What have you learned from making comics?

[cookieroach]

haha noo, I don't belive that! But if it's true, that would mean you can only get better right?

[Sadboihours]

I mean, ya. The only good thing about hitting rock bottom?
YOU CAN ONLY GO UP

[cookieroach]

1. Oh yeah, so true. I think it's a nice inspiration to look at character design for animation, where simplifying is super important.
2. This is a good one, but also hard (for me at least). I guess it takes practise to think about this in the thumbnailing phase.
3. Maybe the most important one? I think it's easy to get caught in a trap where you start out because it was fun, then it gets more and more serious and you lose the passion you had from the beginning. I'm a little bit worried about this for myself.

(And I liked your other points as well, just so they don't feel left out)

[TheGentleArtist]

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.

Man, I really wish that I found out about that sooner XD; it happens though.

[CommanderMarty]

I learned how to draw, write, and pace a story.

[BrambleberrySquirrel]

I think building up a buffer helps with preventing burnout. Sometimes you just need a break for a couple weeks so you can come back fresh. I did this back in August and took a little mental health break.

[cookieroach]

Really good advice. I procrastinated on doing comics for really long because I felt I wasn't "ready" yet. But how can you improve if you never start?

I agree, tastes will always differ (which is a good thing). It can be hard to accept that not everyone will love your stuff, but also a kind of freedom to not feel the need to cater to everyone.

[oshirockingham]

I learned the hard way.
Tips? Uh, I don't think I have some.

[TheGentleArtist]

Things I learned while making a Comic:

1. Make sure that you have a buffer beforehand. This way, you can avoid getting stressed about getting the next update out; especially if things happen out of your control.

2. Have a schedule and schedule your updates; having a schedule helps keep you in a groove and makes it easier for your audience to know when you update so that they are in the know. Tapas also has a nice schedule system, so it is good to schedule the release of the next update to avoid whatever happens and give you a peace of mind.

3. Have an engaging synopsis. It is a quick summary of what happens in your story for the reader to not only get enticed, but also to expect; you can give the name of a few characters, a little spoiler of the story (not spoiling it entirely mind you) and ect., It is also fine to change the synopsis here and there if the current one is not clicking with you.

4. Reveal your important characters early. Do not dump all of them in the audiences face in one go, it gets overwhelming; reveal them either one by one or by groups at different times of the story.

[Rhonder]

ojeez, quite a lot lol. Here's a random list:

1.) something that seems obvious in hindsight but that a lot of people (myself included) miss at first is to design panel compositions with the speech bubbles in mind. I know how much people plan ahead varies a lot from person to person (from having the whole story planned on on one extreme to making up each page/episode on the spot as you go) but regardless of which style suits you, there's no excuse not to at least know the dialogue for a page/episode at the thumbnailing phase, such that you can figure out how much text there will be and where it can fit.

Granted I feel that vertical scroll comics have some more flexibility with this because worst case they can just shift the bubbles up or down into the space between panels and just add a little more if they need it. This is harder to accomplish in traditional pages, as any bubble that breaks out of the panel will likely be covering up a different one and so you have to make a sacrifice somewhere xD

2.) Comics help all art skills develop at a rapid pace I've found, as you're drawing a lot of different types of things and frequently, but I've personally made the largest strides in understanding perspective better and leveling up my backgrounds by doing comics. It's fun to see that improvement episode to episode and especially comic to comic~

3.) How to structure my free time more rigorously. I've always been into drawing since I was young, but even when I started taking it more seriously as a hobby, I was still rather undisciplined about it. Starting comics and especially with a page-a-week series helped me block out several times per week to sit down and just get some work done, which is great for finishing projects faster lol. But it's also applicable to other hobbies/just general time management discipline as well.

[Phantomlight]

I think building up a buffer helps with preventing burnout.

I highly recommend making a buffer! I did this before and it's so nice. And it's like really great when you can catch yourself at times when you're really motivated to create. Not to overwork oneself though, just to take advantage of those times when you feel ready, willing, and happy to draw! I would create two episodes or at least work on parts of the process on those days! And I would schedule 3 episodes in advance when I did that because I didn't know if things would come up or I wouldn't physically or mentally be feeling well. It's good to prepare for that kind of stuff when you can ^^

[rajillustration]

For me

1. Save time by just asking for advice, and asking for help
2. Research your platform before you post--not every comic is intended for Tapas, some comics will be very difficult to read on different devices, and you want people to find you in the right place. Don't just post to everywhere and then sit back and be like "oh damn now I have to figure out why this didn't work out"
3. You're more than just one comic, if something isn't working out it's A-OK to do a different one you'll enjoy more. Your comic will not be offended, it is not a living being. You are not married to your comics.
4. A little prep work goes a long way--so if you do a set of steps a lot--automate that set of steps. Learn how Actions work and Automate everything you can.
5. Draw designs you really enjoy drawing because you have to do a lot of it.
6. Not all Illustration is for comics. If you want to make concept art just make concept art. Comics are a completely different pipeline, and you do need to make a pipeline or you will never get fast enough to make these in a weekly manner.
7. Bold Graphic design choices save you a hell ton of time you would have spent drawing details.
8. Edit out your darlings. You don't need that character. You don't. You don't need that scene. You know which one I'm talking about. You don't have time to do it, it's a comic.
9. Seriously, write a script. Make sure something HAPPENS in every update. Know exactly how many pages you have to make to finish this thing and ask yourself...will I finish this thing? Or should I break it into smaller pieces?
10. Find out how long it takes to make a page--make your update schedule twice that amount of time.
11. Make a lot of buffer (like a lot) I had a years worth of buffer--I used up allllll of it.
12. What someone else did to get famous probably won't apply to anyone else anymore. Times move very quickly.

[cookieroach]

Really good to have a buffer and a schedule! I'm still trying to figure out what time and day to post new pages, but it's hard to figure out (should you try to post when there is the most traffic, or does it get drowned below the other comics?)

Also good advice regarding the synopsis and characters. I know I've gotten stuck with not wanting to reveal or "spoil" things too early, but that just makes the start of the story boring, and the readers won't ever find out about the cool things you had planned (because they give up on reading before that).

[cookieroach]

Yeeeah, that's a good one. I've made that mistake as well, and being forced to cover something I didn't want to with a speech bubble. Now I try to be more tactical and cover parts I don't want to draw instead

I feel the same about discipline, it think it's much easier to get structured and motivated when you have a project to work on. I've spent a lot of time just making random sketches and not improving that much. Actually making comics made it much easier to understand what to learn and focus on.

[Legendofgenii]

To show not tell- and I still struggle with that.

May as well post the novel if I'm filling the panels with dialogue.

EDIT: Oh! And patience, to be kinder to myself, take breaks and talk to other creative people.

[cookieroach]

Really good points, I agree that coming up with designs and characters that you love to draw over and over is important, or else you'll get tired quickly.

I think the difference between illustration/concept art an comics is interesting as well. The best illustrators won't neccessarily be the best at making comics, and vice versa.

[cookieroach]

Your comment kinda reminded me of this:

If a professional can do it, it should be ok right?

[KiabIce]

So true, so very very true

[Legendofgenii]

Haha! This made my day. I'm not that bad thank goodness.

Maybe they were hung over that day and missed the deadline?

[Phantomlight]

There must be a reason for that decision xD Reminds me of me, though perhaps not to that extreme. I tend to write a lot and overdo it more times that I can count (you might have noticed by my comments around here xD) Been trying to work on that too, I'm gonna work on that now more than ever since @Legendofgenii and you (@cookyroach) have reminded me xD