I was curious to all creators who made comics but had to hire an artist. Right now I am in the middle of the first issue of a comic “Pound of Flesh” and the artist raised the price per page to $80 for the last 15 pages. This means I have to find a way to raise money. I was wondering how others go about it. The only 2 avenues I see are selling ad space to local privately owned businesses before the book is finished, or starting a Kickstarter which I have no idea how to do myself. Any input is welcome and if you want to check out the comic follow the link below.


https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/pound-of-flesh/ch1pg01/viewer?title_no=798387&episode_no=1

are you going to print the comic or leave it as a webcomic?
and how much of a raise is the price from the previous pages?

the first 20 pages cost was maybe $400 total. And I plan to leave up half of the first comic available online but the full comic only available by purchasing on Indieplanet.

Patreon seems to be really popular for smalltime creators to raise funds from fan donations and such . . . the catch is they usually require you to pay your patrons back with some sort of perk or incentive in exchange for their monetary donations.

J_Scarbrough wrote:
. . . the catch is they usually require you to pay your patrons back with some sort of perk or incentive in exchange for their monetary donations.

True, but there are things you can offer that won't require much extra work. Early access to pages before they appear anywhere else requires none and apparently people do appreciate that. Also any work in progess type posts that you previously might put up on various social media sites, but now nobody sees them there, algorithmically speaking.
Brad Guigar has a free to read post on the subject at webcomics.com, with many more useful suggestions:
https://www.webcomics.com/articles/crowdfunding/15-patreon-posts-your-backers-will-love/

My patreon is basically just telling the two people who throws money at me about all the stuff I'm planning storywise, comicwise… sometimes days, sometimes weeks or months ahead. I enjoy writing about my creative process. Oh, and sending personalized comic-themed e-cards for Birthday and Christmas to one of them, because it feels nice and doesn't take a lot of extra work. I don't have a fanbase and if I didn't manage to build one these past years I don't think I ever will, but my patreon really is just my personal creative blog that two people who want to support me occasionally reads.

sosradio wrote:
I am in the middle of the first issue of a comic “Pound of Flesh” and the artist raised the price per page to $80 for the last 15 pages.

Well that artist is certainly getting their pound of flesh XD

Man, Maybe I should take up drawing for hire? I mean it's a lot more work than Graphic design or photography but I enjoy drawing more than those things.

If I read sosradio's posts right (which is unlikely) the artist was charging $20 per page for the first 20 pages. The price has now quadrupled, which suggests a kind of bait and switch approach, or more likely they just realised they were seriously under charging for the amount of work involved. Either way, it doesn't sound like a sustainable way to make comics. And from an artists perspective, work for hire in comics was never a way to secure a retirement plan.

Has anybody had experience with:

Kofi
Buymeacoffee
Gumroad
Substack

?

marcorossi wrote:
Has anybody had experience with:

Kofi
Buymeacoffee
Gumroad
Substack

?

Kofi is good for anonymous tips and funding (as in they don't share your real name and just go by your pen name.
Hadn't heard of buymeacoffe and will look into it.
Gumroad recently changed their policy to screw over NSFW artists which means Soon sfw creators are going to feel that pinch.
Hadn't tried substance yet.
Patron has issues and weird rules and best as a tip jar.
Subscribestar is more open but should exercise caution.
PayPal is a pain in the ass.
Drivethrurpg takes a good chunk of the funds but is still good place to host if you can get in.

J_Scarbrough wrote:
Patreon seems to be really popular for smalltime creators to raise funds from fan donations and such . . . the catch is they usually require you to pay your patrons back with some sort of perk or incentive in exchange for their monetary donations.

I know. I've been working out the perks and levels of support and can't seem to get started.
Not like I can't do have a creative process blog and there is a ton of extras I could upload.
In part I'm overwhelmed by how much extra material I could upload.
Even played with setting up my phone to record video while I shot a scene. That was weird.

I don't raise funds. I wish I could make money on comics and not have to work so much. that would be like playing basketball outside in the rain and not getting wet.

sosradio wrote:
the first 20 pages cost was maybe $400 total. And I plan to leave up half of the first comic available online but the full comic only available by purchasing on Indieplanet.

I'd try to find a new artist to finish off your comic. break the section with the new artist up into a new chapter so its not that big a shock.