When I was growing up in the 80s, stories that were marketed as ‘children’s' were occasionally brutal.

Characters got maimed or killed, tortured or traumatized, met with horrid ends in worlds that were anything but rosy. And this was a pattern that wasn't limited to, say, English literature ...

We've all seen the cringy dialogue. The weirdly stereotypical and awkward situations. The sheer effort of the script writer, the novelist, or the comic book writer to write someone they don't know: a woman, or a man.


Too often the problem is very stark when comparing character designs ...

Creating a webcomic can become akin to a second job. Although you set your own hours, it can lead to an underlying sense that you’re not “doing enough”. Balancing this anxiety can be challenging. Here are some tips to help you manage the feeling of “not doing enough”.

Recognise ...

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 ...

In the past decade or two, video games have grown more and more sophisticated, in terms of graphics as well as story. 3D environments can be explored there, and with VR even more immersive experiences can be had. At the moment, comic shops are struggling, and the future of movie ...

Creating believable and engaging dialogue is key when creating a story. It’s not only used to convey important plot information, but also emotions, motivations and rapport amongst the cast.

Dialog can be an effective way to convey information or raise conflict that maintains the momentum of the comic. The ...

It goes without saying that this past year has been a clusterfunk and a half. However despite all the upheaval, societal change, devastation and the final encroachment of light at the end of this exhaustingly long tunnel there has been much time to do the art things. As the months ...

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 ...

Exposition is information that the author wants the reader to know before they move on in the plot. It is delivered in one chunk, in the form of a conversation, a diary or an explanation from the view of the narrator. Despite its bad reputation, there is a place for ...

Some characters are the heroes.

Some characters are the villains.

And some characters are just punchable. But not actually bad, or even antagonists- though sometimes they can be towards specific characters rather than the general plot goals.

Every time this type of character opens their mouth to say something, our ...