Starter Kit

About                                                                                                       –General Community Guidelines
Underdog Features At A Glance                                              –Forum Guidelines
Underdog Social Media                                                                 –Facebook Group Guidelines
So What Is An Underdog Anyway?                                        –Reddit Guidelines
Chat                                                                                                          –DeviantArt Guidelines
Spotlights                                                                                              –Pinterest Guidelines
Spotlight FAQ                                                                                     –Google+ Guidelines 
Spotlight Tips                                                                                      –Underdog Banners
How Is The Underdog Community Different?

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About

Welcome to Comic Underdogs, the official Making Comics community! Whether you’re new to the game or have multiple comics under your belt, we encourage you to connect with us. Being an Underdog is more than a title – it’s a lifestyle. It is our vision to create a welcoming, safe, organized, inspiring, and supportive place for comic creators to rub elbows, dole advice, and show their stuff!

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Underdog Features At A Glance

Feature Description
forums Our forum is a great place to share your works, get advice, or even vent out your frustrations!
dailychallenge Daily comic-related challenges delivered to your inbox, 7 days a week. Prepare to kickstart your creative juices!
spotlights_button Spotlights – Bi-weekly spotlights are our piece de resistance! Offer feedback to featured creators, and sign up to snag your moment in the limelight.

 

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So what is an Underdog, anyway?

Glad you asked! Do you find that you:

  • Pine for a fan base that includes more than you and your cat?

  • Are close to selling your soul for more page views?

  • Wish that your “Comments” section would live up to its name?

  • Wonder why Reddit hates your comic links? ALL of them?

  • Love to geek out with other comic creators?

  • Would like to get the chance to shine in the proverbial spotlight for once?

If you answered yes to most of the above, then congratulations! You’re an Underdog!

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Underdog Social Media

social media icons facebook          social media icons twitter          social media icons google plus           social media icons pintrest          social media icons deviant art          social media icons reddit

Deep down, we’re all “Underdogs”. Always striving, ever-growing, and full of determination! Learn more about the history of our community.

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Chat

Chat coming soon.

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Spotlights

Spotlights have been temporarily discontinued. Sign-up for the MakingComics.com Newsletter where we will announce when/if they are coming back.

We consider our comic spotlights to be our most important, helpful feature – they’re a great way to get exposure, receive helpful feedback, and show off your stuff! Spotlights include:

  • A feature on our Underdog Community homepage
  • Critique and feedback from other members
  • An interview with #TalkingComics writer Kevin Cullen
  • Fanart based on your comic
  • Promotion on Facebook, Twitter, DeviantArt, and more!

Sound tempting? We’re not just throwing you a bone here. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional creator, signing up for spotlight is the perfect opportunity to help your work shine! Please be aware that you must be a registered, active member of the Underdog Community  in order to participate.

Be sure to take a look at our Spotlight FAQ as well as our Spotlight Tips for advice on how to make the most out of your spotlight period!

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Spotlight FAQ

Spotlights have been temporarily discontinued. Sign-up for the MakingComics.com Newsletter where we will announce when/if they are coming back.

What is a comic spotlight?

Comic spotlights are a great way to get exposure, receive helpful feedback, and show off your stuff! Spotlights include:

  • A feature on our Underdog Community homepage
  • Critique and feedback from other members
  • An interview with #TalkingComics writer Kevin Cullen
  • Fanart based on your comic
  • Promotion on Facebook, Twitter, DeviantArt, and more!

How do I register my comic for spotlight?

The spotlight form can be found here. Keep in mind that we place precedence on active members when we create the spotlight schedule. If you’re not participating in the forums or Facebook group, or aren’t providing feedback on other creator’s spotlights, you will be moved down on the spotlight list. Please be aware that you MUST be a registered member in order to participate.

What is the spotlight rotation period?

Spotlights stay up for approximately 2-3 weeks at a time before a new one is posted.

I don’t have a comic. Can I still join the community?

Of course! Our members are not only comic creators, they’re filmmakers, comic fans, artists, novelists, soon-to-be-creators, etc. All are welcome!


Can my comic be spotlighted more than once?

We allow for multiple spotlights if your comic has undergone big changes since your initial spotlight. Things such as implementing a new art style, switching from black and white to color, or introducing a drastic change to the storyline are examples of adequate changes. However, we use our discretion in the approval of multiple spotlights. Additionally, you must be an active member in the community to be considered for additional spotlights. To apply for another spotlight, please resubmit a spotlight form.


I have more than one comic. Can I sign them all up for spotlight?

Yes, but please note that your comics will be spread out in the spotlight schedule so that they’re not featured back-to-back.


My comic is complete. Can I still sign up for spotlight?

Yes, we accept completed comics.


Does my comic need to be a specific length in order to qualify for a spotlight?

Not at all. We recommend that you sign up for spotlight when you reach a decent amount of pages/content for readers to peruse. We suggest at least 20 pages of story,  but this is not mandatory.


Can spotlighted creators publish their fan art on their site?

Most creators don’t mind if you use their fan art on your site. Just to be safe, simply contact the artist who drew the fan art and check with them first. Please be aware that by signing up for spotlight you are granting permission for others to create fan art of your characters.

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Spotlight Tips

Spotlights have been temporarily discontinued. Sign-up for the MakingComics.com Newsletter where we will announce when/if they are coming back.

Having your comic featured in our spotlight can be a huge benefit if you utilize it to its fullest potential. Not only is this a chance to get quality feedback from your fellow creators, but it can help increase your readership and also pique the interest of your current readers! Here are some tips on how to make the best of this opportunity:

  1. Be sure to respond to every comment and critique. It shows others that you appreciate the time they took to look at your work!
  1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If there’s a specific area you are hoping to improve on, post a comment asking for tips and feedback on those particular aspects of your work.
  1. Let your fans know about your spotlight and interview! Linking to your spotlight from your website makes things more interactive and interesting for your readers.
  1. Announce your spotlight on places like Facebook,Twitter, Deviant Art, etc.
  1. Share your fan art on your site! (Please be sure to link to the artist’s site whenever possible.)
  1. Don’t cut and run. When you’ve been given feedback on your spotlight, be sure to return the favor and give feedback to other creators on a regular basis. They will certainly appreciate it and may even go back and check out your spotlight at some point.
  1. Help out the Underdogs and MakingComics.com by posting one of our banners on your site. If you’ve been spotlighted, this is a good opportunity to utilize the special spotlight badges! If other Underdogs stumble across your site and see that you are a member of our community they may be more interested in your work!
  1. Be active in the community! Engaging with other members on a regular basis is a fantastic way to network. People are far more likely to take a look at your comic if they know who you are. And remember – we only spotlight active members. If you don’t engage in conversation regularly, your comic will get passed up on the spotlight list!

If you would like your comic featured in our weekly spotlight, be sure to fill out the spotlight form!

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How is the Underdog Community different from other comic-related sites?

It is our vision to create a welcoming, safe, organized, inspiring, and supportive place for comic creators to rub elbows, dole advice, and show their stuff! In addition to our growing forums and active chat room, each member enjoys the opportunity to take a spot in the limelight. Every other week, we spotlight a different member’s webcomic on our homepage. Each featured comic receives critiques by members, fan art, a featured interview, and social network promotion.

When we were in the early Facebook group stages of the Underdog Community, we decided that we wanted to foster support, advice, and general camaraderie rather than submit to the spammy fate that befalls most comic communities. Our members were right there with us, and respected the rules and guidelines like champs. Thankfully, this positive habit has followed us from group to website – we’re very proud to be one of the few comic communities that values quality over quantity. However, we think it’s best to let our members speak to this.

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General Community Guidelines

We greatly value our community, and strive to ensure that our forums, Twitter, and Facebook group encourage quality discussions and pleasant interactions. Underdogs is not a dumping-ground for spam or strictly self-promo posts. Don’t fret, though – you’ll get plenty of chances to show off your stuff! We simply ask that while engaging with the community, you are mindful of the following:

DO

  • Introduce yourself! Tell us about your dreams, fears, and anti-social cat. Most importantly, show us your stuff! This is your chance to shine.
  • Keep it PG-13. Follow the usual group etiquette – refrain from using harsh profanity, racial slurs, and generally offensive language. If you are linking to content that is not safe for work, please clarify it in your post with a NSFW warning.
  • Follow the Golden Rule. You know – the one you learned in Kindergarten. Treat others the way you would like to be treated! Be polite, and save the drama for your mama.

DON’T

  • Spam. The definition of spam is an irrelevant or advertising post. Any post considered spam will be removed. If you’re unsure if your post is spam, please message an admin before posting. As long as your posts are informative, introductory, or encourage discussion, you have nothing to worry about!
  • Make vague posts. Your Twitter followers might be interested to hear what you had for breakfast this morning, but we’re more curious about what you drew on your napkin! Before hitting enter, please make sure your post is relevant to the group.
  • Encourage the manipulation of voting systems. We don’t condone cheating or manipulating voting systems – not only can doing so potentially lead to banishment from voting sites, it also makes our members, and name, look bad. Worst of all, it pushes creators who are earnestly promoting their works and gaining genuine votes to the bottom of the pile. This goes against the nature of Underdogs! We generally discourage requests for “likes” and “upvotes”, and urge members to use their best judgment when promoting themselves, their fellow creators, and the Underdogs as a whole.
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Forum Guidelines

If you’re looking for an expansive community experience, check out our forum. It’s a great place to share your works, get advice, or even vent out your frustrations! We host the details of most of our community projects here, so be sure to sign up if you’re into group activities and the like.

While interacting in the Underdog forum, please be respectful and considerate. We’re all in the same boat, after all! Our helpful, friendly team of moderators are around to make sure that everything is peachy keen in the forums, and to guide newbie Underpups. Self-promotion is condoned here, but please don’t overdo it. Showing off your stuff is great, but honest interaction and lively discussion is pretty nifty, too. Start discussions, offer advice, and feel free to vent about your comic-making woes.

You can read our full forum guidelines here.

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Facebook Group Guidelines

Underdogs originally started out as a simple Facebook group! Even though we’ve greatly expanded as a community and grew into a site and forum, we still greatly value our little corner of Facebook. Some members stick to the FB group exclusively, usually do to the ease and convenience of posting, and that’s totally cool.

Engaging on Facebook makes it easier to find and friend fellow Underdogs, which is helpful when trying to network. Rest assured, however, that our group is a “closed” group – this means that only people within the community can see posts and activity. We strive to protect the privacy concerns of our members.

The best aspect of the Underdogs Facebook group is its lack of spam, self-promo, or update posts. Our firm but gentle mods help us kick spam to the curb in favor of promoting real discussions.

facebook good vs bad

You can check out the Underdogs Facebook group here!

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Reddit Guidelines

Our Underdog subreddit is active and now serves as our forum check it out at: https://www.reddit.com/r/webcomicunderdogs 

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DeviantArt Guidelines

The Underdog DeviantArt group is created specifically for you to show off your stuff! We have a gallery that includes various folders, such as Fan ArtPin Ups, and Comic Pages & Strips. We even have a Stock Photos section for easy referencing! This is the place to self-promote to your heart’s content (but don’t overdo it – be sure share the spotlight with your fellow members.). If you’re going to post your stuff in the group, we greatly encourage you to take a look at and comment on other member’s works. Interact!

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Pinterest Guidelines

We have great boards for all you Pinners out there, including Writing TipsInspirationTutorials, and more! If you would like to join a board and become a contributing Pinner for Underdogs, follow us and shoot us a message. All suggested pins and content must maintain our general PG-13 guidelines.

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G+ Guidelines

Our Google Plus guidelines are similar to our Facebook guidelines. Keep it clean, no spam, and refrain from constant self-promo. Remember – we’re all about discussion and interaction!

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Underdog Banners

Help spread the word about the Underdog community by featuring our banner on your website! Please be sure to link to our Underdog landing page. We are greatly thankful for your support.

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Proud to be a member of the Underdog Community banner

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