Thinking about starting a webcomic here, where to start?

[xX_PK_Gaming_Xx]

So as the title states, I'm considering starting a webcomic here on Tapastic. But I'm uncertain where to start and the only thing i have so far are a few super vague character concepts and the idea of making a webcomic. I'm stumped and would love some good advice on where to start. Also, does my art have to be good for it to at least be read by other people?

[UzukiCheverie]

Just start.

Seriously. Don't "wait until you get better", don't "wait until your genre is popular." If you want to start a webcomic, then just start. Draw some pages, upload them, take part in the community, and the readers will come. The only real piece of advice I have regarding that is to regularly update. Choose a day to update that works for YOU (whether it's once a week, three times a week, etc.) and stay consistent to it. Don't pick something that's too much work for you, but pick something that works for your comic as well (ex. if it's a gag comic, those work better being once a week/multiple times a week; only story comics can really get away with being updated once a month/once every two weeks, etc. because of their content).

And have fun with it.

Also, does my art have to be good for it to at least be read by other people?

Most people's answers: "It should be of decent quality, go to others for advice and such."

My answer: No.

People come for the art, but stay for the story. If your art is absolutely gorgeous, that's a bonus. But if you can succeed in telling your story with your images without confusing anyone, and if your content is good enough, then people will read it. People are often drawn to comics faster if you have great art, but again, that's just a bonus. You don't have to go far to find comics that successful but have sub-par artwork (XKCD, Cyanide and Happiness, Poorly Drawn Lines, etc.)

[xX_PK_Gaming_Xx]

Thank you so much for your answer, I feel it's pretty helpful.

[Creaux]

I have several projects to start and how I get on the track is making development blogs! posting a development a week and working up to pages. Other than that, I use National Novel Writing Month to checklist a story and then go from there!

[hierogriff]

I write the whole story first, then start drawing. But that's just me! I just think it's good to know where your characters are going to end up before you start telling the story, so you can foreshadow and build up effectively. Every comic I've done so far, even the shorter ones, have had the story/script fully planned out before I started making pages.

And if this is your first time making comics, I would definitely recommend you try making a short one before attempting a large project! Cinderelic was the first proper comic I ever made, and though there were quite a few mistakes, I learned a lot from the process. I then felt ready to tackle a longer story, Outside the Box!

[carloswebcomic]

I write the whole story first, then start drawing. But that's just me! I just think it's good to know where your characters are going to end up before you start telling the story, so you can foreshadow and build up effectively. Every comic I've done so far, even the shorter ones, have had the story/script fully planned out before I started making pages.

THIS.

It is extremely stressful if you don't know what the hell you're going to do next, so make sure you have the stories, jokes or whatever you want to do written down before you start drawing. It will make everything much more enjoyable.

[hierogriff]

And don't be afraid to make last minute changes if something new occurs to you!

Also planning isn't just important for knowing what to draw next!
From a story telling perspective, you need to plan that stuff out. You think novelists improvise their whole book paragraph by paragraph? Your story needs a predetermined beginning, middle and end (AKA: a plot!) if it's going to "mean anything".

[xX_PK_Gaming_Xx]

Thanks very much! I guess I will start with a short comic first, that never occurred to me.

[yvettegustafsson]

I liked and loved every single word in this post, I can't even pick examples, because it would be the whole text. Everything is so true <3

[Doubtcent]

Like Zooks says, just start. As long as you start, you'll get better at the medium. Before I decided to work on an actual comic, I started with four-panels. Not only has it taught me more about how to make comics, but how to format in a small area, to portraying what you want to portray, and for me personally, since I was just getting used to using a drawing tablet, to get better at just drawing digital. Right now I'm learning about coloring, which I can practice on the four-panel and not worry about repercussions. Everything I'm making now is just experimenting with different inking, shading and color options. 20th episode color page was pretty good, but the last one I did looked a bit sub-par. It's all about experimentation!