Blog by Avery of SacredVisionsStudio: Creating a comic, no matter the medium or style, will put your patience to the test. It’s a challenge that you may think at first will be easy, but is way more difficult once put into practice, especially if you’ve never made a comic before. You’ll be forced to learn the fundamentals for just about everything, especially if your working alone. But just because something is difficult, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it at all, in fact, I would argue it’s even more of a reason for you to pursue the venture!
I’ve been making a webcomic for about 2 years now, and have produced something of like 100 pages at this point. It’s been exhausting work, and the longer I do it, the more I realize that this type of work requires incredible diligence from yourself, and depending on the type of story you are telling, a comic project can literally steal years of your life away from you. I’m not saying this to scare you away from making comics, not at all, but it needs to be said that the creative work of making comics is not for the faint of heart…
I know for myself and a lot of young artists and writers, most of us all wanted to create big sprawling worlds with a large cast of characters in an epic story that would last a thousand pages plus! But You only have so many years of life to live… and really, unless it’s a story you truly love with all your heart, it’s likely you’ll loose interest and only set yourself up for disappointment later…
I cannot stress enough, if you are going to make a comic, you have to make it for yourself first and foremost, you must love doing it for you! Not for money, not for other people, not for whatever idea of success is for you, but for your own satisfaction. Only the passion for creating the art itself will be able to take you to the finish line of your story, and maybe just maybe, success will come after. But don’t expect success in the beginning–if at all…
If you want to make a comic, I really recommend starting small, make a short story, something that you can finish in say; 5-10 pages. My first ever completed comic was a simple story told in just 10. And by finishing a project, you gain confidence and an incredible sense of satisfaction! Unless your a perfectionist like me, than you’re just glad it’s over and are disappointed with the end result. That used to be the feeling I get…
But the more comics I made, the less of a perfectionist I was, and slowly I started to like my work. What’s important is that you learn to finish projects so that you can feel some sense of accomplishment. And a completed comic can then be shared with others for feedback and maybe even be printed once done, now that’ll really give you a sense of satisfaction!
No matter the project, art in general takes a lot of time, it is a slow process, most creatives work at a snail’s pace, and that’s okay! But if you don’t love making something, your going to hit a brick wall eventually, which is why I think you should start small, learn the basics, fail and try again, you’ll learn what you like and what you don’t like, and you’ll learn your strengths and weaknesses. All of it is a learning experience!
Now I gotta be real with you, I’m making a comic right now that in my mind, will probably be several hundred pages long once complete, and will likely take several years of my life along with it. So it may seem odd to you that I’m telling you to not make your 1000 page epic, and your right, it is a little hypocritical of me. But you see, the comic I’m making is a comic I truly love. I almost have an unconditional love for it, like a parent with their child, that’s how important this comic is for me, and I’ve been working on it for 2 years now, much longer if you count pre-production. I value this project enough that I know I’ll complete it no matter what, and that’s what I want for you. To believe in an idea so strongly, that you know you’ll take it to the finish line, big or small, a complete story, is better than an abandoned story…
And if you still have an itch to make that 1000 page epic, hear me out… Start first by making a short story set in the same universe with the same cast of characters, tell a story in that world within 10 pages, if you still feel like making your 1000 page epic afterwards, then go for it! But something tells me your gonna learn something in that 10 page short comic that’ll make you rethink your plans… I know it did for me.
With all that said–please make comics! Comics are an amazing medium, and it is so fun and satisfying to tell a story you feel passionate about. To bring characters to life, and share them with other people, it is an amazing feeling! Just be mindful about the workload you put on yourself, because it is a lot more than you may expect…
Now, while I have your attention, I would also like to let you know of a little known Discord server called THE WHEEL OF WEBCOMICS, it’s an online book club based around–you guessed it, webcomics. It’s very chill place to hang out for both readers and creators alike. Every 2 weeks they read a webcomic submitted to the wheel by the community, and chat about it over voice call or in the book club thread. they are trying to build a durable eco-system for webcomic creators to thrive, after all we can’t do this alone, we need to support and lift one each other up whenever we can! They even started a monthly Zine for Webcomics, “The Shonen Jump of Webcomics” they’re calling it. If you’re wanting more eyes on your comic, and to find community with other creators, I suggest you check out the discord, it’s not mandatory to read anything, they aren’t giving out homework, but it is good way to commune with others. Links are available in the description below.