History SoYouWantTo / WriteAWebcomic

!!The Epic Fails
* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}'': It's filled to the brim with [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] that completely disregard ShowDontTell and horrendous art that ''never'' improves. And that's not even getting into its abysmal writing ''or'' how offensive it is. If you need a crash course in what ''not'' to do in a webcomic, then ''Sonichu'' is right up your alley.

** Comics as a visual interface are pretty damned good all by themselves, anyway. There are still innovations to be made within sequential art itself -- see how the "Kirby Style" of 1960's Marvel differs from modern comics -- so there's still plenty of room to grow.

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja''. It is a good example of ArtEvolution, as it goes from being stark black and white to appropriately shaded to in full color, and is a ''excellent'' example of how to do an awesome webcomic.

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}''. ''Sonichu'' is filled to the brim with [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] that completely disregard ShowDontTell and horrendous art that ''never'' improves. And that's not even getting into its abysmal writing ''or'' how offensive it is. If you need a crash course in what ''not'' to do in a webcomic, then ''Sonichu'' is right up your alley.

* AuthorAvatar -- While these can be done right (and are outright necessary for Journal Comics), these often turn into MarySues.

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}''. ''Sonichu'' is filled to the brim with [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] that completely disregard ShowDontTell and horrendous art that ''never'' improves. And that's not even getting into its abysmal writing ''or'' how offensive it is. If you need a crash course in what ''not''' to do in a webcomic, then ''Sonichu'' is right up your alley.

* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja''. It is a good example of ArtEvolution, as it goes from being stark black and white to appropriately shaded to in full color, and is a ''excellent'' example of how to do a CrazyAwesome webcomic.

* TheRant -- Often used to shill TheMerch and explain a ScheduleSlip, it can also turn into a soap box. Use it wisely.

* DirectDemographic -- Instant feedback (and the ability to act on it) ahoy!

* StillbornSerial -- What this article is trying to prevent. Either this page will help you learn what you need to know to keep a webcomic going for at least enough pages that you can make a small comic book out of it, or it'll discourage you before you go ahead and [[ShamelessSelfPromotion put up advertising and your own TVTropes Page]] only to have the thing disappear.

The bad news is, whatever your comic contains, it HAS to be illustrated. MagicAmulet? PlotTrinket? FiveBadBand? If it's worth talking about, it's worth drawing... unless you happen to be working on the next Webcomic/DinosaurComics, you can't just get away with copy-pasting the same images over and over.

** While it is expected you'll get better the longer your comic runs... there's nothing that says you couldn't just be improving from 15th percentile [[SoBadItsHorrible total crap]] to 45th percentile [[SoOkayItsAverage slightly less crap]], as opposed to something that crosses the 90th percentile and becomes good.

... yes, it's possible to work with a friend where only one of you writes the comic and the other one draws the comic, but there are lots of reasons to avoid this. Just because Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik pull it off just fine with ''PennyArcade'' doesn't mean that two-person webcomics ''always'' work.

* DeadLink: If you ever change website, engine or otherwise alter your comic's URL scheme, ''by all means try to remain compatible with the old one''. Provide tools to convert, possibly on a separate page. If you switch from [=IDs=] to dates or the reverse, do show both on the new website.

And in addition to all these... finding ways to avoid responsbility for an update is also an issue:

* CreatorKiller -- When you put out something so horiffic, you'll never be taken seriously again.

* ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}''. ''Sonichu'' is filled to the brim with [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] that completely disregard ShowDontTell and horrendous art that ''never'' improves. And that's not even getting into its abysmal writing ''or'' how offensive it is. If you need a crash course in what not to do in a webcomic, then ''Sonichu'' is right up your alley.

* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' and ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': These are the top dogs as far as stick-figure comics. If you're thinking of doing a comic without being able to draw humanoid figures, study both of them (if the early stuff on ''xkcd'' turns you off, use the Random button a few dozen times to get an idea of [[http://xkcd.com/695/ what it's like]]). ''xkcd'' stays minimal, while ''The Order of the Stick'' gets pretty epic with its graphics; ''xkcd'' has a few recurring characters but not much of a plot, while ''The Order of the Stick'' meets the criteria of [[TheEpic the classical Epic]]. Also, ''The Order of the Stick'' uses computer graphics, so its circles and lines are crisp and the characters look consistent; ''xkcd'' seems more hand-drawn (the earlier stuff was scanned from notebook pages, though the later stuff is obviously drawn on a computer).

The bad news is, whatever your comic contains, it HAS to be illustrated. MagicAmulet? PlotTrinket? FiveBadBand? If it's worth talking about, it's worth drawing... unless you happen to be working on the next DinosaurComics, you can't just get away with copy-pasting the same images over and over.

* ''{{Lackadaisy}}'': Pretty much everything one should strive to find in a webcomic, or printed media in general. Despite starring furry cats as its characters, the choice is more stylistic than anything, and indeed allows for a wonderful range of expression. The setting is painstakingly researched, with sharp writing that intertwines humor with drama, and the artwork is easily matched with that of the Golden and Renaissance Ages of Animation.
** One pitfall to look out for though: The art is so gorgeous that creating each strip takes a lot more effort than, say, a three-panel strip with flat colors. This has inevitably led to ScheduleSlip and even SeriesHiatus. If you're new to the world of webcomic creation, start simple and don't bite off more than you can chew!
* ''{{Inverloch}}'': Besides good art, characters, and storyline, it has the distinction of being a ''completed'' webcomic. Few webcomics manage to achieve this!
* ''{{The Adventures Of DrMcNinja}}''. It is a good example of ArtEvolution, as it goes from being stark black and white to appropriately shaded to in full color, and is a ''excellent'' example of how to do a CrazyAwesome webcomic.
* ''{{Freefall}}'' and ''KevinAndKell'': These show what you can do with a regular newspaper-strip format without getting too fancy with the graphics. ''Freefall'' manages it with a small cast, ''Kevin and Kell'' with a large one; ''Freefall'' is a hard-science futuristic piece centered on a trio of non-human viewpoints, while ''Kevin and Kell'' shows what Earth would be like if modern civilization were run by humanoid animals who still had most of their instincts calling the shots. So studying both can give you a good idea of the medium's range.
* ''{{xkcd}}'' and ''OrderOfTheStick'': These are the top dogs as far as stick-figure comics. If you're thinking of doing a comic without being able to draw humanoid figures, study both of them (if the early stuff on ''xkcd'' turns you off, use the Random button a few dozen times to get an idea of [[http://xkcd.com/695/ what it's like]]). ''xkcd'' stays minimal, while ''Order of the Stick'' gets pretty epic with its graphics; ''xkcd'' has a few recurring characters but not much of a plot, while ''Order of the Stick'' meets the criteria of [[TheEpic the classical Epic]]. Also, ''Order of the Stick'' uses computer graphics, so its circles and lines are crisp and the characters look consistent; ''xkcd'' seems more hand-drawn (the earlier stuff was scanned from notebook pages, though the later stuff is obviously drawn on a computer).

* ''{{Sonichu}}''. ''Sonichu'' is filled to the brim with [[WallOfText Walls of Text]] that completely disregard ShowDontTell and horrendous art that ''never'' improves. And that's not even getting into its abysmal writing ''or'' how offensive it is. If you need a crash course in what not to do in a webcomic, then ''Sonichu'' is right up your alley.

!!The Greats
* ''{{Lackadaisy}}'': Pretty much everything one should strive to find in a webcomic, or printed media in general. Despite starring furry cats as its characters, the choice is more stylistic than anything, and indeed allows for a wonderful range of expression. The setting is painstakingly researched, with sharp writing that intertwines humor with drama, and the artwork is easily matched with that of the Golden and Renaissance Ages of Animation.

* ''{{TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja}}. It is a good example of ArtEvolution, as it goes from being stark black and white to appropriately shaded to in full color, and is a ''excellent'' example of how to do a CrazyAwesome webcomic.

* WebcomicTime - like ComicBookTime, but often worse since [[ScheduleSlip webcomics don't always update on time to begin with]], and may not be moving at the same pace as a Newspaper Strip.

* ScheduleSlip -- remember, Regular Updates == Regular Readership.

* TwoGamersOnACouch - It's been done so many times, you'll have better odds doing a Furry Porn Comic.

** [[TitleTheAdaptation Title: The Adaptation]] -- Often BetterThanItSounds, this strategy involves making spinoffs and adaptations into various new types of media, whether it be a series of audio-enhanced Youtube clips, dress-up dolls, or even a new game for your fans to play. Takes a bit more effort than just the comic alone does, so you may be dependent on fans to do most of the heavy lifting, or at least making sure that you're playing to your comic's strengths in making and releasing new material.

... yes, it's possible to work with a friend where only one of you writes the comic and the other one draws the comic, but there are lots of reasons to avoid this.

!Extra Credit

*[[SturgeonsLaw Sturgeon's Law]] -- 90% of everything is crap, and webcomics are no exception.
** While it is expected you'll get better the longer your comic runs... there's nothing that says you couldn't just be improving from [[SoBadItsHorrible total crap]] to [[SoOkayItsAverage slightly less crap]], as opposed to something that crosses over the 90-10 border and becomes good.