Tips on starting first webcomic

[NottyPony]

Hello! My name is Notty, I am a intermediate artist who really wants to start her first webcomic

I am really curious if any of ya'll have any tips on starting webcomics, I have tried many times but I always lose motivation before I even draw the first page. If any of you guys have any tips that would be very appreciated!

[arcus]

Basic advice: Draft an overview of the plot's beginning, middle and end. Write scripts for each page before drawing them. Start with basic paneling, but start saving comic pages with interesting paneling to study later.

If you use CSP, figure out how the comic tools work. There's a learning curve, but it saves time once you figure it out.

If you're considering printing them down the line, I have a lot more to say.

[rnottelovesowls]

one time i tried making a webcomic. it didn't work out, but here's what i've learned from the experience:

1. don't make this comic with a focus on profit. make it for entertainment above all else
2. as you write its script, get proofreading and advice from friends to improve on it
3. take your time, and don't rush. you don't have to release a new episode every week
4. as an alternative, finish every episode first, and THEN start releasing it on a schedule
5. have fun with it! that's what making art is all about: the enjoyment of it all

[Dan Q]

Not a drawing tip but a technical one: have an RSS (or similar) feed. I've made my decision about whether or not to "follow" a webcomic based on whether or not it has a feed!

(I have to really love a webcomic to configure scraping to work-around the lack of an RSS feed!)

[LucaDoodleDoo]

Your very first ever webcomic? Congrats! Here's my advice

Start drawing.

Don't overthink it, the most important part is to *make the comic*. It's very, very easy to "feel" productive (tons of plot notes, character doodles, reading/watching videos on how to thumbnail comics, you start writing the script, maybe even get to sketching a few pages) and then it fizzles because you're so overwhelmed and perfectionism takes over. You can ALWAYS go back and re-draw stuff you don't like, later.

Fact is, you'll learn most of that stuff as the comic progresses anyway. "Make it exist first, you can make it good later"

[torrent-empress]

I started off writing the stories and then it ended up congealing into a story, I would say try and set aside time every single day to do *something* and make it a habit. That's how I got my first comic going (although life has got me sidetracked like a bitch....) Even if it's just working on thumbnails, or inking or watching a video or something. Just keep working on it little by little. That's the biggest thing. Start working even on test pages.

[tarraxahum]

I think at the "losing motivation at the first page" stage the main advice is make it fun, do it for yourself and don't sweat about it being perfect. Also do not impose any ambitious deadlines or lofty reader goals on yourself.

In my experience the secret is to find something that's so fun for you to draw that you'd do it anyway even if you didn't show anyone at all.

(And then when you actually start - don't put pressure on yourself and pace, pace, pace yourself. Burning out was my worst enemy when I started mine. Still recovering.)

Best of luck! 

[Noah_S]

Don't listen to anyone who says you have to finish a set amount of pages in a week or anything similar. That's how you turn it into work. Do it for fun.

[cleanduck]

That's so exciting!  
Depending on your experience with drawing/story writing, the experienced webcomic artists suggest to start with an easy & short story for the first time.
Starting with a story that's very close to your heart can cause a lot of (preformance) pressure because you want it to be perfect. A short story is also a lot less overwhelming and keeps it fun.

I know you might want to start drawing but writing and scripting out is important for the story to make sense and establish the pacing. Creating the characters first before the story is not essential.
You need to have an idea about what your characters are like. But things like appearance and details or not important yet. 

Preperations:

• You need to have an idea about your beginning - middle part - end. It's just an outline so you can always change things later on.
• Start writing chapters/chapter ideas. How you write them is up to you and what works best for you. They don't have to be written in order, you can sort that out afterwards.
  Start with writing chapters you feel really excited about. This will also give you some motivation to start.
• If you really want to start drawing; draw one of the chapters/or panels you're really excited about. I see some artists on instagram do this when they have a story idea/OCs but not fully written down yet.
• Pinterest boards for inspiration. (Scenery, backgrounds, clothing, expressions, poses, perspectives).
• If you're sick of writing so much, just start thumnailing; small rough chapter layouts to map things out.

Things to consider:

• You will need to draw your characters a lot, so stick to designs that are easy to draw repeatedly.
• Make character refrence sheets (for when you start drawing). This will have your character on it, along with their color scheme etc etc. This is to make sure your characters will stay consistent on every page.
• Will the webcomic be in color or in black and white. If in color think about color palets. Maybe while writing your chapters note down the colors you want to use in scenes.
• Webcomic format and where do you want to publish it on. If it's just for fun you won't need to worry much about planning, backloging pages, etc etc.
• What program will you use and are you familiar with it. CSP is the most popular option for comics because they have a lot of tools that make the process easier. (For example 3D models).

There is no right or wrong way to start! The most important thing is that you truly enjoy creating your webcomic![/list]

[ValyceNegative]

Everyone has given golden advice already! I can only add: don't draw pages one per one as you publish them, rather have some done in advance so you have a "buffer" of updates to post regularly during downtime periods.

[sweetwana]

Having prepared in advance to allow yourself flexibility is great advice!

Kind of building upon that, I wanna say… a lot of advice you’ll see on the internet will stress the importance of maintaining regular updates to build audiences. I think this depends upon what your goal is - is your goal to write a comic, or build an audience? For me, if it means avoiding burnout and maintaining the joy of creativity, then maintaining a rigid schedule is a pretty low priority.

(I’m not say you can’t finish a comic AND build an audience! Just an observation from my own experience!)

[Noah_S]

I'm writing this partway through sketching a panel, before I go look for a reference picture.

Be aware that you're gonna end up drawing familiar things from unfamiliar angles.

This will be my first time drawing a bird seen from above.