Hey, since this discussion group is officially up and rolling, how about some brief introductions from webcomic creators here, such as what you're working on and maybe what you'd like to see covered and discussed here in this group? Here's my intro...My name is Rob Marsh, and I've been a part of the CCAS and a member of Alpha-Omega since around 2000. During that time I've been SLOWLY printing a "paper" version of a comic book super hero title called "December Sun" - a title that, in a nutshell, is just a generic superhero in adventurous situations that I would have liked to read about when I was 12 years old... :)Last year I made the jump to a full webcomic and launched DSCOMIC.COM, hosted with 1&1 (the decision to pick them for hosting based on the fact that they had a cheap price and colorful ads in PC magazines... what else does one look for? :)So I'm slowly telling 'December Sun' with panels from issues #1-3 (issues currently in print at comixpress.com) but once these run out, I'm going to build the site with all-digital scans of artwork that I've been drawing, scanning and lettering over the last few years (yeah, it's sadly taken me years to get this rolling and I've only got a handful of issues to show for it... :)My objective with the site has been twofold: 1) this keeps me accountable to continue my drawing and stop playing stupid computer games, and 2) it's a vehicle for learning more about the technologies behind web design, such as PHP scripting, etc.(oh, and the secret THIRD reason for the site is to market and sell the character December Sun to a desperate Hollywood agent looking for a screenplay. I'm not holding my breath on that one...)The webcomic is currently using the "Comicpress" theme, which I would thoroughly recommend to anyone wanting to run a webcomic. The install was sortof a pain, but once it's up and running, it makes a daily comic update a breeze! Google for it and if you decide to use it, follow the install instructions closely.So that's my intro. I'd like to hear from others about what they are publishing and what their goals are!
You need to be a member of CCAS - Christian Comic Arts Society to add comments!
Hi guys, I'm Jim Ford. I've got 2 webcomics, one that updates 3 times a week, http://www.FW4D.com and another that I have not updated in a few months, http://www.Cow-Man.com. Cow-Man is mostly an all ages superhero comic, FW4D is a random humor strip, and as Rob says (quite accurately I might add), it's occasionally off-color and decidedly not all ages.
Cow-Man came first. It was actually started as a passing joke. Some guys threw out a name on a podcast and said someone should create a Cow-Man hero. So I did, and then ran with the joke for 87 weeks (plus holiday specials, lol). At some point I'll finish off the story. It was an amazing experience making a comic. Never something I planned on doing until I did it.
Cow-Man didn't get a lot of hits, it had its fans, but maybe it would get 15-25 hits on an average day, sometimes more and sometimes less. I was beginning to have another idea for a different strip, one where people wouldn't have to follow a story, that they could just visit at any time and laugh. Random stuff too. Not being bound by continuity, I knew I was going to get more hits than Cow-Man, and I wanted the bigger audience. So my random thoughts became FW4D.com, and now I get a few hundred hits a day, sometimes reaching in the thousands. That's an amazing blessing, to know that I'm making that many people laugh on a given day.
I started Cow-Man with just regular html, written up in notepad. It's a pain to update! ComicPress is so much easier and nicer. You can even set updates to happen when you're not there, so when I go on vacation at the end of the month (which will feature guest strips from some other awesome webcomics guys), I can sit back and relax knowing that all the updates will go like clockwork!
Like Billy, I'll collect my comics at some point, hopefully before CGS Supershow, which I intend to go to and hawk my wares for the first time, lol. It's odd though, I've reached a point where I would consider myself a successful webcomic creator, but I still don't really feel like I'm "there" yet, you guys know what I mean? Like you have artists and writers of comics, and I love them, but even though I hit a nice size audience, I don't feel like I'm anywhere close to that level yet. Anybody else feel like that?
And Henry, my advice is to avoid Flash in your comics! It's great for a promotional trailer, but not that user friendly for comic readers.
Hi! I am Henry Chmielefski and currently I have one Webcomic story completed online... www.original-tea.com. I started running it two years ago, ran it until completion (about a year) and figured due to the great reaction it didn't get that I would let it die a natural death... I keep forgetting in this world if no one says anything you did 'okay'. That was a year ago: I haven't done anything since to the Website... and am still shocked to find the number of 'hits' the website gets.... hundreds of people still visit on a monthly basis! I was even approached by a Far East Animation firm asking if I would be willing to develop a script for some type of direct-to-video animated film... if I came up with my own financing!
(For those keeping score, the Animation Company appeared to be legit. While it would of been very cool to see O-T-E-A on the same page as Historial or Martial Arts Animation, I just couldn't see Original Teen Enforcement Agency (Te/en/age) on that same online catalog page as Animated Chinese Porn. Maybe I am just too picky... )
I did my Website in ancient Microsoft Frontpage, which had no learning curb whatsoever... if you know the other Microsoft Office programs... Word, Excel... you could be designing and uploading in Frontpage in minutes.
Judging from the hits the site continues to get, www.original-tea.com is a success, even having not done anything new in a year. Plans for the future? Redesign the site placing emphasis on stories and ministry, removing the 'commericial': the advertising and selling of books altogether... I pay little enough each month (far less than a combo meal at MacDonalds) that I don't have to potentially add to the already damaged reputation of being another of Christiandom's representitives asking for money.
There is a second O-T-E-A Te/en/age story arc already underway (art by Frank Humphris) that I will probably release a limited run Print edition (straight to Graphic Novel collection) and then post the story online. (We'll do all this once we can get our act together.)
A third story arc is in development, being written by Steve MacDonald... so there seems to be a lot of future for the Te/en/Age'rs.
I would also like to get my hands on some updated Software to make a updated site... but I wonder if I need 'Flash' and 'animation' I need to attact people?
All I need is time and lots of help to get this done. Nothing new.:)
I'm Billy Wamsley, and my webcomic is The Crimson Scarab, located at www.CrimsonScarab.com. I've hit a few stumbling blocks recently, but I hope to soon be regularly posting again before too long.
My original purpose for doing the strip was to show myself that I could, and to have the follow through to keep it up. Despite problems, I've been able to post over 80 strips and am comfortable saying that those initial goals are met.
Which leaves me wondering, what's next? Well, after a lot of heavy thought, I've decided a major revamp is on deck. I want to improve the look of the art, the storytelling, and probably change the format a bit.
Oh, and one other thing... my webcomic is currently little more than a blog posting on Wordpress. My previous attempts with "Comicpress" met with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Since then, I've been hesitant to give it another try, but with the changes I have planned, I want to give it another go. Hopefully, by His grace, things will work out a bit better this time.
I enjoy my webcomic, but I can't really say I'm expecting much more from it than what I have now - just the opportunity to tell some cool stories. Overall, it really is just for me, but if someone else gets something from it as well, that is gravy.
Maybe someday I'll collect the strips and get them printed. Oh, who am I kidding? Some day I will DEFINITELY collect the strips and get them printed, even if it is nothing more than something I do at Kinko's, because that would be pretty cool - to hold your work in your hands.
Replies
Cow-Man came first. It was actually started as a passing joke. Some guys threw out a name on a podcast and said someone should create a Cow-Man hero. So I did, and then ran with the joke for 87 weeks (plus holiday specials, lol). At some point I'll finish off the story. It was an amazing experience making a comic. Never something I planned on doing until I did it.
Cow-Man didn't get a lot of hits, it had its fans, but maybe it would get 15-25 hits on an average day, sometimes more and sometimes less. I was beginning to have another idea for a different strip, one where people wouldn't have to follow a story, that they could just visit at any time and laugh. Random stuff too. Not being bound by continuity, I knew I was going to get more hits than Cow-Man, and I wanted the bigger audience. So my random thoughts became FW4D.com, and now I get a few hundred hits a day, sometimes reaching in the thousands. That's an amazing blessing, to know that I'm making that many people laugh on a given day.
I started Cow-Man with just regular html, written up in notepad. It's a pain to update! ComicPress is so much easier and nicer. You can even set updates to happen when you're not there, so when I go on vacation at the end of the month (which will feature guest strips from some other awesome webcomics guys), I can sit back and relax knowing that all the updates will go like clockwork!
Like Billy, I'll collect my comics at some point, hopefully before CGS Supershow, which I intend to go to and hawk my wares for the first time, lol. It's odd though, I've reached a point where I would consider myself a successful webcomic creator, but I still don't really feel like I'm "there" yet, you guys know what I mean? Like you have artists and writers of comics, and I love them, but even though I hit a nice size audience, I don't feel like I'm anywhere close to that level yet. Anybody else feel like that?
And Henry, my advice is to avoid Flash in your comics! It's great for a promotional trailer, but not that user friendly for comic readers.
(For those keeping score, the Animation Company appeared to be legit. While it would of been very cool to see O-T-E-A on the same page as Historial or Martial Arts Animation, I just couldn't see Original Teen Enforcement Agency (Te/en/age) on that same online catalog page as Animated Chinese Porn. Maybe I am just too picky... )
I did my Website in ancient Microsoft Frontpage, which had no learning curb whatsoever... if you know the other Microsoft Office programs... Word, Excel... you could be designing and uploading in Frontpage in minutes.
Judging from the hits the site continues to get, www.original-tea.com is a success, even having not done anything new in a year. Plans for the future? Redesign the site placing emphasis on stories and ministry, removing the 'commericial': the advertising and selling of books altogether... I pay little enough each month (far less than a combo meal at MacDonalds) that I don't have to potentially add to the already damaged reputation of being another of Christiandom's representitives asking for money.
There is a second O-T-E-A Te/en/age story arc already underway (art by Frank Humphris) that I will probably release a limited run Print edition (straight to Graphic Novel collection) and then post the story online. (We'll do all this once we can get our act together.)
A third story arc is in development, being written by Steve MacDonald... so there seems to be a lot of future for the Te/en/Age'rs.
I would also like to get my hands on some updated Software to make a updated site... but I wonder if I need 'Flash' and 'animation' I need to attact people?
All I need is time and lots of help to get this done. Nothing new. :)
P.S. There is a Origin of one of the O-T-E-A'ers, Spacelad in the published Book Megazeen #15. You can get it here... http://www.christiancomics.net/cart/index.php?act=viewProd&prod... That story won't appear online in the foreseeable future.
I'm Billy Wamsley, and my webcomic is The Crimson Scarab, located at www.CrimsonScarab.com. I've hit a few stumbling blocks recently, but I hope to soon be regularly posting again before too long.
My original purpose for doing the strip was to show myself that I could, and to have the follow through to keep it up. Despite problems, I've been able to post over 80 strips and am comfortable saying that those initial goals are met.
Which leaves me wondering, what's next? Well, after a lot of heavy thought, I've decided a major revamp is on deck. I want to improve the look of the art, the storytelling, and probably change the format a bit.
Oh, and one other thing... my webcomic is currently little more than a blog posting on Wordpress. My previous attempts with "Comicpress" met with much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Since then, I've been hesitant to give it another try, but with the changes I have planned, I want to give it another go. Hopefully, by His grace, things will work out a bit better this time.
I enjoy my webcomic, but I can't really say I'm expecting much more from it than what I have now - just the opportunity to tell some cool stories. Overall, it really is just for me, but if someone else gets something from it as well, that is gravy.
Maybe someday I'll collect the strips and get them printed. Oh, who am I kidding? Some day I will DEFINITELY collect the strips and get them printed, even if it is nothing more than something I do at Kinko's, because that would be pretty cool - to hold your work in your hands.
That's pretty much it for me.
-
1
-
2
-
3
of 3 Next