Tips on Drawing Your Future in Webcomics
Webcomics have grown in popularity in recent years, and they’re expected to continue doing so thanks to the digital entertainment they provide. But how do you get started in it?
Comic fans can find a wide range of webcomics available online, including fantasy comics, manga-style comics, gag comics, graphic novels, and more. Getting an education from an online illustration school can help you learn how to make webcomics and develop the skills needed for this type of career. The following tips can give you an idea of how to begin creating a webcomic.
Find Your Story or Inspiration
One of the first steps to take for creating a webcomic is deciding on the story you want to tell. You might have some ideas already, or you might want to look around for inspiration, which you can find in other works of art or in the world around you. When you’ve found your inspiration and determined what kind of story you want to create, it’s time to get started on planning it out.
Create an Outline or Storyboard
In order to bring your story to life as a webcomic, you’ll need to come up with an outline or storyboard for it. Doing this can help you see and keep track of every part of your story. You can refer to this outline or storyboard while you’re working on writing and illustrating your webcomic. You might not use every detail from your outline or storyboard, but it’s a great way to keep your story organized.
Work With Other Artists
If you don’t have a story or style in mind or if you have a few ideas that you’re unsure about, consider working with other artists. They can help you come up with different ideas to consider for your webcomic’s story and style. You can also bounce your ideas off with them to see what they think about it. Discussing your ideas with other artists and hearing their feedback can give you a different perspective on how you want to approach your webcomic.
Develop Your Own Style in Art and Type Lettering
With all of the different webcomics out there, it’s important to develop your own distinctive art and lettering style. During your art education, classes in coloring and lettering can help you learn about the various kinds of available styles. You can use these as a jump-off point to create your own style that will help your webcomic stand out. It might take a while for you to come up with your own signature art and lettering, but you’ll get there soon enough as soon as you identify your voice as a webcomic artist.
Be Consistent
While you might be tempted to experiment with different genres and styles for your webcomics, you should actually avoid doing this. You can play around with a variety of styles and genres on your own, but the webcomics you publish online for an audience should be consistent. When you jump around between different styles and genres, you risk losing your audience or confusing them. You might also have trouble generating interest in new readers if you’re constantly changing your webcomics approach.
Share Your Webcomic Through Social Media and Forums
Posting or publishing your webcomic on your personal website or blog won’t help you reach a wide audience. To get your webcomic in front of more eyes online, you should share it through social media platforms and forums. Making use of these kinds of online tools can help ensure that more people see your webcomic. They might even help you reach more readers by sharing your webcomic with others.
When it comes to creating a rewarding career in webcomics, it’s important to learn and develop the necessary skills. Keep in mind that it often takes years to perfect this craft, so you shouldn’t expect overnight success. However, working hard at building your skills through classes such comics layout in an illustration program can help you on your way to becoming a successful comic artist.
Academy of Art University offers a degree in illustration where you can hone your skills and prepare for a career in webcomics. Get in touch with our admissions representatives to request information on our curriculum, financial aid options, and online education program. Apply now for our fall semester, to be offered exclusively online, if you’re ready to get started on your pursuit of a creative career.
Hero image by Alson Molina, BFA Illustration
