How to Make a Web Comic
Web comics are one of the best ways to get your work out there. They require little or no money to start, allow you to write on any topic you want without the strict formatting requirements that newspapers have and allow your comic to spread very quickly by word of mouth. Here is how to create a web comic.
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- Paper
- Pens
- Pencil
- Paintbrush
- Ink
- Computer
- Internet Access
- Image Editing Software
Instructions
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1
Choose a topic. Weirder topics tend to do better online. Don't do another "day in the workplace" comic unless it really speaks to you. Instead, write about that strange obsession that you thought no one else shared with you or that hobby none of your friends are interested in. Web comics are all about niche audiences, so write for people like you.
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Come up with a stable of characters and a setting. Make sure you have at least three or four characters and one or two locations for things to happen. You can always come up with more as the comic goes on, so don't worry about creating a whole world from the start.
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3
Come up with a couple of sample plots to take your characters through. They can be as simple as "Joe is breaking up with his girlfriend and Android Alex takes him out to help him forget his troubles." The important thing is to have some context within which to tell the jokes.
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Decide on your drawing style. Web comic writers do not have to be great artists. Some very successful web comics, such as Diesel Sweeties and XKCD, have self-consciously simplistic drawing styles, so don't feel obligated to draw beautiful, full-color sketches unless you want to.
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Decide on your medium. Some web comics are done all on the computer with drawing programs, while others are done by hand and scanned in. Figure out what works for you.
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Do a few comics. Have your characters interact in a few short, three- or four-panel adventures. Experiment until you find something that seems funny to you.
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Show the comics to friends and acquaintances to get feedback. This step is not necessary, but it can be helpful. Most web comics focus on a punchline, so you need to know that what you are writing is funny to other people.
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Make any changes you want to the comics you have written and write some more. You should have at least 10 finished web comics before you try to get them online.
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Scan the comics into the computer if they aren't already there.
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Learn some basic html or find a friend who can do a web page for you.
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Get web hosting. You won't need much space at first, so it shouldn't be hard to find web hosting. For example, Comic Genesis offers free hosting for comics, so it is a great place to start.
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Post your comics online. You can either put all 10 up at once, or begin to post them once a week. The latter will give you time to produce plenty of new comics before you run out, but the former will give people more to look at on your page right away.
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Write and post a new comic once a week. Writing one weekly three- or four-frame comic will not take that much time, and will keep any new fans reading your stuff.
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Once you get a following, con
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Tips & Warnings
Although web comics are free, some comic writers do make quite a bit of money off of merchandise. Once you get a following, consider making a run of t-shirts featuring your comic.
It can be hard to get noticed, but keep at it. If nothing else, you will be developing your writing and artistic skills, amusing your friends and pursuing an interesting hobby.
