Webcomics
Shop Talk
The Demands of making it work
By Travis Hanson
The other day, I was asked why I offer “The Bean” as both a web- so you can be several weeks ahead.
comic and a printed piece. In fact, the question was if I thought I
was sinking my own ship by offering it up for free.
2. WORK WITHIN YOUR LIMITS.
Yet, in a time when indy comics are getting harder and harder to
produce and get out there, there must still be an outlet for those of
us that have fantastic tales to tell. Mind that Diamond is no longer
really friendly to the small guys,
Too often, too many incredibly good webcomics fall by the wayside,
because their creators cannot keep up with the pace or demands
that they set up for themselves. Which is a shame. You see, more
webcomics are truly a labor of love.
Honestly, if you can produce five colored pages a week and that’s
all you have to do, then updating five days a week is fine. Yet, most
artists are pretty slammed, so five colored pages a week can be
quite overwhelming. Work with what is realistic. My main goal is to
finish my tale in black and white first, and then go back and color
it (or find someone else to color it for me so I can do another tale).
I realized I can produce several pages a week—between eight and
ten at times—in black and white, yet I cannot do this consistently. I
have other obligations and I LOVE being married and I LOVE being a
dad. So, I must juggle a bit. I found that making sure I update twice
a week was very workable, and now I have an 80-page buffer ready
to be uploaded. Which brings me to my next point.
The other problem one faces is having to weed through all the crap
to find the really strong stuff. With the power of the web, a story
can reach a huge audience, but we forget that we are competing
with many other artists trying to do the same thing. So how can 3. CREATE A BUFFER!
you make your webcomic survive and how can you, as a struggling
illustrator, manage to make a little income at the same time? Well They (newspapers comics) say you should have six weeks of strips
let’s break it down....
in the hopper. I am a strong believer in that. Do not try to update
the same week you do that perfect page you are working on; you
1. DEADLINES AND RELIABILITY
will only set you up for failure.
I cannot stress this one enough. Set realistic deadlines. Bean updates
once a week, every Monday—and then, two color updates Tuesday
and Thursday (I have embarked on the biggest project of my life:
coloring Bean from page 1). My readers know that there will be a
new part of the story on those days, they expect it, and so, I must
honor that. If I keep changing the days without telling people...
people lose interest. IF I MISS DAYS WITHOUT AN EXPLANATION,
PEOPLE STOP READING! I see too many comic artists start missing
deadlines for whatever reason and pushing the updates further
back. You want to upset your readers, don’t be reliable. If you want
your readership to grow, update when you say you will. There are
many programs out there that will let you automate this process
4. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!
There are no print deadlines with webcomics except the ones you
make for yourself, but keep them! Take your time, make it look good.
If we can prove that there are incredibly well-written-and-drawn
stories out there, more and more will flock to find them. That takes
a little faith in an industry that pays artists very little. That’s why I
like a twice–weekly update. It allows me to take time to create a
good story without feeling rushed, as well as letting me cover my
other freelance jobs at the same time.
Other updates, though, are important. I love having a separate
SELF PUBLISHER MAGAZINE 2014
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