Webcomic resources from the people who know!

Hey readers,

It's Saturday and I wanted to give you something that you may find valuable. I know some of my audience are webcomic creators/authors and are always searching to better their comic. That is why I write my reviews. However, I'm not writing a review today. Instead, I'm giving those of you looking for innovation some resources that may help you on your exploration. Below are some links and resources that I've found and have helped me intensely. I'm sure that you've already seen some or all of these resources, but take a look at some of the ones you haven't seen because these are top quality! :)

Characters & The Basics:

Tom Dell' Aringa of Marooned has 7 Steps to Writing a Good Webcomic. I've used these steps myself in brainstorming and developing my upcoming webcomic. In his post Tom goes through the 7 steps he uses when working on a new comic. He starts with character development and how important it is to really understand your characters then moves on to the technical part of writing and how to "cut the fat". I really feel that this resource is essential to good writing and the development of a good webcomic. 

Humor:

Recently, I asked some friends at Webcomics.com to give me some feedback

on my blog on how I can offer better reviews to my readers. I was sent over to the Wondermark archives where he had some resources posted on how to write well developed comics. What I found were incredibly well written critiques on some of the most popular Newpaper comics. One article that interested me delved into the humor behind The Wizard of ID. This resource offered invaluable information on comic humor and what is funny and what is not. This is definitely worth reading if you haven't already done so. 

Layout, Bubbles, Design:

This may be a bit frustrating, but it's the truth. The best resource out there on creating your comic's layout, understanding bubbles, and developing your overall design is in How to Make Webcomics. I know that buying a book seems a bit ridiculous when the internet is so much faster and cheaper, but if you really want to comprehend how to format and layout your comic you need to pick this book up. Scott, Brad, Dave, and Kris have really put together a nice resource for comic creators. The book has much more in it than just the few things I mentioned above so I can see how it would be incredibly helpful for those searching to better their comic, or those in the development stage. It's a must-have for any comic creator.

Artwork:

I can't tell you what "good" artwork is because frankly, there is no definition. What some people enjoy others may not. There's a lot of reasons why that is, but most of those reasons fall under the Psychological realm, and that's not what I write about in this blog. Instead of a definition for what good webcomic artwork is I'm going to give you a link to a discussion about artwork that took place in ZWOL. The original blog post asks a question that facilitates a great discussion on comic art. I suggest you take a look. 

Another forum post that was facilitated by me can be found HERE at Webcomicsinc.com. Some fellow webcomic artists posted their thoughts on what good art in webcomics is. This post is definitely worth checking out!

Also, Wikipedia gives a basic rundown of some of the styles that are prevalent in webcomics. You might want to read their article under the "Medium" heading.

These resources have helped me tremendously from guiding me on my writing to how I want my artwork to look. These resources come from other webcomic authors/artists just like you, but they've had some success. So they're words of wisdom have come from experience in the business. So I hope they can help you if you need it. :) If you need any other help on developing your webcomic that isn't within the topics covered above feel free to e-mail me! I'm always glad to help. 

Thanks again,

Josh Engle