Why you shouldn't post 3d comics in Webtoon Indonesia

[Rizzvatt]

Hey guys, so I've been reading these threads https://forums.tapas.io/t/wish-webtoons-let-you-delete-comments/36017
and https://forums.tapas.io/t/my-comic-was-banned-on-webtoon/35893

These threads reminded me of my experience of posting in Webtoon Indonesia three years ago and how many haters I had there.

My comic I was working on back then was a 3d comic created with this software "Manga Maker Comipo" that can be found on steam that let you create comics without having to draw.

Back in 2015, in the first two months of posting there I was getting a lot of support and love from the fans and everything was great, the popularity of the comic was also increasing day by day.

In January 2016 I had my first haters, one person started leaving comments at every episode saying "garbage" as a way to disrespect my work and kept on doing that for 5 months, other people made fun of how lazy the comic looks, my readers didn't like that so they defended my comic, they said "if you don't like it, don't read it!" and other things but that didn't change anything, they still continued.

few months passed and things got even more toxic. Some haters started accusing me of breaking the rules of Webtoon. They told me in a pretty rude way to leave webtoon and write a book instead if I really want to tell a story,

During April 2016 there was a war in my comments section between haters and fans, and it was unbearable. It was getting more and more difficult to work on my own comic, also, I wasn't the only one to post 3d comics
some other comics made with the same software I was using got banned without explanation.
My only explanation was that the haters reported them with the report button because they hated them.

I tried to explain via notes in my comic that the 3d materials are legally used but that didn't really change anything, I was still getting as much hate as Jake and Logan Paul would get because the demographics was very young and most readers were under 15.

2 months later my comic was banned with very little explanation. Back then it had more than 8000 subscribers, and more than 50 episodes.
They didn't reach to me to inquire me for anything that concerned them prior to deleting them, they just deleted every episode of it
and left me with this.

on the edit episode I found thew with
a note that says "Deleted because the content is inadequated."
which doesn't really say anything.

I tried to sort things out, I tried to mail webtoon but no response. So I gave up on that series, and took a break from webtoon for one month.

Before September 2016 I've sent an email to webtoon english which wasn't related to the comic in any way, I just asked them Two mere questions.
1. can we post 3d comics on the platform?
2. Can we use use any Legal non-original assets in our comics?

Two weeks later somebody responded with "yes" to both questions.

So I started a new series on "Webtoon English" with the same application and people received it well and I work on it even to these days.

In conclusion, don't post comics 3d comics in webtoon Indonesia because there you just waste your time.
Many comics get banned there. Also here in webtoon English nobody started any drama against my comic.

Better stay on Webtoon English and Tapas where the community is respectful and the staff also respects you.

PS: I am not Indonesian, and the comic I was posting on their server was fantranslated by few fans I trusted.
So the issues are not regarding the translation, I think there's a bias against App created comics because they delete almost every comipo comic on the website.

With all being said. How do you comment this situation? was it fair? Do you artists feel sad or angered inside when you see App made comics even if they've been legally made?

[Anthien]

They shouldn't ban you it's allowed. That being said, I personally don't find it appealing to use 3D software in comics... it's just off-putting for me. It's not nice for them to call you lazy though but at the same time don't people use those software with the partial-intention to take shortcuts? Hard-work in art will more than likely get respect from the general viewer.

I do a lot of browsing on Webtoon and I've come across some of your comics, you use nice colors in your drawn ones... though the face proportions and anatomy look awkward at times. I feel like you just kind of yolo it lol. I would just focus on drawing my comics because it'll be a lot more respected in the end. You improve more overtime from drawing than using 3D software. I feel if you just want to get the story out there and not create the art... you should expect others to see it that way.

Of course people all have their hidden opinions... and some parts of the world are more direct to criticize you than others. To an extent, getting critique will help you see what you could be doing wrong when people otherwise don't say anything just to be polite.

So I guess I don't feel sad/angered but I'm not going to feel impressed by any means. I'll tell you what did bother me though, and this was when your "On The Loose" comic was previously hand drawn before you switched it completely to Comipo. It seemed you were trying to get as many short updates as you can to get more people looking at your comics and you did say that was the reason, too. I looked at them and most were like super close face shots of your characters saying a few lines and that's it. Granted I did feel that was kind of lazy there but since then I noticed you started "zooming out" on the characters and showing more of their body in more unique poses so good job on that. It's really easy to just draw heads cause people are used to that the most as opposed to drawing the whole body.

I feel you have potential to make really good art but some of the drawings looked kind of rushed to me. If you put more time to make sure the proportions of your characters look right, it'll look really pleasing to the eye! I would focus less on trying to get updates out and more on getting the best looking version of my story. Take this as a friendly critique.

[Rizzvatt]

Thank you for your feedback. I really apreciate it

[CAOMouse]

Wow, you have great success, how can you do that?
Can you share me some tips? (like advertisement or posting schedule)

[lorphis]

Yuumei use 3d :v And yeah Indonesian can be quite stuck up.

[Akhdas]

Indonesian people really just have the most basic expectation when coming on webtoon, long form 2d cartoon with lots of color. most of the audience always felt entitled as though everyone should follow those standards if not they pester you on how your stuff doesnt belong there.

Most of them anyway, some are fine.

[abcde]

I've read your comics! I use Comipo too. I think I saw somewhere that 3D-made comics are allowed on Webtoon, and because of that I got the courage to post there. Maybe it's your post. I didn't know there was Webtoon Indo. I thought there's only Korean and English Webtoon! Well, you learn something new everyday...

There's always been bias against 3D and asset-made webcomics, but now with the widespread use of 3D in almost everything you'd think people would get used to it. If it was sloppily made people have the right to be annoyed, but I've also seen beautiful ones done with a lot of love and effort going in them.

I don't feel sad or angry when I see app-made comics. Partly because I make one myself, and partly because I'm neutral about it. If it looks nice and is fun to read, sure why not? Otherwise, I just ignore it. In getting negative backlash about it, I try to have thick skin about it. Say someone decides to say 'it's ugly'. Then I'll try to find ways to improve the visuals. A lot of people would categorise that as a hate comment. Hard to swallow and easier to label these as trolls, but tbh it's these kind of comments that actually help me improve.

[Rizzvatt]

Are you talking with me or Anthien?

[sekabead]

Have you tried to make your webcomics available in other regions (e.g. thai, china) as well? Or... did you just translate into Indonesian? I'm curious to know :3

[jensrichard77]

What they are crazy.
I think your comics are pretty, BC they are in 3D drawings.

Anyway.. you comic "On The Loose" seems to be here at Tapas in many different variations and with more than one username.
Which one to follow?

[Rizzvatt]

none, I stopped posting On The Loose on tapas because I don't get much engagement here, you can follow it on Webtoon.

On The Loose

where I'm constantly updating

[Rizzvatt]

I had it translated only in Indonesian, the others weren't very popular at the time and I didn't really care about them

[Rizzvatt]

Thank you for following them and I know about your comic too, it looks great and you also have their last DLC which I didn't install btw.

[komiktaksa]

I'm so sorry that happened to you. It was a terrible thing to face and I hope you're feeling better.

As a fellow Indonesian, I wanted to translate my work and post it there eventually but the "nyinyir" mentality is severe at times but I really hope you don't lose hope on creating. You have a very nice art style and you should pursue it no matter what people say.

Sending you lots of love

[Rizzvatt]

Thank you and good look with your comic

[seasa]

While you can find trolls anywhere, i agree that some of the readers there can be a bit too much sometimes. From my own observation, they tend to focus on the things you lack instead of appreciating what you have. While it's generally easier to gain subs and there are sweet and loyal ones, i wouldn't really recommend to publish there as the popular comics are heavily skewed towards a certain standard.... which some of them would keep asking you to follow (this pressured me a lot in the past, that i ended up losing motivation, rebooting my comic and lost my momentum). I personally get agitated easily, and at one point i grew tired of certain readers asking me to "work harder". I feel much more comfortable updating on webtoon canvas despite having less subs. Nowadays I only ever update there whenever i feel ready, so i take long breaks between updates.

As for your comic, personally, i would consider your comic mainly as a chance to improve writing/storytelling, and the other comic (where you draw it by yourself) as a chance to improve art. As long as you clearly give credit to the apps and explain it to the readers, it should be fine. Lots of writers use 3d models for their graphic novels. Sure, you'll probably get the side eye from certain creators, but whatever. At least you're trying to tell a story, and doing things legally, so keep doing what you want to do while keep trying to improve comfortably.