To regularly updating folks - Do you have a buffer?

[Ghostie]

Just curious. I can't host my comic yet because I'm attempting to hit 20-30 pages before I start doing so. The pages take a while to make, and I do 100% all of it (sketch, lineart, flat colors, paints, effects, speech bubbles, and text.)

If you have a buffer, how long is it? What do you do when it finally catches up to you? Do you go on a hiatus a while and get it back up again, and if you do, how long does that normally take you?

Preparations, preparations.... OTL

:EDIT: Oh yeah, just to clear this up since some folks asked. I plan on posting once a week - the pages just take far too long with too much detail for me to do 2. I'm contemplating doing the prologue of it twice a week, then doing once a week the rest of the comic's lifetime. But I may not do that, depending on if I choose to do 20, or 30 pages of buffer. --3--

[dawgofdawgness]

I had a buffer of 3 pages but I used them all up and didn't work on it because of school.
Now I have 0

[ahkwardkat]

I have a buffer now though I didnt used to. I have at least 2months of pages (8 to 12 done in advance). At the moment I have 13 pages done in advance. Usually I can make 2 or 3 pages a week but post one or two. Usually if I start losing my buffer, I go a week without posting and spend that week cranking as hard as I can to catch back up.

If it is bad enough I will take a month or so off to catch up. I have not ran out of pages. I try not to let it get that bad. My buffer can take a month to rebuild if I lose it. So I honestly try to just work harder for a few weeks vs stop posting.

[erma]

I'd definitely recommend having a buffer, especially if you have other commitments or something comes up and you can't work on your comic at the time. I had a buffer of 4-5 pages in the beginning but now I don't have one, oops

[dots]

i ran a webcomic without a buffer before and it was Hell

i dont have one right now for my current comic but i plan on spending the next two or three weeks making one. it makes a huge difference, even if it's just a couple of pages. it's v easy for me to get burned out. :'D

[Ghostie]

From the sound of it, 20-30 pages is apparently a loooot of buffer. I guess that's good, lol. I have 5 pages thus far, but that's since January, being interrupted with commissions on the side in between and not really being used to the workload. I'm catching on tho.

I might do what Ashley Cope does for Unsounded - take a 3-month hiatus between chapters to make sure my buffer is up to par. I'm hoping to update at least two times a week for the first chapter ever, then after that settle into a once a week sort of thing.

[AmysGames]

I wish I had a buffer, lol. Sadly they don't tend to last very long for me because I end up falling behind and can't catch up.

[fleetinginfinity]

Artist and I started out with a buffer of seventeen pages. We're currently down to eight of those pages, but all the story-boarding is done for the next chapter so hopefully we'll be rebuilding the buffer soon.

[ahkwardkat]

It honestly depends on how fast you work and how much you post. If you make a page a week but post 2, it will not last you long. If you make 1 and post 1 it will stay stable. If you make 2 and post one it will grow while you make pages.

The idea of taking a hiatus between chapters is one I see a lot of people doing, at least in comments in previous threads like this. XD Do whatever works best for you!

[Testaccount]

That's a good buffer. For my stories, I like to have at least 10 chapters done before I start posting. That way, I have content to post while I'm still writing.

[spadesart]

somewhat? im usually a week aahead of updates and thats the minimum you should do

[YangKoete]

I keep one on occasion. It just depends if I have the motivation or not and if I have enough stuff done to actually take advantage of it.

Usually a 1 - 3 comic buffer is good enough.

[ryoko]

I currently have a buffer of about two weeks, but that's kind of unusual for me. I'm lucky if I have a week's worth. That being said, my story is really old and I have all the original story in rough, I'm just drawing it, scanning and then finishing it with my tablet/laptop. I think having 20-30 pages done and ready to go as a buffer is a great way to start a comic. Do you know how many days a week you're planning on posting? As long as you have a regular drawing schedule for yourself, you'll maintain your buffer.

I haven't ever gone on hiatus, but I can see it being necessary for those who can't work on their comic on a regular basis and have to rely on chunks of time where they can get it.

All in all, it sounds like you're thinking this through and planning really well.

[sandpaperdaisy]

I am psychotic and my buffer goes to September 2018, but that's because I'm deliberately posting 11 years of comic work as I just begin to draw pages for a brand new comic. I had to do a bunch of math to figure out when I can start mirroring them so they'll all be in line at the end.

For Allstory though I sometimes am even doing the pages the day I post them. And that, is HAIRY!! So yeah I'd recommend at least a month's buffer (4 pages or whatever that means to you) because stuff can get crazy for weeks on end...

[Fascher]

Yeah having a buffer is a really good move, I went through a period of buffering my pages on webtoons, and recently it ended! So I submitted an announcement saying that pages would still come out, just a little slower than before, and so far I'm coasting on that wave.

What I would really recommend after the buffer ends is having a page you can upload if something happens along the line and you can't upload a page in time. Having that to fall back on is really helpful.

But yeah otherwise I'd just do what you're doing, continue working on pages while the buffer is uploading so you're always a couple of pages ahead, and take it from there~ But if you want a hiatus, go for it! It's your comic~

[Kura]

Sometimes, but not always. Depends on how busy I am and how sick I am.

[shazzbaa]

If you have a buffer, how long is it? What do you do when it finally catches up to you? Do you go on a hiatus a while and get it back up again, and if you do, how long does that normally take you?

I do not!
I had a very large buffer when I came off of hiatus, and I ended up using up the whole thing. Admittedly it's nice to not be working on The Comic That Needs To Go Up Tonight... but I don't really like being months and months ahead. It makes me feel so detached! I think my ideal would be, like, 2-4 weeks ahead at most.

Before the hiatus, I started the comic with a five page buffer, but once that was used up, I didn't worry about rebuilding it, so for most of its 3 year run so far it hasn't had a buffer. It does mean I occasionally have to skip a week, which I try to avoid doing too often, but buffers sort of inevitably disappear with me, so taking time off just to rebuild them feels a bit futile. I'd like to get a nice pace of being a page or two ahead, though.

[Ghostie]

Yeah I like that idea. I think if I were to go on a break in order to amp up my buffer again, I'd post an episode that was just a notice that I'm going on a hiatus to get my buffer back on track, with a date that I'd be returning. That way folks know when to check back in.

Right now just starting it n preparing to host it online, I can take my time getting my pages done, while juggling commissions. But during that break period I'd be working on buffer, I'd probably put EVERYthing on hold, because doing commissions and these pages at the same time right now is just killer. >>; I can't imagine doing that once this thing is live n I have to make sure I don't miss updates. Cuz I REALLY want to avoid missing updates - once I tend to throw myself off-track, I tend to get wildly out of control. DX

[IdiotWithPencil]

I have a buffer of 3 to 5 pages that is like a month since I post once a week, still I have had a buffer of 20 and lost it all (exams and general lazyness from the artist -_-) I really suggest you have a 20-30 page buffer mostly cause that way you save yourself some headachs in the future and you don't have to go into a 3 month hiatsu for exams or work related issuse

[Griffian]

I always keep at least two pages ahead of my comic, but I'm trying to build that up as much as possible.
Since my series is just starting out and I'm still trying to balance out the schedule, I give myself longer than needed to make my comics and use the extra time to experiment and build a backlog.