Working with Collaborators, Why?

It's uncommon from the mainstream comic industry because having a team of workers is common practice. See, back when Marvel and DC were still in their grassroots days, we didn't have a beautiful thing called the Internet. If you wanted your work to be seen, you either a.) had to be a part of a bigger company, b.) had to be part of a newspaper, or c.) just had to share your work and hope that your work was good enough that word-of-mouth would do the job for you - in fact, all three of these scenarios you had to be good at making comics, to be accepted into a company or a newspaper, or for people to hear about your work and be interested enough in the art and content to keep reading it and support you.

Now that we have not only the Internet, but platforms like Tapastic, SmackJeeves, LINE Webtoon, etc. we've opened up an entire network for comic artists to let their voice be heard - and their art to be seen. And this network has been opened to hidden geniuses, artistic talents, writing gurus; and the other side of the coin, two-bit DeviantArtists, kids who their moms don't criticize because they're their parents and so the kid never actually improves, and cookie-cutter Tumblr comics, some that are popular but are actually garbage, some that are popular and deserve every ounce of it, some that aren't popular but probably SHOULD be, and comics - not even just on Tumblr, but in other comic locales too - that are just so fundamentally broken and terrible that it's a wonder that they exist at all lol

There's no necessarily "right" or "wrong" way to do a comic. You'll notice that this difference stems further than just Internet exposure - Japanese mangaka's are known for doing their work on their own, albeit with some assistants to help with the annoying garbage like screentones and effects, but they do all the character art, storyboarding, writing, and big illustration pieces on their own. Meanwhile, the western comic industry seems to need someone for EVERYTHING - sketching, inking, coloring, layout, BG colors, effects, etc. - and while it's nice to have a team to help you, I do think they go a bit overboard sometimes - the more you divide up a team, the more problems you could have in the future if two of those people decide to go AWOL, and you have a lot more employees to pay for smaller jobs.

So there's no necessarily "right" or "wrong" way to do it - if you're stronger as a writer, and know this full well, there's no harm in seeking an artist to help you, especially because learning to draw yourself takes years of practice that you may not have or care to put into; this goes for the reverse as well (if you're an artist but suck at coming up with stories and such).

I'm more of a fan of working on my own because 1.) It means I don't have to pay anyone to do a job that makes nearly squat, 2.) I don't have to put up with teammates not adhering to deadlines (which they won't take as seriously because again, not getting paid), and 3.) I don't have to put up with teammates at all lol While I certainly don't mind collaborating for special events and fun things (ex. the Tapastic Christmas special thing we did this year) - networking and getting to know people is an important part of being a comic creator - but when it comes to my own work, which I've poured years into just coming up with let alone drawing, I'd like to tackle it on my own, without having to worry about limitations from teammates or managing other people. Maybe some day I'll get an assistant or two, but for now, when I'm only doing this comic for free, I just want to enjoy creating my work without the limitations I listed above - adhering to my own deadlines, knowing when I can and can't work, and just keeping track of those essential things - the creator actually creating the work.

That just applies to my specific situation though. I know creators who work on teams and in studios together and they do it great It's just not my cup of tea for now.

argh really! I wonder if anyone really has a good convention networking experience! :"D well, mine was mostly good, but still! So much rudeness from people.

Actually, I think it's just something about the writer personality. They want only professional artists (and I am a professional, I would say! but apparently not professional enough for someone just my age with a script < _ < ) and they mostly want to demand people rather than collaborate. Maybe that's to be expected a little, but I tend to find its the writers who are lacking the most skills who get to be so dictatorial... Guess i'ts compensation : D

I'm used to working in a tiny video games studio, and we all sort of collaborate on each other's jobs. Like if someone makes a really funny joke, it doesn't matter if they're the Official Writer, it can go into the game. And then it seems like I would hope too much to see this happen in the form of a comic....

I work alone personally because I can only really make a comic from something I feel really passionate about, and working with another person as an editor I wouldn't mind, but as a writer or artist I feel like I would get too pushy for what I want to do.

I think I work alone because I have already hoarded the two 'coolest' jobs for myself: script and pencils. Well, coolest in my eyes, of course. Although, digital inking is pretty fun, as is coloring... and special effects.. It's mine! Stay away from it! I want it all!

Kidding aside, story and art have always been hardwired together in my mind. I can't think of any story I've wrote that didn't have a visual element and I can't think of a single drawing that I've done which didn't turn into a story. Even anatomy studies turned into stories. So, doing both the story and art is just natural for me. I realize that doesn't translate into being particularly fast or proficient with either, it's just how my brain works.

Ok, this is something that I have a fair amount of experience in. Until I started NO-Earth, I had never worked on a comic by myself, having usually done inking, colours, and/or pencils for other people. Writing was something I came late to, and since I learned to write, it's something that I have been concentrating on, so that I am now capable of doing all of the standard 'jobs' in a comic.

But NO-Earth is being built on the idea of collaborations, and we are spending a lot of time and effort to figure out the best way to make these work in a setting of a shared universe and in the world of webcomics. There's a few things I've learned (and am still learning)

1. Leave the egos out of it. The fact is, this is the biggest problem that I see when dealing with collaborations. For the most part, unless a person has a name that sells comics, the ego is not justified to begin with. Even then, it's going to do nothing but interfere with the collaboration. Prima Donnas and Divas ruin more collaborations than anything else.

2. Have a goal and a road map to get there. If you are a writer, this means a script before you go looking for an artist. If you are an artist, this means concept, concept art, and a clear idea of the story you want written before you go looking for a writer.

3. Communication is key. A collaboration (as opposed to simple work-for-hire) requires a lot of communication between the people on the team. It requires openness and honesty concerning one's feelings about the project, and the various things going on as it evolves.

4. Compromise is important. In the most ideal situation, each of you are contributing ideas that build towards something better than either could do on their own, but that's the ideal. In reality what's more likely to happen is that some of your 'good' ideas are going to be replaced by the other person's 'better' ideas. There's going to be arguments about that unless you go in with the right attitude.

5. Remember than a collaboration is a time of growth. Use it as such, and not just a chance to stagnate.

Eagle
(Just some thoughts)

I work with an artist, because I can't draw very well. I started off trying to do my comic alone - in the form of a serial story but I much prefer script-writing to actual prose. I also love the idea of making my story a visual thing. A nice thing about working with somebody else is that they can bring their own ideas to the project as well - which I think every collaborative project should do, once two creators are involved it no longer belongs to one sole person I think.

My initial plan was to write and draw my own things, but a studio mate asked me to write their comic, and then another couple of friends did as well. I simply find myself much more in demand as a writer than an artist.

I like the collaborative energy. I still try to draw my own stuff whenever I can, but most of my time is spent on the writing.

For me, the secret of collaboration is knowing the strengths of your collaborator and their passions. If you write things they want to draw, they will always bring passion and joy to a project.

I write/and draw Whose World by myself because there's not much to do in terms of writing. I'm still open to the idea of doing a few strips with people if they have ideas and whatnot.

Whatever makes creating more fun! ^_^

I realized a while ago that despite having ideas I was passionate about, I could not write. I still try. At some point, I was looking for a writer, but I had no friends who could do that and working with someone online would have been too complicated cause I am rarely available online working 2 jobs and studying at Uni.
I recently met a friend who turned out to write short stories and she was super into the idea of working together, but scheduling is keeping the project at bay for the time being. I am optimistic though. :]

I prefer to work alone mainly because the story I base my comic on was already pre-written a couple of years ago. I can't quite capture a story's vision unless it's illustrated, and that's why I draw comics in the first place, because I want to breathe life in to my writings. That and i'm a little bit of a hermit, I tend to work better alone :s.

I can totally see why someone would want to collab with another person though. Comics are a lot of work and having someone there that writes the story for you is like half the job (to me it is at least!)

the only thing i need help with is the coloring, man if i could find me a dope colorist id be churnin out pages by the truckload XD

It's standard practice to do everything by themselves here in Finland. Unlike with US mainstream comics or Japanese manga where artists have mostly uncredited assistants.

Buuut, there's also the fact that I have a stories to tell which is why I don't simply illustrate other people's. And art is my first passion which is why I really enjoy the drawing process and more I do it, the faster I get so it doesn't feel as big of a work load as it did at the beginning. I also don't have the funds to pay someone to draw the pages and I'd never ask someone to do it for free as it would basically be a second job time wise. And to be honest, I'd be far too controlling. :'D I love seeing fan interpretations but for the comic itself I'd have really hard time to loosen the reins and let someone take the wheel.

Doing a short collaboration with friends could be really fun and I'd be more than willing to work as an illustrator for others when getting paid.

We work more as partners. 8D It makes it so much easier for communication and trust. We both work on the script and both do our part of the illustration process for each series. It's good to have another brain for ideas and another pair of eyes to spot the mistakes. It's useful for motivation too.

Now, working with someone who's not as close probably wouldn't be much of a problem for either of us (although less enjoyable), as long as the other party does their part of the job. They don't always, or don't do it correctly/well enough. In those cases, I'd rather do it myself. <_<;

I've collaborated in the past but will only think about it again if the pay is good and the work is short. Ironically, the best collaborations were with complete strangers; they turned out punctual, upfront with the money part and credits.
On the other hand, I've had one of the worst experiences collaborating with someone who used to be a friend. We pitched our joint project to a tiny indie publisher and got a year to do a 100 pager GN. Profits were half of the sales we made. For this purpose we booked a booth at a big UK convention (we live in Europe but nowhere near the UK). Long story short the ex-friend gets flaky, slacking off on the joint project while working on other stuff with their other friends (which was all completed in time for the convention I might add). Deadlines come and go and it's pretty obvious this thing is going down the drain, with convention fees paid, flight costs paid, the works. In the end, I said eff it and booked a hotel in London instead and treated myself to a vacation for one. So far as I know we sold 0 copies but I don't give a shit since I've long since cut off ties.

Now, I'm obviously still bitter about it (mostly about the time I've wasted that could have been spent on my own projects) but I'm recounting this trainwreck to anyone who might be interested not only to vent but also as a caution tale. Never, ever work with someone who cannot keep a deadline. Yes, sometimes emergencies happen but if someone is habitually inconsistent and cannot manage their time to save their lives do not work with them! They will cost you time in the end and time is too precious to waste on flakes.