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Beginners at webcomics make mistakes, rookie mistakes. In fact people tend to make a lot of the same mistakes and we're going to chat about some of those in the Quackcast, but there are certainly a LOT more!
A few common mistakes of first timers:
- They have too many comic panels so it takes ages to draw and artwork and text become too small.
- They plan way too much, sometimes for month or even years before starting the actual comic. Planning is good but not when it prevents you from actually starting.
- Their art or designs are too complicated so that they can't sustain it for more than a few pages and they give up.
- Their story is too complicated so that it's too hard to translate into a comic or it would take too long to draw.
- The cover art doesn't match their artwork in the comic. Great way to turn off readers.
- Too much expository text.
- They make their comic too raunchy (when it's not a sexy comic) and limit their potential audience because it needs a higher rating and can't be displayed on most comic sites.
- They think they'll get popular and famous right away.
- They think people will just “find” their comic and rely too heavily on Google and the internal promotion system of their comic host.
- Filler pages, especially generic ones are a huge turn off. If you MUST do them show a BTS thing like a rough version of your comic page.
- Aggressive marketing. Don't be a one-eyed dick when promoting your work, it can have the opposite effect and make people avoid you.
- Giving up when you don't get feedback or if you miss a few updates. Keep working at it, people will come eventually, especially if you're a bit social. And people will still come back after missed updates. Stick with it!
Did you fall victim to any of those? Tell us some of your own rookie mistakes? :)
This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Mirage - light dances around the sparkling surface of a smoothly curved, shiny object. Our view shifts and we dive through its hollow centre, observing the complex geometry of this unusual three dimensional object. Overlaying synthesised sounds.
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
Plusum - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2023/may/31/featured-comic-plusum/
Featured music:
Mirage - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Mirage/ - by InkyMoondrop, Rated E.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Kawaiidaigakusei - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/kawaiidaigakusei
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/banes
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
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Quackcast 638 - Rookie Mistakes
Ozoneocean at 12:00AM, June 6, 2023
Banes,
Drunk duck,
Featured comic,
Featured music,
Gunwallace,
kawaiidaigakusei,
Mirage,
Ozoneocean,
Plusum,
Quackcast 638,
Rookie Mistakes,
Tantz Aerine,
Webcomics hosting
13 likes!
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Furwerk studio at 8:54AM, June 7, 2023
Nakamura Rex is one huge pile of beginner mistakes being slowly banged out over time, Faustenstein was just the proto-dough that lead into it.
Ozoneocean at 12:39AM, June 7, 2023
Speach bubbles are difficult... I've found no approach is the best haha, they all have drawbacks XD
Jason Moon at 8:42PM, June 6, 2023
When I first started drawing comics I would illustrate backgrounds and characters with the speech bubbles. But doing that would make it difficult to fit in dialogue (Especially creating traditionally). So I found that after I drew in the background and characters I would just write in the text then illustrate the speech bubble around later which saves so much trouble and your speech bubbles always look good. This is a smart approach if you write in your own font in your speech bubbles instead of typing in a dialogue.
J_Scarbrough at 12:02PM, June 6, 2023
Here is another rookie mistake not listed here that I see sometimes in even professional comics: the Crossbar I. Granted, I know with some fonts, it can be easy to not realize whether or not you left the cap lock on, but the general rule of thumb is Crossbar I is only for first-person pronouns (I, I'm, I'll, I'd, etc.)
PaulEberhardt at 10:58AM, June 6, 2023
I've been thinking... I remember that long, long ago, there was a webcomic on how not to do a webcomic, where the contributors deliberately made every mistake in the book and beyond. I can't remember its title and don't find it anymore. After a bit of searching I'm not even sure if it was here on Drunk Duck or anywhere else. If it doesn't exist any more, it might be a fun community project to consider. What do you think? Does anyone else know more about it?
Banes at 10:20AM, June 6, 2023
love that title image xD
J_Scarbrough at 9:37AM, June 6, 2023
I am guilty of that second mistake, but for good reason. VAMPIRE GIRL's inaugural run on Smack Jeeves in 2011-2012 has absolutely no readership whatsoever, and because of that, I felt no inspiration to continue on with Levana's story, even though I had the idea for the currently in-progress season/chapter all the way back then. It was only when there was suddenly a renewed interest in the Levana character starting back in 2020 that I felt like maybe now was the time to continue her story, so starting in the beginning of 2021, I began working on the comic that people have been reading since last October - I knew with my painstakingly detailed art style, I needed as much of a buffer as I could give myself.
PaulEberhardt at 9:22AM, June 6, 2023
Most of them, to be sure... It's all part of a learning process. The biggest mistake seems to be missing, though: not listening to advice, taking it as a personal attack instead. It's one mistake I fortunately never made, but if it happens it starts a downward spiral that may include all of the above.
bravo1102 at 6:47AM, June 6, 2023
I really shouldn't explain anything anymore. I should save it for some theoretical advanced patreon level. XD
InkyMoondrop at 6:42AM, June 6, 2023
Perhaps the mistake I do regret is having the 1st a separate chapter from the 2nd, because together they're almost as long as the ones following and are both required to get a picture of how the story will be told afterwards, but I managed to compensate for it by releasing them in one e-book volume. I do fill it with a bunch of crazy ideas and genre elements because I like to experiment with it, so the multiverse, a zombie apocalypse, superheroes, religious satire, detective story etc seem like it's confused about what to be, but by the end of the 1st saga, a lots of these things will contribute to either the conflict or the resolution and feel establish their feet in regards of worldbuilding.
InkyMoondrop at 6:42AM, June 6, 2023
Hey, thanks for the music! I guess one thing that can get readers disengage with BD in the beginning is that so many characters pop up and it's difficult to follow (although I didn't want to tone that down, because essentially the story takes place in a town with lots of people, not just in a bubble of the few mains) or that it starts out as more-or-less episodic with lots of sex jokes and parodies, references which it later tones down on. But I didn't know at the beginning what direction I'd like to take the story in and looking back, I don't regret it: things happening since serve as a great contrast to how the MC used to experience just casual, everyday life before shit hit the fan in all fronts.
Ozoneocean at 6:02AM, June 6, 2023
Hahaha thanks guys! We really need an official comic with these two goofs
dpat57 at 12:45AM, June 6, 2023
Lots of explosions and shots on that sample comic page, love it, very dynamic. It's all-round good advice, if you can figure a way to send it to rookie me in 2008, via tachyon stream or whatever, that would be great.
bravo1102 at 12:34AM, June 6, 2023
Sometimes the raunchy bits are the whole point. XD
lothar at 12:15AM, June 6, 2023
I love the pic of quale and dick.... It's perfect