What got you into webcomics (or indie comics)?

[cookieroach]

I'm curious about different reasons why people get into webcomics, or comics created by independent creators in general.

For me, I've always liked reading stories that don't have to fit into a mold or what's currently mainstream, and it's also inspiring to see people of all different skill levels creating their own stories. Even if you're not a professional, you can still put your stuff out there which I love!

(Sorry if this has been asked a million times before, I'm new here so just ignore the topic if that's the case...)

[jcmraz]

Originally? Probably Megatokyo, Questionable Content, MacHall, AppleGeeks, and I had a friend in high school that made one. I didn't post my first comics online but those were definitely my first that got me into them

[Dysis]

Ahh, @cookyroach, may I ask why you have a roach as your profile picture?

[silverjackie1]

For me it was anime and manga, I wanted to make my own manga and then decided to change it to comic since I liked colors the most xD

[cookieroach]

hmm... good question... I think it was because roaches are kinda gross but I wanted to try to draw a cute one

[Dysis]

How about making a roach smiley?

[Shanny8]

I'm an indie creator...I was turned on when I saw a co-worker(now a friend) making comics when I worked at an art store. I thought about making my own comic books but never pursued it until I met him...I started out doing black & white comics coz I didnt have have a computer powerful enough to do digital coloring- however it was good enough that I could do digital lettering(in Illustrator), print onto adhesive paper, and stick it on the actual pages.

Fast forward 10 yrs later, I took a hiatus from comics to do the parent thing. Kiddo was old enough to get out and do things for themselves, so I went to a convention and ran into another friend who was making full color comics...by this time I did have computers powerful enough to do digital coloring- and I had dabbled around in PS and Illustrator enough to know what I needed to do. I started learning to digital color and learning how to put my own comic together.

2 yrs after that, I got good enough at CSP and decided to make a webcomic. The rest is history...

[Nyerelia]

I'd say for me first is accesibility. And I don't even mean finantially, simply that when I go to comic/book shops I struggle to find something that fits my taste. Guess it may overlap with what you said about wanting something different from the mainstream. I think my tastes are pretty normal yet I find it hard to find something that truly picks my interest when going to a physical shop. With webcomics, however, it's easy to take a quick look at 10 different ones in under 5 minutes and see if you liked something and want to keep reading

[dewarcomics]

before Youtube I browsed through all kinds of webcomics. It was like the thing to do. I eventually found a website that had hundreds of Manga online (back when they were impossible to find). After many years that website was lost, replace with an influx of them now lol

And now I'm into creator owned comics, like Image comics as an example. For webcomics though; Now a days I haven't found many that hold my interest anymore. Which keeps me motivated to work on my own.

[rajillustration]

The first comic that really made me excited to read it was Girl Genius, which dates me somewhat. But, listen--it had steampunk, it had a bunch of cute boys, it had magic, it had science, it was heavily influenced by Mucha. I was all about that life.

Then what made me decide to start making them was that I was at Wondercon and I was sitting in on a webcomics panel for a friend who was making a webcomic, but couldn't go to the con. Basically I was taking notes for him. The panelists included Tracy Butler, who writes Lackadaisy, and at the time I was trying to figure out what to do with a story I had written about a bunch of asshole cats in suits and like...that was my sign. Apparently Webcomics were fine with having a bunch of cat people in your stories so I was like...what's the worst that could happen?

[ghostmaya]

I'm so sick on belittling comics and artist, so I want to prove here in Philippines, specially to my friends and my family that I can become successful with my art and my stories~
So far my goal is to become successful and make my own studio to hire passionate artist here in Philippines~ ^_^ I'm a anime, comic, and manga lover~ <3

[Zino]

After reading so much manga in the past I kinda wanted something different so I turned to western indie comics since they offered tropes and cliches that were different from a Japanese school setting (yes I'm talking about romance stories). Plus there were a lot of interesting and different art styles.