Hey Holla Forums, I'm thinking about making a webcomic. Do you have any suggestions...

-One rough suggestion would be to update regularly so you keep your fanbase interested.
-Perhaps study the bullshit sagas of the most infamous webcomics, and learn from their mistakes.
-Be open to criticism, but take suggestions with a grain of salt and don't take them personally.

I don't think we can get much more specific than that at the moment, because regardless of what you produce there will be a certain number of detractors.

Avoid the "idiots on a couch and then crazy shit happens" plot types

also avoid "idiots on a couch talk about vidya and movies, and then crazy shit happens" plots

I'd like to make a comic that I wouldn't be ashamed to show my parents, so that percentage will be very low or even zero.

I think the only reason to insert your political views in a comic is if it's a political comic, and that's not my intention. The closest thing to a political statement will probably be that the characters will all be of European descent.

I agree. You can't really do anything without offending someone anyway.

Thanks, that's good advice. Especially the bit about drawing cute waifus, it'll be my Plan B.

It's nice to hear from someone who has experience in this sort of thing. I can sort of draw, I mean I'm not Michelangelo but I know how to hold a pencil. I'm more worried about writing. I worked as a journalist for a while, but I've never tried actually writing a story with characters and plot development. I think I'll follow your suggestion and start with something nonsensical, and maybe later grow it into something more coherent or start over with a new comic.

I didn't know about /comic/, it looks like a good board. Why isn't there a link to it on Holla Forums?

I honestly don't know how often I'll be able to update it, I don't think that's something one can just arbitrarily decide before one starts working on the comic. But I agree that it should be a regular occurrence, regardless if it's weekly, biweekly or monthly.

I look forward to being told to kill myself by the readers.

No couch, got it. But I can't promise that there won't be idiots.

read stand still and stay silent, it's a fucking masterpiece of a worldbuilding.

Show us your art so we can endlessly shit on it offer up some constructive criticism.

What are you expecting? Any advice about characterization or structure of your comic is going to either be useful or completely disregardable depending on what your webcomic actually is.

Be honest, are you're just putting off actually making your webcomic while you look for the magical 'right' advice that suddenly draw your pages for you?

Don't be shit. Write whatever the fuck you want. Trying to pander to my shit tastes is just gonna put you in a place you're not well versed in. Do your own shit, even if it's some furry guro bullshit.

I was thinking of starting one myself. Any suggestions on programs, pages sizes, panel layouts and such? Part of me feels like I should just wing it and do whatever, but I can't shake the feeling that I might be missing something intrinsic.

JUST MAKE THE FUCKING COMIC

- Look at the failures of other webcomics and don't repeat them. Possibly read webcomic review sites to get an idea of some of these failures.

- Update regularly, don't pull an Aaron Diaz/Dresen Codak situation where you make "high quality detailed" * pages and your comic only updates like 5 times a year.

- You are only human, you will make mistakes you won't draw/write everything perfectly the first time. (Be like Katie Terachi/Awakward Zombie and joke about "add it to the list of things you can't draw")

- Learning to draw never ends (could add writing to that as well). Check /loomis/ for drawing tips.

- Don't pander to SJW's they are NEVER SATISFIED, (give an inch, they demand a mile)

- I'm heard 300 dpi is a good level of detail for a digital comic (can other user's comment on this?)

- A 3x3 panel layout could be a good start (try to find the Bruce Timm's Mad Love story panels in /comic/ for a good example.

-Try not to worry about current social/news events that happen to coincidentally mimic your comic, just state when you made/wrote it and move on. (Possibly leave a condolence or delay by a day or two if truly worried about it).

- Always have multiple back ups of your work. Possibly even have one offsite of where you live if your truly paranoid.

- Make the comic for your self, don't pander like Jeph Jacques/Questionable Content. He may make a fuckload of Pateron cash. But his wife still left him and his fanbase made him depressed enough to stab his own hand.

- Not everyone in the world will like/adore your work. That's just life. Accept it and move on.

* Your mileage may vary whether Diaz's current art is good or not.

Keep the length short and the updates frequent and regular.

Know your strengths as a writer & artist, and avoid your weaknesses.

Have at least a general idea of the overarching plot before you start.

Unless it's a political webcomic, avoid politics as much as you possibly can.

Liberal or Conservative, it ALWAYS brings shit down lower.

If you HAVE to bring up politics, try to avoid strawmanning people, even if you disagree with them. Take some time to research what they're going on about so you don't just take shots at a immobile target.

Can you tell us what it's about user?

- Draw everything way ahead of time, and keep a buffer to you can take a break for unexpected dramas, family emergencies, that sort of thing. The secret to success is regularity. Get people into a rhythm of checking your site when it updates, you want to get them into a routine, establish a pattern. Every time you miss an update you break that pattern and risk haemorrhaging readers. DRAW BITCH DRAW!

- Don't be Fred Gallagher and constantly need everyone to clap if you believe in sad cartoonists in snow or you won't update. Nobody cares about your personal shit. DRAW BITCH DRAW!

- Don't expect to make money off the strip itself, that's what advertising and merch is for.

- Shill by doing fan-art for other webcomics' galleries.

- Ignore your fans for the most part. Don't get caught up in forum drama like Dre, or waste all your time on the forum like Krow.

- Treat it like your day job, and one day it could be your day job. Professionalism is the questing beast we all hunt, and it is reserved for the few motherfuckers at the top. DRAW BITCH DRAW!

- The phrase "Craft is the enemy" is often misused. What the inarticulate chucklefuck who coined the term meant when he said it was, too much training eats into your productive time, and that you should learn on the job. He didn't mean that people who know how to draw things like perspective and anatomy are cryptofascist shitlords who are literally raping people who can't draw. Shit, if that was the case we might as well stop trying to write, either.

- Be wary of svengali figures, 90% of mentors are bitter fucks who will see you as a rival if you outshine the master.

- Draw what is fun, write what challenges you. Do whatever shalt stop you from wilting, shall be the loophole in the law!

- Always finish what you start. Always publish what you finish. Move on to the next project. Don't wait for inspiration, don't wait for motivation. Mood's a thing for cattle and loveplay! DRAW BITCH DRAW!

Try not to become a blue bear or Loss

If you can't keep a regular update, let says is biweekly, make a couple of month in advance, so far shit irl happens and you can't draw or anything you already have the comic to just be uploaded, let's say Keep at least 5 randumb emergency comic so you can brake your hand but will still be on…. if it's just started your comic will be left without any update people reading it if you stop

Read the wikiofbadcomic to learn the error and mistake of already working ones

Do it for yourself. You will always be triggering for tumblr, degenerate of Holla Forums or plain shit for Holla Forums or Holla Forums

A Blue Bear you say?

Thanks for all the advice, guys, I really appreciate it.

The reason I didn't include any information about the comic is that I'm still in the early stage of defining the concept and the characters, and I don't have a clear idea of what it's going to be like.

The current concept involves a group of college-age people taking a class on germanic folklore and having to complete assignments that require some detective work. So nothing too original, but I think it has potential.