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Webcomics 101

October 12, 2018 Jennevieve Schlemmer
The Return of Stickman by Mark Monlux

The Return of Stickman by Mark Monlux

These are the class notes for a Webcomics 101 class I created for the Tacoma Public Library.

WHAT IS A WEBCOMIC?

It’s as simple as words with pictures online. It does not even need to be sequential art. The options are endless.  Can include GIFs and animation, never ending images.  Single panel, multiple panels, etc. The web allows far more uses than many people bother to use.

WHAT TYPE OF COMIC DO YOU WANT TO MAKE?

At some point, before you really get started or publish anything, you need to think about what you want to draw and say. 

Humor? Sci-fi? Fantasy? Autobiographical? Political? Non-fiction? Read lots of other comics.

One way to get started quickly is to make a character based on you.

>>>DON’T COPY<<< It makes you look like a jerk.

DEVELOP YOUR OWN PERSONAL STYLE

Yes, your comic will evolve over time as you put in the work, but it doesn’t to hurt to practice before you get started with the final product. Think of it as research and development, important to any new endeavor.

Develop a doable style. What will you be able to produce on the schedule you give yourself?

Your comic can be stick figures (see The Return of Stickman above) or complicated Illustrator created graphics (See Sidekick Quests below). In the end, if your storytelling is compelling, the graphics can be whatever you make it!

Watch tutorials, read comic and illustration guides, take more classes. Many things online, You Tube and Skillshare, Creative Live all good examples.

Look at other webcomics for ideas. You don’t want to copy anyone’s style, but you can learn a lot by trying to breakdown how they actually draw their characters.

However, don’t become frozen in research, afraid to dive into your project.

Sidekick Quests by James Stowe.

Sidekick Quests by James Stowe.

START WITH AN IDEA YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT

Journal your day to day life.

Obsessed with Nasa and space travel? Make a sci-fi comic.

The guy that writes the Oatmeal, Matthew Inman, is a runner and bases a lot of his comics about running.

Sarah Andersen, the creator of Sarah Scribbles, writes about her daily life.

If it’s something you are doing because it is trendy, you will probably get bored of making it pretty quickly. It might end up a multiyear project. You need to stay invested.

THE CRAFT OF STORYTELLING

You’ve heard of the classic story arc, right? Starts with exposition, leads to rising action, then climax, falling action and resolution. Other writers break that up into three acts. And others like to use the “hero’s journey” (See: Joseph Campbell and George Lucas’ Star Wars)

The point here is that is great to know a bit of your story ahead of time. Write a script. Then edit and rewrite it a few times. Even if you are making single panel, humor commentary, it’s good to know what direction you are going in. You may want to stick with a theme for a few weeks.

NEVER use your first iteration of story line or character design. Refining is the main work in storytelling and art making.

Know your characters. Create a turnaround sheet: show your main characters from the front, the side, the back, along with some facial expressions. Know their likes, dislikes, their favorite food and clothing and how they talk. What is their background? Who is their family or their friends? What motivates them to get up in the morning? The more details you know, even it might never come up in the story, the better your comic will be.

If you have the skill-set, creating your character in a 3D model (computer or clay) can always help you when it comes to drawing them.

Character sheet by Colin Andersen.

Character sheet by Colin Andersen.

THE NUTS & BOLTS

Making a webcomic takes work. And having the right tools makes it all the easier.

1)      Draw as large as you can and shrink your image down. This makes for a sharper line as well as allowing you the possibility to print later on, saving yourself the trouble of redoing your work.

2)      A basic set up is a computer with a drawing tablet. A Bamboo or Intuos Pro work great. Don’t worry about a fancy Cintiq tablet. Many, many professional artists create phenomenal work with a basic tablet.

3)      Scanner. A lot of artists will draw sketches or finals and then scan them and finish or tweak them using drawing software. Scanners are very affordable these days. Most printers now come with great scanners.

4)      Software. A great set up, if you can afford it, is to get the Adobe CC suite. For a monthly price (around $50), you get Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, all of the Adobe design products. Plus, they stay updated and you can use all of the extras like color palettes and fonts and brushes. If you aren’t ready to pay that much you can get free software (GIMP) or inexpensive software (Clip Studio, formally Manga Studio). Many artists use clip studio to create comics.

5)      Don’t forget your library. Many libraries offer free computer, scanner and design programs for you to use. Usually, you need to sign up in advance and may not get unending time to work on your project, but it’s a great way to get started.

DRAWING TIPS:

                Always work in 300 DPI or higher. Period. If you ever want to print your work as a book or stand alone prints, you need high quality images to begin with.

                Create in RGB — and — Print in CMYK.

                Storyboard and thumbnail your comic before diving into the final pieces. Much easier to edit and brainstorm in pencil than changing ink!

MAKE RULES FOR YOUR COMIC

This might sound counter-intuitive—why give yourself rules? Be FREE! However, making rules for yourself will make your comic stand out and look consistent.

They don’t have to be complicated; pick a few to give your comic a unified look:

                Hand drawn w/ ink and brush

                Only drawn on computer

                Only 4 color palette (besides neutrals)

                Panels sizes all square or maybe all in big rectangles

                Hand lettering only

         Computer lettering only

                Make your own font

For example, I usually turn my hand drawn art into vector art to create a consistent look. (See below).

Comic by author.

Comic by author.

PICK A POSTING SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT.

This also adds to being consistent. What can you keep up with? Posting three days a week of hand inked and watercolor comics while maintaining a day job might be too much.

Start with posting twice a week. Once a week and it will take too long to build up your content.

Finally, create AT LEAST a month’s worth of comics ahead of time, before you launch. Then post half of them at once to give readers something to sink their teeth into from the get go. Then you will have a couple weeks of buffer in case you can’t keep up due to unforeseen events.

Ideally, post three weeks of content at once and have a buffer of another three-four weeks of content already scheduled.

READY, SET, LAUNCH!

You can host your comic for free if you use another company’s platform (like Wordpress) but a domain name starts at $15-$20. You can always start on a free service and if your comic takes off, migrate your comic to your own URL. If your webcomic name is available, buy it even if you aren’t ready to host it yet.

You can also post exclusively on Instagram or Tumblr.

A better plan is to have a base website you post on and then share to Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Reddit. Many subreddits exist for comics.

Remember, when you share your work you are going to get positive and negative feedback (especially on Reddit). Try not to take critiques personally. I remember one person said my illustration of Echo, my gnome ranger, didn’t even look female! Some of your comics may fall flat. That’s okay too. The key is to keep working on it.

RESOURCES

Clip Studio —Graphic software for drawing and painting. (one time purchase)

Adobe Creative Cloud —An entire suite of graphic software at your fingertips. (subscription)

GIMP —A free, open source graphic editor.

Wordpress —Create your own website for free.

Making Comics —lots of tutorials and articles from drawing to publishing.   

Creating Webcomics —A Skillshare class by Sarah Andersen, author of Sarah Scribbles.  

dwarf dog meets dwarf planet.png

WEBCOMICS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE

Sidekick Quests —by Tacoma artist James Stowe. Now an RPG as well as a comic!

Mark Monlux —another Tacoma artist with multiple comics, including the Comic Critic.

Nothing Special —by Katie Cook.

Xkcd —Simple drawings, lots of big science humor.

Questionable Content —by Jeph Jaques. Updates FIVE times a week!

The Oatmeal —NSFW humor. Real life humor.

Coffee Table Comics —I support this artist, Jason Brubaker on Patreon.

Sarah Scribbles —a webcomic that started on Tumblr but has moved to other outlets.

Hark, A Vagrant —no longer producing new content, but the archive is vast and entertaining.

Lore Olympus —A new take on the goddess Persephone. Makes great use of long scrolling images.

  


In comic, drawing Tags webcomics, webcomic, how to, tutorial, comic
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Puzzled Existentialism

August 19, 2018 Jennevieve Schlemmer
In comic, art, well being Tags self help
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The Adventure Book of Strong Women

February 18, 2018 Jennevieve Schlemmer
Adventure Book of Strong Women

I am pleased to share with you my latest Kickstarter project, The Adventure Book of Strong Women! This new book is an art and coloring book with bonus comic to celebrate women doing adventurous things for themselves!

I've been working on the concept and illustrations for this book for over a year. I play a lot of board games, RPG's like Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons, watch adventure and sci-fi movies and have always been pretty disappointed in the way women have been depicted. Skinny, cute side-kick with nothing to do? Check. Sexy warrior in barely-there clothing? Check. Sexy nerd that is only a nerd because she is wearing glasses? Check.

I figured the only way I was going to see the type of women I wanted to see: strong, smart, a variety of sizes and sexual orientations, motivation without the male-gaze---well, I was going to have to make it myself.

female druid and animals

The book will be softcover, 10" x 10", approx 95 pages with 40 full page images accompanied by character blurbs. Also included is a bonus 8 page comic featuring my newest characters trying to rescue a princess from a dragon, but there's a twist of course. The comic will grow in scope depending on stretch goals within the Kickstarter Project. Also, backers will have the opportunity to vote on additional kick-ass lady content.

Copies of the book will start at $22 with digital content available for $12 plus opportunities for buying original artwork from the book, a commissioned drawing and even a chance to help design your own character in the book!

StrongWomen_Echo&EyeballSpread.jpg
polar bear star safari.jpg
Echo and Shoggoth.jpg
Wizard workshop.jpg
Jade Serpent Cavern.jpg

So check out The Adventure Book of Strong Women on Kickstarter. I'll be sharing more and more images as the deadline for funding draws near. Look forward to seeing you on the other side!

In art, Coloring, comic, commission, fun, gaming, drawing, community Tags feminism, illustration, female, fantasy
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The Artist's Game of Mastery

January 31, 2018 Jennevieve Schlemmer
artists guide to mastery 2 thumbnail.jpg
In art, comic, diy, well being Tags artist, how to, self help, guide
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New Wonder Woman Mash Up Coloring Page

June 6, 2017 Jennevieve Schlemmer

Have you seen Wonder Woman yet? I saw it opening night and loved it. Strong woman, check. Humor, check. Saving the world, check. No spoilers but the "No Man's Land" scene was the best. Fun fun fun and I made a new coloring sheet to celebrate! So head over to my Fantasy and RPG Coloring Page and print out your own strong Wonder Woman mermaid to color yourself!

In Coloring, coloring page, comic, drawing, fun Tags mermaid, wonder woman, mash up, whimsical, drawing
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Go/No-Go

May 15, 2017 Jennevieve Schlemmer

I've been working hard on my latest illustration that I'm producing as a limited edition 11" x 17" print that be available for purchase at the Olympia Comics Festival! 

The idea came after I watched the movie Hidden Figures. They kept talking about the "go/no-go" point of getting a ship out of orbit so it could land on Earth. I like to listen to guided meditations and one of my favorite ones talks about the "go/no-go" point in your gut when you know exactly how you feel about a choice or a situation. The way forward on this illustration came together pretty quickly!

In art, comic, drawing, well being Tags astronaut, meditation, go no-go, illustration, black and white, ink, space
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My latest book, The Adventure Book of Strong Women, now live on Kickstarter!

My latest book, The Adventure Book of Strong Women, now live on Kickstarter!

  • February 2019
    • Feb 3, 2019 I CAN'T EVEN YOGA pose 1: SAVASANA Feb 3, 2019
  • October 2018
    • Oct 12, 2018 Webcomics 101 Oct 12, 2018
  • August 2018
    • Aug 19, 2018 Puzzled Existentialism Aug 19, 2018
  • April 2018
    • Apr 27, 2018 One Page Dungeon Contest 2018 Apr 27, 2018
  • February 2018
    • Feb 18, 2018 The Adventure Book of Strong Women Feb 18, 2018
    • Feb 2, 2018 Octopus and Henna Feb 2, 2018
  • January 2018
    • Jan 31, 2018 The Artist's Game of Mastery Jan 31, 2018
    • Jan 14, 2018 Rooted Resolutions Jan 14, 2018
  • December 2017
    • Dec 19, 2017 Happy Winter Solstice! Dec 19, 2017
  • September 2017
    • Sep 21, 2017 Corgi Tetris Sep 21, 2017
  • June 2017
    • Jun 6, 2017 New Wonder Woman Mash Up Coloring Page Jun 6, 2017
    • Jun 1, 2017 We Heart Wonder Woman Art Show and Coloring Page Jun 1, 2017
  • May 2017
    • May 15, 2017 Go/No-Go May 15, 2017
  • April 2017
    • Apr 28, 2017 New Magpie Coloring Page Apr 28, 2017
    • Apr 27, 2017 Completed Dragonwell Map Apr 27, 2017
    • Apr 25, 2017 One Page Dungeon: A Dark Tower Apr 25, 2017
    • Apr 21, 2017 Town Map of Misthaven Apr 21, 2017
    • Apr 21, 2017 A Night At The Museum Apr 21, 2017
    • Apr 13, 2017 Happy Spring Coloring Sheet! Apr 13, 2017
    • Apr 11, 2017 Introducing: The Adventure Book of Strong Women Apr 11, 2017
    • Apr 8, 2017 For the Love of Asparagus Apr 8, 2017
    • Apr 6, 2017 Tiger with Color Apr 6, 2017
    • Apr 4, 2017 New Tiger Coloring Sheets Apr 4, 2017
  • March 2017
    • Mar 29, 2017 Dragonwell Color Map and First Greater Weylands Map Mar 29, 2017
    • Mar 27, 2017 Fantasy Map: Dragonwell Mar 27, 2017
    • Mar 22, 2017 Making World Maps with Photoshop Mar 22, 2017
    • Mar 17, 2017 One Page Dungeon Contest Mar 17, 2017
    • Mar 17, 2017 Completed Lair of the Cat Magus Map Mar 17, 2017
    • Mar 16, 2017 Peek at the The Lair of the Cat Magus Map Mar 16, 2017
    • Mar 14, 2017 Dragons and Doodles Mar 14, 2017
    • Mar 8, 2017 New Coloring Page! Mar 8, 2017
  • February 2017
    • Feb 13, 2017 Fun Zoo Commission Feb 13, 2017
  • January 2017
    • Jan 27, 2017 New Dragon Coloring Sheet! Jan 27, 2017
  • December 2016
    • Dec 21, 2016 Happy Winter Solstice Dec 21, 2016
  • October 2016
    • Oct 3, 2016 Me and Yoga Oct 3, 2016
    • Oct 3, 2016 Thrift Store Painting Transformation: Tentacles Oct 3, 2016
  • September 2016
    • Sep 23, 2016 Comic Class Diary Sep 23, 2016
    • Sep 11, 2016 MONSTERS & MAGICAL CREATURES COLORING BOOK Sep 11, 2016
  • August 2016
    • Aug 1, 2016 Sunken Sun Dragon Temple Map Aug 1, 2016
    • Aug 1, 2016 What I Do is Not up to You. Aug 1, 2016
  • May 2016
    • May 9, 2016 Exploring the World of Tabletop Gaming May 9, 2016
  • April 2016
    • Apr 21, 2016 Thrift Store Painting: A Dungeons and Dragons Edition Apr 21, 2016
    • Apr 15, 2016 Draw the Thorgi You Want to See Apr 15, 2016
  • March 2016
    • Mar 4, 2016 Challenges to Keep You From Being Smug Mar 4, 2016
    • Mar 2, 2016 Dragon Whips Its Tail Mar 2, 2016
  • February 2016
    • Feb 18, 2016 Creating a Coloring Sheet: The Gnome Ranger Feb 18, 2016
  • January 2016
    • Jan 20, 2016 Kickstarter 101 Jan 20, 2016

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