the cruel tutor himself, Pai Mei

One of my favorite character types is the gruff/grizzled old mentor. Tough as nails, mean or cranky on the outside but with great knowledge or support to offer when you know them, or when they know - and trust - you.

I've talked about ...

that is the question, right?

Hey, hi – hello, I’m damehelsing and this is my first article.
I’m new to this but I have a lot of thoughts and instead of talking to myself, I can talk to you.

There’s always a spark of joy and a roller ...

When talking about personality, one must mention Freud.


pictured here with a small cigar.

Yes, even me. (Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan)

Despite my personal thoughts about his theory, mad props and respect has to be given to Sigmund Freud for being one of the ...

As webcomics are uploaded periodically, be that in pages, chapters or episodes, it’s imperative that we use all the tricks in the book to keep them coming back. One sure fire way to keep your readers coming back for more is by exploiting the cliffhanger device.

A cliffhanger is ...

According to the theory, you are born with a temperament. Its manifestation occurs soon after birth, and it is based in biological configurations you have, such as your tolerance or intolerance to stimulations, your sensitivity to noxious stimuli such as noise, and a range of other things.

As a baby ...

Finding the perfect title for your comic is important. It is what people will use when referring to your work and is often the first thing that readers see. The name of your comic acts as an immediate snapshot of what’s to come. Getting it right is key. Although ...

Last week I talked about what kind of stuff to stick in the middle section of stories.

Here's a tangent I found myself on, about the actual halfway mark:

Well, the middle bit almost always contains the actual halfway point of the story. In many stories this is a ...

We have all talked of and considered character archetypes when designing and building characters.

There are many sets to pick from and it's not really a shocker that most of them, if not all, have their roots at psychology. (I'm looking at you, Carl Jung)

Far be it ...

In the beginning, we set up our character
Iin the middle, we get them into trouble
In the end, we get them out of trouble.

Sounds so simple! It's tougher than that to pull off.

The middle of a story in particular, as people have talked about, is often ...

So, you have a comic or comic idea and want to put pen to paper or tablet. Great! Check off what you need. Tools, check. Basic story idea, check. Art skill, also a check, even if your art is terrible you’re bound to improve. Knowing how to pace the ...