Comic Tips – Harsh Realities & How to Overcome Them
Comic tips are found far and wide across the internet. But this article specifically delves into advice on making comics successful. Find out some hard truths about making comics and what to do about them.
Please note, there is no one right way to make comics. The intention of these tips is to help people improve their comics. This is advice I, myself, sometimes fall short of. I still have so much to learn about comics. Finally, artists making comics for fun do not need to follow everything on this list.
Comic Marketing Tips
Growing an Audience Can Be Hard
Sure, going viral can happen, and some people are naturally popular. But people are not twiddling their thumbs waiting for an unknown artist to publish a comic. The internet is already flooded with content. Artists should lower expectations when it comes to gaining followers overnight. Additionally, they should spend some time researching how to grow an audience.
Promotion Takes Work
No matter how great a comic is, it must be promoted/shared in order to gain attention. However, creators should avoid being spammy when promoting a comic. Learn to “How to Get Webcomic Readers and Build an Audience.”
Trendy Comics Are Popular
For a while, vampires were a thing, then zombies. After time, these trends can become cliche or feel out of date. Jumping on the latest story trends might help a comic gain popularity. Or it might backfire because of too much competition. So creators should only make a trendy comic if they want to, not just to get popular.
Good Links Are Necessary
When creators share about their comic, they must share a url address/link to it. They should not make potential readers scour the internet looking for the link to their comic. Making people do a internet search to find a comic is a no-no. Also, telling people to search for a comic on Webtoons or Tapastic is another no-no. People may misspell or have a hard time finding the comic and give up looking for it altogether. So, when mentioning a comic, creators should put the link somewhere easy to find.
Additionally, if sharing about the comic in person, creators should have a business card or QR code that links to the comic’s site. If creators use social media, they should put a like to their comic in their profile. Furthermore, links should not be too long or unsightly. Creators can create a custom domain name, use bitly to shorten a url, or make a Linktree.
Tips About Visuals
Too Much Text Is Bad
Artists should try to eliminate info-dumps, as too much dry information makes for low comprehension and high boredom. Also, if word balloons take up more room on a page than the images, there is too much text. Additionally, text-heavy prologues can be a turn off. Comic readers come looking for comics, not novels.
Redrawing Pages Is a Bad Idea
Of course, comic corrections and revisions can be useful. Rebooting an old comic can also be okay. However, redoing a comic over and over can cause it to never reach completion. Creators should embrace the fact that they may never love their work 100%. It is better to have a complete comic, than only few good pages without an ending.
Redrawing pages can eat up an artists’s buffer. It can also annoy or confuse fans. Also, remaking pages can take away time and effort from drawing new pages. Finally, creators should avoid unnecessary perfectionism. Fans will likely not even notice or care if a page is redone.
Start with a Short Story
Creators should experiment first before taking on a 500 page epic story. Artists who have never made a comic are in for a steep-learning curve. Consider this analogy: A person could take an algebra without knowing addition, but it would make the class a lot harder. The same is true with making long comics: People can make a huge comic without any experience, but they should be aware that it will be a lot tougher to do.
Comic Prep Tips
Become a Jack of All Trades
If creators want to make a comic by them self, they should garner multiple skills. For instance, they should study typography, graphic design, writing, concept art, character design, storyboarding, publishing, marketing, website coding, etc. Before making my comic, I tried to learn as much information about these topics as I could. This makes the actual comic-making process a lot smoother and faster. Additionally, the process of actually making comics is also a giant skill booster.
Grow Some Thick Skin
The internet is a harsh place. Creators should prepare themselves to handle criticism about their comic. They should learn to accept good feedback, but shake off hateful comments. Everybody has different tastes, so not everyone will like a creator’s comic. Creators should not respond cruelly to negative comments. They should ignore these comments, or respond in a friendly and polite manner. Likewise, artists should not be discouraged by criticism from people in person.
Be a Reliable Artist
Artists should take precautions to avoid long hiatuses or unexplainable disappearances from the internet. Sick days, power outages, emergencies, computer malfunctions, holidays, and college-exams can be unexpectedly time-consuming. Knowing that there is a very high likelihood of one or more of these happening, artists should take proper precautions.
If people see inconsistent updates in a creator’s archive, they may feel the comic is not worth reading. So, creators should make a plan for how they will stay on top of their schedules in case of an unexpected event. For example, a wise idea is to create a large buffer before releasing a comic online. A less advised plan is pulling an all-nighter. Another idea is to draw two updates every week, but only share one. Then, artists can build a buffer as they go.
Moreover, artists should make their update schedules clear to their audience. They should let readers know ahead of time if they plan to take time off for holidays or other events.
Tips About Creator Patience
Do Not Expect to Get Rich
Beginners should not expect to make a living from comics. Even successful comic book artists often have supplementary incomes. Small comics will not generate very much ad revenue and have an even harder time making money from merchandise or book sales. Anything is possible if creators do their research, but know that comics are not easy to make money from.
A Big Time Investment is Required
One of the most important comic tips is to know that comics take a lot of work. Both to produce and to become successful at. Artists should prepare to spend a lot of time growing skills, a following, and revenue. Artists should make comics because they enjoy the process. Otherwise, it will be a long, slow, and tiresome journey.
Comic Tips – Harsh Realities for Artists
All this advice is not meant to be discouraging. Rather, it is meant to be comforting. People should know they are not alone in thinking that pursuing comics can be hard. These tips are intended as motivation to work hard, because with a lot of effort, or maybe some luck, comics can gain success.
Ready to make a webcomic? Here is a complete guide to make a comic.
Discussion ¬