Well, I thought I'd go ahead and start one of these, in case anyone has some input. I have a webcomic that has been going for over 80 strips now... and it isn't quite what I want it to be.Fortunately, it is also unpopular!I say fortunately, because with such a small audience, I have quite a bit of freedom to do pretty much anything I want at the moment. Which is why I'm planning a bit of a reboot to the strip.I've been looking back over the strip, and I've found what I'm happy with and what I'm not too happy with. And there is room for change and (hopefully) improvement.I fully intend to keep everything relatively the same as I work toward completing this first story, for continuity if nothing else.After that, though...I'm planning pretty massive changes. Art style, format of the strip, and, with any luck, a completely overhauled website.While these are radical changes, I'm still calling this a "soft" reboot, because I'm not going to disregard the first story. It is still there and still in "canon."Despite the fact that I consider it a soft reboot, I'm wondering if maybe I should treat the whole thing as a relaunch, especially considering the change of the website and art style. Essentially, I'd move the first story to an archive, perhaps even separate from the regular archive, and promote the whole thing like a new webcomic.I bristle against that a bit, because I don't want to have the first story ignored, but I also know the value (shown to us through print comics) of slapping a brand new "#1" on the cover.So, I'm torn, and looking for feedback. What say you?
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I don't know if it's a reboot to change things around: I've been to some webcomics where the format, design, layout, etc, has all changed around radically. To me it's just the nature of the internet: it's dynamic and always changing. I know I've made plenty of changes to my own site, and as far as I'm concerned, if I'm still telling a story and the URL is the same, then any other changes are all fair game. Just my $.02.
Yeah, I suppose that is true. The interweb is very fluid, and especially on a strip that has been around less than a year, it isn't really a reboot for the style and art to change. I just hope the changes will be considered "upgrades" in the long run!
Well, is reboot really the right word? You want to overhaul the site, so that's an upgrade, and I agree that's needed for your site. Heck, I've been saying that since you started, lol. For art style, that's just a stylistic change and that can happen at any point in the story. Waiting till the end of this arc would be best though to keep things smooth.
And then there's the format of the strip. What are you shooting for here? A page style layout? Half a page? Again, that kind of change can be made whenever. I would just advise again waiting till this arc is done but only because of collecting purposes when you put it in a trade. But people change their format all the time. Sometimes they bounce around between a few depending on what suits the strip.
So really, reboot would only apply if you were starting the story over. Are you looking to change certain characters personalities? Is there a new underlying theme to the strip? If you are worried about starting a new idea which doesn't connect well, then maybe it is best to separate the new and old styles. But if they still fit together, they can be in the same archive. They key, and this is important, is to make it known where the beginning is, and where the new, better beginning is. Like have a link to the first strip, and also have a link to the first strip of the new exciting and easily accessible story kind of thing.
Yep, you have indeed been a proponent of me abandoning my "barely more than a blog" website since... pretty much the inception, huh? Gotta learn to use Comicpress...
Yeah, okay, you are right. Reboot is the wrong word. How about "revamp"? That probably fits better. Change in art style, maybe a little storytelling, format, but the characters will essentially remain the same.
All of the major changes will be happening with the new story. I don't want to change horses midstream. The format change is one that I wrestled with.
Up until now, I've done the strips in three panel sets, so that if I ever printed them, I could stack them, three to a page, and it would be the same as a nine panel grid for a comic book page. Why? Well, I love the nine panel grid, and it seemed to lend itself to easy breaks for posting individual strips. Plus, it was a nice, disciplined approach to doing the strip.
Now, though, I find myself wanting to push out a little. I'd like vary the panel size a bit. I'd like to have four, sometimes five panels. And, I'm finding myself drawn more and more to the style of the comic strips in the newspaper.
So, I'm going to try the standard comic strip dimensions for the second story, and abandon the comic book format I've done for the first story. I know, it may not seem like a radical change, but it is for me. I think it is for the better, though.
I really like the idea of putting two starting points in the same archive, though - "Old style" and "New style." I think I may completely take that idea! Thanks, Jim!
I don't know if it's a reboot to change things around: I've been to some webcomics where the format, design, layout, etc, has all changed around radically. To me it's just the nature of the internet: it's dynamic and always changing. I know I've made plenty of changes to my own site, and as far as I'm concerned, if I'm still telling a story and the URL is the same, then any other changes are all fair game.
Just my $.02.
Well, is reboot really the right word? You want to overhaul the site, so that's an upgrade, and I agree that's needed for your site. Heck, I've been saying that since you started, lol. For art style, that's just a stylistic change and that can happen at any point in the story. Waiting till the end of this arc would be best though to keep things smooth.
And then there's the format of the strip. What are you shooting for here? A page style layout? Half a page? Again, that kind of change can be made whenever. I would just advise again waiting till this arc is done but only because of collecting purposes when you put it in a trade. But people change their format all the time. Sometimes they bounce around between a few depending on what suits the strip.
So really, reboot would only apply if you were starting the story over. Are you looking to change certain characters personalities? Is there a new underlying theme to the strip? If you are worried about starting a new idea which doesn't connect well, then maybe it is best to separate the new and old styles. But if they still fit together, they can be in the same archive. They key, and this is important, is to make it known where the beginning is, and where the new, better beginning is. Like have a link to the first strip, and also have a link to the first strip of the new exciting and easily accessible story kind of thing.
Replies
Yeah, I suppose that is true. The interweb is very fluid, and especially on a strip that has been around less than a year, it isn't really a reboot for the style and art to change. I just hope the changes will be considered "upgrades" in the long run!
Yep, you have indeed been a proponent of me abandoning my "barely more than a blog" website since... pretty much the inception, huh? Gotta learn to use Comicpress...
Yeah, okay, you are right. Reboot is the wrong word. How about "revamp"? That probably fits better. Change in art style, maybe a little storytelling, format, but the characters will essentially remain the same.
All of the major changes will be happening with the new story. I don't want to change horses midstream. The format change is one that I wrestled with.
Up until now, I've done the strips in three panel sets, so that if I ever printed them, I could stack them, three to a page, and it would be the same as a nine panel grid for a comic book page. Why? Well, I love the nine panel grid, and it seemed to lend itself to easy breaks for posting individual strips. Plus, it was a nice, disciplined approach to doing the strip.
Now, though, I find myself wanting to push out a little. I'd like vary the panel size a bit. I'd like to have four, sometimes five panels. And, I'm finding myself drawn more and more to the style of the comic strips in the newspaper.
So, I'm going to try the standard comic strip dimensions for the second story, and abandon the comic book format I've done for the first story. I know, it may not seem like a radical change, but it is for me. I think it is for the better, though.
I really like the idea of putting two starting points in the same archive, though - "Old style" and "New style." I think I may completely take that idea! Thanks, Jim!
I don't know if it's a reboot to change things around: I've been to some webcomics where the format, design, layout, etc, has all changed around radically. To me it's just the nature of the internet: it's dynamic and always changing. I know I've made plenty of changes to my own site, and as far as I'm concerned, if I'm still telling a story and the URL is the same, then any other changes are all fair game.
Just my $.02.
And then there's the format of the strip. What are you shooting for here? A page style layout? Half a page? Again, that kind of change can be made whenever. I would just advise again waiting till this arc is done but only because of collecting purposes when you put it in a trade. But people change their format all the time. Sometimes they bounce around between a few depending on what suits the strip.
So really, reboot would only apply if you were starting the story over. Are you looking to change certain characters personalities? Is there a new underlying theme to the strip? If you are worried about starting a new idea which doesn't connect well, then maybe it is best to separate the new and old styles. But if they still fit together, they can be in the same archive. They key, and this is important, is to make it known where the beginning is, and where the new, better beginning is. Like have a link to the first strip, and also have a link to the first strip of the new exciting and easily accessible story kind of thing.