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Networking and being likable enough that people want to talk to and about you and your work in a way that isn't derisive goes a long way towards finding a place for yourself in the stars. You have to be a face for yourself, whether you like it or not.
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Dec 10, 2016 03:58
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Kojiro posted:Hi I literally do webcomics for a living and Squidster is right, there's a fuckton of hustle involved. His post was pretty drat accurate to my own experiences. Are cons really a good marketing tool for smaller artists? Genuinely asking, I have no idea. I always hone in on the negative buzz surrounding cons and tell myself that you can only get something out of them if you've already got droves of fans (or if you draw lots of pictures of Spider-man and Pikachu), but it's entirely possible that I'm dragging my feet to avoid figuring out this whole new big scary part of being a comics-person.
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Dec 10, 2016 04:21
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It really depends on the con. Thought Bubble in the UK is really good. Not sure which ones are good in the US.
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Dec 10, 2016 04:23
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Reiley posted:Networking and being likable enough that people want to talk to and about you and your work in a way that isn't derisive goes a long way towards finding a place for yourself in the stars. You have to be a face for yourself, whether you like it or not. I had a customer give a chest-racking hack-sneeze that left my prints wet with ropey snot-strands, but I still made polite small talk before throwing a bunch out. WrathOfBlade posted:Are cons really a good marketing tool for smaller artists? Genuinely asking, I have no idea. I always hone in on the negative buzz surrounding cons and tell myself that you can only get something out of them if you've already got droves of fans (or if you draw lots of pictures of Spider-man and Pikachu), but it's entirely possible that I'm dragging my feet to avoid figuring out this whole new big scary part of being a comics-person. I often do coffee and donut runs for folks I only vaguely know, and it means you'll leave a positive impression as being helpful and considerate. Being part of an anthology can also be a great way to meet new folks and fellow creators on your level. KingKalamari posted:Thaaaaaat is a good point. I think I was feeling self conscious about using this thread for self-promotion since I know it's more supposed to be about mutual feedback and helping each other improve. But if people are cool with me sharing some more of my work on here you can download the anthology here. My entry is title "Oceans in the Sky: The Tomb". The rest of the magazine is really worth checking out: There's some really talented people featured in it who all worked super hard on their entries
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Dec 10, 2016 04:35
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WrathOfBlade posted:Are cons really a good marketing tool for smaller artists? Genuinely asking, I have no idea. I always hone in on the negative buzz surrounding cons and tell myself that you can only get something out of them if you've already got droves of fans (or if you draw lots of pictures of Spider-man and Pikachu), but it's entirely possible that I'm dragging my feet to avoid figuring out this whole new big scary part of being a comics-person. Yeah to echo what everyone else has said, you want to miss big cons that are more about tv/celebrities like SDCC. Small press expos and smaller conventions (or one of the few larger ones that are still heavily comic centric) are great opportunities however.
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Dec 10, 2016 05:09
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art takes more than just showing up and to be successful you usually need 2 of these 3 things: good comics, be able to sell yourself and your comic or have a good personality. sometimes freaks like me slip through the cracks but you cant sell the product on its own merit. you have to make yourself marketable too
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Dec 10, 2016 05:56
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i promote my webcomic by showing up to the big-name expos in the nude and doing my special promotion dance, which is quite similar to my angry dance
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Dec 10, 2016 08:28
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Yeah, cons work, but it takes time. Cast your net wide initially, go to as many as you can, then figure out from that which ones are worth your time. Bring flyers, too, give them out like candy. Next year, show up at the ones you liked, with more flyers. A few people will go "oh hey I saw this last year!". Have something new for the ones who bought from you last time. Lather, rinse, repeat! Keep establishing your presence at the cons that work for you, keep handing out flyers, keep bringing new stuff each time, and after a few years you've got a healthy lil fanbase going on of diehards who buy each new thing, and folks who think "I've seen this comic here every year/picked up a flyer for this last time/heard a buddy talk about this" and come over for a look. Be friendly, polite, engaging, have an elavator pitch ready, wander other tables to see how they're interacting with customers, and have a goddamn card reader because trust me they're helpful as fuuuck.
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Dec 10, 2016 11:43
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Avshalom posted:i promote my webcomic by showing up to the big-name expos in the nude and doing my special promotion dance, which is quite similar to my angry dance 
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Dec 10, 2016 15:32
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Avshalom posted:i promote my webcomic by showing up to the big-name expos in the nude and doing my special promotion dance, which is quite similar to my angry dance  ?
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Dec 11, 2016 07:25
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I dunno, I wouldn't mind a new webcomic network. The awesome combined power of twitter and tumblr and the hot, fresh, something awful forums have led me to believe that there hasn't been a new webcomic since 2013.
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Dec 14, 2016 06:56
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that's because the species is extinct, as foretold by nostradamus
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Dec 14, 2016 08:22
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SmackJeeves is getting a design overhaul right now, so I'm wondering if that's going to bring more people back to it. I'd hope so, it's always been a good host for me.
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Dec 14, 2016 17:38
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i liked smackjeeves when i was using it, it would be great if they gave it a sleeker look
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Dec 14, 2016 21:34
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Never used them to host, but Tapastic is basically like a centralized DeviantArt for comics. I believe they even have some kind of per view youtube-esque monetization scheme.
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Dec 15, 2016 16:47
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Mostly posting this so I don't forget, but I met a nice lady doing eye tracking research on reading comics at Thought Bubble. She has a website with some of the results up: https://comicsconventionsproject.wordpress.com/ Looks very interesting in terms of what panel layouts work and don't work, etc.
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Dec 20, 2016 02:49
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Squidster posted:
Very late to reply but that sounds like fun and I just might check it out! Anywhere I can get more info on times and dates?
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Dec 27, 2016 01:52
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We haven't locked down the dates yet because January is a hellstorm of marketing for us, but it'll probably be the last week in Jan or the first week of Feb. We'll be broadcasting the times from our twitter account at https://twitter.com/TorontoComix once we know them!
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Dec 27, 2016 02:39
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I recently was gifted Kim Jung Gi's 2016 sketchbook and I have to say this: if you like comics, buy it immediately.
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Dec 27, 2016 04:49
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I wouldn't say Kim Jung Gi is a requirement for comic artists. He barely does any finished comic work as it is, his sketch books have maybe 2-3 pages of comics in them. He's a great concept artist and performer, but I'd say look at an Eisner or Harvey kurtzman book before you dole out the money for a Kim Jung Gi book. (I say this with two of his books in my library.)
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Dec 29, 2016 19:27
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Kinda late to the marketing/hustle discussion, but in case anybody hasn't seen it yet, Spike Trotman did a little thing that covers the basics. She also usually gives tips on her twitter and on the podcast she does with other comickin' folk (currently on hiatus). I think some of them post here on the reg? I'm bad with usernames, names, and most other things. Hello, podcast people!
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Jan 5, 2017 19:24
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Jan 8, 2017 11:19
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Av please stop marketing please
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Jan 8, 2017 11:51
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All of the comics in this thread appear to be multi panel - so I didn't know if single panel comics were welcome, but I hoping for some feedback. It's kind of a throw-away idea. I was trying to go for a New Yorker/Playboy feel. The title looks out of place, but I spent the most time on that so it stays in until I can think of something better. 
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Jan 25, 2017 02:21
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Needs more orange.
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Jan 25, 2017 03:03
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I'm desperately in need of guidance regarding copyright and trademark issues, as in, what are the steps I should follow to protect my intellectual property? I'm about to post some of my work online and try to sell some images but I haven't found much useful information to that effect.
the floor is baklava fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Jan 30, 2017 |
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Jan 30, 2017 02:51
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the floor is baklava posted:I'm desperately in need of guidance regarding copyright and trademark issues, as in, what are the steps I should follow to protect my intellectual property? I'm about to post some of my work online and try to sell some images but I haven't found much useful information to that effect.  Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer! Also I'm assuming you're in the US.If this is going to involve a lot of money I'd highly suggest you talk to a copyright lawyer before doing anything else. That said, my understanding is that your work (but not necessarily the "branding" around it. That's covered by trademarks) is automatically protected by copyright law. Once you make it you technically don't need to DO anything else. If you want to though you can file for a copyright with the US government (I'm assuming you're in the US btw) and pay a $45 or so fine per work to get additional protection in case you need to sue someone. From here you can release the rights to your work in whatever way you see fit. For example you can lease out the right to just use a work personally or for someone to use it in a business context. You can also limit the formats your work is used in (print vs electronic). The general best practice is to give out few rights as absolutely necessary. Since you're selling your work online this means that your checkout page will likely need some legalese added specifying that all works are copyrighted and that purchases are for non-commercial use only. You can probably find something useful already written online if you look around. You can also sell your work through a pre-existing company like DeviantArt or something if you want, which will have the benefit of them already having a checkout system with these protections in place. If you're planning to sell anything for commercial use (like an ad or logo) then you should seriously consider getting a written contract rather than having clients go through a website. You can find books of pre-made contracts online for general use. However, again, if you're dealing with something complicated or worth a lot of money it would be worth your time to hire a lawyer. Here's a really good book on the topic. You should probably grab a copy when you get the chance since it can provide much better info than I can: https://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Artists-Handbook-Pricing-Guidelines/dp/0932102166
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Jan 30, 2017 04:17
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Thanks, that's a big help 
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Jan 31, 2017 01:45
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Krispy Kareem posted:All of the comics in this thread appear to be multi panel - so I didn't know if single panel comics were welcome, but I hoping for some feedback. "Swamprats" But in the Rugrats font & maybe even Rugrats styling...
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Feb 2, 2017 12:48
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Alright, I think I've almost got enough content built up that very soon I'll be ready to actually start me one of them there fancy webcomics but there are a few things I was hoping to get some advice regarding:
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Feb 20, 2017 19:10
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KingKalamari posted:Alright, I think I've almost got enough content built up that very soon I'll be ready to actually start me one of them there fancy webcomics but there are a few things I was hoping to get some advice regarding: If your 'introduction' is going to take you two years to get through you need to stop and rethink. Can't you build up a buffer and release at a faster rate? 1/week is very slow for anything with story.
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Feb 20, 2017 19:15
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Fangz posted:If your 'introduction' is going to take you two years to get through you need to stop and rethink. Well, calling the entire thing an "Introduction" might be a bit of a misnomer on my part. It's really more of the first Arc I guess? Basically I'm doing a "trapped in another world" type story with each chapter being about 20 pages long: I need one chapter to establish what the characters were doing beforehand and how they got to the other world One chapter of them getting their bearings in the other world and meeting up with another major character Two chapters for an introductory adventure where they build up a rapport with the new characters And one final chapter to tie up loose ends and set everything up for further adventures Now that I write it out like that I might be able to work it down to four or so instalments... Fangz posted:Can't you build up a buffer and release at a faster rate? 1/week is very slow for anything with story. I'm definitely planning to have a buffer regardless but my concern is that if I update more frequently than I can produce more material my buffer is going to get smaller and smaller before eventually vanishing. That's why I'm wondering if I might not be better off updating in chunks as opposed to on a weekly basis. Weekly just feels too slow but sticking to more than a once a week schedule feels like it might be beyond my capabilities at the moment...
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Feb 20, 2017 19:34
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So I've recounted through these threads my quest to get a comic series made and picked up. I've gone quiet the last few months mostly because I've been working seriously on a small project with a dedicated artist. What we end up doing with this is going to depend on stuff later, but we're moving full speed ahead with it regardless. I've actually mentioned this project before, I think in an earlier iteration of this thread, but I'm working with a new artist who I think is more suitable. It is a 6-7 issue mini series very much inspired by 1950s Sci-Fi and giant monster movies. It's also a bit of a critical take on that era and its flaws. The plot is super simple- alien invader comes to a small Alaskan town, Point Hope, and cuts the area off from the rest of the world with an energy dome. Within, the invader unleashes various giant monsters and otherworldly horrors, and the only hope left to the town is a mysterious charred object that fell from the sky. The title of the work is Charred, and here is the first page, uncolored of course-  So yeah. We're gonna make this happen one way or three. It's a bit hard to make out what is going on exactly, especially in panel 2, without colors but I'm still curious about initial impressions.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:14
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Burkion posted:So I've recounted through these threads my quest to get a comic series made and picked up. I definitely agree that your new artist's style seems very well suited to the project from what you've told us. Tell them to watch their perspective a little in shots like the first panel since I think that things look a little off when comparing the elements in the upper right and bottom lefthand portions of the panel relative to one another. That said I greatly enjoy the monster designs and the level of detail your artist has put into them.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:39
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KingKalamari posted:I definitely agree that your new artist's style seems very well suited to the project from what you've told us. Tell them to watch their perspective a little in shots like the first panel since I think that things look a little off when comparing the elements in the upper right and bottom lefthand portions of the panel relative to one another. That said I greatly enjoy the monster designs and the level of detail your artist has put into them. Yeah that first panel is just all kinds of cheating. The energy dome is somewhere around 100 miles wide, so we kind of have to gently caress the perspective a bit just so the things around it don't look like little dots. Thankfully that's about the only shot of the dome from that angle we have planned. Ideally we would have done multiple panels to set everything up, but page count is a bitch and we're keeping each issue to just 24 pages. And thank you very much. This is a project I'm very proud of, and Jako's art on it is going to make it sing.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:45
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Buffers are fleeting, do not depend on them because before you know it, there they go.
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Feb 20, 2017 20:49
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Reiley posted:Buffers are fleeting, do not depend on them because before you know it, there they go. Yeah, you really need to be sure that regardless of how much of a buffer you build up, whatever update schedule you choose can be sustained without it. One update a week isn't super great but if it's what you can manage it will benefit you in the long run. The general rule I've heard is imagine how many pages you could do per week and subtract one.
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Feb 20, 2017 21:10
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Enh, that depends on whether your comic is ongoing or whether it has a clearly finite length. If you've done half the comic before you started posting you can fairly safely increase the update rate.
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Feb 20, 2017 21:24
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If you can get away with starting in medias res with standalone stories you should absolutely do it, and consider letting your introduction exist as context that informs your writing (and maybe the occasional flashback). Always try to start at the most interesting part of your story if you can help it. Also yes buffers are liars & will destroy you if you rely on them
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Feb 20, 2017 21:33
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I had a buffer once 
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Feb 21, 2017 03:30
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