Setting Realistic Goals as a Webcomic Artist

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Do You Have What it Takes To Be a Webcomic Artist?

I’m not talking about leet skill or drive. I’m talking about the big T-word. That’s right: TIME.

What does time have to do with being a webcomic artist? Well… just about everything. When the concept of taking on a new webcomic project is just a daydream twinkle in your artist’s eye, it may seem like dedicating a better part of your free time to the sake of art is a wonderful and fun thing to do. But thinking it and actually pulling it off are two different things.

First, let’s put out the idea that in order to establish a reader base, you have to earn the reader’s trust. How do you do that? Partially by putting out a consistent update schedule, letting your readers know what that schedule is, and following through with it for a majority of time. When people see that you’ll hold true to your update schedule, they’ll know when to expect your next page… and will be far more likely to stop back in. If your story is good, you may even have readers who mentally mark when your next update will be and look forward to that eagerly. If you deliver it on time, you’ll have held your word to them and given the reader what they were hoping for.

Needless to say, that means that consistently updating is very important. But in order to update consistently, you have to know how much time you have on your hands to work on your pages every week. If you promise your readers a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule and you start skipping updates because you simply cannot finish a page on time, then you haven’t done a very good job in estimating your time management when it comes to your comic development.

Life gets in the way of webcomics. That’s just the cold, sad truth. If you’re a student, you may have more time on your hands… but there’s always essays, homework, projects and exams. If you work a full time job like me, it makes juggling a webcomic something that takes up a good portion of what freetime there is left. But it can be done – never fear!

So how do you keep your word with your readers and let them know what they can expect from you as an artist?

Set an update schedule that is realistic to your art style. If you work in full color and you know it takes a while to finish a page, don’t promise more pages than you can humanly produce. This will lead to frustration and quick burnout. Your webcomic is supposed to be for fun… not a second job.
Don’t be afraid to start out by updating less frequently or to cut back on updates if you feel it’s needed — it’s better to update one page a week on time than to promise three pages a week and miss two updates.
If you find out that you CAN work faster than your update schedule, make a stockpile of pages to hold on to before you announce you’re going to update more frequently. Having a stash of pages on hand is your best friend in the case of an emergency that might pull you away from your comic for a week or two. It also relieves stress of having to work the night before on an update due out the next day.
Snoop about on the internet for tips and tricks that can help speed up the production time of your pages. This is especially true for those who use computer software for their artwork. Tutorials can sometimes give you hints on easier ways for you to accomplish the exact same thing you’re already doing in less time. Work smart… learn where to cut the corners without sacrificing your quality.
Don’t keep changing your update schedules on your readers. Your readers will get used to three pages a week if you spoil them with it. And when you have to cut back, they may become disappointed. So you don’t want to jerk them back and forth from month to month. Staying steady is the key.
Before you throw the dreaded word HIATUS up on your page, consider cutting back your schedule for a while. Usually your readers will understand if you explain the human (or technical) events in your life that keep you from updating. But if you’re just frustrated and lacking motivation to work on your comic, it’s better to keep trying to plug at least a page every week/two weeks rather than dropping off the face of the net completely.

Summary: Your readers are people, too! So, consider your update schedule like a promise you make to your readers and stick to it. If you don’t think you have the time to give to a consistent update schedule, then maybe you should wait until you do before you choose to start a webcomic project.

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Posted by User Image Aywren