Would it be a good idea to make a comic pilot?

[DualDragons]

I'm thinking of making a comic pilot in the very near future to test the waters, without immediately having to commit to a long running comic. Do you recommend this (or have experience with it?)

[Ayumi]

I think it is good to start with a shorter story to see if you would like to invest years to a comic. If you get to like it, you can still remake it to a longer one. Plus if you get some loyal readers on the pilot, they will probably subscribe to the new version too, and it can make easier the start.

[Oriflamme]

I did three test chapters to get a feel of what the creation process was.
It was a great learning experience, since it allowed you to make mistakes earlier with less consequences. There are a lot of subtle aspects that you can only learn by doing it.

[DualDragons]

True. Its been years since I actually posted something so I'm not sure how many peeps will remember me

[ArtGremlin]

It could be a good idea, but it could also be an idea so good it makes you want to stop making your other comic to focus more on the new one… ahem not that I know from experience or anything…

[Rai_Muffin]

I got a lot of great feedback on my first chapters without releasing them officially.
You can iron out a lot of issues that way before committing to a longer goal in my experience.

[CarltonIsaac]

I'm not sure how many peeps will remember me

[DualDragons]

Does not apply to me because I'm not currently doing a comic.

I am doing a different project but that is nearly done

[Ayumi]

I can relate to this. I started a new comic after not posting for years. Based on the comments I think I have only 2-3 followers who came from my previous comics, so it is a new start. Be prepared, everything changed. It is not that easy to get followers as before

[ArtGremlin]

Ah, well then, carry on.

[jwabeasley]

I did that while I was preparing Etherwood. I made a single page joke comic with the main characters and tested the waters to see how it did. People enjoyed it more than anything else I'd made to that point. Then, I did a two page comic, experimenting with how the characters interacted.

After that, I designed the first chapter to function alright as a standalone, more of a test just to see if I could do a whole chapter from start to finish. After that, it was much easier just to keep going.

I'd recommend it, it was very helpful to complete some smaller projects before jumping right into the big one - all my previous 'big' comic attempts died after a dozen or so pages.