Would you read a comic with crappy art?

[AffectedMind]

Nope, I'm very fragile at this point, I see every mistake almost immediately as I like to analyse art. I couldn't read a comic made with woobly lines in ms paint, or stick figures. There is nothing wrong with that if you start your adventure with drawing, my first drawings also were made with ms paint till I bought proper tablet. The story can be a masterpiece but "stick figure" art definitely breaks the immersion for me. With all that said though, different people have different definitions of crappy art.

[Evan]

Depends on how crappy.

I've read my fair share of comics with crap art (mine included), but as long as it's not an eyesore with shaky lines and guidelines that haven't been erased and such, I'll read it if it has a good storyline. As for what I've seen, there's definitely people out there willing to look past some crap art.

[StrangeVision]

If the art is good enough where every panel makes sense and i'm not staring at a sequence wondering what the heck's going on, yes. As long as the writing's good and I understand what i'm looking at. I'm not gonna write off a good story because the art is a bit lacking.

[revisionstudios]

For me it depends on genre. If it's a comic strip meant for humor and the art is still expressive and the writing is still funny/relatable, I'll give it a shot because I don't need to feel immersed in it to enjoy it.

But if you're trying to do a serious or dark long form comic and you don't have the skills yet to sell the atmosphere, I probably would put it down almost immediately.

[AJRuby]

The art doesn't have to be stellar as far as I'm concerned, but I like to sense that the author has some technical understanding of drawing. It just makes it more comfortable for me to watch. Like, I won't keep wondering whether something is drawn a certain way on purpose, or if it's just because of lack of skill...

But then, I don't think an artist should get so caught up in their art that's it's preventing them from advancing the story. Even if I think the art is good, if I feel the story isn't moving anywhere, then I won't want to keep reading.

[radicles]

i dont know if anyone has talked about One yet, but hey, One punch man and Mob psycho 100 anyone??
or better yet! Homestuck.

the three are wonderful examples of webcomics that started with pretty crappy art, as all fanbases agree, but they had something different and special- the writing, gags, and weird but likeable characters kept everyone going to see where every twist and turn of fate would take the characters. personally, i read all the 9k+ pages of homestuck and it was one of the best story experiences in my life, so yes, i would read a comic with crappy art and good story. (if id judge the art? yeah, not going to lie as an artist i often point out mistakes to improve myself & others, but that's a whole other story. id still read and enjoy it very much.)

but here's another question, would you read a BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING LOOKING COMIC-- if its story ,writing and characters are utterly trash? noooooooope.

[LuuPetitek]

It depends, of course I prefer good story with bad drawings than amazing drawings with a boring story, but... the problem is that first I need to notice the comic. There're so many comics in the Internet and first good impression is the most important thing, which is made by a cover and an art style. Without it I won't feel interested. It's how the human brain works. That's why manufacturers make beautiful packages for their products. Because, for example, when the food looks like a mud, even if it's the tastiest food in the world, only few would want to try it and find out that it really is very tasty xd'

In short, what I meant is that the drawings don't have to be perfect, but they need to have something that will encourage someone to read the comic. Or has a REALLY good story that those who read it will tell others to do so, and etc.

[NanettesClouds]

Hyperbole and a Half

One punch man and Mob psycho 100 anyone?? or better yet! Homestuck.

^^^ these. But I wouldnt say their art is "crappy", heres the thing, the wobbly look of thse comics is a part of their humor, the style they're drawn in helps influence the tone of the story.

One thing about all of these examples is that they're at least partially comedic, but dont think that if you're working with a wobbly style that you have to make something funny. There are plenty of journal comics where the crude style helps to give a sense of the creators feeeelings, and I think you could mimic that effect in a Drama or Horror story.

As an example take a look at Phantasmagoria or cOuGh my minicomic DUST CoUGgh.
Not saying that either of these have Crappy art, but they're a far-cry away from Fisheye Placebo.
Phatasmagoria's sketchy linework puts the reader in the head of the anxious protagonist.
Dust's rough loose brushwork was used to represent the dry atmosphere.
Fisheye Placebo's smooth digital painting draws attention to the technology used to create it, and helps give everything a sleek futuristic feel.

All of that said: Dont let a loose style become an excuse to be lazy. People can tell if you're being lazy, and if you're lazy with the artwork people will think you may have been lazy with the writing. Also - try and keep things clear as possible so that the reader doesnt get confused, I feel like I could have done better with this on some of the pages in my comic.

God I gotta stop it with these long posts...

EDIT: Cleaned up some wording and made things a bit more consice.

[Pleaki]

As long as things are coherent and I don't have to struggle to understand what is going on, I would read a comic with art that I didn't find appealing.

The advantage of pretty art is that it is an attention grabber. But if the story is garbage then chances are your readers will eventually lose interest.

But yeah as long as it's not so sloppy that I can't comprehend what's happening and the story is good then chances are I'm gonna stay interested. I love me a good story.

[J.Z.Castillo]

Nope! I get taken in through the eyes, if the art is not appealing to me I will not give the book a second look, I don't care how amazing the story is. I can put up with a horrible story if the art is pretty, at least I have something to look at, but garish art just pisses me off, so I just don't put up with it.

[KoreanTacos]

In my opinion though art can be considered subjective. It's all in a matter of taste for what's bad or not. I have things in my reading list people might consider low par as far as art goers, but I think are great.

[NickRowler]

Personally, I could tolerate less decent art if the writing/jokes were good enough. (Like Pyu to Fuku! Jaguar)

However, a lot of the time crappy art is paired with bad layouts, unreadable dialogue, or look like Dolan comics. That is the stuff I avoid reading because they usually are difficult to follow.

(If you are still passionate about making a comic, having someone there to help critique and edit art could be helpful)

[ypirouz]

Rarely. I will look past what novice artwork only if the writing is spectacular, and even then, there has to be enough clarity in the artwork that I can tell who is who, and what's going on. I can think of two web comics here--- one was a humor strip that had minimal changes in expressions, and was about a girl and her boyfriend Paco who she resurrected from the dead. The jokes were hilarious, so I read it for a while.
The other was a comic about another zombie... hmm... I sense a theme within me... O_o anyway, artwork was decent, but had flaws, especially in the beginning. (Flat backgrounds, limited detail, some anatomy errors, etc.) I kept going because the plot was intriguing, and the characters were strong... I still read it today if you are interested. www.maggot-boy.com.

I also wondered to myself if I'd read a comic with great art, lousy story... and I know that I DO NOT AT ALL! XD

[Aspie_Gamer]

Okay I may be biased when I say this considering my own comic has less than stellar art according to some people and even some of my subs (thought I am getting a little better if nothing else with each passing chapter), but yes, I would take a chance on a comic with less than good art as long as the writing is good. Some of my favorite comics I'm subbed to whos creators (some of them anyway) are also subbed to my comic coincidentally enough have art that some people here would probably take a pass on based on visual impressions alone, but often have solid writing to help them make up for any artistic shortcomings on their part. While I get that good art makes a good first impression amongst first time potential readers, I also know that no amount of breathtakingly great art can make up for a terrible or lackluster story.

Case in point, All Star Batman and Robin. I know I'm being a bit extreme, but I still think its poignant enough to use as an example. DC fans here will know that DC Comic's "All Star" line was an attempt to mimic the success fellow rival Marvel had found with their now defunct Ultimate Universe and before All Star Batman and Robin tarnished the brand overnight, All Star Superman set a high bar that unfortunately no other series in the All Star line managed to pass especially this stinker. The art is something to be applauded for sure I'll give it that, but the writing! Oh good heavens the writing. Take your average Frank Miller story. Choppy repetitive sentences, grim and gritty tone, women being portrayed in what most would consider to be a sexist light and combine that with flat out character assassination most notably in Batman himself who as Linkara said, probably isn't Batman so much as he is a crazed hobo who won the lottery and started calling himself Batman. Oh I'm sorry. {The} Goddamn Batman!.

Yeah...I wish I made that last paragraph up.

[gui_m]

I will read if the story is interesting.
Even if the art is really cool, bad story will surely ruin it.
But if the art is bad but the story is good, the story will carry the reader while compensating art
I think artwork should be simple and easy to understand
It's not cool if the artwork is too good to be understand easily

[trinkettrancemusic]

I'd rather not, but if the story is AMAZING, then nothing will stop me. The Bunker was an example where my distaste for the art trumped what was a pretty interesting story I might have otherwise have given more of a chance.

[grimnir]

Absolutely, although that wasn't always the case.

When I first found what would eventually become my favorite webcomic, I almost didn't read it because the early art was kind of bad. But I gave it a second chance, and it really drew me in.
I have since learned to look past the art, because what I really care about is the story and characters. As far as I'm concerned, as long as the art isn't so bad that it makes the story hard to follow (e.g. can't tell what's happening or can't recognize characters because they all look the same), it's enough to just have a really good story.

[insomniascrawl]

Honestly? Yes, my art isn't amazing or anything (thanks time restraints) so I get it, usually art in a story gets better as it goes too (I mean look at Attack on Titan when it first was being printed to now, huuuge difference art wise)

However, if a webcomic has not amazing art, the story really has to grab the reader right at the start and keep them wanting to see what will happen next, otherwise the comic sort of becomes forgettable... At least in my experience.

[OliviaMerteli]

I would (and I did numerous time).
My only criteria about the art is it to be understable and convey the story rigthly. If I can tell who is who between the characters and understand what is happening in each panel, then it's good enought for me.

[JKNNKL]

I think slightly shit art is ok in some situations. It's harder to pull off if your story is the emotionally charged, intense angsty kind cuz like my experience with this is i'll be reading this intense emotional scene where the mum is dying and saying her last words but then instead of being into it and being sad all i can notice is "wow her fingers rlly look like sausages in this panel". Conversely shitty art is much much more passoffable in gag comics or more lighthearted genres like romance or comedy. (SORRY AUTHOR OF OTOKOWARISHIMASU BUT) I think one example of this is otokowarishimasu, the anatomy is slightly shit and you can tell that the artist doesnt feel confident drawing a variety of poses (mostly reusing around 5+ poses) but it still works because it doesnt detract much from the gags (which are 4koma gags that dont really need a lot of dynamic poses/actions to come through). So I think it depends on what the comic needs to be to convey what it wants.