Heh. I was once yelled at for reusing the same background in eight frames over four comics. I am NOT redrawing an identical background. I just leave certain areas transparent such as the window, and use a colour layer over it to depict night time. Why would ANYONE redraw the same background eight times? It was a bedroom, by the way.
If it's the same background in all the shots why WOULDN'T you reuse it? Not doing so is wasted work. Anyone fussing about that knows nothing about art.
Tower of God reuses frames and scenes but I like it as a trade off for having full color and really detailed backgrounds . Especially in the beginning but it allowed for a single artist to really amplify thier story telling as it went on and thier library of detailed frames got bigger.
I lost five but because the original save file I backed up turned out to be corrupted. I learned the hard way to make successive back-ups in addition to having copies on a different computer in-house, a disconnected drive, and an off-site backup. And for writing, I print off copies periodically for really important projects. I'm taking no chances.
I feel this. I had finished my 2nd draft of a book I was working on and I had started to save for self publishing and lost the entire thing after my computer just... Died. It sucks so bad.
7:24 I still hear my late professor in my head saying, “Draw the backgrounds. Do not leave that panel empty.” Now I’m going to hear his voice with that vine boom. 😂
Number 9. FUCKING LISTEN TO IT. I used to play the viola, and I sprained BOTH my wrists pushing myself too hard. I also have back problems due to the posture I had to sit in. To this day I still get really bad pains from those sprains in my wrist and my posture greatly suffered, with me now having occasional back pain. And due to stress my body developed a stress indicator of sending me into debilitating pain with inflamed ribs. I can still draw, but now I have to keep an eye on my body to see when I need a break. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
It was your "what not to do" video that got me into this channel. When I clicked on it, I was worried it was just going to be some rando complaining about tropes they don't like, like "Don't put your protagonist in a love triangle, that's a boring cliche!" When I saw instead that it was objectively good, sound advice for how to be successful in webcomics, you gained a new subscriber. This is a really good companion video to that one.
dude same reason for me I was so scared you might be like the rest of the videos I watched, but you weren't you have this straightness to you that I love, but this kindness an overall cool vibe so ye thanks
Props to the milk cartons that just appeared and disappeared 8:17. Made me rethink the way I look at art entirely, on a deeper level than I could ever even imagine.
when you started saying the next tip was "something you get yelled at a lot for" i was genuinely like "oh boy what is it?" and then you said backgrounds and I started cackling. As a storyboard artist and comic creator I 100% see this issue so much it drives me nuts like "why is character jones in a blank white void??? where are we, what is happening?" also BLESS YOU FOR MENTIONING CAMERA ANGLES AND TECHNIQUES PLS IM BEGGING COMIC ARTISTS TO TAKE STORYBOARDING COURSES THEY ACTUALLY HELP SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA!! they are very interchangeable and a lot of storyboard artists in the industry actually started out making comics. its a very good skill to learn~ (also star thank you for making your videos in general, they've been helping me stay motivated and productive during comic planning and got me to read Castoff which i am deeply in love with now lol)
I also had a professional artist tell me once that it's a good idea to do the backgrounds first as it will really help with drawing perspective and with lighting when it comes to coloring.
@@Puddle You make such high quality videos but you don't get the attention for them compared to other youtubers. I've loved your channel for a long time!!! I discovered it in 2018 from uhh... that oc video..... and later found that video in the watch history of an old account and started watching your videos from there! I've seen all the videos currently up on your channel!! I really love your personality and wisdom! Hope this message from a stranger on the internet is appreciated somehow
@@AdorableFennec I'm so grateful people took interest in the original evolution of puddle video x) so much has changed since then!! thank you so much for stickin along and liking what I make!! it means so much to me!! 😭💜
Not a webcomic artist, but I am a writer. I agree wholeheartedly about starting small. Thankfully, I had a lot of practice writing short stories in my creative writing classes. Everything from 100-word challenges to my 13,000-word creative thesis. Over the course of two years, I used those short stories to build a fantasy world and create characters for it. And now, I'm much more confident about creating a larger narrative because I already have a strong foundation to work from.
Same, im not a webcomic artist... Yet... But i have written two books, and start small ... I did not. Book one took me almsot three years and way to much money to fonish jist because i was having to learn as i went, and kept needing to redo things. Book two i finished in less than six months. And book three is on pace to be even quicker and better.
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #1 : Start Small 1:10 THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #2 : Keep your character designs simple and easy to draw 3:48 THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #3 : Back up your files 5:20 THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #4 : Draw backgrounds 7:18 THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #5 : Show feet 9:16 THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #6 : Study screen design 10:29 THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #7 : Work efficiently 13:49 1 : Keyboard Shortcuts 14:32 2 : 3 : Make custom brushes THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #8 : THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #9 : THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #10 :
The 180 rule is definitely something that I learned from my hubby who does animation. It's kinda funny thought, I naturally followed this rule until my mom said that i should break it to make the pages more interesting. So I did, for a while. Until I got yelled at for it. Luckily, when I didn't follow that rules, the comic I was working one was not dialog heavy, so wasn’t an issue.
After watching tbis video I'd like to give a shoutout to Manga May, a challenge organised by MonitorComics, where each day of May you have to make a comic page based on a prompt. Its goal was to help aspiring artists get over their fears of posting their first comics. After participating for 20 days straight i can confidently say it was one of fhe most important things I've done. It has given me the courage to actually start writing comics with the goal of uploading them. I'd encourage y'all to check it out next year, the community was amazing!
Star hypes up point 4, making it seem like the most controversial take on webcomics ever: "Here it is: Things every webcomic creator should do, Number 4: ..." aaand YT plays an ad. That got a good chuckle out of me. Tip 10 hits so hard. "Be your own primary target audience" has always been my first and most important tip to anyone asking for advice. I really have to take "start small" to heart. I've been stuck on page 4 of my passion project for far too long now and could really use the experience. Maybe little episodical shorts using the same characters and world. Working in IT, I can't stress enough how important the 3/2/1 rule is. Save your stuff in at least 3 different places, using at least 2 different mediums and have at least 1 of them be online. We had students not being able to present their final presentation because their laptops refused to boot due to the vibrations of the bike ride to school on the very same day of the finals.
5:16 personally I would say either make them easy to draw like you said or just easy to remember how to draw. I drew a few characters that where super complex but easy to remember. Bonus points if there fun to draw. It's always more enjoyable (for me at least) to draw a character that's super complex but fun. Like cute shapes or interesting details that you enjoy drawing over and over
The 180 degree rule in #6 seems like something that could be used to intentionally unsettle audiences in intense scenes like with unstable characters or to amplify a tone shift, ESPECIALLY in horror. But that just reminds me of the old saying for all art "you need to know the rules to effectively break them". Great video with excellent advice!
I just recently read the first chapter of castoff and oh. My. God. Even though it was your early art, the characters personality are well established and isn’t your generic fantasy comic. Vector is such an innocent bean and must be protected. I’m very interested in the story, and I’ll keep reading to find out more about the story. (A “How I create my own site for my webcomic” would be very appreciated!) ❤❤
The fact that you felt the need to create a positive video about webcomic creation after a 'negative' video already sets you apart from other online creators out there in my eyes. Edit: I can understand the controversy around the 'start small' tip. I have trouble coming up with 'small' ideas. The background 'controversy' just sounds like people being lazy. Yes, I too hated backgrounds and I understand. But then I tried actually drawing the things around me, places I go, and at first it's hard, but it's actually quite rewarding. 2nd Edit: I have to get on this soapbox for a second. So, I love the last tip, making what you want to make. Art teachers and writing teachers, especially the latter, are starting to become like nutritionists, if you listened to all of them, you would never eat. So many writing teachers are full of "don'ts". Scratch out the don't, and do. Make the dumb mistakes. Draw the wonky anatomy. Make a cringe romance story with OCs that make people's eyes bleed. Making a mistake hurts now but regret hurts way more later. Fall off the bike 5, 10, 100 times and then get back on.
I remember when Drunk Duck got hacked and I lost the comic that was hosting there, it took like 3 months for it to return and I still had the comics lucky but I never restarted it. Another thing every webcomicer should do is have a buffer of comics ready. It varies on update schedule but I would say try to have at least a month or 2 weeks minimum so you can keep posting if things happen, getting sick, machine breaking, tablet breaking, supplies, moods, or emergency happen, so having that buffer will not make you stress enough. Once you able to draw again replace it slowly, you can easily draw parts of next page or add a page a week or even 1/4 a page a week till it is replaced. This I would not skimp on, if you in mood to do it add more to it. I am sure all of you read comics that had to stop for these and other reasons and when they finally back they lost half the audience or something. So a steady update is needed, unless you do things ahead of time to show people it is the end of a season or so. Either way a buffer will never hurt. This way you will always be a few weeks ahead and can relax instead of rushing things. If you use printed comics, those comics you read and buy where not made a month ago and printed and released, no they was ready to print 3 moths ago, sometimes they made in a year or more in advance and yes there are times where they change things and add story elements but even those are either hastly put in comics leading to it being poor or put in later at least 3 months ahead. This will also help with advertising aspects but that is a whole worm of cans on it's own.
I genuinely wish I had the patience to keep practicing drawing. I love writing scripts and ideas for webcomics. But my drive to learn how to draw is... not high... As such, I usually look for people online to draw for me and... well obviously payment is something I just HAVE to do because artists deserve compensation for their time.
Honestly I feel that, but to be 100 with you. The best thing to do is just to do, study some of the basics (draw for fun too while doing so) then work on a comic. Just start drawing it, give yourself a deadline for each chapter and try to stick to it. You'll find yourself getting better while you go.
I felt the same until eventually I realised that probably nobody will draw my stories with the same passion as me. So yeah, I just sucked it up and started learning.
@@writerbutlerlewis I think my main problem stems from a certain kind of... imposter syndrome. Like I look at my own art and then look at somebody else's and say "I want mine to look like that!" And that kills my confidence.
Your idea sound like the original creator of one punch man. He was fantastic at story telling, but not so much with art. Despite that, his webcomic got extremely Popular just because of his good storytelling.
I just started drawing up a webcomic idea ive had for a little while and genuinely: I built the whole school in the sims to use as a background reference. I hate drawing backgrounds so i know i will need a reference for every background i draw, and lowkey the sims is a good place to build a rough background. I can adjust things as needed, like include items that don't exist in the sims and move things around in ways the sims doesn't allow for, i can do all that in post, but its a good way to at least have an idea of a background with perspective and all that plus have a feel for the overall structure of the school considering a looot of time will be spent there. Highly recommend if you're intimidated by other 3d modelling softwares.
Minor point from a storyboard artist and comic junkie. The 180 rule is good to follow in film because you can't go back three panels or the top of the page to re-orient yourself - you have the element of time in film and you have to keep moving forward. You can often and should ignore the 180 rule in comics to avoid boredom or repetition of character placement in panels. There is something known as 'Graphic Review" for comics where your eye can shift back and forth instantly when the reader needs to know where someone was standing at the beginning of in a sequence. The two forms of visual storytelling cross in a lot of places. This one is not as essential, and that's why it is rarely covered for comics. The most important thing with this sequential story point is a combination of clarity and interest; one can always supersede the other.
I can't believe it took me a whole minute to realize it's magni being drawn! Your videos on comics are always so informative. A wonderful mix of emphasizing stuff that should be obvious (cough taking care of your own body) as well as stuff that I've never heard about. The 180 degree rule is definitely something i instinctually know as a reader of many comics but i had no idea there was a name for it
Not a web comic creator, just a writer and art enthusiast who reads WAAAAAAY too much webtoon but THANK YOU for mentioning the backgrounds thing! I paint landscapes as a hobby so I get how much work backgrounds can be but the worst is when a good story and the emotion are ham-stringed by the characters floating in the white (or generic fill) void. Also, the standard blender assets that so many webtoon artists use as a shortcut drive me crazy. Using 3D to help with angles and as references overall makes total sense and there is nothing wrong with that but so many (particularly isekai) comics feel the same because they all use the same assets. Then there's the fact it sometimes exposes the artist's lack of skill with perspective. Nothing like seeing someone emotionally throw themselves into a chair or onto a bed that look big enough in comparison to accommodate an entire family of giants. Tea cups that are jagged polygons rather than nice circles or necklaces that look like a 2D fill that cuts off exactly at the character's outline with no "wrap around" or "bulk" also stand out glaringly. And really, using standard assets outright instead of just as reference almost always seems to make the characters feel disconnected from the world just for the basic fact the art styles are so different. The few comics I've read in which the artists clearly draw the backgrounds always feel so much more immersive and beautiful to look at. I go back to those over and over and recommend them all the time. All the "standard Blender asset" comics go into the "To Be Forgotten" pile. I totally understand making web comics is crazy work but why put all that effort in only to kneecap it by neglecting or half-assing the backgrounds? (Also, thanks for mentioning the 180 rule! So many need to hear it! The viewer isn't "in the room" with the characters so they lack the same frame of reference so it's jarring when the rule is violated.)
Very helpful and concise video, with some very good tips! #1. Funny thing is, my comic started as a "I'll just do a little 5-10 page thing with this new D&D character I just made". I'm currently working on page 146. It just sorta snowballed and I just kept adding pages as the story started forming in my head. When I added another D&D character in as the second protagonist I couldn't stop. These characters now live rent free in my head and I have 3 secuel graphic novels planned after I wrap this one in another 35 or so pages. #2 I definitely wish I'd simplified my Kobold artificer's armor a bit before I started my comic. I'm definitely simplifying it for the sequels. Love him to death but he takes like 20 minutes to draw per-panel. #3 I have backups upon backups. I am a digital hoarder. #4 I have gotten better and faster at drawing backgrounds, thankfully. It's still a pain and triples the time it takes to finish a page, but it's so much better looking in the end. But BARE MINIMUM you should be drawing establishing shots for scene changes. MINIMUM. #5 I'm diligent about doing this every few pages. It's easier when you're drawing a fight sequence. #6 Okay, page 146 of my comic, the one I'm currently drawing as I listen to this video? I beark the 180 rule across it's 2 panels. BUT...there was no other way without having the second panel have the central character of that panel facing away from the viewer and it looked bad. I tried several thumbnails to fix it. It just wouldn't be fixed. So, I compromised by having that second panel be a far-away shot that shows the characters whole bodies. And in my defense the characters are all radically different looking from each other so I felt the visual clarity wasn't broken. Most of the time I try to follow the 180 rule though. #7 I've been meaning to do just this, I'm learning Unreal Engine to use to build models for locations that are going to feature prominently in the comic that I can then put a camera in to screensnip reference shots for the environments. I'm just not very good at working with 3D programs yet. #8 I live in constant mortal fear of carpal tunnel, I take extreme precautions against it #9 I'll have to give this a shot, I typically only move my arm at the elbow to do large curves. #10 My comic has been my passion project. I utterly and completely adore my characters, and want to tell their story. Other people seem to enjoy it as well and that's fine, but even if no one else did, I'd still make it because it's something I want to see happen. My comic's B&W because I wanted to go for not just a manga look but also kinda mimic the small indie comics from the 80s I read a lot of growing up. Sometimes I think it'd be easier to do in color, though. But I'm rambling, I just love talking about my comic and characters.
Recently I learned that some mangakas and animes are doing something that in games we call LoD: Level of Detail. You make some versions of characters, one super detailed for closeups, mid with some detail fused for regular use and basically no detail no nose nothing for backgrounds etc. It was life changing. The character stays on model, but it’s 3-5 different models! Blew my mind.
honestly, i love drawing backrounds. after drawing the same characters for hundreds and hundreds of times, i think its nice to draw something different yknow
My biggest question with trying to start a comic is... How does one find the ability to keep on track while trying to get through life? I have tried to make a comic several times. Each time I start, I get two or three pages in and then life hits, takes me away from it where I can't think of working on it for months, and then... then... I don't even know what I was trying to do. It's a real mood and creativity killer for me. Also, your animated start in this video was interesting. I give that a thumbs up.
I've found myself in similar situations. What's helped me is by sticking to a daily routine that helps me achieve small goals towards progressing with my comic. For example, sketching out two panels for the day. It may feel like the process takes too long that way, but at least it'll be rewarding to know you're taking realistic steps towards completing your comic
It was through this video that I found out smackjeeves died. RIP Also the "take care of your body" advice is something I highly agree with. I don't have carpal tunnel, but I did have a carpal tunnel scare, and I do have RSI that flares up now and then. It's no joke and absolutely soul-crushing when the doctor told me I had it. Couldn't draw or play video games for a long time. I learned to live with it with lifestyle changes (drawing w/ arm/shoulder and taking breaks helps as you said!), but I wish I had been made more aware of these types of injuries when I was younger so I could take better care of my hands and wrists. You only got one body, y'all, take care of it!
I bought the E-book and I can definitely recommend it! Lots of straight-to-the-point and easy to understand tips. With the perfect balance between text and fun explanatory illustrations :D
Making a small side story is an amazing idea! Ive been planning a long running webcomic for almost a year now but have felt overwhelmed. I already have an idea for a small side comic, so this is really useful!
I'm so glad you mentioned doing short one-off comics set in your story's universe because that's exactly the approach I've taken I feel so seen haha! I'm currently working on a one-shot about 50 pages long centering on one of my main villains and her whole M.O and it's a real challenge but I figure this is the best way to warm myself up for eventually starting the main story, y'know? I'm kinda hoping that if it reaches anyone it'll get at least one or two people interested in my characters- that's the dream, after all. Anyways, fantastic video, you seem like you've got a good head on your shoulders when it comes to making webcomics so this advice is duly noted! This actually got me a little pumped to keep working on that one-shot, so thank you ^^
Just want to say thank you! Caught up on Castoff again and Wow Have a good break But yeah it’s gotten us thinking of starting our own comic instead of the animated series we’d planned; while it’s not gonna be much less work it’s still more approachable I think So Thanks!
Hooray for more webcomic tips!! I just got your ebook last week, and I read it all in one day (I was very excited 😅), and I loved it! Your book and videos have helped inspire me to start working in my own comics that I’ve had in the back of my head for years. They’re still in the draft phase, but now I’m eager to work on them! Thank you so so much for your advice and inspiration Star 💖
12:23 This actually does have exceptions! It’s still something to keep in mind but for example if someone opens a door between 2 characters and the camera pans to look into the room behind the door frame, the characters would have swapped places. The key is that the door gave us context to why the characters flipped 😊
Honestly so curious about auto actions, I’m very familiar with doing them in Photoshop when it comes to converting color profiles (mainly for printed work)- but I didn’t know clip studio could do them too, never mind for multiple exported formats, that’s really cool! Hopefully I can find some tutorials
Oh yeah it does! For example, I have an auto color line function that automatically colors my lineart referencing my base colors, shadows and highlights. I don't use it much anymore, but I absolutely love the way it makes my art look!
@@zephyrdagonheart1208 0o0…. I… is clip studio the god of digital art?!?! I used to say that csp was the marriage of procreate and photoshop but f that this is taking the basis of photoshop and tailoring every spec to artists Out of curiosity since I have you here- I just recently started using csp and one of the learning hurdles I’m dealing with is the navigation differences between ps and csp. In ps there’s several ways to do the same thing- meaning it’s pretty easy to figure out how to do A Thing because there’s multiple paths you can take. But with csp it’s so direct and so simple it’s almost dumb- especially with brush groups. It took quite a bit for me to find the answer of “how to make a new brush group” because that choice *wasn’t in the tool settings* when I just needed to drag it over Is there anyway I could get around this? I’m trying to leave the Adobe pipeline once my year trial ends because it’s just so $$$ and I’m having trouble finding guides that encapsulates *everything* csp can do instead of detailed explanations on specific things Any channels that talk about csp in this way?
@@indiecrowarts im not them but if you want videos that go over everything there's two i can recommend "csp - 50 quick tips & tricks you need" by jp art (15 minutes long) "full guide to csp" by samijen (1 hour long) the first one is really great cause there are a lot of features that arent as well known as they should be, and theyre explained in an easy way i dont know if the second one would be as useful cause you probably already know like half the stuff because of photoshop but yeah, i hope they help somehow :D also please please save everything to the cloud, it keeps all your brushes and files (even window layout i think??) and you can restore old backups in case something goes wrong
you probably already know about the assets thing, but besides custom brushes you can also download color palettes, gradient maps, auto actions, 3d models and some other tools
All good tips. Something I do specifically on the character design front to simplify designs, if I have a character with an intricate design, when I'm designing the model sheet, I'll include different levels of detail for each character in smaller and smaller sizes. So I know how the character will look for close-ups, as well as having a standard way of simplifying them for far shots or in silhouettes. Also having a standardized way of drawing background characters so they're naturally pushed into the background a bit more.
In addition to doing hand stretches daily I've started doing hand grip exercises with some equipment I got from amazon. I do them 2-3 times a week and it's helped my hands feel better.
3:50 this is an older video so i don't have high expectations for getting an answer, but one of my characters has vitiligo and i don't want to get rid of that despite how complex it is. Is there anything i can do to make repeated drawings of him less daunting?
I think it depends on the style. I don't know how much detail your character has, but I advise you to simplify his vitiligo so it'll be less detailed and time-consuming. You can also make a custom brush to quickly draw it. In my opinion, while it's not difficult for you to draw him, it's good to have a distinctive design feature Although most likely you have already figured it out, but in any case, good luck with the project!
Thank you so much for those videos. My experience with drawing comics comes from a similar veign. Drawing strips or 1-5 pages per. (by now its 20 pages per chapter) So I dont consider myself inexperienced. YET, it is just very healthy to have experiences confirmed like this. To me it is very reassuring when i watch your videos and realize that I already do so many things right. Most of my friends specialize in illustrations. So I dont have many people to bounce my experiences off of. Therefore videos like this are pretty much a blessing. Thank you! P.s. draw backgrounds! You will thank yourself, ppl!!!
Tip #3 - Home NAS appliance (with a UPS) plus syncing offsite to Backblaze or other offsite backup solution. With some kind of automation on all of that. Tip #7.2 - The more common word for that is *macros*. Generally automation is a good thing. It will not only be faster than whatever you can do by hand, but more accurate - if programmed properly - saving you from having to correct errors. The major keyboard makers have companion software that can allow you to create macros tied to one of several macro keys, if you have a keyboard that supports it. There are even macro keyboards or macro pads - keyboards that are only macro keys that you configure with the companion software. Taran Van Hemert (formerly of Linus Tech Tips) demonstrated how to use an entire separate keyboard as a macro keyboard - though there is a bit of a learning curve involved. Whatever you're doing, consider if there's a way to automate it. Even something as simple as scripts that automate your backups and run as a scheduled task so you don't have to think about it. I have a short script that automates dumping files from my camera card to my workstation, then copying them to my NAS before I start working with the workstation copies.
This was really helpful, especially the idea of making your own website. I've been doing my webcomic since 2020 on top of my full time job as a board artist, and while I love writing and drawing the series, it definitely could use more TLC from your tips.
20:10 SCREAMING AND WAILING!! I MISS SMACKJEEVES! It was so nice to use, and then one day it suddenly got a REALLY bad update. Like *really* bad to the point the website shut down within the month because everyone jumped ship. I'm not exaggerating. I remember feeling devastated that I had nowhere to go, because I refused to use Tapas, my comic wasn't formated good for Webtoon, and my art wasn't good enough for Hiveworks. Honestly if it weren't for Comic Fury, I don't know what I would have done. My comic likely would have been cancelled long before I actually cancelled it, but I wouldn't have an archive for it. For my next comic, I'm definitely gonna have my own website for it. I'm not going through that nightmare again.
Something I think is worth mentioning is that if you want to make comics, READ COMICS!! Figure out how the medium can be used, how to tell certain kinds of stories in a comic form, why certain authors make certain choices when drawing or writing, that sort of thing. I just finished reading PaperGirls for the first time, and it had a lot of value in terms of reading to learn. It's a crazy time travel story, but the way it's presented helps to make it make sense while also making it incredibly engaging. Towards the end of the story, there is about 10 pages where the 4 main characters are all at different points in time having similar conversations, so the pages are laid out in 4 panels on each page going from top to bottom. Each respective panel on each page continues the conversation from the panel on the last page until something happens that effects all 4 points in time, meaning all 4 characters can react to it together. It was a really cool thing I've seen movies try to do, but since it can't be displayed all at once in a movie, it's not even half as effective as it was in PaperGirls. Sorry, not trying to pretend like I know better, I just think this is good advise regardless of the art you're trying to make. I also just needed an excuse to talk about PaperGirls. It was really really good. Thank you for the video, it was very insightful :)
If there's one tip I greatly appreciate as someone who's starting to try and get better at drawing, it's using my shoulder to draw instead of my wrist. I never understood why I struggled with so many shapes until I used that particular advice. Thank you very much!
a good idea i had as someone who likes to make detailed designs is save the complex outfit ideas for promotional art. what i plan to do is create a simplified version of the ideal design i want for the character in the comic and then add the extra details on any art outside of the comic. a bonus is that that way, if i were to receive any fanart, people could choose which version they’d want to draw. the simple version or the “canon” complex version.
Honestly I’m very late yes! But this is very helpful, all your tips and other webtoon videos. I’ve recently started my own called Delusional mindset, so it’ll be very helpful to keep these in mind lol. I truthfully started out of boredom but I do plan to continue!
For starting out in learning how to riding a bike, the latest advice I've heard is to use a balance bike or lower the seat on a normal bike instead of using training wheels. This is because the key to learning how to ride a bike is how to steer the front wheel such that you remain balanced and training wheels interfere with bike steering which requires leaning to the side.
i’m not sure if anyone else had said this, but making your first comic in a high school setting helps with the start small and have simple character designs! ik a lot of webcomic creators have grand plans for an insane sci-fi/fantasy story with enough lore to fill the earth’s oceans and characters deeper than the mariana trench, but have started simple high school romance to test their webcomic skills. this includes things like getting into the habit of consistently drawing the same things over and over again and updating at the same time every week or so. there’s no need for fancy outfit design with high school settings, slap them all in uniforms and you’re done! same goes for character designs, they’re all kids and teachers, and maybe the main characters’ family. starting off with a simpler premise and basing it on a well known setting means you don’t have to spend too long on planning and you can get right into actually making the comic. it’s also good to see if you can fit comics into your lifestyle without getting burnt out! the number of indefinite hiatuses and dropped comics that come from burnout oml…
I particularly relate to the advice about screen design because I've been drawing comics for years, but then I learned photography and videography and realized that rules on shot composition are very helpful in drawing comics too.
Tip: For my comic there are repeating frequent locations so to make sure I get perspective and consistency right I built them in Minecraft, screenshot the perspectives I wanted, and trace/use them as a guide.
Woww this is so helpful, thank you! I'm just leaving college from learning graphic design and.. while I learnt some things, I don't feel it was so helpful for what I needed to learn and improve. I've taught myself mostly, but if anyone can share their experience with art school or taking animation in University, it could help me - i'm not sure whether the experience is worth the cost 😅
Great advice! Drawing backgrounds / feet, studying screen design, working efficiently with smart reuse of assets and 3d modelling, having a custom website (but still leveraging third party sites) and backing up all your hard work (in multiple places), are all things that immediately come to my mind when thinking about what I'd want to say based on my experience making webcomics too!
This is my first time hearing about actions! I'd be very grateful for a tutorial video, being able to automatically save in multiple formats sounds like a dream!
first step is so real. shueisha has an international manga contest every year. and my story expands on just a small aspect of my main story :D.. not only do i get a better feel of what i want to do, but i have the opportunity and focus on a aspect that i might not be able to get to in my main story.
12:43 this! I just reworked my four panel page because I thought “This doesn’t look right.” My thought was, if they’re approaching {place} from the left then I should probably be showing {place} from the same side I’m all the panels of the page
This was informative. I've watched Whyt Manga's video about creating a script first before sketching. My question is do webcomic creators have to write story layout first or go straight to creating the panels?
BACKGROUNDS. YES! THANK YOU! Plus, the more one practices drawing backgrounds (or tracing them!) the easier they are to create. Now I enjoy drawing backgrounds! Also I looooooove the way you color and have been enjoying your con stories!
thank u for reminding me to draw from my shoulder while i was listening to your video! i've been trying to do this for a while, and it's just starting to stick ahaha~
"Keep your character design simple!" Friendly reminder that Toriyama (rip) learned this the hard way and gradually simplified the designs for almost all of the major characters while writing Dragon Ball. From removing the tails from characters like Goku, to Vegeta's evolution from fully armored to just a blue onesie, or Frieza's form simplifying thru the Namek arc. Dragon Ball's evolving artstyle is a masterclass in portraying more with less.
3:11 this is actually a great idea, not just for comics but for any story! (At least in my opinion) I think that because it allows you to not only practice, but also get to know your characters! 3:56 YES. (Again I find it applicable to both books and comics, as well as animating, but for books it’s for the readers, for comics and animation it’s for the creators) 5:24 I can agree with that. 7:25 I can not and will not argue with that. You do need to draw backgrounds. They’re difficult, yes, but they enhance the art and GIVE THE READER A CLUE ABOUT WHERE THE HECK THE CHARACTERS ARE! 8:36 ummm… I think you forgot the comic 😅 8:57 Oop- there it is! 9:38 I was confused for a second there, then I realized that you meant showing the characters walking or running. 11:01 OHHH! Knowing where to put what essentially. (For example, if two characters are in the back and you want to highlight their expressions while they converse instead of the characters in front of them, you “zoom in” on them specifically.) 15:09 OoO! I NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT! 15:44 sorry, that costs money. I do not have that. Enjoy having money, I shall enjoy painstakingly making chains by hand. 16:30 I WANNA DO THIS BUT I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE MY CHARACTERS 3D 17:52 I just saw your short on this, it’s a great idea, now just to figure out how… 20:58 did not realize it cost money. Fuzz. 21:28 this also falls under “things every person should do” 😂 22:01 oh my Irene. THAT IS AN (for those who do it for fun) ARTISTS WORST NIGHTMARE! 24:23 YESSSS! Tell the story you wanna tell! Otherwise your heart won’t be in it and it’ll fail! Ok, so I have a few bits of advice (take these with a grain of inexperienced salt) one is to have your story at least somewhat planned out BEFORE posting it or sharing it, it can start to seem directionless otherwise and confuse the readers. My second one is to listen to others advice. You don’t have to take it, but it helps to listen so you can better learn and grow. If you find the advice doesn’t suit you, don’t use it. Finally, get to know your characters first. You may find some things that may better help your world while you meet them!
I loooooooove drawing backgrounds. Really! I made a comic where two friends walking through a town just to have the oportunity to draw as many buildings I could. I tink that people that hate to draw BG are not used to see their work with BG. Once you see it, you will be so proud of yourself that you will keep doing it.
the 180º rule is actually really powerful if broken in animation and cinematography because that confusion you mentioned could reflect the same confusion the character in the foreground is feeling, like their worldview was suddenly flipped; I don't know to what extent this can be well translated into comic form, but in any case this is only powerful because it's breaking the rule but not ignoring it
Im currently working on a comic. And I plan on using 3D to help set the scene so I dont spend too much time struggling with perspective and how im gonns do this and that. Learning how to use Blender or any other 3D sofward of your choosing is a great skill to have. It saves time and energy in the long run.
These videos have been a great watch. I'm in the early stages of planning a mecha comic, and you best believe I'm gonna abuse the absolute heck out of some 3D models
A lot of these are great, but I would say that not all of them are necessarily applicable to *every* webcomic artist. Sure, drawing backgrounds, especially establishing shots, is important for story and character based comics, but not all webcomics are that. There seems to be an assumption that all webcomics will be like comic books, but released just one page at a time, but not all webcomics are created equal. I made a webcomic that's more in the style of a newspaper gag comic. While it does have recurring characters, there really isn't any kind of story, and there aren't a whole lot of varying locations. There are some gag comics that don't even have recurring characters. So the advice about backgrounds, establishing shots, and character designs may not necessarily apply to everyone. I guess this is just to say that I would add on a #11: Look at different types of comics, and not just comic books, and see if maybe you want to make something in a different comic sub-genre. I really appreciated the advice on the whole, though. The advice to make your own website is really becoming more and more relevant. Besides just webcomic hosting sites, blog hosting sites and social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr have become the sole home of a number of people's webcomics and even illustration portfolios, and it's kind of scary. When Twitter eventually goes under (which looks like it will happen sooner than later), you don't want to be left high and dry. Instagram may seem big now, but it won't always be. Tumblr seems to be able to weather a lot of internet storms, but eventually it will go away. Get your own space on the web. Also, since backing up files was brought up, when you make your website, *back up your website*. Even if you pay for hosting, hosting companies can also go under or get acquired by someone else and whatnot. It's important to have a backup of your website in case you need to change hosting for any reason. Digital files are volatile. Thank goodness you can make as many copies of them as you want.
The screen design thing is very interesting. I’m not an artist, but I was curious what goes into making comics and webcomics, and when you talked about screen design… it reminded me of another video where a guy named TotallyNotMark praised the panel design in Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga because it naturally lead the viewer’s eyes throughout each page for the best path to understanding the story. I never thought about how sometimes, the placement of things like talk bubbles can disrupt the flow of a comic and whatnot, but it makes sense that the same applies to webcomics as well. Also never heard of the 180 rule until today so I learned something new.
I'm secretly a bit of a know it all and like to go into these thinking I am gonna be aware of everything you say. But I actually did learn about several things I didn't know or at least didn't consciously realize were a thing. I know how that sounds, but getting an idea through my thick noggin and humbling me a little should be considered a compliment. Very good and educational video from you
I love your videos! Thank you for your tips, and i have actually got your book for my sisters birthday! And she's been reading everyday! And I'm thinking of maybe making my own comic because you have inspired me so much :D!
Hey just wanted to say I LOVE your series on how to make webcomics but I know I’m speaking for many people when I say you should make a video on the scripting/writing process all of your tips have helped me so much but I’m just not quite sure how to write my comic just yet
The backgrounds tip 😂 My own tip for this is using the Sims for indoor settings and drawing over or using screenshots for reference. Also, sort of unrelated, but my biggest pet peeve with art is when an artist draws everything but the feet and “cut off” the calves to have these weird cylinder stumps. If you really hate it, just have them out of frame…
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a video from you about screen design in more detail. I’ve bought and read your book, but definitely would appreciate the deep dive ❤
My one and only webcomic is a magical girl series and I did the thing - I started with the BIG PROJECT right away. And it actually worked! (and still does) I think the only reason it does is because I am a very stubborn, consistent person and it's the only comic I ever wanted to do (I'm a huge Magical Doremi fan, you see). I don't recommend doing it but I just wanted to let you know it is possible! :)
I'm glad I watched this video. I came up woth a story and started to practice art on my phone but this is making me realize i wasnt desogned for this hobby at all, props to all webtoon creators who put their souls into this
Thank you SO much for the tips! I've never done a web comic before but i have a story ive been thinking about and sketching out for a while now. Making a side story set in the same universe to get better making a comic is a wonderful idea and will help me flesh out certain characters. I cant wait to get this comic out there!
thank you so much for videos like these!! I’ve recently been debating over whether I should make this silly idea I have in my head into a webcomic or not, and these tips are incredibly helpful!
"You need to draw background" I literally told my partner "I know you have more experience with this, but I want to do the backgrounds" because I WANT TO LEARN
Watching this video has made me enthusiastic about starting web comics. Would love to watch your video covering screen theory to help me get into drawing comics.
Heh. I was once yelled at for reusing the same background in eight frames over four comics. I am NOT redrawing an identical background. I just leave certain areas transparent such as the window, and use a colour layer over it to depict night time. Why would ANYONE redraw the same background eight times? It was a bedroom, by the way.
If animated shows can get away with reusing backgrounds, why can’t comic artists?
If it's the same background in all the shots why WOULDN'T you reuse it? Not doing so is wasted work. Anyone fussing about that knows nothing about art.
@@ShinGallon They expect backgrounds to be continually redrawn, you know, like in real life!
Tower of God reuses frames and scenes but I like it as a trade off for having full color and really detailed backgrounds . Especially in the beginning but it allowed for a single artist to really amplify thier story telling as it went on and thier library of detailed frames got bigger.
What a weird thing to get mad at.
“ Draw backgrounds.” Literally passes out.💀😂😂
I did it a few times, I enjoy it tbh, but it is time consuming so for now I am gonna use 3d models from acon3d or from csp
Real
the guy who lost all three backups in one day had me CACKLINGG, dude's gotta be the unluckiest man on earth
He rolled a nat 1 on his luck check on that day! 😅
I lost five but because the original save file I backed up turned out to be corrupted. I learned the hard way to make successive back-ups in addition to having copies on a different computer in-house, a disconnected drive, and an off-site backup. And for writing, I print off copies periodically for really important projects. I'm taking no chances.
backing up your files is SUPER important -a novelist who lost an entire 23 chapters after my school google account was deleted upon graduation
oof!! that's gotta hurt
this is why i back uped my novel into my personal email
so i will always have it :)
F
Yeah, this is why I back up all my stories to my home email.
I feel this. I had finished my 2nd draft of a book I was working on and I had started to save for self publishing and lost the entire thing after my computer just... Died. It sucks so bad.
7:24 I still hear my late professor in my head saying, “Draw the backgrounds. Do not leave that panel empty.” Now I’m going to hear his voice with that vine boom. 😂
Number 9. FUCKING LISTEN TO IT.
I used to play the viola, and I sprained BOTH my wrists pushing myself too hard. I also have back problems due to the posture I had to sit in. To this day I still get really bad pains from those sprains in my wrist and my posture greatly suffered, with me now having occasional back pain. And due to stress my body developed a stress indicator of sending me into debilitating pain with inflamed ribs. I can still draw, but now I have to keep an eye on my body to see when I need a break. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.
It was your "what not to do" video that got me into this channel. When I clicked on it, I was worried it was just going to be some rando complaining about tropes they don't like, like "Don't put your protagonist in a love triangle, that's a boring cliche!" When I saw instead that it was objectively good, sound advice for how to be successful in webcomics, you gained a new subscriber. This is a really good companion video to that one.
dude same reason for me I was so scared you might be like the rest of the videos I watched, but you weren't you have this straightness to you that I love, but this kindness an overall cool vibe so ye thanks
Props to the milk cartons that just appeared and disappeared 8:17. Made me rethink the way I look at art entirely, on a deeper level than I could ever even imagine.
i legit had to go back and pause on it because i thought i was seeing things
when you started saying the next tip was "something you get yelled at a lot for" i was genuinely like "oh boy what is it?" and then you said backgrounds and I started cackling. As a storyboard artist and comic creator I 100% see this issue so much it drives me nuts like "why is character jones in a blank white void??? where are we, what is happening?" also BLESS YOU FOR MENTIONING CAMERA ANGLES AND TECHNIQUES PLS IM BEGGING COMIC ARTISTS TO TAKE STORYBOARDING COURSES THEY ACTUALLY HELP SO MUCH YOU HAVE NO IDEA!! they are very interchangeable and a lot of storyboard artists in the industry actually started out making comics. its a very good skill to learn~ (also star thank you for making your videos in general, they've been helping me stay motivated and productive during comic planning and got me to read Castoff which i am deeply in love with now lol)
I also had a professional artist tell me once that it's a good idea to do the backgrounds first as it will really help with drawing perspective and with lighting when it comes to coloring.
great vid! "Be your comic's biggest fan" is what I've been preaching for ages!! definitely something all creators need to keep in mind! x)
It took me far too long to realize the merit in this!
PUDDLE HI IM A BIG FAN!
@@AdorableFennec hi!!!!
@@Puddle You make such high quality videos but you don't get the attention for them compared to other youtubers. I've loved your channel for a long time!!! I discovered it in 2018 from uhh... that oc video..... and later found that video in the watch history of an old account and started watching your videos from there! I've seen all the videos currently up on your channel!! I really love your personality and wisdom! Hope this message from a stranger on the internet is appreciated somehow
@@AdorableFennec I'm so grateful people took interest in the original evolution of puddle video x) so much has changed since then!! thank you so much for stickin along and liking what I make!! it means so much to me!! 😭💜
Not a webcomic artist, but I am a writer. I agree wholeheartedly about starting small. Thankfully, I had a lot of practice writing short stories in my creative writing classes. Everything from 100-word challenges to my 13,000-word creative thesis. Over the course of two years, I used those short stories to build a fantasy world and create characters for it. And now, I'm much more confident about creating a larger narrative because I already have a strong foundation to work from.
yeah o used to draw comics ALL THE TIME as a kid :)
most kids drew stick figures
no i drew realistic dragon comics :)
Same, im not a webcomic artist... Yet... But i have written two books, and start small ... I did not. Book one took me almsot three years and way to much money to fonish jist because i was having to learn as i went, and kept needing to redo things. Book two i finished in less than six months. And book three is on pace to be even quicker and better.
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #1 : Start Small 1:10
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #2 : Keep your character designs simple and easy to draw 3:48
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #3 : Back up your files 5:20
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #4 : Draw backgrounds 7:18
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #5 : Show feet 9:16
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #6 : Study screen design 10:29
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #7 : Work efficiently 13:49
1 : Keyboard Shortcuts 14:32
2 :
3 : Make custom brushes
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #8 :
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #9 :
THINGS EVERY WEBCOMIC CREATOR SHOULD DO, #10 :
Show feet sounds so weird out of context 😭
8; build your own website (17:50)
9; take care of your body (21:27)
10; make the comic you want to make (24:23)
@@AmoebaMak LITERALLY 😭😭
bro gave up halfway through
its ok you can finish the video when you can
The 180 rule is definitely something that I learned from my hubby who does animation. It's kinda funny thought, I naturally followed this rule until my mom said that i should break it to make the pages more interesting. So I did, for a while. Until I got yelled at for it. Luckily, when I didn't follow that rules, the comic I was working one was not dialog heavy, so wasn’t an issue.
After watching tbis video I'd like to give a shoutout to Manga May, a challenge organised by MonitorComics, where each day of May you have to make a comic page based on a prompt. Its goal was to help aspiring artists get over their fears of posting their first comics. After participating for 20 days straight i can confidently say it was one of fhe most important things I've done. It has given me the courage to actually start writing comics with the goal of uploading them. I'd encourage y'all to check it out next year, the community was amazing!
biggest chad of the art community
Ooh thanks for sharing this, I wanna join next year now!
@@anyalundberg2174 sure! It was very fun!
Star hypes up point 4, making it seem like the most controversial take on webcomics ever: "Here it is: Things every webcomic creator should do, Number 4: ..."
aaand YT plays an ad.
That got a good chuckle out of me.
Tip 10 hits so hard. "Be your own primary target audience" has always been my first and most important tip to anyone asking for advice.
I really have to take "start small" to heart. I've been stuck on page 4 of my passion project for far too long now and could really use the experience. Maybe little episodical shorts using the same characters and world.
Working in IT, I can't stress enough how important the 3/2/1 rule is. Save your stuff in at least 3 different places, using at least 2 different mediums and have at least 1 of them be online. We had students not being able to present their final presentation because their laptops refused to boot due to the vibrations of the bike ride to school on the very same day of the finals.
I might just start in media res. The cast already in the world they were sent to. 😂
7:22 I love drawing backgrounds, theyre really fun! But the comic I wanna make is set in an empty black void.
5:16 personally I would say either make them easy to draw like you said or just easy to remember how to draw. I drew a few characters that where super complex but easy to remember. Bonus points if there fun to draw. It's always more enjoyable (for me at least) to draw a character that's super complex but fun. Like cute shapes or interesting details that you enjoy drawing over and over
The 180 degree rule in #6 seems like something that could be used to intentionally unsettle audiences in intense scenes like with unstable characters or to amplify a tone shift, ESPECIALLY in horror. But that just reminds me of the old saying for all art "you need to know the rules to effectively break them".
Great video with excellent advice!
I just recently read the first chapter of castoff and oh. My. God. Even though it was your early art, the characters personality are well established and isn’t your generic fantasy comic. Vector is such an innocent bean and must be protected. I’m very interested in the story, and I’ll keep reading to find out more about the story. (A “How I create my own site for my webcomic” would be very appreciated!) ❤❤
The fact that you felt the need to create a positive video about webcomic creation after a 'negative' video already sets you apart from other online creators out there in my eyes.
Edit: I can understand the controversy around the 'start small' tip. I have trouble coming up with 'small' ideas. The background 'controversy' just sounds like people being lazy. Yes, I too hated backgrounds and I understand. But then I tried actually drawing the things around me, places I go, and at first it's hard, but it's actually quite rewarding.
2nd Edit: I have to get on this soapbox for a second. So, I love the last tip, making what you want to make. Art teachers and writing teachers, especially the latter, are starting to become like nutritionists, if you listened to all of them, you would never eat. So many writing teachers are full of "don'ts". Scratch out the don't, and do. Make the dumb mistakes. Draw the wonky anatomy. Make a cringe romance story with OCs that make people's eyes bleed. Making a mistake hurts now but regret hurts way more later. Fall off the bike 5, 10, 100 times and then get back on.
8:15 Has anyone else noticed the milk carton? Or is that just me? 😂
Keep up the great work Star! Love your videos ❤
I remember when Drunk Duck got hacked and I lost the comic that was hosting there, it took like 3 months for it to return and I still had the comics lucky but I never restarted it.
Another thing every webcomicer should do is have a buffer of comics ready. It varies on update schedule but I would say try to have at least a month or 2 weeks minimum so you can keep posting if things happen, getting sick, machine breaking, tablet breaking, supplies, moods, or emergency happen, so having that buffer will not make you stress enough. Once you able to draw again replace it slowly, you can easily draw parts of next page or add a page a week or even 1/4 a page a week till it is replaced. This I would not skimp on, if you in mood to do it add more to it. I am sure all of you read comics that had to stop for these and other reasons and when they finally back they lost half the audience or something. So a steady update is needed, unless you do things ahead of time to show people it is the end of a season or so. Either way a buffer will never hurt. This way you will always be a few weeks ahead and can relax instead of rushing things. If you use printed comics, those comics you read and buy where not made a month ago and printed and released, no they was ready to print 3 moths ago, sometimes they made in a year or more in advance and yes there are times where they change things and add story elements but even those are either hastly put in comics leading to it being poor or put in later at least 3 months ahead.
This will also help with advertising aspects but that is a whole worm of cans on it's own.
I genuinely wish I had the patience to keep practicing drawing. I love writing scripts and ideas for webcomics. But my drive to learn how to draw is... not high... As such, I usually look for people online to draw for me and... well obviously payment is something I just HAVE to do because artists deserve compensation for their time.
Honestly I feel that, but to be 100 with you. The best thing to do is just to do, study some of the basics (draw for fun too while doing so) then work on a comic. Just start drawing it, give yourself a deadline for each chapter and try to stick to it. You'll find yourself getting better while you go.
I felt the same until eventually I realised that probably nobody will draw my stories with the same passion as me. So yeah, I just sucked it up and started learning.
@@writerbutlerlewis I think my main problem stems from a certain kind of... imposter syndrome. Like I look at my own art and then look at somebody else's and say "I want mine to look like that!" And that kills my confidence.
Your idea sound like the original creator of one punch man. He was fantastic at story telling, but not so much with art. Despite that, his webcomic got extremely Popular just because of his good storytelling.
@@evaespino2577 Never got into One Punch Man.
I just started drawing up a webcomic idea ive had for a little while and genuinely: I built the whole school in the sims to use as a background reference. I hate drawing backgrounds so i know i will need a reference for every background i draw, and lowkey the sims is a good place to build a rough background. I can adjust things as needed, like include items that don't exist in the sims and move things around in ways the sims doesn't allow for, i can do all that in post, but its a good way to at least have an idea of a background with perspective and all that plus have a feel for the overall structure of the school considering a looot of time will be spent there. Highly recommend if you're intimidated by other 3d modelling softwares.
Minor point from a storyboard artist and comic junkie. The 180 rule is good to follow in film because you can't go back three panels or the top of the page to re-orient yourself - you have the element of time in film and you have to keep moving forward. You can often and should ignore the 180 rule in comics to avoid boredom or repetition of character placement in panels. There is something known as 'Graphic Review" for comics where your eye can shift back and forth instantly when the reader needs to know where someone was standing at the beginning of in a sequence. The two forms of visual storytelling cross in a lot of places. This one is not as essential, and that's why it is rarely covered for comics. The most important thing with this sequential story point is a combination of clarity and interest; one can always supersede the other.
I can't believe it took me a whole minute to realize it's magni being drawn!
Your videos on comics are always so informative. A wonderful mix of emphasizing stuff that should be obvious (cough taking care of your own body) as well as stuff that I've never heard about. The 180 degree rule is definitely something i instinctually know as a reader of many comics but i had no idea there was a name for it
Not a web comic creator, just a writer and art enthusiast who reads WAAAAAAY too much webtoon but THANK YOU for mentioning the backgrounds thing! I paint landscapes as a hobby so I get how much work backgrounds can be but the worst is when a good story and the emotion are ham-stringed by the characters floating in the white (or generic fill) void. Also, the standard blender assets that so many webtoon artists use as a shortcut drive me crazy. Using 3D to help with angles and as references overall makes total sense and there is nothing wrong with that but so many (particularly isekai) comics feel the same because they all use the same assets. Then there's the fact it sometimes exposes the artist's lack of skill with perspective. Nothing like seeing someone emotionally throw themselves into a chair or onto a bed that look big enough in comparison to accommodate an entire family of giants. Tea cups that are jagged polygons rather than nice circles or necklaces that look like a 2D fill that cuts off exactly at the character's outline with no "wrap around" or "bulk" also stand out glaringly. And really, using standard assets outright instead of just as reference almost always seems to make the characters feel disconnected from the world just for the basic fact the art styles are so different. The few comics I've read in which the artists clearly draw the backgrounds always feel so much more immersive and beautiful to look at. I go back to those over and over and recommend them all the time. All the "standard Blender asset" comics go into the "To Be Forgotten" pile. I totally understand making web comics is crazy work but why put all that effort in only to kneecap it by neglecting or half-assing the backgrounds? (Also, thanks for mentioning the 180 rule! So many need to hear it! The viewer isn't "in the room" with the characters so they lack the same frame of reference so it's jarring when the rule is violated.)
Very helpful and concise video, with some very good tips!
#1. Funny thing is, my comic started as a "I'll just do a little 5-10 page thing with this new D&D character I just made". I'm currently working on page 146. It just sorta snowballed and I just kept adding pages as the story started forming in my head. When I added another D&D character in as the second protagonist I couldn't stop. These characters now live rent free in my head and I have 3 secuel graphic novels planned after I wrap this one in another 35 or so pages.
#2 I definitely wish I'd simplified my Kobold artificer's armor a bit before I started my comic. I'm definitely simplifying it for the sequels. Love him to death but he takes like 20 minutes to draw per-panel.
#3 I have backups upon backups. I am a digital hoarder.
#4 I have gotten better and faster at drawing backgrounds, thankfully. It's still a pain and triples the time it takes to finish a page, but it's so much better looking in the end. But BARE MINIMUM you should be drawing establishing shots for scene changes. MINIMUM.
#5 I'm diligent about doing this every few pages. It's easier when you're drawing a fight sequence.
#6 Okay, page 146 of my comic, the one I'm currently drawing as I listen to this video? I beark the 180 rule across it's 2 panels. BUT...there was no other way without having the second panel have the central character of that panel facing away from the viewer and it looked bad. I tried several thumbnails to fix it. It just wouldn't be fixed. So, I compromised by having that second panel be a far-away shot that shows the characters whole bodies. And in my defense the characters are all radically different looking from each other so I felt the visual clarity wasn't broken. Most of the time I try to follow the 180 rule though.
#7 I've been meaning to do just this, I'm learning Unreal Engine to use to build models for locations that are going to feature prominently in the comic that I can then put a camera in to screensnip reference shots for the environments. I'm just not very good at working with 3D programs yet.
#8 I live in constant mortal fear of carpal tunnel, I take extreme precautions against it
#9 I'll have to give this a shot, I typically only move my arm at the elbow to do large curves.
#10 My comic has been my passion project. I utterly and completely adore my characters, and want to tell their story. Other people seem to enjoy it as well and that's fine, but even if no one else did, I'd still make it because it's something I want to see happen. My comic's B&W because I wanted to go for not just a manga look but also kinda mimic the small indie comics from the 80s I read a lot of growing up. Sometimes I think it'd be easier to do in color, though. But I'm rambling, I just love talking about my comic and characters.
Recently I learned that some mangakas and animes are doing something that in games we call LoD: Level of Detail. You make some versions of characters, one super detailed for closeups, mid with some detail fused for regular use and basically no detail no nose nothing for backgrounds etc. It was life changing. The character stays on model, but it’s 3-5 different models! Blew my mind.
I most definetly needed to hear the first one. I have a whole Pokemon AU comic planned and scripted and I've NEVER worked on a web-comic before.
honestly, i love drawing backrounds. after drawing the same characters for hundreds and hundreds of times, i think its nice to draw something different yknow
My biggest question with trying to start a comic is... How does one find the ability to keep on track while trying to get through life?
I have tried to make a comic several times. Each time I start, I get two or three pages in and then life hits, takes me away from it where I can't think of working on it for months, and then... then... I don't even know what I was trying to do. It's a real mood and creativity killer for me.
Also, your animated start in this video was interesting. I give that a thumbs up.
I've found myself in similar situations. What's helped me is by sticking to a daily routine that helps me achieve small goals towards progressing with my comic. For example, sketching out two panels for the day. It may feel like the process takes too long that way, but at least it'll be rewarding to know you're taking realistic steps towards completing your comic
Thanks for helping me dig myself out of whatever mess I’ve jumped into as well as making me realise I haven’t completely done everything wrong
It was through this video that I found out smackjeeves died. RIP
Also the "take care of your body" advice is something I highly agree with. I don't have carpal tunnel, but I did have a carpal tunnel scare, and I do have RSI that flares up now and then. It's no joke and absolutely soul-crushing when the doctor told me I had it. Couldn't draw or play video games for a long time. I learned to live with it with lifestyle changes (drawing w/ arm/shoulder and taking breaks helps as you said!), but I wish I had been made more aware of these types of injuries when I was younger so I could take better care of my hands and wrists. You only got one body, y'all, take care of it!
I bought the E-book and I can definitely recommend it! Lots of straight-to-the-point and easy to understand tips. With the perfect balance between text and fun explanatory illustrations :D
Making a small side story is an amazing idea!
Ive been planning a long running webcomic for almost a year now but have felt overwhelmed. I already have an idea for a small side comic, so this is really useful!
6:34 How hard must the dude have broken that mirror to have such shit luck?? LMAO
Thanks for the tips btw 👍
I'm so glad you mentioned doing short one-off comics set in your story's universe because that's exactly the approach I've taken I feel so seen haha! I'm currently working on a one-shot about 50 pages long centering on one of my main villains and her whole M.O and it's a real challenge but I figure this is the best way to warm myself up for eventually starting the main story, y'know? I'm kinda hoping that if it reaches anyone it'll get at least one or two people interested in my characters- that's the dream, after all.
Anyways, fantastic video, you seem like you've got a good head on your shoulders when it comes to making webcomics so this advice is duly noted! This actually got me a little pumped to keep working on that one-shot, so thank you ^^
you might be the most helpful webcomic artist on youtube! thanks for sharing your wisdom! ps. now I'm obsessed with Castoff lol
Just want to say thank you! Caught up on Castoff again and
Wow
Have a good break
But yeah it’s gotten us thinking of starting our own comic instead of the animated series we’d planned; while it’s not gonna be much less work it’s still more approachable I think
So
Thanks!
Hooray for more webcomic tips!! I just got your ebook last week, and I read it all in one day (I was very excited 😅), and I loved it!
Your book and videos have helped inspire me to start working in my own comics that I’ve had in the back of my head for years. They’re still in the draft phase, but now I’m eager to work on them!
Thank you so so much for your advice and inspiration Star 💖
This is very useful advice for anyone working in a visual medium. Print comic book artists should take note
12:23 This actually does have exceptions! It’s still something to keep in mind but for example if someone opens a door between 2 characters and the camera pans to look into the room behind the door frame, the characters would have swapped places. The key is that the door gave us context to why the characters flipped 😊
Honestly so curious about auto actions, I’m very familiar with doing them in Photoshop when it comes to converting color profiles (mainly for printed work)- but I didn’t know clip studio could do them too, never mind for multiple exported formats, that’s really cool! Hopefully I can find some tutorials
Oh yeah it does! For example, I have an auto color line function that automatically colors my lineart referencing my base colors, shadows and highlights. I don't use it much anymore, but I absolutely love the way it makes my art look!
@@zephyrdagonheart1208 0o0…. I… is clip studio the god of digital art?!?! I used to say that csp was the marriage of procreate and photoshop but f that this is taking the basis of photoshop and tailoring every spec to artists
Out of curiosity since I have you here- I just recently started using csp and one of the learning hurdles I’m dealing with is the navigation differences between ps and csp. In ps there’s several ways to do the same thing- meaning it’s pretty easy to figure out how to do A Thing because there’s multiple paths you can take. But with csp it’s so direct and so simple it’s almost dumb- especially with brush groups. It took quite a bit for me to find the answer of “how to make a new brush group” because that choice *wasn’t in the tool settings* when I just needed to drag it over
Is there anyway I could get around this? I’m trying to leave the Adobe pipeline once my year trial ends because it’s just so $$$ and I’m having trouble finding guides that encapsulates *everything* csp can do instead of detailed explanations on specific things
Any channels that talk about csp in this way?
@@indiecrowarts im not them but if you want videos that go over everything there's two i can recommend
"csp - 50 quick tips & tricks you need" by jp art (15 minutes long)
"full guide to csp" by samijen (1 hour long)
the first one is really great cause there are a lot of features that arent as well known as they should be, and theyre explained in an easy way
i dont know if the second one would be as useful cause you probably already know like half the stuff because of photoshop but yeah, i hope they help somehow :D
also please please save everything to the cloud, it keeps all your brushes and files (even window layout i think??) and you can restore old backups in case something goes wrong
you probably already know about the assets thing, but besides custom brushes you can also download color palettes, gradient maps, auto actions, 3d models and some other tools
@@singingbugboy I screenshotted this thank you so much!!
All good tips. Something I do specifically on the character design front to simplify designs, if I have a character with an intricate design, when I'm designing the model sheet, I'll include different levels of detail for each character in smaller and smaller sizes. So I know how the character will look for close-ups, as well as having a standard way of simplifying them for far shots or in silhouettes.
Also having a standardized way of drawing background characters so they're naturally pushed into the background a bit more.
In addition to doing hand stretches daily I've started doing hand grip exercises with some equipment I got from amazon. I do them 2-3 times a week and it's helped my hands feel better.
This artist is a great teacher! I'm going to start a comic soon, and these tips are really helpful! I should take notes tbh!
3:50 this is an older video so i don't have high expectations for getting an answer, but one of my characters has vitiligo and i don't want to get rid of that despite how complex it is. Is there anything i can do to make repeated drawings of him less daunting?
I think it depends on the style. I don't know how much detail your character has, but I advise you to simplify his vitiligo so it'll be less detailed and time-consuming. You can also make a custom brush to quickly draw it. In my opinion, while it's not difficult for you to draw him, it's good to have a distinctive design feature
Although most likely you have already figured it out, but in any case, good luck with the project!
Love your art style 😍👍 thank you for the tips btw
Thank you so much for those videos. My experience with drawing comics comes from a similar veign. Drawing strips or 1-5 pages per. (by now its 20 pages per chapter)
So I dont consider myself inexperienced. YET, it is just very healthy to have experiences confirmed like this. To me it is very reassuring when i watch your videos and realize that I already do so many things right. Most of my friends specialize in illustrations. So I dont have many people to bounce my experiences off of. Therefore videos like this are pretty much a blessing.
Thank you!
P.s. draw backgrounds! You will thank yourself, ppl!!!
So glad to see that this uploaded not too long ago, because I am actually about to start a comic so I all of this is gonna help out a lot^^
Tip #3 - Home NAS appliance (with a UPS) plus syncing offsite to Backblaze or other offsite backup solution. With some kind of automation on all of that.
Tip #7.2 - The more common word for that is *macros*.
Generally automation is a good thing. It will not only be faster than whatever you can do by hand, but more accurate - if programmed properly - saving you from having to correct errors. The major keyboard makers have companion software that can allow you to create macros tied to one of several macro keys, if you have a keyboard that supports it. There are even macro keyboards or macro pads - keyboards that are only macro keys that you configure with the companion software. Taran Van Hemert (formerly of Linus Tech Tips) demonstrated how to use an entire separate keyboard as a macro keyboard - though there is a bit of a learning curve involved.
Whatever you're doing, consider if there's a way to automate it. Even something as simple as scripts that automate your backups and run as a scheduled task so you don't have to think about it. I have a short script that automates dumping files from my camera card to my workstation, then copying them to my NAS before I start working with the workstation copies.
This was really helpful, especially the idea of making your own website. I've been doing my webcomic since 2020 on top of my full time job as a board artist, and while I love writing and drawing the series, it definitely could use more TLC from your tips.
20:10 SCREAMING AND WAILING!! I MISS SMACKJEEVES! It was so nice to use, and then one day it suddenly got a REALLY bad update. Like *really* bad to the point the website shut down within the month because everyone jumped ship. I'm not exaggerating.
I remember feeling devastated that I had nowhere to go, because I refused to use Tapas, my comic wasn't formated good for Webtoon, and my art wasn't good enough for Hiveworks. Honestly if it weren't for Comic Fury, I don't know what I would have done. My comic likely would have been cancelled long before I actually cancelled it, but I wouldn't have an archive for it.
For my next comic, I'm definitely gonna have my own website for it. I'm not going through that nightmare again.
Something I think is worth mentioning is that if you want to make comics, READ COMICS!! Figure out how the medium can be used, how to tell certain kinds of stories in a comic form, why certain authors make certain choices when drawing or writing, that sort of thing. I just finished reading PaperGirls for the first time, and it had a lot of value in terms of reading to learn. It's a crazy time travel story, but the way it's presented helps to make it make sense while also making it incredibly engaging. Towards the end of the story, there is about 10 pages where the 4 main characters are all at different points in time having similar conversations, so the pages are laid out in 4 panels on each page going from top to bottom. Each respective panel on each page continues the conversation from the panel on the last page until something happens that effects all 4 points in time, meaning all 4 characters can react to it together. It was a really cool thing I've seen movies try to do, but since it can't be displayed all at once in a movie, it's not even half as effective as it was in PaperGirls.
Sorry, not trying to pretend like I know better, I just think this is good advise regardless of the art you're trying to make. I also just needed an excuse to talk about PaperGirls. It was really really good.
Thank you for the video, it was very insightful :)
If there's one tip I greatly appreciate as someone who's starting to try and get better at drawing, it's using my shoulder to draw instead of my wrist. I never understood why I struggled with so many shapes until I used that particular advice. Thank you very much!
a good idea i had as someone who likes to make detailed designs is save the complex outfit ideas for promotional art. what i plan to do is create a simplified version of the ideal design i want for the character in the comic and then add the extra details on any art outside of the comic. a bonus is that that way, if i were to receive any fanart, people could choose which version they’d want to draw. the simple version or the “canon” complex version.
Omg your comic is so good the the art style the colors it just cool
Honestly I’m very late yes! But this is very helpful, all your tips and other webtoon videos. I’ve recently started my own called Delusional mindset, so it’ll be very helpful to keep these in mind lol. I truthfully started out of boredom but I do plan to continue!
For starting out in learning how to riding a bike, the latest advice I've heard is to use a balance bike or lower the seat on a normal bike instead of using training wheels. This is because the key to learning how to ride a bike is how to steer the front wheel such that you remain balanced and training wheels interfere with bike steering which requires leaning to the side.
I ask for more videos about screen design.
This has been super encouraging with great tips! I recently started thinking of making my own comic.
That fanart sure came in "handy" for the background.
i’m not sure if anyone else had said this, but making your first comic in a high school setting helps with the start small and have simple character designs!
ik a lot of webcomic creators have grand plans for an insane sci-fi/fantasy story with enough lore to fill the earth’s oceans and characters deeper than the mariana trench, but have started simple high school romance to test their webcomic skills.
this includes things like getting into the habit of consistently drawing the same things over and over again and updating at the same time every week or so.
there’s no need for fancy outfit design with high school settings, slap them all in uniforms and you’re done! same goes for character designs, they’re all kids and teachers, and maybe the main characters’ family.
starting off with a simpler premise and basing it on a well known setting means you don’t have to spend too long on planning and you can get right into actually making the comic. it’s also good to see if you can fit comics into your lifestyle without getting burnt out! the number of indefinite hiatuses and dropped comics that come from burnout oml…
I particularly relate to the advice about screen design because I've been drawing comics for years, but then I learned photography and videography and realized that rules on shot composition are very helpful in drawing comics too.
The thing with „start small“ is, it still needs to be a passion project, or you will never finish it. If you have that, then yes, start small.
Tip: For my comic there are repeating frequent locations so to make sure I get perspective and consistency right I built them in Minecraft, screenshot the perspectives I wanted, and trace/use them as a guide.
Woww this is so helpful, thank you! I'm just leaving college from learning graphic design and.. while I learnt some things, I don't feel it was so helpful for what I needed to learn and improve. I've taught myself mostly, but if anyone can share their experience with art school or taking animation in University, it could help me - i'm not sure whether the experience is worth the cost 😅
Great advice! Drawing backgrounds / feet, studying screen design, working efficiently with smart reuse of assets and 3d modelling, having a custom website (but still leveraging third party sites) and backing up all your hard work (in multiple places), are all things that immediately come to my mind when thinking about what I'd want to say based on my experience making webcomics too!
This is my first time hearing about actions! I'd be very grateful for a tutorial video, being able to automatically save in multiple formats sounds like a dream!
first step is so real. shueisha has an international manga contest every year. and my story expands on just a small aspect of my main story :D.. not only do i get a better feel of what i want to do, but i have the opportunity and focus on a aspect that i might not be able to get to in my main story.
12:43 this! I just reworked my four panel page because I thought “This doesn’t look right.” My thought was, if they’re approaching {place} from the left then I should probably be showing {place} from the same side I’m all the panels of the page
Of course, now I’m thinking of how I could subvert this 180 rule to intentionally confuse my audience… muah ha ha!
This was informative. I've watched Whyt Manga's video about creating a script first before sketching.
My question is do webcomic creators have to write story layout first or go straight to creating the panels?
BACKGROUNDS. YES! THANK YOU! Plus, the more one practices drawing backgrounds (or tracing them!) the easier they are to create. Now I enjoy drawing backgrounds! Also I looooooove the way you color and have been enjoying your con stories!
They called me paranoid for having back ups of my back ups' back ups.
Who's paranoid now? WHO'S PARANOID NOW?!
thank u for reminding me to draw from my shoulder while i was listening to your video! i've been trying to do this for a while, and it's just starting to stick ahaha~
"Keep your character design simple!"
Friendly reminder that Toriyama (rip) learned this the hard way and gradually simplified the designs for almost all of the major characters while writing Dragon Ball. From removing the tails from characters like Goku, to Vegeta's evolution from fully armored to just a blue onesie, or Frieza's form simplifying thru the Namek arc. Dragon Ball's evolving artstyle is a masterclass in portraying more with less.
3:11 this is actually a great idea, not just for comics but for any story! (At least in my opinion) I think that because it allows you to not only practice, but also get to know your characters!
3:56 YES. (Again I find it applicable to both books and comics, as well as animating, but for books it’s for the readers, for comics and animation it’s for the creators)
5:24 I can agree with that.
7:25 I can not and will not argue with that. You do need to draw backgrounds. They’re difficult, yes, but they enhance the art and GIVE THE READER A CLUE ABOUT WHERE THE HECK THE CHARACTERS ARE!
8:36 ummm… I think you forgot the comic 😅
8:57 Oop- there it is!
9:38 I was confused for a second there, then I realized that you meant showing the characters walking or running.
11:01 OHHH! Knowing where to put what essentially. (For example, if two characters are in the back and you want to highlight their expressions while they converse instead of the characters in front of them, you “zoom in” on them specifically.)
15:09 OoO! I NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT!
15:44 sorry, that costs money. I do not have that. Enjoy having money, I shall enjoy painstakingly making chains by hand.
16:30 I WANNA DO THIS BUT I DONT KNOW HOW TO MAKE MY CHARACTERS 3D
17:52 I just saw your short on this, it’s a great idea, now just to figure out how…
20:58 did not realize it cost money. Fuzz.
21:28 this also falls under “things every person should do” 😂
22:01 oh my Irene. THAT IS AN (for those who do it for fun) ARTISTS WORST NIGHTMARE!
24:23 YESSSS! Tell the story you wanna tell! Otherwise your heart won’t be in it and it’ll fail!
Ok, so I have a few bits of advice (take these with a grain of inexperienced salt) one is to have your story at least somewhat planned out BEFORE posting it or sharing it, it can start to seem directionless otherwise and confuse the readers. My second one is to listen to others advice. You don’t have to take it, but it helps to listen so you can better learn and grow. If you find the advice doesn’t suit you, don’t use it. Finally, get to know your characters first. You may find some things that may better help your world while you meet them!
Love your videos; it's really helpful as I'm trying my hand at comic making!
I loooooooove drawing backgrounds. Really! I made a comic where two friends walking through a town just to have the oportunity to draw as many buildings I could. I tink that people that hate to draw BG are not used to see their work with BG. Once you see it, you will be so proud of yourself that you will keep doing it.
the 180º rule is actually really powerful if broken in animation and cinematography because that confusion you mentioned could reflect the same confusion the character in the foreground is feeling, like their worldview was suddenly flipped; I don't know to what extent this can be well translated into comic form, but in any case this is only powerful because it's breaking the rule but not ignoring it
I’m a young artist right now who’s currently unemployed but once I am I’m absolutely becoming a patron member
You provide such solid good advice! That also works for animation. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
One thing to say... R.I.P SmackJeeves... You will kinda be missed... I guess.
Im currently working on a comic. And I plan on using 3D to help set the scene so I dont spend too much time struggling with perspective and how im gonns do this and that. Learning how to use Blender or any other 3D sofward of your choosing is a great skill to have. It saves time and energy in the long run.
These videos have been a great watch. I'm in the early stages of planning a mecha comic, and you best believe I'm gonna abuse the absolute heck out of some 3D models
A lot of these are great, but I would say that not all of them are necessarily applicable to *every* webcomic artist. Sure, drawing backgrounds, especially establishing shots, is important for story and character based comics, but not all webcomics are that. There seems to be an assumption that all webcomics will be like comic books, but released just one page at a time, but not all webcomics are created equal. I made a webcomic that's more in the style of a newspaper gag comic. While it does have recurring characters, there really isn't any kind of story, and there aren't a whole lot of varying locations. There are some gag comics that don't even have recurring characters. So the advice about backgrounds, establishing shots, and character designs may not necessarily apply to everyone. I guess this is just to say that I would add on a #11: Look at different types of comics, and not just comic books, and see if maybe you want to make something in a different comic sub-genre.
I really appreciated the advice on the whole, though. The advice to make your own website is really becoming more and more relevant. Besides just webcomic hosting sites, blog hosting sites and social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr have become the sole home of a number of people's webcomics and even illustration portfolios, and it's kind of scary. When Twitter eventually goes under (which looks like it will happen sooner than later), you don't want to be left high and dry. Instagram may seem big now, but it won't always be. Tumblr seems to be able to weather a lot of internet storms, but eventually it will go away. Get your own space on the web. Also, since backing up files was brought up, when you make your website, *back up your website*. Even if you pay for hosting, hosting companies can also go under or get acquired by someone else and whatnot. It's important to have a backup of your website in case you need to change hosting for any reason. Digital files are volatile. Thank goodness you can make as many copies of them as you want.
Yeah, #4 is a good one. I save every background, every single one, that I make in the hopes that I might be able to reuse it in the future.
The screen design thing is very interesting. I’m not an artist, but I was curious what goes into making comics and webcomics, and when you talked about screen design… it reminded me of another video where a guy named TotallyNotMark praised the panel design in Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball manga because it naturally lead the viewer’s eyes throughout each page for the best path to understanding the story. I never thought about how sometimes, the placement of things like talk bubbles can disrupt the flow of a comic and whatnot, but it makes sense that the same applies to webcomics as well. Also never heard of the 180 rule until today so I learned something new.
I'm secretly a bit of a know it all and like to go into these thinking I am gonna be aware of everything you say. But I actually did learn about several things I didn't know or at least didn't consciously realize were a thing.
I know how that sounds, but getting an idea through my thick noggin and humbling me a little should be considered a compliment.
Very good and educational video from you
I love your videos! Thank you for your tips, and i have actually got your book for my sisters birthday! And she's been reading everyday! And I'm thinking of maybe making my own comic because you have inspired me so much :D!
Hey just wanted to say I LOVE your series on how to make webcomics but I know I’m speaking for many people when I say you should make a video on the scripting/writing process all of your tips have helped me so much but I’m just not quite sure how to write my comic just yet
I found this channel via the 10 things not to do video and now I can't stop binging this content is so good!
The backgrounds tip 😂
My own tip for this is using the Sims for indoor settings and drawing over or using screenshots for reference.
Also, sort of unrelated, but my biggest pet peeve with art is when an artist draws everything but the feet and “cut off” the calves to have these weird cylinder stumps. If you really hate it, just have them out of frame…
I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a video from you about screen design in more detail. I’ve bought and read your book, but definitely would appreciate the deep dive ❤
My one and only webcomic is a magical girl series and I did the thing - I started with the BIG PROJECT right away. And it actually worked! (and still does) I think the only reason it does is because I am a very stubborn, consistent person and it's the only comic I ever wanted to do (I'm a huge Magical Doremi fan, you see). I don't recommend doing it but I just wanted to let you know it is possible! :)
I'm glad I watched this video. I came up woth a story and started to practice art on my phone but this is making me realize i wasnt desogned for this hobby at all, props to all webtoon creators who put their souls into this
Thank you SO much for the tips! I've never done a web comic before but i have a story ive been thinking about and sketching out for a while now. Making a side story set in the same universe to get better making a comic is a wonderful idea and will help me flesh out certain characters. I cant wait to get this comic out there!
thank you so much for videos like these!! I’ve recently been debating over whether I should make this silly idea I have in my head into a webcomic or not, and these tips are incredibly helpful!
"You need to draw background" I literally told my partner "I know you have more experience with this, but I want to do the backgrounds" because I WANT TO LEARN
Watching this video has made me enthusiastic about starting web comics. Would love to watch your video covering screen theory to help me get into drawing comics.