Would you still be making your comic if you had no way to share it with others?

[Ringarune]

If you had no means to share your comic with others (whether it be through sites like tapastic or webtoon or just sharing it with people you know) would you still be writing your comic? For me, I personally don't think I would. Stories, for me, were always things that were meant to be shared with others. I luv the story I'm working on currently, but honestly, if I wasn't sharing it with others, I don't think i'd put the time in to making a comic since I already know everything that happens in it and how it ends. But hey, that's just me. What about you all?

[Potoh]

I've been writing on my story for 14 years, the majority of that I never shared it with anyone. I think I would still write and make concept art. I also made a couple test pages for it but kept it to myself. Since I didn't share it I could change everything all the time whenever it suited me, there was nobody to whom I needed to justify those changes.
So the answer would be... maybe? I mean, my final goal had always been to make my stories into comics, but I think without the internet, especially tapas, I would still not be publishing.

[Chopythes]

I think I still would.
I started creating stuff as an 8yo, with books with illlustration books (I always wrote the end as the beginning so it started out with like "and then the snow hen died". Because... why not?). And I never really showed it to anyone either.
This was before the ages of the internet, so it wasn't as important to me as it is today.

I don't like to see peoples reactions IRL, and showing my things online has actually been very easy for me?
I've barely gotten any reactions from my parents, but still created and walked my own way with what I want to do.

So yeah, I'd still be doing comics (I think? Maybe I would've written more things like short stories and novellas!).

[J.Lovelace]

Yes?
That's something I did way before I had internet. A lot of the stuff I drew was never shown to anyone, and probably never will be. It was for my own personal entertainment, and I see nothing wrong with making stuff just for yourself. I enjoyed drawing all that stuff greatly.
Well if I didn't do it back then, I wouldn't be at my art level that I am now. So it was a good practice, and still would be.
Even if I know what happens in my story, I'd still want it to be drawn, so that I can pick it up years later and go through the pages and remember it fondly.
Well that's what I do sometimes when I pick up my old notebooks, which are full of comic pages. A lot of the things I came up with and drew back then are already fading from my memories, so picking them up brings them all back.

[WakaXO]

I think I would still make comic's even if I couldn't share them with others. Most of the comics I made when I was younger were never shared with anyone, I made them because I liked making comics, they were for me/my enjoyment first and foremost. And to a certain degree I'm still have this mindset. I started my current comic to improve my art and try to get back into the habit of drawing every day.

Don't get me wrong, I do love sharing my comic with others, it has been great for motivation and the feedback that I've received has helped me improved since I started my comic. So the experience would be greatly diminished without the ability to share but I don't think that would necessarily stop me from making comics.

Would I make long and complicated comics or have the motivation to finish them is another thing entirely. ^^;

[JenniferBourne]

I would. Part of the fun is making a cartoon series that I'd like to read. Also I've been drawing cartoons and telling stories since I was little. It's how I deal with the world.

[LCT_m_a_d]

I probably wouldn't.

Visualizing and coming up with ideas is very self-satisfying in it's own right. The only reason I bother creating art in its physical form is so I can share those ideas with other people in a universal language. It's more of a social contribution than personal fulfillment.

With that said, crafting in its own right can be very theraputing and fullfiling so I can also see the value in creating for the sake of creating. (I take this approach often with programming)

[MichelleAntisocial]

If there wasn't an internet way to share my comic, I'd still be making it. I've been drawing comics since before there was and easy way to share them. HOWEVER if I also, for some reason, couldn't show my family and friends anymore, I really don't know if I'd continue. I mean, it's nice to say I would, its nice to say that I'm just doing this for me. But while half of the process of making it (and the other art I do as well) is cathartic, the other half is me desperately trying to express myself to others and get feedback. If there was suddenly no way to do that with this medium, I might turn to something else.. I really don't know.

[punkarsenic]

i dont think so. id just keep letting my stories ruminate in my mind, because i dont need to communicate it with anyone. id probably doodle short comics now and then, but whats the point in putting effort into telling a story to nobody, when you already know the story?

[joannekwan]

I would still write it, maybe I'd draw it too but definitely not as consistently week to week as I do now with an audience.

[spadesart]

i would probably still be drawing the characters interacting, making art of it and stuff, but i dont think i'd be doing the comic. i know you should do your comic for you, but the reader interaction and the reassurance that people LIKE my stuff keeps me going. if i got no feedback on my stuff, it would feel like i'm putting all those hours of work into nothing and i'd likely not start the comic to begin with.

[shazzbaa]

Is this like..... "no way to share your comics instantly?" (i.e., internet and friends?) Or is this a hypothetical in which it is impossible to someday publish, print, or even just hand out a hand-stapled zine at a craft fair?

Because if it's just a lack of immediate sharing options, I think I would still be striving to make my stories into comics that could one day be published and shared. Whether I would've gotten this far or not, I have no idea, but the idea of making a webcomic didn't even occur to me until college, and I've aspired to tell stories and make comics well before then.

If it's, instead, a knowledge that nothing I make will ever see the light of day, that's harder to say. I think I would absolutely still create, because there's something about the act of creation that's different from just knowing a story in your mind. But it would likely be scattered over the pages of a sketchbook instead of organised and coherent. I'd be building the story and all of the moments I wanted and bringing them into being, but I might not feel as much of a need to make a "final" version that's all in the right order.

[AmysGames]

Like a lot of other people have been saying, I probably wouldn't be regularly drawing the comic, but the characters and such would probably still be bouncing around in my head. That said, feedback from my friends was a lot of what inspired me to keep the story going, so I'm not sure it would be anywhere near as polished as it is now.

[keii4ii]

I would probably do the same thing I did with comics I never showed anyone, back in like 5th grade. Meaning I still made them, but they were all quick scribbles, nothing polished. I could fart out 10-20 pages a day.

That said, I think the act of sharing makes me love my characters more. Viewer responses, when correctly analyzed, can help me figure out how well I'm doing as a storyteller and which areas need improvement the most. That motivates me to work harder on the quality. That entails lots of revisions on the writing; during that process, I come to know my characters better, and understand why my heart gravitated to their story in the first place. ❤︎

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

I would still be making my comic because I started writing for myself first. I guess I came to that approach because earlier in my life I was always told that I sucked at writing and thus decided whatever, I'll write for myself. Since then, I've always kind of approached storytelling through a exploration lens.
Plus even if I think I know what will happen in a story, sometimes I end up surprised.

Most of my comics are actually not shared online. I do a lot of experimental comics on the side, so things like rotating comic box or the interactive stuff I make are pretty hard to post.

[Kura]

I would write, I don't think I would bother drawing anymore considering how painful it is for me to do with arthritis.

[NickRowler]

I would. most of the comics I made as a teen and young adult, I never really showed anyone. I just like creating comics. I don't really want money or to be mega famous, I just want a means to out put my ideas.

[Sieza]

I've been working on my story for about 14 years. I recently moved to digital art about 2 years ago. So for those 12 other years, I had tons of notebooks in my room. I would take them to school and work on them. Hardly shared with anyone. I originally made my comic series for my personal enjoyment only. But, eyes other than my own began to skim through my notebooks and I was encouraged to move digital and share with anyone. Even if I didn't have a way to share them, yes, I would still be working on my series.

[trashcider]

Definitely! Before I rebooted my current idea into a comic, I spent the better part of a decade working on it without sharing it with anyone (and I still haven't yet beyond concept stuff, the actual comic won't be launching until summer)

Before I got into comics I was a writer, and probably 99% of the things I did I never showed or talked about with anyone. I create, first and foremost, for myself. Of course I like it if other people can enjoy or take something away from the things I make, but even if I was literally shouting into the void, I'd be alright with that.

I have stories in my head and they want to get out. I need to create, in a way that's almost a compulsion. So one way or another I will keep telling stories, even if no one is around to hear them.

[Strontium]

I would still make comics, the question is would they be as good as they are since I do have the ability to share them? Probably not. My art and storytelling have improved because of the ability I have to read other comics and get feedback. Before I did that, my comics were confusing and poorly written. They also weren't full color digital ready for print size comics. I drew them with pencil and sometimes ink.