Why do you make comics/manga?

[brianorlando]

I know this is a deep question, but why are you a comic creator? What is it that motivates you to make comics/manga every week?

[monytheotaku]

When I was younger, a friend I've mine made this little comic company called Comics Inc. My comics were under the name of "Poop Cartoons" and they were comedies. After my friend had moved away, our comic business ended, and I stopped for awhile. Now a days, I love to draw during my free time, and I always come up with these fun little plots that I want to bring to life. So I decided to start making comics again. My motivations comes mostly from my big brother, my watchers and followers on dA and Tumblr, and my subscribers here on Tapastic, because I know that there are people who actually want to read my material. So that is why I continue to write comics.

Sincerely,
Markus

[hades]

Back in highschool I wanted to be an animator and only saw myself as much. I was an avid fan of manga back then but still had a fondness for superhero comics after finding out about them in middle school. [I was never directly introduced to comics beyond newspaper strips] All these comics and mangas were first what inspired me to even make stories [outside the usual Harry Potter got me writing too] and drove me start drawing. I never really considering making a comic though. It was always animator, animator, animator.

But then my first year of college I wanted to join a newsletter for an avatar based forum I was part of. They wanted a comic and with my teenage pompous attitude I proudly said I could do that. [Keep in mind my art back then was horribly out of proportion and pretty bad honestly. I've learned a lot over the past couple of years and had a complete attitude change xD; ]

My attempt was so horrible that I completely gave up after the first few pages. But it gave me the comic bug. I started trying again and again. Failing each time. Till I really sat down and tried to learn. Now I have Tyree going and even though I am still making a few mistakes, I am greatly enjoying it and am happy with what I have managed to release so far. So much so that I've become more focused on being a comic artist over an animator. Who would have guessed.

Sorry for rambling and making such a huge post! oops!

[arcadiapage]

I typically create comics about awkward, shy, and basically socially overlooked people, because they are like me.

But when those types of people end up in stories, they end up being more heroic because they're able to overcome what negative things others say about them and more importantly, their negative view of themselves, and that feels awesome!

Overall, I feel awesome when I'm drawing and weaving together a story and it's coming out how I want it. I find creating comics and the escapism that comes with it addictive, and I can't help myself.

[teddyhose]

I'm actually hoping my webcomics will lead to a career in comedy. I've done some stand up at open mics in the past but webcomics can reach a wider audience, and I like that you don't have to "explain" as much. The subtleties in expression, composition, etc. have more of an impact, a picture's worth a thousand words.

Also some of my friends from art school are now Cartoon Network rock stars, and they all got their start with webcomics. It's the simplest way to tell a story and I enjoy the aspect of minimalism to that. But yeah I also do comedy videos and am hoping my webcomic helps me break into the television and/or film industry.

[gulpy1189]

When I was younger, I used to always draw. Like, ALWAYS. Then high school happened and it was so heavily suggested that I think about my future, etc, etc, so come the end of college I graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering, which... honestly wasn't as useful as people told me (pretty sure it's just hard times all around for "those kind" of jobs).

So I went back to drawing and ended up making a weekly webcomic. It hasn't exactly become second nature to keep on drawing like it was for me when I was younger, but I hope to make it such with the more comics I churn out.

Every now and then while I'm working on a comic for the week, I'll think of why I draw/do this in the first place and honestly, while it may be a pain at times, I just really like to draw and always have. People have told me about how not using my degree to its greatest extent is such a waste, but I think dropping something you've absolutely loved doing since you were a kid would be an even bigger waste.

[kambreapratt]

I was sitting in the library recently and I saw people enjoying books. I looked around at all the GNs and prose and thought "Wow! People spent a lot of time and effort telling those stories so we could enjoy them."
Then it hit me. That is what I do. And if I can make people feel the way I feel about the stories I love, then that is amazing.

I like to imagine worlds and tell stories.

Why comics/manga- because I think the medium is wonderful and has a unique way of bringing a story to life visually, like a movie but with more reader involvement and imagination.

[kotaotan]

I love these kinds of topics!
I started doing my comics for two reasons. The first was therapy. I'd always been an artist and wanted to do comics, but I'd never really had the drive to get started. In January, 2000 one of my friends attempted suicide. Two days prior we'd been talking and I thought I'd convinced him that suicide wasn't the answer. I spent the next few months dealing with misplaced guilt and finally in April I hit a breaking point. I couldn't deal with it any more so I picked back up on an idea for a comic I'd had in December of '99. I dove in and started working some of my guilt and self loathing into the comic.

The reason I KEPT going was I suddenly had a story to tell. Within a few weeks I had the major story of the series mapped out and I realized I wanted to tell that story more than anything I'd ever wanted in my life. After it was done I realized I had more stories I wanted to tell. And I still do. That's the other reason I wanted to do comics. I have ideas and if I don't do them, then no one will ever know.

[michaelson]

These are awesome responses! It's always fascinating to hear where all the passion and motivation comes from.

[greatnessiam1]

As a child I watched alot of cartoons and my imagination has always been one to run wild. Being inspired by so many adventures in stories within the last two year drove me to make a dream come true and do something that I was told would be impossible!

I really enjoy creating things and using my imagination which is why I chose to start with comics in hopes they would lead to the big screen in the near future!

I really want to show the world my imagination and skills in story telling!

Thanks for the post! It was really a good one to come across!

[addylovelvia]

• Hi guys, I have been drawing sketches since i was 7,and my talent was notable when i was in school. But i don't have a platform where I can further my arts. I still draw sometimes, as a hobby but now i found this site, where indie artist can submit their artworks. It's really good! But i don't know how to submit my work here, can somebody help me?

[Mariah]

I never really used to make comics until about a year ago, actually. How it started, I was in a dwindling relationship and I felt really helpless. Since we never told anyone about our relationship, it was hard to talk to anyone about terrible it all felt when it seemed like he disappeared when I needed him. I knew he checked tumblr often and I think that's when it clicked. I got up one night and I made my first comic that summed up how i felt and posted it, knowing he would see it. It's a real simple one, but I think he understood what I meant.

They communicate how I feel a lot more accurately than a long text post, and I feel like people can connect with the comic more easily. He likes the comics, but he doesn't know he's the main reason this all exists lol. What motivates me now is more about the silliness of life, play on words and topics, but I think it still shows some hurt and confused feelings when I'm feeling in a slump.

The image is the first comic I posted on my tumblr

Sincerely,

Mariah

[brianorlando]

Your comics are great.

[collinsrussell7]

I like the idea of comics, because it's one of the only visual forms of story telling, that is possible to produce without electricity. Also, it's the small moments of magic that happen when you collaborate with people. As a writer, comics are a lot less lonely than writing a novel. I haven't written a novel, but that's my feeling about it, anyway. As far as the motivation, I'd say that I'm a much happier person when I have a creative outlet and I love comics, so this suits me just fine.

[Mariah]

Thank you! That means a lot

[arenzi]

I had things to say and I thought a comic would be a great way to say it. It was something I never did before so I thought I'd give it a shot. It turned out to be pretty fun.

[daisam]

I make comics because it gives me a way to relieve stress. I have been drawing ever since I saw someone drawing a style I liked and it escalated from there. My first comic was a stick figure comic which I am currently drawing into a comic here on tapastic. Then I was given my first computer program at comic con a couple years ago. I felt discouraged when seeing my stuff and comparing to what I can do by hand and eventually just focused on my school instead. It took me a year to start drawing after that and sometimes I wish I hadn't been discouraged like that. Well, now I am working hard and the comics I write have a lot of feeling put into them. My main purpose is to draw my characters so much that I get better at it. My top three comics that I am writing now are Love-Life, the first comic I drew which was stick figures, Familiarized! which has grown into a bigger story then I had intended, and Sky Racers, the first comic I posted on any site after deciding to draw again. You can find Love-Life and Familiarized here, but Sky Racers' is on another site.

[DavyJones]

I have always loved cracking jokes and making people laugh. Ever since I was a very young kid all I wanted to do was act silly and get attention. As I grew older and moved up to Junior High, I became extremely shy and awkward. Suddenly, being the class clown was painfully difficult. I always had an extreme love of the classic funnies that ran in the paper and a few friends and myself had created a strip a few years earlier.

So becoming a cartoonist became my dream... and my means of being funny and entertaining people without getting dizzy and passing out from fear.

So I guess I do that because...

a. I still need attention.
b. I still want to make people laugh.
c. I am still too shy to become a stand-up comic.

Cartooning has been my passion and my dream for as long as I can remember. Guess that is my answer. To sum it up... I guess I am just nuts.

• Davy Jones
  http://tapastic.com/series/CharmysArmy

[Jonnydark]

I draw comics because I enjoy it. That's the main reason. I also feel like we live in an amazing time when the tools are cheap and publishing is next to free. It seems like a crime to not make someone of my own.

I also feel frustrated as a passive consumer. I stopped watching TV and playing games because I felt restless. That I wanted to control the story. I felt I could do a better job. Lol. I realize now it's WAAAAY more difficult to make than consume... but you know I would never go back.

My comic is rough around the edges... (And maybe also in the middle)... But I love that it's mine. People who don't create are missing out on the immense surreal emotion of looking back on something they built and saying "Hey, I did that."

One day I'd like to be able to say "My job is to make comics." until then I plod along... learning as I go.