ComicLab Ep 362 — Your content is not your community

ComicLab Ep 362 — Your content is not your community

When comic creators try to market their comics, they often confuse what their comic is about with who it's for....
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Remove your first panel

Remove your first panel

If you've been a reader of Webcomics.com for a while, you know how much I loathe "magic number" advice. But...
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Key dates in the upcoming holiday shopping season

Key dates in the upcoming holiday shopping season

From Black Friday to New Year's sales, here's a guide to help you prepare your online store for the holiday...
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Webcomics Confidential: How long should it take to draw a comics page?

Webcomics Confidential: How long should it take to draw a comics page?

A person starting to do comics asked a question in a forum for creators: "How long does it take you...
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Comics Consultations

Comics Consultations

Powered by I will prepare top-down analysis of your comic-based business, including: Art and writing Social media Crowdfunding Marketing/promotion Then...
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ComicLab Ep 361 — Let’s talk about your bits and pieces

ComicLab Ep 361 — Let’s talk about your bits and pieces

When a listener asks about Kickstarter strategy, the ComicLab guys are divided! Dave favors the traditional webcomics approach. Build your...
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Reddit posting strategy

Reddit posting strategy

This is an excellent time to start an account on Reddit — or to dust off a profile you haven't...
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Clip Studio tutorial: Adding highlights to black hair

Clip Studio tutorial: Adding highlights to black hair

Drawing a person with black hair can be tricky. If you're not careful, you can end up with someone who...
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Webcomics Confidential: “Don’t quit your day job!”

Webcomics Confidential: “Don’t quit your day job!”

"Don't quit your day job" is often used to insult artists and imply that they haven't become successful yet. But...
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COmicLab Ep 360 — New ways to make an old mistake

COmicLab Ep 360 — New ways to make an old mistake

After years of listening to Brad and Dave extoll the virtues of self-publishing, a ComicLab listener signed with a corporate...
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How I draw a comic book page in Clip Studio

Let’s talk about the digital drawing process for a typical Evil Inc page. I start with a template I built in Clip Studio Paint. I’ve got a number of layers I can activate or deactivate to change the overall order and layout of the panels. The following video will take you through my process from sketch to final art — and all of the little steps in between!

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by on January 17, 2024
Posted In: Art
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Clip Studio — Track your time

There’s a new feature in the latest Clip Studio update, and it’s a deceptively simple feature you’ll find yourself using often!

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by on January 16, 2024
Posted In: Art
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Keeping your sketches organized in Clip Studio

If you’ve spent any time drawing digitally, you’ve probably felt the agony of inking on your sketch layer. It can be disastrous — and it’s a real pain to fix. So, let’s talk about setting up a drawing system that makes it all but impossible to do in the first place. Here’s a step-by-step guide…

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by on January 15, 2024
Posted In: Art
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Avoiding a moiré pattern

Originally, a halftone screen was the only way a newspaper or magazine could print an image with a continuous tone — like a photograph. A halftone converts grey tones into little black dots. Unless you’re looking very closely, your eye reads these dots as shades of grey. Manga has made halftone screens cool again. However, navigating halftone screens requires a fair amount of printing savvy.

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by on January 12, 2024
Posted In: Art
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Q4 estimated taxes are due soon

If you pay estimated income taxes on a quarterly schedule, The deadline for your fourth-quarter payment is approaching. Q4 payments are due on Jan. 15, 2024. According to IRS.gov, “If a payment is mailed, the date of the U.S. postmark is the date of payment. If the due date for an estimated tax payment falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the payment will be on time if you make it on the next day that isn’t a Saturday, Sunday or holiday.”

You may also pay online, pay by phone, or use the IRS2GO app.

by on January 11, 2024
Posted In: Business
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ComicLab Ep 317 — 2024 Predictions and Goals

Veteran cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar make some predictions and discuss their goals for the new year.

2024 Predictions

  • BRAD: Twitter will crash in 2023 2024
  • DAVE: Social media will remain distributed over five or six platforms
  • BRAD: Web users will begin to pivot away from social media
  • DAVE: Patreon will move closer to an IPO
  • BRAD: Kickstarter will remain #1 by continuing to avoid mentioning blockchain
  • DAVE: SDCC will return to normal after an abnormal ’23… and profits will plummet for creators

2024 Goals

  • DAVE: Launch “Pickles” Kickstarter in Jan/Feb, launch “Drive 4” Kickstarter in summer
  • BRAD: In Q1, Kickstart an Evil Inc book paired with an After Dark edition. Kickstart another book — WebcomicsHandbook, Evil Inc After Dark or collection of single-panel comics — in Q2/Q3
  • DAVE: Prepare for a 5-15% sales drop at Comic-Con International
  • BRAD: Personal appearances, including SDCC and NCS
  • DAVE: ComicLab Across America
  • BRAD: Use NON-social-media alternatives to drive Patreon.
  • DAVE: Revisit KIndle Direct Publishing
  • BRAD: Start prepping website for a post-Patreon future
  • DAVE: Build the ComicLab Patreon to 500 members
by on January 11, 2024
Posted In: ComicLab
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Managing commissions

Offering commissions can be a great way to add an income stream to your business. It can also be an effective Patreon reward. However, managing expectations and communicating clearly with clients and backers can be a delicate dance. Here’s how to get off on the right foot.

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by on January 10, 2024
Posted In: Art, Business, Merchandise
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Networking — a guide for cartoonists

Since 2013, I’ve been advocating that independent comic artists quit exhibiting at comic cons. That’s nearly ten years. And since that very first post, the pushback has been the same: “Sure, we’re not making a profit, but we go for the networking.” Except, for many of these people, networking is unimportant. And I can prove it.

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by on January 9, 2024
Posted In: Marketing / Social Media
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What’s your biggest challenge in 2024?

I’ve been posting a lot about my concerns about social media in 2024. But I’d like to hear what’s on your mind. As we head into the new year, which issue factors prominently for you?

Is it AI art/writing? Is it merchandising? Is it running an effective Kickstarter campaign? Or it it closer to home — writing better, drawing better, lettering better, etc?

Please hit the comments below and let me know what you’d most like to see me writing about in the coming year. I’d love to hear from you — and it will help me plan topics to write about in the months ahead!

by on January 5, 2024
Posted In: Uncategorized
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