Hi! I've been here for a little bit (since July) and I really love the vibe and the wonderful material I've seen here so far. I'd love to become a part of that one day.

I've got a fun character I started drawing months ago. I have around 50 or more panels drawn of a cutesy/fun Strip, but I noticed something unexpected happening: Background started developing, dangers and dark enemies and mysteries appeared, allies and complex relationships–all the ingredients of a Story started happening. Eep!

I'm new to this form, obviously. Writing was always my bread and butter, but this critter refuses to be written about, it wants to be drawn. I'm continuing to draw panels and researching to get to the bottom of this, but if anyone else has had this quandary or knows what to do to Get Started when they're not sure yet where it's all going, I'd love to chat with you about things and stuffs.

Thanks in advance to all you cool amazing peepers.
Miki

First of all, welcome!

There's always a dream (at least that was my case) in which we want to make a big, long story full of characters and stuff. But the real thing is very different.

I suggest you to make a short story, 15 - 30 pages. Just a bit of characters who interact and a story to tell, it could be totally different from what you've already written. You can also use the very same characters to get used to draw them.

If you can finish this without give up… then you're ready for something bigger.

In the process you'll learn a bunch of tricks to do/make things simple or easier or faster. It's up to you. I recommend you to make a good storyboard, so you can see the pace of the story and make it better.

I can share this stuff I made (no spam intended), to make it a bit clearer
here.

Anyway, the great deal here is to love what you do and have fun ;)

Avart

Just go for it. Let it deveolop on the page as it goes ^_^

Welcome! I draw a slice of life humor story. It's very light-hearted, but there is a lot of back story to my character that I want to incorporate, but it's a bit darker. I was thinking one day I would re-draw the series and maybe do a bit of a deeper, more serious dive into my main characters' pasts.

I think usually the best thing to do is to do a different series, or make it clear that it's distinct and different from something else a reader might recognize the characters or situations from. Otherwise tone whiplash can actively set readers against the creator, because they're coming in with expectations due to being familiar with the characters through the situations they've experienced in the comic they know.

But as far as starting off, just start and let it take you where it will. I agree that perhaps it's good to start off with small steps, perhaps a comic that's only a few pages long. If you can stick with that, you can plan for longer.

I also did an instructional video with helpful tips for webcomic creators, especially just starting out. Check it out if you'd like! I've linked to the playlist of a few videos, all creative-related. Watch as many or as few as you like! Be sure to use ublock origin or something else that nixes YouTube ads.

Welcome to the Duck! I've found it a great place full of people who genuinely seem to care about creativity and creative expression.