skippyjoeskilling

I remember seeing a post a while back that talked about reframing artist's block as a time to recharge that really hit home for me. That after a big creative outpouring it's important to just take some time to take stuff in for a while. So my recommendation would be that instead of forcing it tak…

Feb 23, '21

Writers/artists with majority LGBTQ casts: Which do you prefer?

I feel like the key point here is media that tackles it WELL. Because most of the time it's not done well and is mostly just trauma porn. Like a book that realistically depicts internalized homophobia really hits for me, but a random hate crime two thirds of the way just makes me uncomfortable. B…

Feb 20, '21

Artists who take commissions: what is the wildest "potential client" you've gotten?

I've had multiple people ask me to illustrate children's books about talking animals for them. Which in itself is fine, but I draw adult comics with a specific focus on horror and erotic art. Like, that's what my portfolio focuses on. I don't know why people can't understand that artists have d…

Feb 17, '21

Grew out of anime?

I was in a hard anime phase middle school to early high school, and then pretty much dropped completely for the last few years. I think it's totally natural. When you get older your taste is going to mature, and sadly a lot of anime doesn't hold up when you start watching stuff expecting there to …

Feb 17, '21

What’s your stance on 3d background?

I think it definitely can look good, but 3d art is a skill totally separate from drawing. If someone can actually make a 3d background that fits well with their drawn style, then good forth. I use 3d backgrounds for my comic, but I always trace over it, and then add details and colors by hand.

Feb 17, '21

Are Chapter Covers Necessary Anymore?

I love chapter covers! It gives a little bit of breathing room, and are a good way to emphasize an important part of the comic (since most chapters end on emotional note or a cliffhanger) rather than getting right into what happens next. And it's a fun way for the artist to flex and draw the chara…

Feb 15, '21

How do you as a reader/your readers receive updates that are just art of the character(s) and not the story?

Depends on the quantity of the art and if it adds anything. A lot of manga authors will publish companion art that has the characters in new outfits, or process sketches, and often has accompanying info that wouldn't fit in the main story (like their favorite foods or stuff about their childhood). …

Feb 14, '21

Graphic violence?

You should be okay. In my experience the filters pick up nsfw more so than violence, just make sure there's nothing too gory on the cover.

Feb 11, '21

What's The Weather Like Where You Are?

It's a very chilly night here in Honolulu (a cool 67 degrees Fahrenheit)

Feb 11, '21

Does anyone else like to let their characters write themselves?

Lol yeah, it definitely feels like that sometimes. It's just when you have a very clear sense of a character, and their wants/needs, it organically starts to shift from where you originally planned the story to go. That said, I've definitely had epiphanies right before I fall asleep of the perfec…

Feb 11, '21

Sub for sub is shallow and worthless

Sub for sub in terms of gaining readership is basically useless. I do think making connections with other creators on here is very good, but it's better to join a discord server or something. Pretty much the only creator connections I've made from promotional threads were threads for really hyper…

Feb 9, '21

Promote your comic if it's based in decades like 50s to 90s!

Promotions

Nowhere South Dakota is set in the early 2000s (which I guess is a past era lol) And Truckstop Demons is set in 1983

Feb 7, '21

Deciding outfits for your characters

This is a little genre specific, since my comic is set in a realistic world and the characters doesn't own too many clothes, but I keep track of most of the pieces of the character's wardrobe. As in, I literally have a list in my world-building doc that says he has a black puff jacket, a Matrix t-s…

Feb 6, '21

Which font do you use?

I really love hand lettering, but a few years ago I made a font of my own handwriting and that's the main thing I use. No copyright worries, makes the font unique, and keeps the sizing and stuff consistent. I have to remind myself not to use it in my school papers lol. But I still hand letter som…

Feb 5, '21

Formal characters/ OCS!

oh hey, I did some of these a while ago [image] [image] they're gay and like country. what can you expect.

Feb 4, '21

(T/F)'Negative character traits are actually their positive traits turned up to 11'

If we're talking about writing advice from Tumblr posts, I remember seeing another one that said a tragic flaw can also be a trait that would be a benefit in another story. As in, the character who gets taken advantage of by a villain would, in another story, be the character who is rewarded for hi…

Jan 29, '21

Naming Characters

I agree with the short name things. Whenever I read a book where the characters have very long names (especially fantasy novels where I can't just google the pronunciation) I kinda just skip over it in my head. I like to steal names from real life or history. The last big writing project I did I…

Jan 28, '21

Writing Bullying: Cheesy vs. Realistic

I think this hits it exactly. Especially since op mentioned bullies who specifically target a minority group. Sadly, a lot of bullying specifically target marginalized people, even if the bully isn't aware of it. Eample, someone may think they're just making fun of their classmate for having si…

Jan 28, '21

Do you tell offline friends you doing comic?

Yeah! Though it's one of my biggest insecurities tbh. I don't know why it bothers me so much more to imagine my mom reading my work that however many hundreds of strangers. But pretty much all my friends know I at least have a webcomic, and a few that already read comics read mine fairly regularl…

Jan 28, '21

Wood Mannequin Alternatives

One of my old art teachers used to use a posable Spiderman action figure as a pose reference, and when I started doing the same thing it seriously was a life saver. I pretty much only use it for perspective, but it's a great tool. I didn't know they made articulated Barbies, I might have to spring…

Jan 27, '21

Do you adjust your story based on reader's reactions?

maybe a little. I don't think I could change the ending but part of the fun of a long-form thing like a webcomic is getting to see audience reaction as you write. In one of my earlier chapters the main character has a throw away line about wanting tome to Chicago, which originally wasn't supposed …

Jan 23, '21

Unpopular Opinions! (Movie Edition)

THANK YOU!!!! I grew up reading that book and got excited when I saw the movie on Netflix and then it was such total garbage. The whole fun of the book was the old-fashioned Victorian vibes! Also how the kids were just totally down to kill their parents. Total let down. Especially since the anima…

Jan 23, '21

How do you cut corners?

I second what people have said about copy pasting backgrounds, and I also trace a lot of mine. I made my main character's house in a 3d model software (I used one called Roomsketcher, google sketchup is also good and there are a bunch of others). Then once I have my thumbnails worked out I can take…

Jan 22, '21

Post your extremely specific art tips!

[image] Eyebags are probably my biggest constant through all my character drawings. I also do the both ears visible thing. I don't care if his ear would have to be coming out of his cheek for it to be visible at that angle, it just looks better that way.

Jan 21, '21

I keep getting writer's block OTL

I'd try just playing around for a day or two. By which I mean keeping the story in your head, but not trying to actually write. I'm also an artist, so I like to draw my characters in random outfits, and something about it tends to shake things loose. Maybe make them in a dress up game, or throw t…

Jan 21, '21

Redrawing your comic panels!

I'm sorta proud of this grumpy facial expression here. We have very different art styles, so would be happy to see your take on it. [image]

Jan 20, '21

Inspiration from dreams?

I don't know if I've ever taken comic inspiration directly from dreams, but I do find that I consistently have my best writing ideas directly before or after falling asleep (the trick is to write them down immediately so you don't forget). So I definitely think there's something to the idea that sl…

Jan 20, '21

Drawing question about proportions

I keep track of proportion in terms of environment. As in, if my character is next to his car, I know the mirror is just above his elbow, and he has an inch of headroom in his bedroom doorway, but has to duck to get into the basement (those are both key locations in the story). So even though his …

Jan 20, '21

Feeling sad? We have pets inside

[image] This is my puppy Macaroni Truck. She's not allowed in the room while I work because she keeps trying to eat my tablet wires. [image] And this is Winky. He's gay.

Jan 19, '21

How do I draw fluid(?) figures?(Added new drawings to the original post)