What have you learned from making comics?

[cookieroach]

What have you learned from making comics that you didn't know when first starting out. and do you have any tips you want to share?

On thing for me, when I posted my first comic a couple of years ago my aim was to draw as few panels as possible (because I was lazy). When I looked at it later, I realized it was just too fast paced and not very nice to read.

[KiabIce]

What I've learned is don't' have slow beginnings. It doesn't catch the readers' eye and also it takes too long to get the story going.

Another thing I learned is comics don't have to be in color to be liked. But color does appeal to more people.

Another thing I learned is your art doesn't have to be at a high skill to start a comic. You can start with crummy art but then have your art get better over time.

Lastly I learned to most importantly make the comic for yourself and not focus much on subs and likes. Make sure you enjoy your comic making.

That's all

[jcmraz]

oh man. This is a LONG list. But I'll try to break it down to just a few basics from each era of my comicking.

Flakjacket (my first comic) - Passion. Really nothing else beyond that.

Remakes of Flakjacket under different names - Hard to say specifically honestly. It was a progression forward. I learned how to start a story I guess. I learned some of the basics over this time pacing and technical skills on the computer

3 Wishes (and Furrowed Brow Comics) - I learned that I wasn't very good at coming up with individual one-off strips for very long. I would have a couple and then the well would run totally dry. I also learned about keeping a schedule and that if I didn't properly world build or prepare (because a strip comic morphed into a full story) I would run into plot issues and walls that I just couldn't properly work through. I can't wing a story. I also worked on improving but looking back I realize that focusing too much on the deadlines and less on the art and improvement itself stifles growth.

Runner (current) - There is too much to go into honestly. I would recommend you just reading it to see for yourself. Pacing, storytelling, panel flow, inking, coloring, anatomy... Literally everything I could improve at I worked and continue to work at. I learned how to learn better. I learned how to practice better and have been starting to settle more into myself

Runner | Tapas

[cookieroach]

That's some really good points! I think it's easy to get caught in the trap of wanting to explain the whole backstory before you can get on with the story.

Totally agree on making a comic you enjoy yourself, and not focus on the numbers! If you enjoy doing it, you'll keep doing it and will improve, and then other people might like what you create as well (at least that's what I'm telling myself...)

[darthmongoose]

1. You don't have to go with your first draft. Get something down as a base, by all means, but the first thing you come up with, or the first way you imagine a scene can go or a shot can be composed may not always be the best you can come up with. Have a think about how you could improve that scene or that shot before you commit to it.

2. Using tools like 3D models or premade textures isn't cheating; it's a necessity. Maybe someday comic artists will be paid a reasonable per-page rate like our parents or event grandparents generation of comic creators were..... (lol, yeah, right! ) but for now, you're probably working solo for slim pickings. Take shortcuts, be efficient!

3. The world does not owe you the chance to make exactly the comic you want with no concessions in style or content and for that comic to be a big commercial hit. Sometimes you have to choose between self-indulgence or your artistic "vision" and paying the bills with your art.

4. Narrower vertical gutters, thicker horisontal gutters. It always adds polish.

5. Work to print resolution first and size down. Looks neater AND you can print it later if you want.

[KiabIce]

Yes! I think that too that if you keep doing it for yourself and improve gradually, people will like that.

With my comic Open Flame the story didn't start picking up till page 17 or so. And I didn't realize it but my first chapter will be around 50 pages! So I won't finish the first chapter, if I release it once a week, till February 2021 or March 2021! So now I know better for the next chapter I make.

[Phantomlight]

I've learned a few things:

1. How to place dialogue boxes so they flow and are understood more easily (credit goes to a creator on here called JR who helped me with that.)
2. How to organize a schedule that works for the amount of work put into your own comic specifically.
3. How to format a comic so it can be enjoyed by people on PC and mobile alike. Not a priority but it's something I wanted to do.
4. Just because I may not have more professional digital art tools doesn't mean I can't make a comic look nice ^^ And it's not a hindrance to me since I learned how to make effects with the digital art programs I do have. And that's so awesome. If you learn how to manage with the programs you have, you can still make great creations! It's all up to you and your willingness to get creative!
5. And I learned how much fun but also how much work a comic can be. And personally it's worth it and it's such a therapy for me personally ^^

Some tips I'd like to share is making comics itself is always a learning and growing experience. Your art will improve, when you look back at your comic (if you discontinue or finish it) you can see what you did well and what things need work. Have patience for yourself and don't fret so much on trying to be perfect, just enjoy making it and learning from it as much as you can. Subs and likes are nice, but what's really going to drive you is your own passion and love for what you're doing! Do it for yourself, first and foremost!

Much love

[ItsAvocadoToast]

I learned a lot of life lessons from comic creating.

I learned that not every idea is a good idea. Probably learned that the hard way- I get a comic idea in my head, and then boop! Halfway through making the comic i scrap the idea, because either the art stinks or the comic idea stinks.

I also learned that if you want something, you got to earn it. The people on those trending/popular tabs never made it there for no reason. At the start of my journey, I didn't expect to find myself on the popular list, unless I was willing to put in work. By the end of the summer, I was satisfied with my results. At one point my series was higher then most trending stories, including TheOdd1sOut's.

Which leaves me to say- comic making is a lot of work, but you can put your mind to it

[cookieroach]

Really interesting to hear! think it's good to work on several project and keep learning which each one, instead of waiting to come up with the perfect project before you can start. I've made several small stories that I gave up on after a couple of pages, but still learned a lot from it.

[KiabIce]

Great points! Dialogue and bubble placement is important in comics!

Another one I just remembered is having clean linework is important too. And make sure you draw your backgrounds and don't have the characters floating in space with no background

[cookieroach]

Great points! I've felt really guilty with using references and tools to help me, but it's not a good mindset. I agree that using helpful tools is smart and not cheating (as long as you're not plagiarizing anything). Comics are time consuming so you might as well try to be as efficient as possible!

1. Oh love the specificity of this advice! Maybe something I should think about!

[Phantomlight]

Ah yeah! xD I am still working on backgrounds. Sometimes I just make fun backgrounds that kind of go with the dialogue or the mood of the characters. I used to do plain, one color backgrounds, but it's much better having backgrounds! That's also something I learned.

[cookieroach]

Really nice tips!
3. This one is a hard one for me, I think it's difficult to make it good for all screen sizes (either it feels to big or small...). If you have any detailed tips on this one I'd love to hear it!
4. Yep totally agree, you don't need anything expensive to get started!

[cookieroach]

Yeah, sometimes it's also hard to know which ideas are good or not, and you have to try them out first. One thing I've learned is that my ideas always felt better in my head than on paper.

Congrats on your success with your series! I agree that it takes hard work for everyone, but I guess that makes it feel even better when you achieve your goals! When I started posting stuff on social media I was surprised by the total silence I got. So now, if I get even one comment I'm super happy for it!

[ItsAvocadoToast]

thank you so much! I appreciate you replying and the thoughtful support you gave :3

[Phantomlight]

I usually work on a 1500 x 8000 (width and length respectively) canvas on my program and then downsize to 550 for the width without changing the aspect ratio so the canvas stays size without making it all wonky looking or changing the quality. I make my text pretty large too. No size smaller than 22 size font. That's my method and the way my comic flows, however.

It's sometimes difficult to make a comic formatted to look ok on both PC and mobile. I think it definitely has to do with how I formatted my comic originally anyway. It's a vertical format so it's friendly to mobile view. But other comic's format is okay in mobile but is more adapted to PC which is fine. Different formats is what gives a different feel and a uniqueness to comics and it's best for that specific comic too, a creator chooses a specific format for a reason ^^ I will take a look at your comic and let you know how it looks on mobile for me ^^

[Sadboihours]

I've learned that I suck at everything

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

I feel like I learn something new every time I complete an update. Here are ,some of my key takeaways.

1. Overly complex character designs will come back to bite you. You’ll be drawing them over and over again. Simplify to save time and frustration later on.

2. Draw your panels in a way that allows for flexible formatting for distribution on multiple platforms. I’ve seen surprising success putting my comic on Reddit in a non scrolling format in addition to having it here on Tapas.

3. After you finish all the panels in an update have someone else look it over before posting. At the very least take a few hours to a day and then look at it again with fresh eyes. You will probably find some things you want to fix before it goes out to your audience.

4. Backgrounds, shading and lighting really make a huge difference! Even if you don’t execute each of these elements perfectly in each panel they will come together to create a sense of depth and substance.

5. If you’re doing digital art: make sure all your canvases are set to at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). If you want to print your comic as a book or even share special panels or covers as prints for patrons etc this will matter. Most printers won’t print anything below 300 dpi due to low quality in the printed image.
   This isn’t something you can go back and change later. Your canvas needs to be set to a high dpi before you draw on it. I don’t know if I’m ever going to need to print them but mine are all set to 1,000 just in case.

6. Finally, have fun with it! Your passion and commitment to the project show through what you create. If you are stressed or not taking care of yourself in order to meet a deadline it will show in what you produce. Don’t make the mistake of taking something you love and making it a burden.

[Phantomlight]

Oh no! Don't say that! We're all a work in progress! We're all improving and learning! That goes for you too. You do not suck, unless you're a sentient vacuum.

[Sadboihours]

XD lol thanks! Rn I am working on a novel, but tbh, its really bad. # Hatecomments!