Should I cut up my comic to better suit the vertical format?

[IdiotWithPencil]

yes I would, tapas is geared towards the vertical format also webtoons only accepts the vertical format, so i would defenetly recommend you do it just because it's what expected of you

[lwflouisa]

Personally: I wouldn't write exclusively for vertical scroll format. The reason I pace my panels the way I do, is more as I'm honestly learning how comics work. I actually quite enjoyed the pacing and the way the panels flowed.

( I tend to use fewer panels per page, as the thought process is the larger the panel, the more time that goes by between panels. )

[IndigoShirtProd]

It might be in your best interest do so. Personally, I don;t see the downside in a page format but you might get more traction of you reformat it for vertical scroll.

[AirisKiahin]

Webtoons doesn't only accepts vertical format.

I feel fine both on Tapad and Webtoons with traditional pages. I'm not a super popular creator, but it doesn't seem my comics has less success then other average vertical formatted comics. I had just a couple of people who complained that don't like vertical format, but there were kind of 3 people out of 10 000. And people always complain on everything.

There is a possibility that this format reduces chances to get featured, but doesn't exclude them at all. I've seen such stories even in featured.

So if you feel traditional format suits your story better, then don't bother and keep doing it in traditional format

[Random_Guy]

While Tapas is more geared for vertical scroll format, you really don't have to.
If you find you have the time, cutting up your comic for the vertical scroll format as well is a pretty good idea, so that it's still accessible for mobile users, but people who prefer the traditional format can read it like that.

I know that the horror comic Hexameron by @Kelheor (it's a great comic, by the way, you should check it out) does it that way.

[baasinsimple]

No. Do what you want, it's a matter of just how good you are at formatting each kind.

[snowy]

I wouldn't. Like you said, your layout is part of the flow and pacing of the story. I personally like and prefer "traditional" (ugh, that makes me feel old) pages. I'm sure lots of people are making this vertical thing work, but to me, it feels somehow limiting.

I actually did cut up mine once, and it didn't cause the instant, magical jump in subs and comments I thought would follow, so I just put the pages back up.

Oh, and your pages look fantastic.

[monotone_ink]

Do it if you have time--especially since your pages are densely packed, a phone user might have to do a bit of zooming when reading your stuff.

Otherwise, your comic's pretty great--best of luck.

[Iris-Grimoire]

I'd only do it if there's time - it's not super optimized for phones, BUT, you can also keep a page format here and cut them up for webtoons later. I'm doing that myself because my comic is made for printing and I'm not going to work on a drawn out format I don't like by default, but when I finish Chapter 1, I'll have a full idea of how it can flow with beginning and end and time for any necessary redraws/relettering.

Your comic is on an uphill battle when it's page format, but it's not a losing one. Just work on making its compositions the best you've got, so an alternate version never loses what's already making it nice!

[C_o]

Thanks for the replies guys, it has given me something to think about. I might make a scroll version and keep it separate and see what happens. Thanks again everyone.

[Kiweevil]

I personally have a ton of fun working with the vertical format. For example, the interesting take on paneling/scrolling on my last prologue update was something I definitely would not have been able to do with standard panel left>right comics.

[Simkray]

I also make my comics in a manga/comic layout but I edit it for tapas and webtoons since it's easier for people to read it and see everything that's happening on each panel.

it's best not to think of it as butchering your comic's original layout but rather just adjusting to a better format for your viewers to get the best possible experience!

if it helps, try to think of it like "Manga/comic" layouts are better for books, and "Panel stacking" layouts are better for online!

[Lummy]

Definitely.
Not only is it more mobile friendly, it also makes it easier to read digitally.

And also, look at this page from your comic:

For me it is too much text for a single page, and I probably will skim through it and don't read all the text.
But if it was in a scroll format, panel under panel, then it would definitely make it easier for me to actually read this text.

this is my personal opinion, i hope it helped (:

[Iris-Grimoire]

Doesn't even have to be perfectly vertical - cutting this up into two or three pages (one of the makeup and the first bust, then the other for the two different frames) can keep the page format and allow more text space. Lettering recommendation is also to keep dialogue that's over 4 lines to a minimum, 3 being the best display, regardless of format.

[lwflouisa]

What I prefer to go for is Adaptive Scroll Format: it is structured like a vertical scroll, but when you print it also it also looks like a normal traditional comic.

I'm still working out how such details might work, but to me it doesn't have to be an either / or thing. I feel like both vertical and traditional has things to offer.

[rajillustration]

First off your comic is gorgeous, and I don't think it should have to change just because Tapas and Webtoon are addicted to scroll format. But, it's up to you. Overall, my experience with doing a page format comic for years on this website is that there's just very little support for it. It's discouraging, and I wish that Tapas and Webtoon would give us like a separate place on this platform. But alas, most of our readers are on their phone. Which is wild to me. But everyone is different.

Me, personally, I decided to finish my current comic in traditional just because I tested it out and it was lackluster both as an end product and in how freakin long it took to remake a page I already drew once. It sucks a lot to redraw something you already drew once and not get paid for it. So I opted to just...ignore the fact that scroll format exists for this one. Maybe another comic, once I finish this one.

But like you just started so you could easily just make the rest of your story vertical from here on out. You only have one episode. You may not have to start anything over. A lot of comics have beginnings that are page format that eventually become vertical format later.

[arcojawa]

For most of my comic so far I've been using the old-school standard comic layout. The type that most western super-hero comics use (my comic is a super hero comic). But at some point I decided I should transition to the mobile-friendly vertical format... not because Webtoons and Tapas favor that but because I figured it would make my comic appear as long as other comics on these site (the vertical format gives the illusion of length).

...I couldn't do it completely...

-there was something I was sacrificing with the vertical format that I didn't want to totally give up: showing multiple panels in context with one another.

More often then not I draw my panels in groups that are meant to be seen together and the vertical format really limits my ability to do just that. Sure, you can still draw multiple panels in that format but you get significantly less of them out of it. SO - I compromised and kind of went halfway. Unfortunatelly I am still occasionally drifting back to the amount of panels per visible area as I was doing before (which, because the pages are longer means I'm just giving myself more work) but I'm trying to get a rein on that.

[C_o]

Thanks for the reply. I'm experimenting with cutting up my next episode (though I kind of hate having to do it, ha). I'm thinking I'll try for pure vertical format with a different comic, I'd just need a writer. Thanks again!

[Tanako]

Yes, yes, yes and yes a million times. Join the ban wagon. Make it easier to read for your audience.

[Lummy]

Yes, you are right.
What I meant to say, that most of the people that read webcomics usually do it via their mobile phones. And mobile phone are smaller than a5/whatever publishing size there is. So what may look normal in published form, will looks smaller (and those more cramped) on mobiles, and what looks small will only looks smaller and more cramped (: