What would you not do in your comic?

[kazukitakamura126]

I usually don't like to do ecchi, harem and gore. Comedy I will do but in moderate doses in between serious moments. Ecchi makes the character in question a sexual object whether it be a male or female. Sometimes some stories put it where it really disturbs the tone of the story. Harem is makes love feel like a game like, every type of girl or guy is a new figure in your collection, it really devalues them as a character in my opinion. As for gore, I want to keep this comic a little more accessible and plus it seems unrealistic if the character is loses a pint of blood when they get cut and haven't died yet.

[BlackMantaStudios]

I guess I'm open to a lot of things, and I like giving a fresh spin to old cliches. Perhaps the only things I don't think I'll ever draw into any of my comics (should I make other ones) are furries and BL (yuri is fair game, apparently). I don't have anything against the subculture, but it just doesn't fit in with my aesthetic.

[CaptainUfo]

It's hard to say what I'd do and what I won't do in a general sense. It depends on the series.
In Captain Ufo I think I'll never add fancervice. I added women in the cast to make it more diverse, not to show boobs. Not that I'm against boobs, innuendos (I AM subscribed to My Pet Succubus, after all :P) or even graphic representation of sex, I just feel it doesn't fit in this particular series.

[Doubtcent]

For what I would not put in or do in my comic will vary in what the story needs, as long as it's within my personal moral standards.

I'm not 100% against depicting nudity. As long as its celebration of human beauty, rather than exploiting the reader's feelings. Women are beautiful to me, so I sketch them more than men. I find their form so much more interesting than men. However, I would never draw something that couldn't show my parents or my children, mostly because I fall in that category in taste. I am very timid when it comes to sexual themes, so it would be difficult for me to truly depict it the way I would like to see it properly.

So in a sense, I am against vulgarity. Anything vulgar I'll avoid drawing or depicting. I've drawn blood, but that's as close as it's going to get. Violence has its place in an action comic, but brutal mutilation or overdone amounts of violence are not my forte.

I will not have my characters swear. I don't, so I won't have them do it. I might allow some grawlix, but otherwise I wouldn't write anything I wouldn't say aloud.

[snowshadow]

I decided that I was not going to have any dream sequences in "Tangled River". I personally don't like them and sometimes even skip or skim over them when reading a book (not a comic).

[artsy_oleander]

I actually don't mind prophecies- when they're done well. For example- the warrior cats series does a good job with prophecies. I mean, although some are in-your-face-obvious, they don't have the characters centered on the prophecy (only the ones who know and that's also sometimes) I haven't put any in any of my stories but I'm open minded about them.

I'm okay with characters swearing/being vulgar because how I made their personalities.

I will refuse to add nudity when there is no need for it in a scene. I just HATE it when comic artists do that.

[indagold]

A lot of things.
-Fanservice definitely. People defend it as a "joke" when it's not even funny. What happened to good old crass humor?
-Change the story, redesign characters or the style midway. I see artists do this all the time defending it as either artistic freedom, they need to change their outlook on life or they're "bored".
-add love interests or an irritating comic relief character.
-do no research on something and throw it into the story. Especially something serious and hard to portray.
-change the story if fans want something changed/headcanoned
-I have limits on gore. I can add some blood and stuff, but guts and stuff is too much for me.
mary sues

[avalonmao]

graphic yaoi porn. I would not do graphic yaoi porn. Or anime tiddies

[trivialtales]

Creepy fanservice(it's about second grade girls, so idk why anyone would want that, but this is the internet)
Be too preachy (I have broached serious topics in the past, some of which I have a clear perspective on, but I try to find the funny even if I'm taking a clear stance)
Be too serious (I don't have time for edgy comics)
Memes (they're funny, but I just don't use them)
Pander to gain views and likes(like what your friends are reposting on facebook and tumblr right now)
Be funny (no jokes, or laughter, or fun in my comic, I'm above such nonsense)

[carloswebcomic]

Be funny (no jokes, or laughter, or fun in my comic, I'm above such nonsense)

[trivialtales]

I'm joking, but it's my first day on the forum, I dunno how to act

[zelkats]

Reraser:
We can all think of an unfortunate sex/makeout scene in a movie that just does noooot need to be there. Some of us have even watched them with family in the room, because that kind of scene wasn't expected-

on that note... it becoming more common to throw sex scenes into video games... every time, every god damn fucking time... someone walks in. Even worse when it's interactive...

Mom: What the hell kind of game IS this???Me: I AM TRYING TO SAVE MY IN GAME SON FROM A SERIAL KILLER MOTHER!Mom: But what does this have to do with it???Me: DO NOT QUESTION MY MOTIVES!!Mom: You pressed the wrong button, you failed to take her bra off. This is why your girlfriend dumped you.Me: MOTHER!!!

later, at some scene where I play a female character and interactively have to strip down and porn dance for some dudeMe: Omg... really...?Little Brother: ... what kind of game is this??????Me: Where the hell did you come from?? I am doing this for my son... or no wait... he's not this character's son he's the other characters... eh whatever it's all part of the plan I guess.Dad: What da hell?Me: oh my god why...?Dad: Your mom know you play this???Me: Dad... I am over 20... I don't need mom's permission to play this game...

God, Heavy Rain is such a huge mess, lol.

[trivialtales]

Did your mom really go immediately from chastising you for playing it into telling you you suck at it? Either way, that exchange is hilarious.

[yoshizawaart]

Unnecessary fan service. I can't stand it. It just feels like a cheap way of trying to keep readers invested. Also using "Friendship is Magic!" or "The Power of Friendship!" as the reason why the good guy triumphs over evil. Again it's cheap and completely overdone.

[ErithEl]

Since Burning Bright is a pretty serious story, the one thing I will never do is make everything be fine and dandy in the end.
I'm not saying that the ending is going to be super depressing – I am actually planning on a good, solid, satisfying ending – but it 100% won't end up with the characters going back to their lives like nothing even happened.

And, oh God...no love triangles. And no romance thrown in there just for the sake of having a romance thrown in there. I like writing love and romance of any kind, but it has to occur naturally within the story.

[defineprog]

To me, the greatest sin you can commit as a comic artist/writer is the "wall of text." This is a visual medium, and the art should always work in tandem with the story. Here's an example, if you're fortunate to have never experienced it.

Pages like this just destroy pacing, and can sometimes discourage people from reading any further.

[jasperlizard]

I don't have a lot of solid limits, since my biggest promise to myself in terms of writing is to never censor myself. I've seen writers that try to restrict their own content, from not having curse words to stopping story lines they've already started because they don't feel its "appropriate". I can always tell when someone is straining against their own self-imposed boundaries, and that's something I never want to do to my own stories/art.
HOWEVER I don't tend to depict heavy gore or explicit sex in my works. With gore, I just believe that what you keep off-screen is infinitely more grotesque/effective to the reader than something you just show 'em. Imagination is a wonderful/terrible thing! With sex scenes, I just haven't written a story yet that's needed an explicit sex scene, and I'm not gonna put in a scene that I don't need.
As well, sensitive topics (most mentioned on this thread is rape, stuff in that area) is stuff I don't really want to write, mostly because when its written badly it can be REALLY REALLY bad and I don't want to hurt someone seriously with my work, plus I don't think its my place.
I do have one tiny silly self-imposed rule which is to never make a character's last words "I love you"...its so overdone and for some reason it's a big pet peeve of mine? So I don't do that.

[marcoalexandroparra]

Do not be too on the nose with yourself, nor bring yourself down with that kind of "self hate" humor. Example: A comic about "I will exercise and be productive! Next panel: in bed with ice cream and Netflix. These kind of jokes are way too abused, they are ok every once in a while but I try to avoid them entirely. Don't get lazy with jokes, like "haha puns on purpose, it's bad on purpose" because eventually it becomes lazy for real,

[Michelle]

It's interesting to see how many creators say they won't depict something they disagree with (barring obviously terrible things like glorifying rape/murder/etc).

For instance, I can't stand smoking-- I think it's unhealthy, unattractive, and I'd never do it. But I have a character who is a heavy smoker, and it's important to that character because it plays into how they handle their insecurities and stress. I'm asexual, but I write characters who are involved in sexual relationships and of varying orientations. And some characters I write are just completely unlike me and my morals/preferences in every way. Not like moustache-twirlingly evil, I just probably wouldn't be great friends with them. :u

Of course sensitive subjects should be handled with care and not just thrown in to create drama. But in my opinion, as storytellers we should be able to step outside ourselves and write characters we don't align with in terms of morals or lifestyle.

[Kura]

Did your mom really go immediately from chastising you for playing it into telling you you suck at it? Either way, that exchange is hilarious.

Oh yeah, she's pretty notorious for not being able to focus on her conversations and have them head in all kinds of directions.