Share your under 500 subs comic, comment and critique mine and I'll do the same <3

CommanderMarty 2020-08-31 18:06:24 UTC #10

Because this thread isn't only for BL, I only wanted to share my comic. (Watch this dissolve into a petty argument that does nothing but waste everyone's time)

Fuzzyman818 2020-08-31 18:11:41 UTC #11

Good job. I hope to reach at least 30 or more on this site.

So here is my little side project I do every Sunday. It's funny and filled with gags.

A_Pleiad 2020-08-31 18:19:47 UTC #13

I'll go to dinner and then read it

CommanderMarty 2020-08-31 18:25:21 UTC #14

That's fine, I don't like you either but not everyone is gonna like me or you. I'm done speaking in this thread now. I would suggest you do not reply to this.

kinleypavone 2020-08-31 18:34:29 UTC #15

Congrats on 200 subs on Silver Lining! I just gave it a read and made sure to leave some likes! I like the character designs, the simplistic palette, and the flow of the story so far/how easy it is to read. I do wish the episodes were a little longer though(I personally prefer bigger chunks of story at once, but that's nothing against your series). Keep it up!

I'd love to know what you think of mine. I just started at the beginning of August so it's not super long(4 episodes in)

alinlaphel 2020-08-31 18:35:03 UTC #16

I personally don't like boys love so I hope my bias doesn't affect my criticism.

I think you did well in the art area. The actions are pretty clear and I like the backgrounds in your art. The color really accents the mood you aimed for in the scene while the other background shots are just really well drawn. The color scheme you aimed for really creates a romance feel for the story. Personally, in my opinion, I'm not drawn to stories with abusive relationships but I know there is a definite appeal out there for it. All in all, I think your stories works for your targeted audience and I think you are doing a good job. It may not appeal to me but I know there is a definite audience for what you're making.

My story is a bit on the opposite end of the spectrum from yours. It's a lot more light hearted and more focused on making people laugh and smile. No romance involved at all. https://tapas.io/episode/1871279

My story works better in manga form though so you can read that version here if you like: https://globalcomix.com/a/alin-laphel/comics

A_Pleiad 2020-08-31 18:53:09 UTC #18

Okay I was frightened by the horror tag but then gave it a shot and it's pretty amusing! The art is very interesting to look at and I wonder if you're using any shortcut tecnique such as those photo editors because if not, it's really impressive to say the least! The story overall is interesting and since I am a fan of science fiction I enjoyed it a lot.
The only thing I found pretty confusing is the story telling which sometimes doesen't feel really cohesive (?) But maybe it's just me since, yet again, english is not my first language so it might be my problem after all ahaha

A_Pleiad 2020-08-31 18:59:06 UTC #19

Okay well, I really enjoyed reading it!!! The skits made me crack a smile and most of them I can confidently say are pretty clever! My advise for you is the same I gave to CommanderMarty: try drawing on paper and scan it or take a picture and then colour it in a drawing program (again MediBang and a FireAlpaca are free and really good options) to get higher quality

mbindhammer 2020-08-31 19:15:10 UTC #20

All my work is based on layers, but it is true, I 'm using a lot of tools, some are AI based. For some pictures I use up to 20 programs. The context is there, you just have to watch the episodes, let the pictures work on you. The more episodes you watch, the clearer the context becomes. But that is the secret of success of every series. Thanks for your assessment!

A_Pleiad 2020-08-31 19:18:03 UTC #21

Omg it's... amazing! The art is really good and polished, the story keeps you wanting to read more and that is one of the most important things when it comes to writing comics or anything in general. There is one mistake you have did tho I think should be fair to point out: you had three chapters ready and you posted them all the same day, then waited 20 days to post the third and now I am assuming you're working on the fifth. With the complicated art style and probably long story, at this rate you'll end up overworking yourself (this is why for now I decided to go with publishing consistently two/three pages every week).
My advice is: for now don't mind webtoon, try to """start anew""" on tapas this way: (this is advice I've actually read on this forum by one of the most famous creators and it worked really good) pulish the fist chapter, then, schedule the other three, ten days or two weeks apart from one another. This way your fourth chapter will publish itself at the end of october and for that time you'll already have completed the fifth and maybe sixth ones etc... this way you'll build a buffer which will allow you to relax and "catch your breath" if you need to and also maybe cover some time you won't be able to draw for whatever reason. Being consistent plays a foundamental role in finding an audience because it makes people know when will the next chapter will be and gives a sense of anticipation.
Another quick note I should have put before: I love the way you portray action... that is something really difficult to do and you nail it!!
Can't wait for the next updates

Fuzzyman818 2020-08-31 19:19:38 UTC #22

Thanks. I'll be sure to take that into consideration.

A_Pleiad 2020-08-31 19:33:39 UTC #23

Thank you very much for your feedback (and thanks to all the others even though I forgot to mention it I'm terrible T^T)
I LOVE the grayscale design and the look of an original old fashioned manga! I still don't know how you do it but you're amazing at it. I also noticed every panel it's very detailed and honestly that's really good. So, don't have much to say, it doesen't look like you miss any of the essentials for good comic making if not for the fact that the story in and for itself it's not my preferred genre so, as you said for my comic, there is a target audience for pretty much everything but I fear that cute slice of life you've chosen may not blow up as quicky as other, more popular, ones.
Anyway don't be discouraged if it takes longer to get attention, the style and story are sound so you'll surely make it

kinleypavone 2020-08-31 19:44:15 UTC #24

Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like it and are excited about reading more! It took A LOT of experimenting with camera angles, blurs, and linework to figure out how to do draw action in a way that would look good/make sense.

Uploading 3 episodes at launch was actually very intentional and will be the only time I upload that much at once. On Webtoon specifically, if a reader views 3 episodes, a pop up generates asking if they want to subscribe. Statistically speaking, it reminds more people to sub at launch that otherwise might have forgotten and was a tactic encouraged by the creators of Webtoon. The plan all along was to launch 3 at the start then switch to a consistent 1 episode every 3 weeks from episode 4 and on. Also, thank you so much for your concern about me getting burnt out but no worries, I have already planned for this as well. I actually have been working on the series for over a year and am working on finishing up chapter 3 currently(meaning I have uploads all the way up to January of next year ready to go). I know these pages take a long ass time and wanted to have plenty of buffer so that I could put a consistent schedule first and foremost. ^-^' I do want to upload on Tapas eventually as well, but I'd like to experiment with a more frequent upload schedule(maybe once every week or once every two weeks) so I need to wait until even more of it is done before I can try that.

A_Pleiad 2020-08-31 19:53:00 UTC #25

It's awesome to hear that, it is a really clever strategy! It looks my concerns were unfunded ahaha ^^ (one of the few times I can say I am glad I was wrong)
Since I know little about Webtoon I had no idea but yeah, that makes perfect sense (also I should have known better since you're drawing skills are THAT good that you probably didn't come unprepared 🤦‍♀️).
Also, I figured it took long to draw chapters so long and detailed, that's why I decided to go simple c':
In all honesty I tried to do the same some time ago and draw a comic trying to draw a long part of it before starting to publish it and that didn't work for me at all... not having any feedback on how whay I'm doing will be received by the public made me question everything, the pages (which were in full colour and shading and whatnot) took me ages and I quickly lost the will and motivation to go on... but I am really glad thay worked for you

alinlaphel 2020-08-31 20:01:01 UTC #26

Thank you for the feedback. I know I have a long way to go so I keep on practicing to improve my style. The story concept is more a selfish one since it's a story I wanted to do. My plan is to make another a story and run them at the same time when I get faster and producing this story. One story for myself and one story for people to read.

sarahmcsquish 2020-08-31 20:05:17 UTC #27

I really enjoy your monochromatic colors for your comic! The style is nice and I'm interested to see where your story goes!

https://tapas.io/series/Paw-Prints
Here's my comic. It has 1 sub

mbindhammer 2020-08-31 20:47:50 UTC #28

Now you at have least 4!

kinleypavone 2020-08-31 23:39:59 UTC #29

Haha, no worries, it was definitely some sound advice you had either way! And yeah, they take a long time, the backgrounds probably being the biggest time sink. Each page is like 7-9 hours to do but the more I do it, the faster I get. It used to be 10-12 hours. I'm sorry the more detailed art was harder for you to keep up with, I totally understand how that feels. I think your more simplistic style is going to work really well for you though, the romance genre doesn't necessarily need to be super detailed. It's more about the relationships anyway so as long as those are reading well/keeping viewers engaged, you're good to go!

A_Pleiad 2020-09-01 06:29:13 UTC #30

Thanks for the feedback ^^
Yours is really cute! I genuinely think it's underrated :c
The fact is, as said before, that most of the readers on Tapas have more or less the same tastes... that is why I decided to go for a BL in the first place. I mean, I love Silver Lining because I think it will teach me much as a project, but to be fair, audience-wise, that means going on easy-mode since romance is the most popular genre on the platform.
I extremely appreciated the diversity you show in your comic ethnicity wise but also when it comes to lgbt+ characters. As a lesbian myslef I feel like there's not enough positive representation in media (and that's another conversation but it was worth mentioning).
The thing I noticed that we could call a little mistake and makes it difficult to read is the scheme in which you put the panels that looks much more like a traditional comic than a webcomic. Dunno if you've already read it but I'll leave a link to the Tapas' section in which they give some readability tips (if you are not interested in the rest, you can scroll the article to the specific section but if you already haven't, I'd suggest you read all of it 'cause it's really helpful)

So well your comic has many points of strength such as the fact thay it's in colour, the diversity in the characters, the enticing story ect. And few "weaknesses": readability and the fact that (and mind you, that is not something you have to fix, just to keep in mind not to get bummed because of) your audience will probably grow slowly.
As an advice you could try and find other platforms that prefers a kind of story such as yours... andventorous and full of positive representation. (I mean, also keep publishing on Tapas anyway because I can't wait to read the rest ))

sarahmcsquish 2020-09-01 07:14:58 UTC #31

Thank you so much for reading! Your feedback is super appreciated!! It means a lot hearing nice words about my comic I had a feeling going in that my page format was gonna be a thing, but to be fully honest the mobile comic layout feels so confusing to me to draw lol It's something to try later on! Again thank you!!