Webcomic Survivability

[keii4ii]

I have one webcomic that I've dropped (back in 2000 or so), and another that's been on indefinite hiatus for a couple years now. Even then I don't worry about the possibility of my current comic dying a premature death.

It COULD die. It might happen. Just not within the foreseeable future. It's a "I'll deal with it if/when it happens" kind of a thing in my head.

For now, I'm too busy worrying about sticking to the schedule. No room in my head for any other worries related to the comic!

[ratique]

How nice it is to have such an active community. I will try not to worry so much about the future and just try to keep it going as long as possible - hopefully to the end though. There is this plot twist about half way through the story, that one really needs to be told.

Best case scenario I am hoping that all of us will still be working on our comics in a couple of years and do it as a full time job. That would be fun.

[fanyart]

That's true, this community has given me enormous support I had never found before - I used to be on Deviantart but somehow I feel uncomfortable there (so I'm keeping it only as a portfolio where I upload some things and run away >-< ) I'm too shy to engage in conversation (I don't have Facebook, Twitter, etc.) but this site feels somehow secure and I'm surprising myself with how many posts I have written >_< Tapastic changed me quite a lot, this community is great

[AnnaLandin]

Oh yeah - Tapastic is turning out to be one of the nicest places on the internet! It's really wonderful that the forums manage to stay so friendly, and that the users are to active! It's wonderful to post a page and have people actually comment on it; I've posted stuff on other sites that was greated by nothing but a big, echoing silence, and that's super-discouraging.

Tapastic, on the other hand, seems to have a very enthusiastic and engaged userbase. It's lovely!

[DeadAccount]

I would honestly never blame anyone for abandoning a comic. For many artists it's just a stepping stone in their art journey, and it's absolutely fine. Honestly, I'm very happy I'm finally working on a proper story, but I realise that stars did have to line up to make this happen. Having a steady income and moral support are all important factors for long term projects. Before the webcomic I was still doing little strips and sketches with my characters, but a decision to start a webcomic was not an easy one. If I didn't have an awesome writer to work with, or if my job was less stable or required more time and commute, or if I had to take care of kids/parents/anyone...It'd probably never happen. Whenever i'm feeling lazy, I remind myself of how lucky I am to even be able to do this shit.

[Erena]

Somehow, I've managed to draw over a hundred pages of my comic. The art still needs much improvement, but I feel like I've made such a big achievement. Now that the plot is just starting to develop and get interesting, it's actually harder to stop now.

My advice- just do it. My art is nowhere close to perfect, but it feels so amazing when you realize how many pages you've drawn and it's so much fun to reread everything. You also get to see how much you've improved, which is a huge plus

[UzukiCheverie]

just do it

THOSE WERE THE MAGIC WOOOORDS

[ridokauchi]

I don't know why this happens, but in fact it's sad...
For me, i had to end a cómic two years algo because of my studies. I has to much to do, and i has to quit it.
But i think of taking it again so often...
By the moment i'm working on another to take soñé work habits before starting with bigger ideas.

[ratique]

Oh lovely Actual Hannibal Shia Lebouf... What would we do without him.

[Jrej]

I totally get that! I've been posting my stuff for years in the vast void of the internet with no-one reading it.
It a great feeling to finally have a following here on Tapastic.
I guess if you create quality work for long enough, you'd get support from the community!

[Kamikaze]

Aw, yay!! See! I'm so glad you're finding yourself coming from your shell here. Sometimes with larger sites like DA it can feel like there's just too much going on, too many people or so many people that you might not even get heard! I can definitely understand how you feel that way @fanyart!

Tapastic has been wonderful for helping us engage with others and y'all have been phenomenal!
-C

[Kamikaze]

Agreed 100% @AnnaLandin ! Our main site doesn't get anywhere NEAR the readership we find here, and it's been wonderful, especially because our comic is so new here on Tapastic. The engagement, comments, the ability to really talk to your fans and chat with other creators has been amazing for us.

Just checked out your work too!
....Uh...yeah. You have a new follower!

-C

[jshockmo]

Ultimately I want to get GAB! (Gimme A Break!) translated from english to japanese and publish it. But for now me still learning stuff. I guess the main thing is commiting to a weekly update and living up to that commitment.

[L4213]

im curious tho Uzuki, what are your plans after Time gate finishes @^@ sorry for the intrusive question. you don't have to answer >^<

anyways my webcomic did actually stop before it went to tapastic. that was during my Smackjeeves days where it barely got any views. my reason of stopping was that it was hard to make a weekly webcomic and it was hardly getting any views. but that was just because i was a lazy nut before.

fast forward im so glad i didn't give up on it ^u^ what keeps me going on right now is that:
- i love telling stories and jokes!
- i love creating content! (and hope to one day have that as my career and job)
- i love seeing peoples reactions and interactions!

heck i even want to make more comic series other than OTI, but i still need to find time in my schedule for that

also that one speech shia lebouf did..... (you know what he said is really true)

[UzukiCheverie]

im curious tho Uzuki, what are your plans after Time gate finishes @^@ sorry for the intrusive question. you don't have to answer >^<

probably gonna kill myself

I don't know x3 It's gonna be going on for a LOOONG time so I have plenty of time to come up with new comics to do and all that. Still, being done of Time Gate? It would definitely leave a huge void in my soul @____@

[GouFigg]

Comics is something I really, REALLY want and like to do, so definitely that's how I stay motivated. I want to express my feelings through my stories and my characters. Honestly I just feel like this is something I really want to do and there's nothing in the world that would change that and, yes sometimes I sit back when I finish drawing a page and I want to throw myself off a cliff because OH MY GOD why did I choose this as my hobby? But the fact that I want to keep doing it is stronger. I love my characters I love to see them in action and I love seeing my stories come to life by my own hand and that really gets me going.

[AnnaLandin]

I don't know x3 It's gonna be going on for a LOOONG time so I have plenty of time to come up with new comics to do and all that. Still, being done of Time Gate? It would definitely leave a huge void in my soul @____@

Finishing something always leaves me with post-project blues - and the bigger the thing I finish, the worse the blues are. I usually cure it by taking some time off to unwind - eat ice cream and play videogames - and it's easier when you know it's coming.

And yeah, new ideas will come to you; they have the funniest habit of showing up when you least expect them.

[fanyart]

Finishing something always leaves me with post-project blues

Yeah, I have that feeling too - I'm glad I'm not the only one, I thought it was weird

I've posted stuff on other sites that was greated by nothing but a big, echoing silence, and that's super-discouraging.

I came to Tapastic and various other comic publishing platforms as a part of my assignment for social media studies (about how can an unknown artist do with their comic without being active) so I wasn't really worried about not getting comments and likes (it more like surprised me ) and took a "scientific approach" to it - just counted the comments and likes etc as a part of evaluation for the research. The result of that research was that Tapastic won a resounding victory in terms of "friendliness, encouragement, community and constructive support" (though not so much in "chances to be discovered"). In the end it managed to make someone like me crawl out of my shell a bit - thanks for that expression, @Kamikaze

[Jrej]

I am so looking forward to finish this long project of mine.
To hell the blues...
I got other stories to tell!

[Diabolo]

new ideas will come to you; they have the funniest habit of showing up when you least expect them.

Exactly! The human mind doesn't like empty space. I found out (but that might not apply to everyone), that once you've finised a piece, the void left by it just kind of... sucks in new ideas ?

While finishing something big leaves me empty for a while, it also gives me this very powerful feeling of accomplishment. You stay there and you can look at the whole thing. It's finished. It's been years and it's done, it's huge, it's beautiful. You did it.
So while it's a little bit frightening to sort out what you're gonna do next, in my experience the positive reward outwins tenfold the emptiness.

So that's what keeps me going: that incredible feeling of accomplishemnt when you put the final brick to your piece, as well as the wonderful community of readers that I just can't let down.