Webcomic

[sroni]

So, I've been researching how to do a webcomic, and how much work it takes, etc. And the biggest piece of advice given to newbies was: know how many comics you can put out in a week, and minus one, so that you're always creating a buffer. And draw all those comics consistantly for a month before you start posting.

The problem is that my comic is more of a gag comic surrounding a cast of characters. I don't really have a storyline. Okay, not a big deal. That's how some of my favorite comics started out. (Something Positive, Questionable Content, Home on the Strange, are the first ones to come to mind. And they all appear to have followed a storyline when you reread.) The other problem, which is a much, MUCH bigger problem is that I don't have the motivation. It takes me maybe an hour, MAYBE an hour, to draw the comic. Mostly because I am just that bad at art, and I decided to draw simply enough that I won't go all OCD on it like I'm prone to do, so it really can realistically only take me an hour. (Seriously, if I was going to try to make it as good artistically as I could get it, I'd have even slower updates than Megatokyo. To be satisfied with my art, it would take me a month to work on a single strip. I am that OCD.)

So if it takes me an hour, than you'd think I'd be able to update every day, and have a whole lot, a WHOLE LOT of buffer comics by the end of the month.

I'm just not motivated to draw without anyone seeing it for that long. I'm not. I do something, I want people to see it RIGHT THEN. RIGHT THEN.

So. Any advice on how to curb this? Because I really would like to do this comic. I'm setting up some basic story lines, but for the most part, I just have a whole lot of gags that are wanting to be done. There will be a story line, I promise.

Comments

[aadler]

While building a buffer, post each new one on your LJ (or Facebook page). That way you’re taking action and getting the option of feedback, while also accumulating the necessary store. Then, when you hit #30 (or 31, or whatever), you can begin posting #1 while you’re drawing #31-32, and for the people who have been following you already, you post a link where they can see the new stuff go up.

[sroni.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nice idea. I like this. I'll get Squirreltail to help me scan stuff in tomorrow.

Thank you.

I've decided to work on the comic for an hour a day. That way, by the end of the month, I should have around 100-120 comics. (It really doesn't take me long to draw the things out. It'll take a bit to color them in- I plan on doing that on computer, though.)

I have high hopes for it! Not that it will get uber popular, but that I can say, "I have a webcomic!"

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

I've found one of the best things is to simply show the drawings to someone who's willing to kick your butt until you actually finish them. If you really love doing the comic, force yourself to take the time, and bounce it off them when you need to show someone.

[sroni.livejournal.com]

Squirreltail is really good for it. He's my best helper with this kind of thing.

Honestly, I think I'm treating the webcomic as a visual drabble type thing. I want to have a punchline a lot. So it's not worth writing into story form, because otherwise the punchlines would get too often, and lesson the effect.

I have quite a few comedic punchlines planned- and then I have the emotional stuff, too.

Visual drabble. I like that definition.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Visual drabble works!