Having wrapped up his 16th Kickstarter, cartoonist Dave Kellett shares some insights about setting realistic expectations, avoiding paid advertising, and...
Is this the perfect time for nostalgia over old-school webcomics? Also… when Dave attends a sci-fi convention, and kind lady walks up to his booth with some helpful advice. AND THEN SHE APPEARS IN BRAD’S STUDIO TO SING ABOUT IT!
(For those of you who are new to the show, allow us to whisk you back to 2019 when a kind lady walked up to Dave Kellett during San Diego Comic Con and offered him some helpful advice.)
ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…
Nostalgia usually hits after 20 years… so is this the moment for webcomics nostalgia?
If you want to build out your comics-font library, be sure to mark this on your calendar. Comicraft traditionally holds a sale on Jan 1 every year in which price of each of their fonts is based on the year. This New Year’s Day every ComiCraft font will be $20.23 apiece.
That’s a huge savings on their high-quality lettering fonts. WildWords (which I use) is $129 the rest of the year. WildWords upper/lower is usually $69. ComicCrazy is originally $395. And Yadda Yadda Yadda is typically $129. If you’re planning to purchase fonts for lettering or sound effects — or display fonts for logos and titles — you’ll want to mark this date on your calendar and load up.
Here are some must-grab fonts top add to your collection…
ComicCrazy
Fantastic all-purpose dialogue font. Check it out here. (Usually $395)
Sound effect font that will become your go-to. Check it out here. (Usually $29)
Zoinks
This display font is perfect for sound effects and strong headline or promo presentations. Check it out here. (Usually $39.)
Biff Bam Boom
Another sound-effect font you’ll use constantly. Check it out here. (Usually $29)
Onomatopedia
I’ll admit — I bought this on a whim. Then I found myself using it consistently throughout my comics-making. Check it out here. (Usually $29)
…and here’s one I’m adding this January 1st…
If This Be Doomsday
This looks like a headline/display font that I’ll end up using often. Check it out here. (Usually $29)
A note for Clip Studio Paint users
Comicraft fonts offer crossbar-I technology — which automatically substitutes a serif-I whenever the personal pronoun is used. (For more information about the crossbar-I rule, click here.) However, as I warned Webcomics.com subscribers at the beginning of 2020, this relies on OpenType font features — which Clip Studio Paint (as of now) does not support.
Getting paid for a project is always great — except for the first time you get asked to submit an invoice. If you’ve ever been embarrassed to admit that you didn’t know how to do this routine business task, here’s a quick primer
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A webcartoonist with a hefty archive was once in an enviable position. In an ad-driven business model, that large archive translated directly into paid ad views. But now that advertising is nearly nonexistent, how does a comics creator monetize their archive?
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This week’s show is sponsored by Dreamhost. If the implosion of Twitter has you wondering if you should finally build your own website, Dreamhost is there for you. With transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee, they’ll get you started on owning and controlling your work on the Web.
As an OG webcartoonist, Bill Barnes has deep roots in the comics community. As the person in charge of the team that developed Microsoft Lobe and other A.I. solutions, he has an inside-industry view of artificial intelligence. There are few people as well qualified for a thoughtful discussion of the intersection of comics and AI software. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also one of our oldest and closest friends!
ON THIS WEEK’S SHOW…
Strategies for a post-social-media phase of webcomics
Webcomics have gone through several mass upheavals. Each one required us to adjust to new changes in the world around us, adapt to new ways of publishing, and find innovative ways of generating revenue. As someone who has been publishing from the very start, I’ve lived through all of these disruptions, and I can see the next one shaping up on the horizon. This seems like a good time to remember what those first three cataclysms taught us.
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As Elon Musk continues to drive Twitter further into the hole, let’s talk strategy. The potential loss of Twitter is going to impact independent artists significantly. How can we prepare ourselves?
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It’s important to give yourself permission to take a break when you need to — and to stop worrying about whether you’re going to lose readers for doing so! Also — I’ll share some good tips on planning out a new year!
As Twitter teeters on the brink of extinction, many of us are asking ourselves how we’re going to replace a social-media platform that had become integral to our publishing and promotion. Will the federated servers of Mastodon become the next Big Thing? Or will Twitter’s users flock to the email-newsletter platform Substack? Here’s a look at the major players and some thoughts on their overall potential.
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It’s already December. It’s a month dominated by holidays — both preparing for and celebrating them — and it’s the end of the year. It’s probably the most challenging months for a webcartoonist, so let’s get organized.
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