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I will not shut up about webcomics!
Do you REALLY like webcomics and you just won’t stop talking about them? Courtesy of Krispy, our wonderful cohost and half of Studio Cartridge, now you can own this great shirt to warn everyone: "I will not shut about webcomics, this is a threat".
You can get yours over here in the Hivemill store! Thanks for listening to US not shut up about webcomics, and thanks for supporting our hosts!
Screen Tones - The Actual Material
If you’ve seen the little comics-esque dots in media (and in our logo), you’ve seen screen tones, also known as halftones! The halftone method was created as a way to print values - and they’ve developed a unique flavour in comics because of how they look. But how do we use them in the digital age? Krispy dives in with her tips:
Preparing for Conventions
What events are best to go to?
Whether it’s a huge celebrity-studded multi-day weekend or a small gathering at a local library, in-person events are an exciting way to reach all kinds of comic fans that may not be in any of your circles online. There’s opportunities to be had at almost every type of event, but a few things that might narrow your focus:
Outlining
Outlining is a great tool for webcomic creators to create a road map quickly and help you get to the final version of your story. Writing out a loose list of the series of plot points you want visit helps you plan everything out by identifying the scenes you might (and might not!) need.
Outlines can take many forms and be revisited on an ongoing basis as you create your comic. Here are some tips on approaching them!
Marketing your Webcomic on Social Media
So! You’re starting a webcomic and want to share it on social media! Good idea! But how?
The ins and outs of every platform shift and change, nobody has surefire answers, and not all of them are going to be right for you. But some specifics to keep in mind as you approach social media as a webcomic creator can go a long way.
Using Visual References
What are references, and why do we need them?
References are visual aids that helps you draw something, such as photos you take yourself, photos you find on the internet, 3D models, live models, miniature toys, or materials you draw on the side for characters or vehicles or outfits you know you’re going to be using in your pages.
Three Pronged Character Development for Webcomics
We all have characters in our heads that we love, but for one reason or another might not be striking our audience as cool/evil as we intend for them to be. How do you troubleshoot what’s going on, and modify what your character does to make them have the impact you want?
In a series of episodes of the podcast Writing Excuses, the hosts come up with a helpful framework of 3 “sliders” that you can scale up or down to affect how a character is perceived:
Sympathy - How sympathetic or relatable they are. You can adjust this by ____
Proactivity - How much do your protags “protag”. You can adjust this by ____
Competence - Are they good at what they do?
Interesting Combinations
Editing for Webcomics
There are so many different skills in making a webcomic. Art, storytelling, layout, and fonts are all aspects you might look for when you sit down for an editing session. Editing for webcomics can also happen before the page goes live and after. But how do you decide where you want to put your energy, and when?
Pick up the pace!
Tips to keep readers engaged during slow scenes in your webcomic.
Many longform webcomics only update once a week, and those 4-5 pages only cover so much ground. A particularly extensive 5-minute conversation can take several months.
If both the creator and the readers are enjoying the pace, that’s fine! Airy slice-of-life stories are completely valid if that is your style! But in other cases, it can frustrate and damage our engagement with our readers.
How to get a book quote from a printer
Whether you’re planning a small print run for your comic or looking into other printed projects, learning how to work with printers is an amazing skill. Though many book printers do have online tools to calculate pricing (Mixam, Greko, RA Comics Direct, and Keness being a few), reaching out to a sales rep at the printer is always an option too!