Maybe Possibly Considering Starting A WebComic....

[Kisa]

...but I'm not sure if I'm good enough yet and I don't know if anyone would read it. I'm too broke to advertise and too spineless to threaten with pointy objects XD. This idea has kinda been my love-child of 10 years; yes 10. I keep tabs on all the details in my head and change things on occasion (title, character names, appearance, plot details) but the majority of it stays the same. I know a novel would be easier, but it's all pictures in my head, so I want it to be pictures on paper T^T Damn you, feeble drawing skills!!!

[firecat88]

Psh. You are totally good enough. :3 If it's something you really want to do, and it sounds like it is given how long you've been holding onto the idea, I say 'go for it'.

[Kisa]

Psh. You are totally good enough. :3 If it's something you really want to do, and it sounds like it is given how long you've been holding onto the idea, I say 'go for it'.

I guess I'm just worried people won't like it I've been writing books and making comic strips since middle school, but I've never posted or published anything

[Andara Bledin]

Do it. Do eeeet....

Seriously. Do it.

No matter what it is, somebody out there will love it.

^-.-^

[BroSCFischer]

No matter what it is, somebody out there will love it.

Not to be the dark cloud of doom, but there are also going to be people that don't like it.

The reason I bring this up is that you will likely face some less than tactful people who will voice their opinion on your comic.

And this will be ALOT different than dealing with customers behind a counter. These people will be criticizing something very personal to you. If you aren't prepared for that, it may shock you, depress you, or make you not want to continue with it.

I would hate to see you put a lot of work into something only to discontinue it because a few discouraging morons couldn't keep their opinions to themselves.

SC

[fireheart]

and a comic does not need to be elaborate.

Take Cyanide and Happiness for example. Simple drawings, but hilarious. XKCD is another one.

[csquared]

Not to be the dark cloud of doom, but there are also going to be people that don't like it.
SC

And you just ignore those idiots. If your comic puts a smile on one person's face, you have made the world a better place.

and a comic does not need to be elaborate.

Quoted for truth.

I am guessing that you are dreaming of having a viral comic, professionally laid out page, paying advertisers and everything else. Keep the dream. You can get started by posting it of facebook (unless that is against their TOS. I'm no facebook expert). As your fan base builds, you can move up.

Go for it.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

If you will be destroyed at the idea of some abstract entity on the internet leaving a nasty comment, then do not do it.

I can pretty much guarantee that someone, somewhere, won't like your work. Not that it's not good work. It's just how any artistic endeavor is. Some people love it, some people hate it.

Having said that, do it if it's something you are driven to do and if you think you'll keep up with it. Don't do it for anyone but yourself. If others want to come along for the ride, (and they will) awesome.

You'll get a few people come check it out, decide it's not their thing, and not come back. You'll also get people who love your work and come see you every week. You'll make friends. You'll have loads of fun.

As for your not being "good enough", I'm not sure what you mean by that. Good enough for what? Giving someone a little free "take it or leave it" entertainment every week? My favorite newspaper serial comic is Overboard. That guy can hardly even draw. And the perk of doing something each week is that you cannot help but get better over time. I look back on my own writing (I've been doing a weekly updated soap opera) and some of the early stuff makes me cringe. I have gotten a lot better.

Don't wait till you're "good enough". No matter your skill level, you're "good enough" now. And having an audience motivates you to keep going and get better.

And for the record, I seriously doubt you'll attract armies of trolls and haters. So unless you are extremely fragile, do it.

[TheSHAD0W]

Something I need to point out, knowing a few webcomickers: Do *NOT* do a comic too pretty. Keep the style very basic. You can do an occasional, more highly-detailed version of the comic, but if you set a high standard you're going to find yourself struggling to meet it. It's the story behind a webcomic that's the most important, not the actual art.

One well-known comic I'm a fan of is only updated every week or two because the artist is IMO too anal about its look. -_-

[Mel]

I would read it! I love to read webcomics.

[CoffeeMonkey]

I've been doing a webcomic with my friend for seven years. We are moderately successful in that we have a pretty consistant readership, most of the comments we've gotten (and those that I've found online) have been positve, and while we don't actually make money off the comic, we do well enough to not be totally in the hole every time we go to a convention.

I'd be happy to answer any questions anyone has about doing their own comic, though I can only answer based on my own experiences.

Some general advice:

1) Somewhere on the Devil's Panties site, Jennie Breeden has a webcomic starting advice bit. I think it's inthe FAQ. Make this your bible, cuz it's some of the best advice I've ever seen.

2) Commit. Update on time. It takes a long time to build a readership. I reccomend doing a bunch of comics before launching, so that the people that stumble onto your site will have an archive to go through right away. You need more than one page to hook people.

3) If you have someone you can work with, I encourage it. It splits the work, and keeps you on task if you have someone to not let down. And it helps with ideas.

4) Be prepared to kill your babies. Sometimes when we have these treasured ideas we lose perspective. At least, find someone to brutally poke holes in it. Remember, while you have to make your characters vibrant, and consistant, and all those other things to connect with an audiance, they are NOT REAL PEOPLE. You can't hurt their feelings. There is no such thing as "but then Sally spoke up and DEMANDED--!" These are your ideas, and your decisions, and you have to own them.

5) There are various free comic hosting sites out there. Not a bad place to start, since it's free and usually has an easy-to-use uploading widget. the only one I'm familiar with is comic genesis, and honestly, avoid them like the plauge. It works fine when everything's working, but when you have a problem, good luck getting it solved.

6) Make sure you have a forum, or a facebook page, or some other way for your readers to interact with you and with each other. Only a fraction will actually use it, but encouraging a sense of community will help you build your brand.

7) Your site does not have to be fancy, but it should be clean, simple, and easy to navigate. Get someone to help you if you can't do it yourself. My friend and I can't code. My brother is the webmaster, and does a great job for us.

Overall, remember that you're looking to strike a balance between pure self-expression, and marketing a product that other people will want to consume. If all you care about is telling the story you want to tell, nothing else matters. If it's important to you that your comic is successful, popular, and a way to make a few pennies, you need to create a brand geared towards attracting readers. I think most people want something in the middle.

My Credentials: http://Sidekickgirl.net (see how seemlessly I worked in the shameless plug? )

[Kisa]

Keep the dream. You can get started by posting it of facebook (unless that is against their TOS. I'm no facebook expert). As your fan base builds, you can move up.

Go for it.

I recenty got a DeviantArt page so I figured I would start there; it's free and I'm broke

If you will be destroyed at the idea of some abstract entity on the internet leaving a nasty comment, then do not do it.
...And for the record, I seriously doubt you'll attract armies of trolls and haters. So unless you are extremely fragile, do it.

That was a very inspiring speech thank you!

Something I need to point out, knowing a few webcomickers: Do *NOT* do a comic too pretty. Keep the style very basic. You can do an occasional, more highly-detailed version of the comic, but if you set a high standard you're going to find yourself struggling to meet it. It's the story behind a webcomic that's the most important, not the actual art.

One well-known comic I'm a fan of is only updated every week or two because the artist is IMO too anal about its look. -_-

I'm a slow drawer (between work and college) so I'd likely build up a collection of pages first and post one a week for when I fall behind.

I would read it! I love to read webcomics.

Some general advice:

Thank you so much for the advice :3

[MoonCat]

Kisa, you drew your avatar, didn't you? You are WAY good enough for this. Seriously. And if the idea's been in your head for 10 years, and you're feeling like you want to get it out there, then you're ready.

Coffee Monkey's got some great advice.

Let us know if you do it. I'd love to see it.

[Kisa]

Kisa, you drew your avatar, didn't you? You are WAY good enough for this. Seriously. And if the idea's been in your head for 10 years, and you're feeling like you want to get it out there, then you're ready.

Coffee Monkey's got some great advice.

Let us know if you do it. I'd love to see it.

The avatar I found on photobucket I didn't have a scanner at the time, so I would have had to take a picture, crop it, recolor it, and resize it to make anything for an icon. Some of my art is on DeviantArt at http://kisawulf.deviantart.com/

[iPanda]

Basically, it doesn't matter if you think you have the skills; doing a webcomic is like making a committment to drawing constantly and having them up by a certain time each week or day-- that in and of itself will actually be like practice and help you to get better.
If you have the time to constantly work on your webcomic, then by all means do it!
If you have the motivation, DO IT! DO IT NOW!
I will happily be amongst your first fans