1 / 7
Nov 2016

Starting this topic off with— i adore the vertical layout of the site, ok, dont get me wrong here lmao. It is amazing how the story flows by reading it in infinite scroll and all, buT heres the thing- i caught myself thinking about the classic 'full spread' pages of printed comics and how absolutely breathtaking some of them are, and also how tapastic cannot support this kind of effect

( i mean, it COULD, but the two pages would have to be shrunken down, details would be lost, and generally the effect wouldn't be just... the same)

SO i began to think if there is an option i am missing to make your comics still scroll friendly, but instead of scrolling down- you scroll to the sides. I understand if this feature was never implemented/ suggested, its because tapastic has other things to focus on to, but for me it sounds like a good idea? And definitely a creative way for storytelling too, much like the reading of storyboards or long books.

And of course, having the option to switch your comic layout in some chapters would give room to the breathtaking effect of full spread pages too :0

What do you guys think though?

  • created

    Nov '16
  • last reply

    Nov '23
  • 6

    replies

  • 3.8k

    views

  • 1

    user

  • 16

    likes

  • 1

    link

Well, I'm relatively new here, so I don't know if it was asked for before, but I would totally love to have the option to do fullspreads and horizontal scrolling.
I design my comic as it were to be printed, because I intend to do so, so it loses a bit of impact when seen through a phone... an option if you want vertical scroling or horizontal would be great!
I would totally stand behind your idea, but being realistic, I doubt it would be implemented, tapastic main focus is mobile reading, and vertical scrolling is objetively the best way to go... even if we old fashioned would like to keep working print style.
Anyway, glad to see I'm not the only one who would like it!
Cheers!

I read all types of comics but I personally prefer scroll based comics if im reading on my mobile. While it would be cool to have something better for full page spreads as they're hard to read on the app im not sure about horizontal scrolling comics. It might make the navigation on the app pretty confusing because we already swipe (left/right) to go to the next episode.
Also i used to read this manga where each scanned page was a spread and i had to scroll horizontally to read it and i dont know it was just weird and uncomfortable to read on my phone.
((Side note: i really like ur icon ♡))

Honestly I think this was one of those things Scott McCloud was wrong about.

He was an advocate of horizontal comics and horizontal scrolling. After all, computer screens are horizontal! Some of the infinite canvas comics he championed were comics that scrolled horizontally. I listened to him talk about it and thought it made sense.... but when I tried comics that used it myself, it felt awkward. The problem is that we've been trained, through our use of the entire rest of the internet, to scroll down. That's natural to us. H-scroll feels unnatural and uncomfortable to the average reader because we don't do it anywhere else.

There are effects you can get in vertical scrolling comics that are impossible to really recreate in print, too; and if you tried to add a single page to your book that accordion-folded down so that you could get the "full effect" of an infinite canvas page, it would be awkward and not the same. It's just a matter of working with the strengths of the media you're using.

you can do the horizontal "full spread" vertically but the thinking is different. you just let the spectacle unfold by scrolling down. i was reading the webtoon Distant Sky some time ago and the detailed ruined cityscapes that would unfold as you scrolled down were quite impressive...

also, the fullspread effect is relative as well. if you normally draw small panels that don't take up a lot of the screen at once, then for an important scene just making it take up the whole screen will be impressive.

so on top of horizontal scroll being weird, it's not even necessary, imo. it's always a pain when some scanned manga have spreads and you have to enlarge image and navigate it all weird when reading online, in some cases for example.

OR THAT'S WHAT I THINK ANYWAY.....

6 years later

I personally found it awkward when experimenting with it. The challenge lies in our ingrained habit of scrolling down on the internet. Vertical scrolling allows for effects that are hard to replicate in print, emphasizing the importance of adapting to the strengths of the chosen medium.

laughs in scrolls