Webcomic Dos and Donts

So, I'm thinking about joining the scene soon.

What should I avoid doing, and what should I not avoid doing?

Don't start the comic with action sequences/very dramatic stuff. Wait for the readers to get to know your characters first. Also, don't let yourself get sidetracked every five pages.

Are you going to have long arcs within an extensive story in your webcomic, or is it going to be gag-a-day? (Not that the two are mutually exclusive)

Long arcs in an extensive story.

Will you draw the art yourself, or get someone else to do it?

Drawing myself.

Okay. I'm sure you're familiar with this trope.

Some of my tips on avoiding it:

1. Don't spend whole pages on just dialogue. Well...it depends on whether it'll be "proper" art or stick figures, in which case a page shouldn't take that long to make, but that's where Archive Panic comes in. This'll improve the pace of the story.

2. Exposition through flashbacks. This isn't that offensive when it's one or two (perhaps three) pages, but a full-chapter flashback for the express purpose of giving somebody's backstory/motivation, ESPECIALLY when it's a relatively minor character or a villain, tends to stick in my crow like a lump of soggy tabacco.

...I have no three. Shame.

Right. Well, if you're drawing it yourself, remember these things:

• You should try and have a good sense of visual formatting, pacing, etc, regardless of your art style. I highly recommend Scott Mc Cloud's Making Comics as a pointer.
• Your style is your own, but this guide outlines a lot of the normal pitfalls of webcomic art, and how to avoid them.
• Don't make your art so complex that you have a severe Schedule Slip often; it doesn't need to be that complex. If you're writing's good enough, then people will accept art that isn't all that fantastic looking. (Not to cast aspersions on your drawing ability, just saying that it doesn't have to be Michelangelo-level for every panel.) Also, don't set an update schedule that you clearly can't follow (like, a comic every day when you're first starting out).

I have to say that unlike Web Serial Novel, Web Comic has a lot to do with art - indeed, often people will forgive those who can't write that well if their art is pretty. If you are a 'pure' writer, I may have to advise against partaking in this endeavor.

I can draw well, so no worries there.

And it will use stick figures, but not in a way thats been done before...

Don't explain the joke. Lots of webcomics tend to do this. If you have a reference to movie X, and are afraid that people who never saw movie X won't get it, let them not get it. They won't get it any better if you tell them it's from movie X.

It won't be using much jokes; the tone I will be going for will be serious and mature.

I'm trying very hard to not fall into Narm , ha.

It will have something cheery once in a while, though.

edited 29th Jan '11 7:10:59 AM by cutewithoutthe

@ Airof Mystery: I read that expressions guide. It really only works for people with more free time than even I have, but it's pretty good.

Dude. If you're drawing a webcomic, you have all the time in the world to practice. Drawing a webcomic is practic in itself.

Actually, I have this little thing called homework, which we get a lot more often in high school. I don't have NEARLY as much time as you'd think. Sorry if this comes off as snide, but I'm just trying to explain why I have less time than a full-time webcomic artist. I have other projects I'm working on for friends as well. Hope this helps.

(I may be getting in over my head here.)

If you have no time to do a webcomic, don't do a webcomic. If you have enough time to do a webcomic, you're practicing just by drawing said webcomic.

I practice drawing a webcomic by drawing another comic whenever I have time (I post in on my Deviantart page if you want to see it. I usually manage to do like 1 or 2 episodes a month, depending on how motivated I am).