When I'm not neck deep in the bowels of the games industry I like to make comics. It's been a real passion of mine for as long as I can remember, far longer than I've had the itch to work with games, but games pay better and the industry is more stable (which just goes to show how shaky the comics business is).
So I thought I'd make a thread for those of us on GAF who are also into making comics, from occasional hobbyist to serious amateur to seasoned professional. If you make comics or even just want to make them, let's talk about it.
What this thread will be about:
Art. The creative process.
What tools do you use to make your comic? Are you a pen and paper artist, or do you use new digital tools? What's your approach on coloring? How do you handle the task of lettering? What's your writing process? How do you approach creating a new character? Where do you get your punchlines or dramatic plot points from? What drives you to create?
Business. Like it or lump it managing the business side of your comic is vitally important for it to grow and gain and audience.
How do you make money off your work? Do you run ads on your comic? Do you sell merchandise? Have you offered your comic for sale at conventions? Do you have a business plan? Who owns the rights to your work?
Criticism. Post your comic and the harsh ray of GAF sunlight shall be cast upon it.
Be prepared to be told how bad it is BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY post and recieve some constructive criticism in return. Trust me, you NEED honest and often brutal criticsm of our work in order to get better. I'm at the fourth year of doing a daily comic and it's only now that I think my stuff doesn't completely TOTALLY suck. It just mostly sucks, but it's only through honest appraisal that it's going to get better.
Delivery. It's not enough to have a great comic - you need to get it out there.
How do you deliver your comic to your audience? Do you post them on your website? Do you use a content management system? Do you have a FaceBook page? Do you make photocopied minicomics to sell at the local record store? Do you sell digital comics through Comixology? How often do you release a new comic and how big is it? There's a lot of old and new methods for getting comics in people's hands, and each one has a pro, a con and an opportunity. Marketing is important!
Enjoyment. You're going to need to enjoy making comics to do this long term.
What gets you through the late nights making this stuff? What's your favourite part of the whole creative process? What prevents you from packing it all in and doing something else like playing some of these video games I keep hearing about on GAF?
What this thread WON'T be about:
Comics you don't make. We already have a lot of great threads focused on other people's comics and what we think of them. Unless you're using it for reference, let's not have a heap of "oh man new PBF is up check it out" posts, OK?
Circle jerks. One thing I hate about a lot of comic collectives is that it's just a big mutual appreciation society of everyone telling each other how talented they are and how the world is unfair for not liking their comic. Guess what, most comics suck, and chances are yours (and mine) does too. While we shouldn't be out and out nasty, there's no point mollycoddling anyone.
OK. I think that's enough to get a conversation started. I'll post shortly my answers to some of these questions. I'm really, really curious to hear yours.
So I thought I'd make a thread for those of us on GAF who are also into making comics, from occasional hobbyist to serious amateur to seasoned professional. If you make comics or even just want to make them, let's talk about it.
What this thread will be about:
Art. The creative process.
What tools do you use to make your comic? Are you a pen and paper artist, or do you use new digital tools? What's your approach on coloring? How do you handle the task of lettering? What's your writing process? How do you approach creating a new character? Where do you get your punchlines or dramatic plot points from? What drives you to create?
Business. Like it or lump it managing the business side of your comic is vitally important for it to grow and gain and audience.
How do you make money off your work? Do you run ads on your comic? Do you sell merchandise? Have you offered your comic for sale at conventions? Do you have a business plan? Who owns the rights to your work?
Criticism. Post your comic and the harsh ray of GAF sunlight shall be cast upon it.
Be prepared to be told how bad it is BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY post and recieve some constructive criticism in return. Trust me, you NEED honest and often brutal criticsm of our work in order to get better. I'm at the fourth year of doing a daily comic and it's only now that I think my stuff doesn't completely TOTALLY suck. It just mostly sucks, but it's only through honest appraisal that it's going to get better.
Delivery. It's not enough to have a great comic - you need to get it out there.
How do you deliver your comic to your audience? Do you post them on your website? Do you use a content management system? Do you have a FaceBook page? Do you make photocopied minicomics to sell at the local record store? Do you sell digital comics through Comixology? How often do you release a new comic and how big is it? There's a lot of old and new methods for getting comics in people's hands, and each one has a pro, a con and an opportunity. Marketing is important!
Enjoyment. You're going to need to enjoy making comics to do this long term.
What gets you through the late nights making this stuff? What's your favourite part of the whole creative process? What prevents you from packing it all in and doing something else like playing some of these video games I keep hearing about on GAF?
What this thread WON'T be about:
Comics you don't make. We already have a lot of great threads focused on other people's comics and what we think of them. Unless you're using it for reference, let's not have a heap of "oh man new PBF is up check it out" posts, OK?
Circle jerks. One thing I hate about a lot of comic collectives is that it's just a big mutual appreciation society of everyone telling each other how talented they are and how the world is unfair for not liking their comic. Guess what, most comics suck, and chances are yours (and mine) does too. While we shouldn't be out and out nasty, there's no point mollycoddling anyone.
OK. I think that's enough to get a conversation started. I'll post shortly my answers to some of these questions. I'm really, really curious to hear yours.
You should see this animation I'm doing right now, it is so fucking stupid but I'm having the time of my life making it. I'll post it when it's done I guess.
