Shop Talk: Keep your comic going….

It has been really exciting these last few months in finding a wide variety of incredible web-comics. Sadly many of these great finds are hiatus. Which drives me nuts.

I understand that life is busy full of all sorts of things, I also understand there are bills to be paid and food to put on the table. Yet, I also understand what commitment is about.

Many of you know that I am the father of 5. They range from teen to toddler. I am a fantasy illustrator and graphic designer and I also produce a printed version of the web comic. Life is busy, but a long time ago I made a commitment to my fans that I am trying to honor.

It might be hard at times to blog about my adventures, but my commitment was to post a weekly comic.  So how do you do it.

First: Create a reserve. I know us artist are passionate people. We got to get that plot point up for the whole world to see. We work on that deadline, staying up late to hopefully finish the strip due tomorrow….. see the problem… no breathing room. We hope our readers are understanding, at first they might be, but if habitual tardiness kills a good comic.

Build up a reserve, if it delays starting the whole comic, fine… I would rather know if a webcomic is going to update on the days promised, than to sit in the dark and hope for it. I recommend a few weeks. I try to stay 3 months ahead.

2nd: Don’t feel you need to update 3 or 4 times a weeks. Just be consistent in your updating. Atland does a great job of once a week, while a few others are twice a week. Sometimes the creator feels they have to add more and more during the week to keep people happy. That usually makes the creator unhappy. That’s no fun for the webcomic guy…. you need to do what’s best for you and not break. People are happy if you keep the story going. Yes having extra pages during the week is cool, but not needed if it will break you in the end.

3rd: Stay true to your vision. This was hard for me to learn. My choice to do bean in b/w has alienated me somewhat from the more flashy color comics (many who are hiatus as well).Especially on top ten list, I was bothered at first, but that was because I lost site of my vision. So I stopped worrying about where I would place on these list and decided that I needed to focus more on my story and updating. It was learning to stay true to my vision and knowing that if I build it they do come.

I also chose to create an epic full of transition pages and character development. It’s a fine line to tread when dealing with complex story arcs. Yet as the comic grows and people read it from the beginning or reread it, they see my vision and they see why. So if you have vision stick to it. It might mean the hill to climb is a little bigger, but the flowers at the top are much nicer to smell.

4th: Stick it out. This is hard, especially when your brain is racked with all sorts of other story ideas and concepts. There are times you fight boredom, artistic constipation, laziness or other commitments. These are the times that you need to keep pushing forward. The worst thing is too look back and say I should have finished my story.

I am lucky that I have had the opportunity to keep bean going. It has been a long ride and one that at times has been full of frustration. Though as I look back I am happy that I am trying to stick it out. I want to keep that commitment to those that read and buy the comics, that is important to me and though it might take a little longer to get to the end goal, it will be so worth it.

So don’t quit! Stay focused, keep creating those fantastic stories…. and don’t be afraid to share….

trav-

13 Comments

Amelia » 10 Dec 2011 » Reply

Thank you. I am learning webcomics now and have my own and was keeping in consistent but then I lost control of my time. I like the idea of a reserve and I'll start building one up while school's out I think (while continuing to update).
Thank you for your blog, it is awesome 🙂

    Trav the bean » 4 Jan 2012 » Reply

    you are welcome and dont give up. Reserves help quite a bit

Hoomi » 7 Mar 2011 » Reply

I really became disillusioned with the Top 100 list, when I saw that comics that have been on hiatus (with little to no word from the artist) for over a year were doing better in votes than actively updating comics. It does not engender faith in the voting, when you wonder why people are still voting for a comic that is all but dead.

The Top 100 list's biggest value to me, now, is in perusing the list to see if I see a title that might interest me. Still, some of the best comic finds I've made have been through more personal contact, such as connecting with The Bean through Phoenix Comic Con.

    Trav the bean » 8 Mar 2011 » Reply

    I too find that issue with the top 100. I would like to see some changes there. I find most of my comics now through other recommendations

Renee » 2 Mar 2011 » Reply

Hi Trevor,

Some good points you raise.

What would you advise the comic author wannabe who is having difficulty producing a page a week? In other words, my goal is to release one page a week, which means my buffer needs be steadily updated at the very least at the same rate, or else risk running out of buffer.

Unfortunately, the amount of work to produce that page a week is more suited to one page every two weeks. This is because I color the page as well. The decision to color is non-negotiable, as I cannot possibly imagine my comic not having color. Coloring is also the most time-consuming part of the entire process, at least for me. I'm still cranking at it, but I don't dare begin releasing anything until I can get my production rate up.

Do you think one can get the same viewership if he is consistent at updating one page every two weeks? What other ideas would you recommend?

    Scott » 3 Mar 2011 » Reply

    Trevor's point are dead on — I've been running my comic for close to seven years now. My comic updates once a week in colour. (www.supertemps.ca)

    Maybe I can offer some advice Renee — honestly, to maintain an audience you need to update once a week. The problem being is that if you don't publish at all, it becomes more difficult to maintain drive. Additionally, not publishing also means you're not building up awareness for the comic. It's far better to have people who are vaguely aware your comic exists and have no buffer, than to have nobody know it exists and a large buffer.

    There are other options — show your work around and see if you can find someone who's willing to take on a portion of the task. If you can work well with others, it might just solve your problem.

      Renee » 5 Mar 2011 » Reply

      Yes, I wish I knew people who were into this sort of thing. That is, people who would want to be a partner in crime and split whatever potential reward comes from this, rather than charging me $10 a page.

      Though you brought a thought to my mind. Internship! I could bribe high schoolers at church with an internship in comic creation! In return, they learn some mad computer skills. Then I shall have my very own slave labor force. Muhahahaha!

      Just might work. 😉

      Thanks!

      Trav the bean » 8 Mar 2011 » Reply

      thanks scott and you know i am trav:)

      I think scott has a good thought- also it is ok to build up a reserve. Work for a few months before you start posting your comic

    Westly » 3 Mar 2011 » Reply

    Hi there, Renee,

    I know I'm not Trevor, but I was intimidated by the full page a day thing, so, instead, I just do 2 panels or 1/3 of a full page. That way, I can concentrate better quality, and still get the comic out once a week.

      Renee » 5 Mar 2011 » Reply

      Interesting idea. Some of my pages split into rows nicely, to where I could publish one row at a time. But some do not, just because I can't help but do funky panels or full page spreads.

      Trav the bean » 8 Mar 2011 » Reply

      I'm not trevor either:)

      I think that is a good idea and a great way to get things moving. The comic does not have to be any specific size on the web and some show only one panel at a time.

    Trav the bean » 8 Mar 2011 » Reply

    first off- i am travis:) been called trevor before- but i usually go by trav-

    well i would look at seeing what you can do to speed that up. one page every two weeks is an awful long time. It might mean taking a look at your schedule and see where your time is going. A comic that updates only once a week is fine but every two weeks is a bit long.

    I would really try and see what you can do to learn to speed up your process. There are some good coloring tutorials out there on how to speed the process up.

Andy Odendhal » 2 Mar 2011 » Reply

HERE HERE!

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