- and here's me taking no risks because I'm not sure what's possible.

There's still so much to learn...it never ends.

[kazukitakamura126]

There are actually a few thing I wanted to know before I started the comic I am currently working on but, here's one that bothers me the most.
Knowing how to draw the human anatomy more accurately. When I first started Seishin Pātonā, the comic I am currently working my characters legs were to long and thin and shoulders were too high. I am a stickler to detail when it comes to anatomy because whenever I have an off day when drawing character anatomy people are able to pinpoint it right away. I know it's important to take criticism and use it to improve that's the life of an artist after all.

[Aspie_Gamer]

ah true that. I had considered that, but I'm not the type to upload one page per day as I've got real life stuff going on in addition to my comic. My advice was more for beginners who want to have a steady stream of ad revenue, but also want to have a chunk of pages to upload all at once. That's the magic of buffering. (after you of course have drawn the maximum amount of pages one needs to draw and ink/tone for this method of uploading chunks of your chapter at once. You have a point about daily ad revenue even if its just one page rather slightly more ad revenue just for one day however.

[Waterdrain]

I wish I had taken more time to figure out how to make my characters more relatable and had a better idea of were I wanted the story to go. I have a problem starting something and then losing track of the characters personality and the story. I always think about how the comic starts and how it ends but I never get to think about what happens in the middle. I also wish I could of planed out pages better, instead of trying to figure things out in a couple of days^^;

[serenitysquirrel]

My current and only comic I started for experiance, because the only way you can learn to get better at a thing is doing a thing.

So chapter one taught me:

-To actualy sketch and layout more then 2-3 pages at a time
-Panels do not have to be rectangle
-Empty space between panels is ok!
-Sometimes you need to squish your characters into the panel to make them feel pressed.
-Sometimes you need to put lots of space around your character in a panel to make the world seem big and full of possibility.
-You can only get away with hiding hands/elbows for so long before it becomes obviously stupid.
-It is perfectly ok to shade selectively and with purpose. This also frees up more precious time for added details being inked or extra arts for readers in the sketchbook.
-The occasional page with fan-service will garner more readers
-People MIGHT actually want to read and look at my work!!
-A like is worth 5 subs.
-A comment is worth 5 likes!
-It's better to have a nice page late than a sloppy page on time.

There's probably more. Will come back and add if I think of any.

[Pernellmatthew]

There are many things I wish I knew but the biggest thing is I kinda wish I had started making a smaller series. My current series will last a very long time if it is successful. I wish I had started off with something smaller to begin with. Mangas like Akame Ga Kill and Kill la Kill come to mind. That way if my manga wasn't as successful as I would like I could still possibly have a completed work under my belt. If my current one doesn't pan out I'd have to end mid story.

[hades]

I'm going to be a sap

The biggest thing i wish i could tell myself is
You will get better the more you do. What you make good then, you will make better 15 pages later.

I've always been extremely self-conscious of myself, art, and writing. So, sometimes the hardest part can just be letting myself work and make mistakes.

[Vikiro_Hop]

The one thing I wish I'd known is that I would reach a mild amount of success and finally be obligated to create good content for the poor misguided fools who are somewhat entertained by my posts. God bless their souls.

[sleepingmarlons2]

well I wish that I should have know that there a lot of better artist than me bwahahaha