Webcomics Confidential: Draw larger

Webcomics Confidential: Draw larger

I took a question on Twitter recently: "Would it be wrong to draw my comics on A4 paper? I find...
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November To-Do List

November To-Do List

It's time to get started on (*choke*) the penultimate month of 2024.If you plan to offer new merchandise for the...
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ComicLab Ep 359 — Should your readers be your writers?

ComicLab Ep 359 — Should your readers be your writers?

BlueSky is beginning to feel like Twitter did ten years ago! Engagement is up, conversations are genuine, and follower counts...
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Understanding social media

Understanding social media

Social media is among an independent artist's most frustrating elements. We struggle for engagement, wage constant battles with "The Algorithm,"...
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Writing humor

Writing humor

Writing comedy is a challenge that is made even more daunting by the fact that humor itself is completely subjective...
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CMYK vs RGB

CMYK vs RGB

If you're saving your comics in RGB mode, you may be making a potentially expensive mistake. The content you are...
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ComicLab Ep 358 — “Help! I’m not funny anymore!”

ComicLab Ep 358 — “Help! I’m not funny anymore!”

Cartoonists Dave and Brad share some thoughts with a young humor writer trying to find their Funny. Also: Is BlueSky...
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ISBN — a beginner’s guide

ISBN — a beginner’s guide

An ISBN is a 10- or 13-digit number used to identify a book from a specific publisher. Once your book...
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How to write a Halloween joke

How to write a Halloween joke

On Substack, a cartoonist was struggling with writing a Halloween joke. He was experiencing a common problem. He was stuck...
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Webcomics Confidential: Size doesn’t matter

Webcomics Confidential: Size doesn’t matter

when it comes to your audience, size doesn't matter. A small and engaged readership beats a huge, lukewarm audience every...
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ComicLab Ep 79: Father’s Day Thoughts

Webcomics pros Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar are talkin’ comics! In this episode, a question-asker asks if you can spur creativity by changing the layout of your studio. NEXT, the guys take a moment to talk about their fathers — and the influence their dads have had on their creative lives. FINALLY, is it possible to make comics more accessible for people with visual impairment?

BUT FIRST, Dave takes his family to an indoor water park — or as he calls it “a cathedral to e. coli bacteria”

SHOW NOTES

  • Spurring creativity by changing the layout of your studio
  • Father’s Day thoughts
  • accessibility to visually impaired readers

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the editor of Webcomics.com
Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

by on July 4, 2019
Posted In: ComicLab
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ComicLab Ep 78 — The Menace of Arrival Fallacy

Webcomics pros Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar are talking comics! In this episode, they talk about Arrival Fallacy, and how it lures creators into a treadmill of despair! THEN a Patreon backer asks how Brad “NSFW” Guigar could possibly be disturbed by Public Displays of Affection! FINALLY, they discuss the Shonen Jump approach — could it work for webcomics?

BUT FIRST, Brad’s son points out that two of his father’s popular aphorisms are in direct conflict with one another!

SHOW NOTES

  • “You can’t choose what you’re good at” vs “No such thing as talent”
  • Arrival Fallacy
  • Public displays of affection
  • Shonen Jump
by on July 2, 2019
Posted In: ComicLab
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Webcomics Confidential #40: How to Build an Audience

Building an audience is a definitive goal for most cartoonists, but outlining steps is very difficult. If you’re going to Patreon, looking to build an audience, you’ve got the horse before the cart. In this video, veteran webcartoonist Brad Guigar talks about proven steps you can take to build an audience for your webcomic.

The content you are trying to access is only available to members.
by on July 1, 2019
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Webcomics Confidential #39: Patreon strategies

Are you running a support-based Patreon campaign or a subscription-based one? Understanding the difference can be a major step towards improving your crowdfunding effectiveness. In this video, I give you four tips on maximizing your outreach on Patreon.

The content you are trying to access is only available to members.
by on June 26, 2019
Posted In: Webcomics Confidential
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Livestream Chat: Doing a quiet voice in comics lettering

How do you represent someone whispering in a comic? If you choose to make the lettering itself smaller, you’re sacrificing legibility — and that’s dangerous. After all, that’s Guigar’s Law of Lettering: “nobody’s gonna read your comic if they can’t read your comic.” In this Livestream Chat, let’s talk about different approaches to getting it done… quietly.

The content you are trying to access is only available to members.
by on June 25, 2019
Posted In: Livestream Chat
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ComicLab Ep. 77 — Choosing a Title for your Comic

What’s in a name? A lot — as Dave can tell you. He shares the troubles he experienced by naming his strip after a character who has since faded into the background. Also in today’s show…

  • Ziggy
  • Zippy
  • Should you re-draw old comics?
  • How should you introduce a new style to your readership?
  • Do splash pages work on the Web?
  • The guilt of not creating

Great rewards when you support ComicLab

  • $2 — support the show
  • $5 — submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast
  • $10 — record an audio question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast
  • $50 — Sponsor the show! We’ll read a brief promo for your comic/product and read it twice during the show AND you get the exclusive ProTips podcast

Brad Guigar is the creator of Evil Inc and the editor of Webcomics.com
Dave Kellett is the creator of Sheldon and Drive.

by on June 24, 2019
Posted In: ComicLab
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ComicLab Ep. 76 — LIVE! From NCSFest

LIVE! (on tape) from Huntington Beach, it’s a special episode of ComicLab recorded during NCSFest. Brad and Dave talk about webcomics publishing becoming more centralized — and much more!

  • 04:55 — Webcomics publishing started as centralized, become de-centralized, and is getting centralized again
  • 08:13 — “Vanity Press is the new Publishing, and Publishing is the new Vanity Press” — Jake Parker
  • 20:00 — Optimism over the future of comics
  • 30:47 — Working with assistants
  • 34:50 — Getting the vapors
  • 36:30 — Dave loves to draw backgrounds (Brad doesn’t)
  • 41:00 — When you forget how to draw
  • 44:40 — Question from the audience: Do we consider our non-cartoonist listeners?
  • 49:11 — Working in Dave’s studio
  • 54:19 — Question from the audience: Do we plan for continuing education to expand our knowledge?
by on June 22, 2019
Posted In: ComicLab
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