STYLE vs UPDATE frequency

NaamanBlanco 2017-10-01 03:12:41 UTC #21

When it comes to style, "less is more" in a lot of cases. I'm realizing that witty and snappy writing is better than extreme detail. Don't get me wrong it has it's place, but it seems more people gravitate to good writing. Check out "Dyeing Liberty".

joannekwan 2017-10-01 08:33:06 UTC #22

I work in a few styles for my comics, but they're all simple enough that I can finish a page in half a day if I didn't get distracted with the internet. I mean, if I'm gonna spend so much time and energy on one panel, it might as well be a stand alone illustration. I feel like there's a certain charm in the rawness of some comics that aren't as polished and detailed as others; it feels more "in the moment." Sometimes really detailed panels can get too busy and clash with speech bubbles.

I think comics are a medium where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Rhombik 2017-10-01 08:54:04 UTC #23

I think this depends a great deal on what the comic is for.

My style and level of detail has kind of been decided for me. I'm making an educational cartoon for kids so it doesn't need to be excessively detailed. I also will need a lot of content if I want to promote it as a learning aid (eventually) so I guess I can't spend a long long time on each panel.

I did put a lot of thought into the character and world design and the colour scheme though because I wanted it to be appealing.

If I decided to make a long running, episodic comic, something like a fantasy or a romance, I'd put in a lot more detail.

Coherence and consistency are extremely important for me. I'm probably missing out on some great series because of this but if I can't read a comic where the size of the character's nose changes noticeably all the time or the proportions are constantly out of whack. A little of bit inconsistency is unavoidable but if there's too much, it's very jarring.

charliepeppersoap 2017-10-01 16:13:21 UTC #24

all good answers, and yep, yeah, yes, style cohesion is #1 important thing, not only for readability and telling the characters apart, but also for IP branding and staying recognizable to your fans.

jammythebirb 2017-10-01 17:34:42 UTC #25

I try to strike a balance, although it does mean having to compromise in both areas. I'd love to be able to complete more than one page a week, but if I tried, the quality would suffer. Similarly, if I tried to make every page look perfect, they'd probably take forever, and it wouldn't be practical. (Let alone possible!) So I just kinda do my best to try and find new ways of shortening the process whilst maintaining an acceptable amount of quality. Learning along the way!

Luminosophy 2017-10-01 17:45:11 UTC #26

My comic is a hobby for me so it's very much treated like such. Updates are few and far between and like Vicar_comic, I want to make something pretty. However detail is something that I just really like, it's almost like part of my style if you will. It's sort of like how some people would hate spending forever drawing some wood carving on a piece of furniture, I wouldn't enjoy drawing character or architectural designs that don't have a lot of intricacies to them. I'm not really in any rush to gain an audience and money off of my work because I'm studying for a career that would pay much better, haha.

It's more just a learning experience of finding out what sort of techniques work for me, but it's also a challenge to find a compromise on designs that demand a lot more simplicity as well. I think for my next short story I'll probably do a buffer system, but at the same time I could also see that catching up because I'm always pretty busy irl.

gpyrus 2017-10-01 22:47:39 UTC #27

Well, re-reading myself I realize I sounded a little more pessimistic than intended! I couldn't finish the story without feeling like I'm aborting something that is clearly evolving in a positive way. After all, progress is really what I'm going for and I think of all my projects as exercises. The artistic journey is really worth it at the end of the day. I have to admit I don't really have the amount of details in mind when it comes to improvement of a comic's visual, though. I actually believe that when I'll have reached the skill level that my current comic requires, there won't be as much inconsistency anymore from one chapter to another, and that the end result will give the impression that the pages are ironically done effortlessly.

Moxxi 2017-10-03 00:46:40 UTC #28

For me, I update at least a page a week, so I like to pack as much visual information as I can with what little time I have to draw.

Chronitis 2017-10-03 01:44:34 UTC #29

I try updating as fast as possible but my art does suffer in my comic Bounter's Edge I may actually start choosing the style over frequent updates in the near future though.

charliepeppersoap 2017-10-04 10:17:06 UTC #30

i'm sort of flying by the seat of my pants rn, no backlog or buffer for emergencies bcos... yolo. one comic is slower, but more refined and the other a fast dumb mess and i honestly cannot WAIT to see which wins out

i mean 20 bucks riding on the fast dumb mess, cos fml, fml and fmcurrent terrifying scramble for affordable housing in post-reagan america wooo

UrMom 2017-10-04 15:17:44 UTC #31

Since I'm not trying to make a living off my comic, and it's literally my source of stress relief, I take my time with the visuals. This means I update whenever, but I do try to update about once a week if possible. Whether I'm good at executing it or not, my comic sort of relies on visual detail. Things like body language, expressions, environments, material items have a certain importance when it comes to my characters and/or story. I can't really skimp too much without losing some of the subtlety I'm trying to portray, and honestly I don't really want to. Details, while sometimes a little to extensive, are really fun to do and I try to make my comic creating experience as enjoyable as possible.

TL:DR: I personally prefer taking my time to create detailed pages rather than go for simplicity to pump out as many pages as possible.

You know, I hardly ever notice this unless I'm already following a comic that I see through to the end. I also don't care about short vs. long unless the long comic is like, 40 chapters in, with 50+ pages in each chapters. At that point it feels like the author should probably start wrapping things up, at least imo.