If you are in a fairy tale and encounter an Old Woman… never take that meeting lightly. It's usually a test of character: the manner in which you respond to her will be a measure of how kind, decisive, clever, obliging, evil, rude, crass, abusive, or idiotic you are ...

The Test of Character
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 10, 2021Thems fighting words
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, July 9, 2021
Conflict in a story is not only necessary, it can be the juiciest part of your comic. Think about it! We often remember and recount the parts of a movie, comic or show where the emotions were the strongest. A solid vitriolic scene can result in one hell of a ...
Intrigue and Scheming
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, July 3, 2021
Who doesn't love a good intrigue, some scheming in the shadows, some low chuckling behind a curtain?
The author.
It's the author that doesn't love it. Or rather, the sheer background work that needs to go into writing a good scheming plot, counter plot, and the whole ...
Foreshadowing the future
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, July 2, 2021
An effective way to land the climax of your comic arc is to build it up using foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when a creator lays down small nods or clues throughout their story that an event is going to happen or a character is going to act a certain way. When ...
On Using 'Shortcuts'
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 26, 2021
One of the latest twitter dramas seem to be around artistic shortcuts, and how consumers of comics and webcomics (often non-artists) tend to scoff at any artist that dares admit they use them.
Comic shortcuts could include pre-rendered backgrounds, using 3D programs to arrange spaces or make sure perspective is ...
Madness Powerup
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 19, 2021
So you have this badass character, who is usually a gentle soul, or affable, or kind and easygoing. They fight efficiently and are formidable as they are.
Until they meet someone who is their better.
He/she can meet all their attacks, break through their defenses, wears them down to ...
Shaking off creator's slump
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, June 18, 2021
The last few months have hit like a sledgehammer, leaving me with a profound sense of “slump”. That feeling of lethargy lazily tangled with a lack of motivation for anything creative. This got me thinking of ways I can shake off this heavy fog and step into the light of ...
The Unseen Enemy
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 12, 2021
Protagonists are always in need of antagonists.
Usually, those are visible, concrete, specific: the protagonists are up against someone or someones who are obstructing their way to attaining their goal. Some are even so powerfully clashing against each other that they are nemeses. Superman and Lex Luthor, Batman and the ...
Improvement and the brain
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, June 11, 2021
It’s easy to fall prey to impatience when it comes to progress, even more so when we begin comparing ourselves to other people. However, so long as you continue to practice, you will see improvements in your work and speed. It takes time to make noticeable improvements but they ...
Above Suspicion
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, June 5, 2021
There's nothing more satisfying than writing a twist villain. The person that everyone trusts or nobody suspects, who ends up being the mastermind for all the evil stuff that happened all along.
The person that everyone defers to for advice, that leans on for support, that is there to ...