One of the first problems I encountered during my pre-convention preparation was that of print-making. Comics themselves, well, there’s only one real choice for those of us getting started: digital offset offered by the likes of Ka-Blam or Createspace. read more»
Webcomic Success Through Advertising
Carbon Dating has been online for almost a year. It is featured in two national magazines and in the past few months it’s readership jumped from 8k to 25k unique visitors per month. This big jump in readership was not the result of links or interviews, it was the result of a targeted campaign that cost about $200 dollars in total.
I see this all the time, there is some stigma or pride in the webcomic community:
“If you make great art, people will notice.”
“Draw hard for two years, then you’ll start to gain an audience.”
“Word of mouth is how comics get popular.”
like its title. There are several things to consider when choosing a title for a webcomic.
So You Wanna Publish A Webcomic? – Part 2
The idea with this series of posts about building and designing your own webcomic site is to really take things from a beginner stage through to something much more advanced and customized. For now, we’re at the beginner level and this post starts us at the basics. If you haven’t read part 1 about using WordPress and ComicPress and haven’t got everything installed yet, go back and we’ll wait… read more»
CON AT CONS: HOW TO LURE ATTENDEES WITH YOUR FREE ITEM
Okay, you paid lots of dough to have a table at a con because you want your work to be noticed. But having a table doesn’t mean each registered attendee is going to automatically walk up. Sorry, but the real world “stumble upon” isn’t as efficient. Now, you’ve got to get the convention goers’ attention. And the best way of doing this is offering your free item. (I will go in depth in another post on free item ideas.) read more»
So You Wanna Publish A Webcomic? – Part 1
The internet has transformed independent comics and given creators an easy way to get their stories out to the public. There are a lot of different ways to publish your work online, but two of the most popular are WordPress and WordPress running ComicPress. read more»
How to Gain New Fans at Conventions
So, you got a table at a convention? At an expo? A fest? An artwalk? Next to some kid’s lemonade stand? Doesn’t matter. That’s great! Now you have the opportunity to gain new fans of the work you’re putting out into the world. But manning a convention table is not a passive event. As much as we’d all love to just sit there and “let the work speak for itself”, it’s rather annoying to see artists with their heads down hoping someone will walk up to make a purchase.
I’ll Have A Grain of Salt With Those Comments, Please
There are three types of comments you will receive when you start your webcomic (well, four if you count no response at all.): The short affirmation, the critique or constructive criticism, and the nasty remark.
The short affirmation is what you will get most of the time. It is when you ask your friends or family what they think of your comics and is usually only a few words that basically mean, “I like your work and you should keep doing it if it makes you happy.” The short affirmation can also come from fans that read your comics and want to tell you how much they like it. These comments are the most wonderful thing you can receive as a comic artist, especially if you receive one every other day. Cherish them. Whatever you do, no matter how busy you are, you should try to respond to every single one of these even if it is just to say “Thank you.”
Tweet: Whatever you do, no matter how busy you are, you should try to respond to every single one of these even if it is just to say “Thank you.”
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#TalkingComics w/ Kevin Cullen: Bizhan Khodabandeh and Mark Luetke on the Infinite Canvas Comic System
If comic revolution is the name of the game here at Making Comics (dotCom), then our good friends Mark Luetke and Bizhan Khodabandeh are risking it all on the front lines. Their weapon of choice? An awesome new way to read webcomics. The Kickstarter project is called INDOOR/OUTDOOR: A New Infinite Canvas Comic System and it’s one hell of an investment for anyone who owns and operates a webcomic. Designed to scroll from page to page in a smooth, streamlined style, the Infinite Canvas is shaping up to be a very powerful tool with a gorgeous design. I reached out to Mark and Bizhan with some questions about their project and what it means for webcomics in the future. read more»
Panel Layout: The Golden Ratio
Announcing our FREE Golden Ratio Workshop designed to expand on the concepts introduced in the article below!
Excitement would understate how I felt when I read Frank Santoro’s articles on the first appearance of the Golden Ratio in Hergé’s TIntin comic pages. Santoro used grid overlays to explain comic composition with geometric shapes in a way that could be easily understood by a graphic designer, like myself. read more»
Comic Review Checklist, Part 2: Words
Hi again everyone! This is the second part of my comic review checklist, which has three parts: everything that relates to the “flow” of the pages, everything that relates to the words on the pages, and then everything else. This is part two! read more»
