Share your story: How did you get into webcomics?

[Cielle]

I started reading webcomics when I was in college. I don't exactly know how I got into them, but I remember the first one I ever read was questionable content. I also read some Korean webtoons on LINE, but I didn't really know much about webtoons/webcomics at the time.

I started making webcomics a little over a year ago. I realized there was nothing stopping me and that making comics was a great way to get better at making comics. I was inspired by a lot of webcomics I read; seeing that it's normal and expected to improve over time, I decided it was fine to just start at the level I was at and get better as I went along. I had an old story that I had always wanted to make into a comic but never felt confident enough to draw it. I tried to write it as a novel, but it never felt right to me. But what was once only a dream is now a reality. Even if my comic is never widely-read, I'm just happy that I'm finally telling my story in the way I always wanted to tell it.

[Mane]

I have actually discovered web comic community fairly recently compared to others though I've been following two web comics for a while, namely Lackadaisy and Unsounded (recommend both ). It's thanks to those that I started to consider publishing on the net seriously as opposed to looking for a publishing house and this is how I discovered tapastic !

[dratinigirl]

I got started reading webcomics with some of the more popular titles, like homestuck, oglaf, etc. The thought of hosting comics online wasn't anything new to me, but the idea of having a longform comic that actually told a story was. Now I've subscribed to several stories here on tap, and I'm always looking for new ones!
As for how I got started making my own comics, it sort of happened over the course of a few years. I was very inspired by the long comics set to music that were popular amongst the homestuck community, and in early 2014 I made one of my own! And then another one. And then another later after that. It wasn't hard for me to get engrossed in a large-scale project and put out 20-30 full color illustrations in a few short weeks. Then, in december of 2014, I got the idea for ElectroMania . I'm also fond of writing, so at first, I was dead-set on just writing a novel. But then, I thought, if I can write... AND I can draw, and stay dedicated as I'd proven with earlier projects, then why not combine the things I like and make a comic instead? Even then, things changed. I originally wanted to do black and white, but changd to color. I even briefly considered the possibility of making it a game at one point! But, february 21st, I finally published the first 18 pages after a year of planning and plotting Now I'm just having fun with it, I'm glad to watch the story in my head unfold on paper!

[agentfink]

we both meet at and graduated from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale with degrees in Media Art and Animation.

Just wanted to say I met my husband at Ai as well San Diego.
I'll just leave it at that!

[mdchristopher]

If I ever want to do long-form comics (and I do), I'll need to find an artist to work with - I simply don't have the patience or the skills to nail the details! The drawback to working at a comic shop is some serious art-envy.

[Luminosophy]

Honestly? It may sound weird but it was shows like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Pokemon when I was a kid. Couldn't quite explain it but I was highly drawn to that aesthetic. Then when I was in grade 10 it kinda dawned on me on how to integrate my comic art passion into a career: Be a comic artist, duh!

Though back then it looked like it'd be traditional publishing if I could even get luck with that. But then I found out about webcomics. Career or not, it's the obvious choice to be able to do what you love. I had been putting it off forever though because my art was "never good enough". I also just could not write, period. Now my art is still not where I wish it could be, I understand it's now or never and I met my boyfriend who helped me write my story more sensibly.

[Tweekling]

I thought about this but I don't KNOW. I just have always done this. Since I was an itty bitty church school baby I've made dumb comics. Used to be on paper then I learned to use a tablet when I was like... 9. I just thought it was what I HAD to do. It was the best possible way for me to tell a story because I love drawing and I want to put what's in my head out somewhere people can see it flow like a movie kinda.

I saw some webcomics around I can't even remember but I was like... "I wanna do THAT."

One thing I can point to is the Neopian Times Comic Section. LAME I know but I started doing comics for it later on. Then came DA and some famous ones like Bleedman (another one I'm kinda ashamed to admit I liked) and of course I was a fan of printed comics especially JTHM. I started making my own comics and putting them on the internet steadily at 13 years old and now I'm on my 4th attempt of a series and it's going pretty well. Finally I'm getting somewhere.

Another cool thing that inspired me was receiving a book my parents got me called Making Comics by Scott McCloud which made me realize just how in depth comic making is and I wanted to MASTER it. I just gotta. Do you ever feel just like you HAVE to do something? Like it's part of who you are? If you weren't doing it you'd be missing a part of you? That's what comic making is to me.

[lunaartemisasama]

What got you into reading and or making webcomics?
First I started reading online manga,I got bored so surfing I end up finding webcomics and korean webtoons and one thing lend to another and I ended up here.
About making comics, it has always been my dream since I was 12 probably lol. But my drawings were pretty bad (they still are lol), now that I am an old lady I just want to at least, kind of achieve one of my chilhood dreams. So my goal is to finish my actual comic.

What do you like about comics on the web that are different from printed comics? Did webcomics change the way you think about comics?
I still read the comics in the newspaper. But I have never been a fan of Marvel or DC, but I read Mafalda or Liniers. What I like about printed comics is that I can take them with me when I want to relax. What I like about webcomics is the variety of genres. There are pretty good artists here

[Stinahhh]

I started reading manga when I was in my early teens and didn't discover the world of webcomics till recently. Some inspired me so much that I ended up creating my own! Didn't know that I ever could, I've been living under a rock.

[jacintawibowo]

Nice! We'e all got humble beginnings. Scaredy Man sounds like a cool comic XD
Has your experiences with binge reading manga and stories between your friends affected your work now? Or are you going an entirely different direction?

[jacintawibowo]

Ooh I like that attitude of getting better as you went along. People are often scared of ever starting because they don't think they're good enough yet, when really it's about starting in general.

[jacintawibowo]

Lackadaisy is awesome! And I remember Unsounded being really popular too. Sweet!

[jacintawibowo]

Nice! Dedication on a long-form comic isn't something easy for some people. That's cool that you considered making your story a game at one point. I believe the creator of the webcomic Everblue also made a game before moving on and making a comic of his story =) I think it shows in his storytelling too.
Makes me wonder, did your influence from videogames or Homestuck affect the writing style of your webcomic in any way? I'm influenced by Western TV show animation (and it shows, haha).

[jacintawibowo]

Whoa! That's not weird at all! I got into comics nearly the exact same way! =D Avatar the Last Airbender got me to draw seriously for the first time. After stumbling across some fanart and finding artists who drew their own stories as webcomics, I went for it!

I agree webcomics make publishing material so much more conveniently than traditional publishing would. It totally wouldn't hurt to team up with a writer (or your boyfriend!) in making your webcomic. Some Artist+Writer teams make really successful content.

[jacintawibowo]

Do you ever feel just like you HAVE to do something? Like it's part of who you are? If you weren't doing it you'd be missing a part of you? That's what comic making is to me.

I totally feel this! If I haven't drawn a comic in a while, I would go bonkers XD I love drawing comics! Also, Scott McCloud's book is excellent. You totally had the passion to this for a long time!

[jacintawibowo]

Cool! Make that dream a reality!
I agree with your opinion on printed comics and webcomics. Printed comics are nice and personal to read, but webcomics are much more diverse in story and art.

[Tiia_S]

I think I first got into webcomics around 2006 or 2007. We got the internet quite late compared to some other people but right away I was bumping into webcomics. It probably has something to do with the fact that in my country Japanese anime Ginga Nagareboshi Gin was really popular and was inspiring people to create their fan comics and also websites for them. I think almost all webcomics at that time had a dog or a wolf as main character. As I had drawn comics since I was little I started to learn about web design so I could publish my work online. First version of my webcomic was a total Inuyasha ripoff but I continued to praxis and couple of years ago I started The Dead Gardens. First it was only in my native language but many of my English speaking friends wished it to be translated and so I found Tapastic. Here I am now.

I think many people creating webcomics have first been inspired by manga. That's funny

[monotone_ink]

Everything I've come across in the past is knowledge that I will surely use in the present. I picked up a lot of the manga style along the way, incorporating it into my own work, and my multiple comics assisted me with improving on general story telling.
Actually, most of the main characters in my current comic 'Shade' (currently under reworking) are the same characters from that dumb comedy about my friends - I've just worked on them so much that they've become completely different to when they were first created.

[jacintawibowo]

Yeah! I notice manga inspired styles are usually more prominent around online art communities, making it a bit harder for a "western" style like mine to fit in XD
It's awesome that you have a history of web design to help you get started too! That would come in so much handy.

[heromanguy42]

When I was ten years old, ( I'm 31 now ) I would draw a comic strip about a wallaby named wally. It was a total rip of Nickelodeons, 'Rockos Modern Life," But I really enjoyed making them. The same joy I got from the penciled drawings of wally is there today, even though Wally isn't. RIP.

David Pelton
Adventures of Heroman Guy