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 357 — Innovation fascination

ComicLab Ep 357 — Innovation fascination

Having wrapped up his 16th Kickstarter, cartoonist Dave Kellett shares some insights about setting realistic expectations, avoiding paid advertising, and...
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Adding lettering to improve original art sales

Adding lettering to improve original art sales

Selling original art is an integral part of the business model of an independent cartoonist who works with traditional media...
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Square announces new fee structure

Square, a smart-phone-based credit-card reader that requires no commitment to a merchant-services contract, has announced that it is dropping its 15-cents-per-transaction fee and replacing it with a 2.75% fee based on the transaction amount.

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by on February 23, 2011
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Mailbag: Switching Comics

 

Q: I have a successful comic which is coming to an end within the next few months, and I’m planning to launch a new comic almost immediately thereafter.  The new comic represents a fairly significant change from my current work, so I only expect to retain about 50% of that readership.

My question is how much time I can afford to take off between these two projects without risking losing those readers I do expect to take with me.  I’d like to arrange it so that I don’t miss an update day, but I’m not sure I’ll have the time to build the site and a modest buffer for the new strip if I do it that way.

— Nick Wright

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by on February 22, 2011
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Webcomics Weekly, Episode 77: Skottie Young

Scott and Brad discuss the $2 PDF and digital-download publishing with Eisner Award-winning Skottie Young, whose PDF, The Adventures of Bernard, the World Destroyer, found itself at the center of the $2 PDF movement. Skottie goes into real numbers, discussing the topic from the ground up.

The three of us also share our love for Emerald City Comic Con which is just around the corner on March 4-6 in Seattle. Scott, Dave Kellett, Kris Straub and I will be recording a live episode of Webcomics Weekly at the convention on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Room 4C1-2.

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by on February 16, 2011
Posted In: Uncategorized
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Open Call for Questions for Robert Khoo

As he did last year, Robert Khoo, the Business Guy for Penny Arcade, is offering to answer questions from the Webcomics.com readership. This is the chance to ask Mr. Khoo to address specific topics that you’d like his perspective on.

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by on February 16, 2011
Posted In: Business
16 Comments

How to Build Your Own Lightbox

After last month’s discussion about lightboxes, Webcomics.com member Jason Frazer has generously passed along this handly guide to building your own.

If you’re an artist, light boxes are a handy item to own. They allow us to replicate and reproduce images quickly without needing to redraw an image from scratch.

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by on February 15, 2011
Posted In: Art
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How to Make Webcomics (3rd edition) now available!

If you’ve tried to buy a copy of How To Make Webcomics from this site recently, you’ve probably noticed that the page was blank.

But as of today, the third edition has been printed, and my supplies have been re-stocked. And that means that if you’ve been looking to get your hands on one, now’s the time.

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by on February 14, 2011
Posted In: Uncategorized
6 Comments