Webcomic hosting

[Hurlshort]

I've been creating little comics about my classroom life for awhile now. I have no artistic talent, so they were just rough little boxes with odd and humorous things said and done in my class. Well, a very artistically talented student has started to turn them into actual comic strips, and I was thinking about putting them up somewhere. Anyone have any good suggestions for hosting a webcomic? I also am concerned about the best way to transfer them from paper to digital media.

[Blarghagh]

I honestly would go for the solidly trusted "just rent some hosting and use Comic Press for it". Most comic hosting services like Comic Genesis (formerly known as Keenspace) and Drunk Duck have terrible reputations and often require people to give up things like publishing rights for their own work (in other words, if you do use these, actually carefully read the terms of service).

 

But don't take my word for it, I'm honestly not knowledgeable enough about hosting to really give an informed opinion. I suggest you ask around at Webcomics Community forums, which I believe is the leading source of free advice on webcomics since Webcomics Dot Com went behind a pay wall.

 

As for transferring from paper, I'm a big fan of Tablets, even the cheap ones work great after a short learning curve (though I'd recommend Wacom because they're simply put better quality). I'm not a huge fan of scanning because most regular household scanners don't give enough quality for something like this, but you could always clean it up in photoshop (or digitally ink it).

Edited April 8, 2010 by TrueNeutral

[Tigranes]

Can't help you with your question, but let us know, I'd want to take a look

[Hurlshort]

Thanks TN, I'm taking a look at comicpress and wordpress now. I'm fairly ignorant on website creation though, so looks like there is a bit of a learning curve.

 

I'm also thinking about just setting it up as a blog site, so any advice people have about those would be great.

[Walsingham]

I used to read the webcomic Krakow. Krazy Krow is a very nice guy, and will almost certainly give you some pointers.

[Hurlshort]

How about ideas on tablets? I see the Bamboo Pen by Wacom is a reasonable $70. It doesn't need to be too fancy.

[Amentep]

When I briefly ran a webcomic it was hosted by other people so I can't help you there, alas. In fact given that I'd like to start it back up, I need to start figuring out how to host the thing myself.

 

However I was a total scanner & clean up digital than tablet guy.

 

I gather from online reading is that the Bamboo Pen is supposed to be an entry level type tablet - more general use than art focused. But given that this is kind of a fun sideline, it might be worth looking into. Slashgear's Bamboo pen & touch review

Edited April 9, 2010 by Amentep

[Hurlshort]

Thanks, it's hard to argue with that price considering the more professional art ones are much more expensive. I think I'll look at getting it, even if it doesn't work out for the comic I can see me finding a use for it in my classroom.

 

Given that I don't plan on trying to make money off this, I'm leaning towards just using a blog, as the learning curve for hosting and creating my own site is a bit daunting. Plus the costs aren't bad, but most blog hosts are free.

[Blarghagh]

A blog works. If you do a blog, I suggest WordPress. They have a lot of options for archives and such, and most webcomics stand or fall on their archive build.

 

I used to read the webcomic Krakow. Krazy Krow is a very nice guy, and will almost certainly give you some pointers.

 

I second this. Krazy Krow is such an enormously nice guy. In fact, most webcomic people are super nice.

[Hurlshort]

I went ahead and set up my own website with hosting through Bluehost. I'm playing with Wordpress and designing it with my free time. I've got a lot to learn, but I'm going to try and go through a few tutorials to get a hang of it. So far I've been very impressed by the ease of use, so thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

I'll share the link once I have a decent looking start. :D

[Hurlshort]

Ok folks, I have a decent start on the website. I'm not ready to start pimping it out or anything, I'm building a stockpile of comics so I can update on a regular basis (probably two or three a week) once I get all the kinks worked out. But I have a comic, a blog post, and a forum, so I would really appreciate some feedback on it.

 

http://www.waltersland.net/

[lord of flies]

Okay, I'm assuming that this is from when you were drawing it? Because "very artistically talented" doesn't really describe it.

[Hurlshort]

Thanks Pop.

 

Did I mention it's a webcomic?

[lord of flies]

Thanks Pop.

 

Did I mention it's a webcomic?

Yeah, and? I can draw better than that, and every time I do I think "boy I'm a ****ty artist."

 

btw, not "Pop," whoever that is.

[Hurlshort]

It doesn't really matter who you are. You are not a real person. You are playing a character here, like this is some role playing game. But you really aren't a part of this community, so your opinion, while a nuisance, is unimportant. So good luck with your imaginary quests and stuff.

 

Any constructive criticism from real people would be wonderful

[lord of flies]

Any constructive criticism from real people would be wonderful

Learn to draw.

It doesn't really matter who you are. You are not a real person. You are playing a character here, like this is some role playing game. But you really aren't a part of this community, so your opinion, while a nuisance, is unimportant. So good luck with your imaginary quests and stuff.

Considering other people as "pretend" or "not real"? Sounds like you're developing sociopathy. You should get that looked at.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Any constructive criticism from real people would be wonderful

 

I like it. Sure, the art might be basic but there's nothing wrong with that and, frankly, it really doesn't bother me that much. Good job.

[Blarghagh]

It's better art than what most webcomics start with anyway. Plus, art's not even the focus.

 

I'd suggest adding back and next buttons if possible, though. They're kind of standard issue webcomic outfitting and makes it much easier to navigate.

[Tigranes]

Yeah, it's not great yet, but a lot of webcomics start with very very bad art. Main thing is, if they keep going for say 50 pages they start getting better in all areas.

 

Back & Forward buttons are a must, but other than that, the site itself is fine. Clean, simple, works, not filled with useless crap.

[Amentep]

Back and forward are cool...I think comicpress does it automagically too if I understand its functionality (so maybe it hasn't added them since there's only one strip?)

 

My one caveat about the comic is you might want to look into lettering the comic digitally (possibly not a large chance with the already done strips) but handwritten text has to be really clean, clear and consistant to scan and look good (we had the same problem with our comic; my brothers handwriting was good enough for normal reproduction - we'd both done college newspaper strips - but scanning isn't kind to handwriting.)

 

EDIT: I also see only one credit, shouldn't there be two, you and the artist?

Edited April 15, 2010 by Amentep

[Enoch]

Cartooning advice from Bill Griffith (creator of Zippy the Pinhead)

 

(Hat tip to boingboing, which linked this yesterday)

 

13) The superhero genre is great-- to make fun of.

 

...

 

27) Disney is great-- to make fun of.

 

...

 

36) Manga is really great-- to make fun of.

[Enoch]

Addendum:

 

Visually, clear the clutter out of the frames-- you want enough background stuff so that the reader understands the setting, but no more (unless there are interesting jokes filling in the gaps). Make a better effort to differentiate your panel frames from their content (different pen or whatever). Get better drawing tools.

[Gfted1]

Its "ok" so far. I didnt get the joke. Signed up as a member.

[Hurlshort]

I added another comic, and it looks like the back and forward buttons are generated automatically. Comicpress is very nice.

 

I agree that the handwritten text is a problem, but I am a bit worried that if I go in with a program and do it digitally it will look out of place. Now that I have the website functional, I'll be putting a bit more time into the actual comic. I also have a limited amount of time to work with my artist, she basically whips these out during our morning breaks. I can spend as much free time as I want on this, but I can't overload a student with too much stuff.

 

I still am thinking about getting a tablet, but for now I'll ask her to try some different pens and clean up the handwriting.

 

The forums are borked somehow. No one can add topics. I'll have to work on that one.

[Hell Kitty]

Dear Mr Walters.

 

I feel bad for Catherine. I hope her appearance in the latest web comic doesn't effect her self esteem too badly.

 

Love Hell Kitty.

 

P.S. Are you as angry looking in real life? You kind of look like a devil.