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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Reader retention

Reader retention

Let's face it. One of the biggest hurdles in growing a webcomic is reader retention. That's why I encourage you...
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Inking, work in progress

This post, the first of two, (the second is here) was kindly submitted by D. Bethel, who notes: This post is about my thoughts on inking and the inking methods I’ve used throughout the history of my webcomic and contains explanations as to why I made these changes. A step-by-step post about my current inking method shall be published here tomorrow.

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by on August 18, 2009
Posted In: Guest
13 Comments

Hitting the jackpot with a comic strip

Take a moment, if you will, to appreciate the beauty of the comic strip.

It’s long enough to promote character development and reader involvement. And yet it’s short enough to produce on a daily basis.

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by on August 17, 2009
Posted In: Articles
23 Comments

New site feature

On a suggestion from a reader, I’ve added a section to the site called Personals.

It’s a special forum on which a reader can find an artist and vice versa.

Check out the navigation bar at the top of this page and click on Personals to check out the new feature.

by on August 14, 2009
Posted In: Site News
9 Comments

Moving Mountains with Motivation

So here’s an interesting mediation on motivation kindly submitted by Philipp Lehner.

Facing Reality

Time is of the essence. In general, this means you will have to sacrifice time, which you could otherwise spend with family or friends. Sitting around every evening watching TV should be an exception, not the rule. You have to be capable of providing your project with what it needs the most: unconditional devotion.

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by on August 13, 2009
Posted In: Articles
9 Comments

Mailbag: What to Sell at a Con?

Q:Do you have any suggestions for someone attending their first convention? I’ll be in Artist’s Alley. What should I bring to sell?

This is a question I’ve been asked both in the Forum and in private e-mails, so I figured I’d address it out here in case there were others wondering the same thing.

A: There are two main reasons to attend a con: To sell or to promote. Of course, if you’re going to sell, you can promote, too. But if you’re going to promote, you shouldn’t be distracted by trying to sell.

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by on August 12, 2009
Posted In: Mail Bag
19 Comments

Scott McCloud on TED

In another discussion from TED, Scott McCloud bends the presentation format into a cartoon-like experience, where colorful diversions whiz through childhood fascinations and imagined futures that our eyes can hear and touch. In this talk, he shares his history, discusses the infinite canvas and muses on the future of webcomics.

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by on August 11, 2009
Posted In: Articles
10 Comments

Getting the reader on the go

This piece was submitted by Lemuel Pew

As mobile devices become more powerful and commonplace, the chances of your already Internet-savvy audience having a Blackberry, iPhone or such are pretty good. Here’s a few thoughts on getting ahead of the curve.

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by on August 10, 2009
Posted In: Articles
10 Comments

Pet peeve: Yeah, Yay, Yea and Ya

 

It’s time to address a pet peeve that’s been bothering me lately. I keep reading comics that misuse “Yeah” and “Yay.” Often, I see novice cartoonists writing one when they mean the other.

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by on August 7, 2009
Posted In: Articles
36 Comments