Now the thing is, when you’re trying to improve whatever, the really hard thing is knowing where to start. Some people take an objective look at their comics or ask their friends, and all the get is a “I dunnoooo…” and you know what? They’re probably not lying. Knowing the problem behind a drawing, or a comic, is a much much more complex task that you’d think. If the problem is too obvious then it’s relatively easy to fix. If they tell you: the boobs are weird, or people don’t talk like that, what the hell is this blob in the drawing, the lettering is unreadable… those are easy fixes.

But what happens when you have a crapload of problems in a ton of areas? The most tempting thing is to say “I’m not good at this…”, rise a fist to the skies, and go look for something else to do.

Well, don’t! Every problem can be fixed, you only need a little nudge in the right direction!

Now, I follow a certain methodology to solving problems. I have found this is pretty common for people like me… people who code. As such, fixing bugs is a big percentage of the time we spend coding, and this requires a)looking for the bugs and b)squishing them. Sounds easy huh? Well, it requires a bit of practice, but this is what we do.

First, we choose what problem we want to look first. If we were coding, the obvious choice would be fixing the errors that are not even letting us run the program in the first place. In cartooning, we want to solve the problems that are either preventing us from running the comics, or preventing the reader from reading them. This includes things such as unreadable lettering, bad compression, bad size etc.

Can the comic be seen? Good! Now, what to fix? Go for the most obvious and glaring. There’s nothing that jumps at you, but it still “doesn’t seem right”? Aaaah, now THIS is where it gets interesting!

The first thing you have to do is to narrow it down. Let’s look at an example. “I don’t like this drawing” is a very general statement. Look closely at it. Look at it from AFAR. Look at the separate parts (cover the rest with your hands or a sheet of paper or your cat if it’s available). Where’s the problem? Make a list of the things you particularly like, and make a list of the things you don’t.

Now take a look at the list of things you don’t like. Imagine that you blew the candles on your birthday cake and item A in that list got magically fixed. If that’s too hard to imagine, then cover the particular item with a post it or something so you don’t look at it. Has the drawing been substantially improved? No? Move onto the next item. Once you do that with the whole list, you can now figure out which item on that list seems to hurt the drawing the worst. This is the thing you should work at.

The second thing you have to do is to isolate the problem. What is exactly wrong? Bad anatomy? Weak inking? Rigid, stiff pose? Asymmetry?

You don’t know?

Check out other, similar drawings made by yourself. If you don’t have similar drawings, then make one. There’s no need to make the whole drawing, just do over again the part you’re focusing on. Now, is the problem still there? Can you figure out what the problem is, in the second drawing? No?

Then it’s time to fire up Google and find either a photo you can check out as a reference or even better, a drawing. If there’s several, that’s even better. What element is missing in your drawing that makes it look weird and not right? Try copying -not tracing- a pic that does look right, and see what you’re doing wrong.

The third thing you have to do is tailor a solution for that particular problem. Is asimmetry a problem? Grab a mirror and put it next to your drawing while you’re doing to check the drawing is not skewed to one side (this is a very common problem, and I have noticed it’s very frequent in manga style). Anatomy? Try to find a live drawing class with a model, or borrow a digital camera and use the timer to pose for a pic you’d like to draw. Then use it as a reference.

Whatever the problem is, you should work at it focused. One thing at a time. Don’t expect yourself to simply produce flawless pics if you fix everything in a drawing: you’re learning. It’s the same as working out: you pump a particular group of muscles at a given time.

Now in the next article we’ll discuss how to fix certain, specific problems. Feel free to comment with your problem and see if we can come up with a solution for it!

However, I will squeeze an article tomorrow about an estrategy to getting better at stuff you might or might not suck!

Keep your eyes peeled!

Around 2003 I started experiencing acute pain in my right wrist. I tried ace bandages, neoprene gloves, creams, etc. It got worse and worse.

Finally, I had to admit I was getting to the point when I would not be able to make my strip anymore, and so I got a tablet. I also learned to mouse with my left hand, something that is not only annoying but also takes some while to get accustomed to.

You see, my problem was that I was shading with my mouse. That’s VERY movement-intensive. I’m happy to say that since I took those two simple measures, I no longer suffer from carpal tunnel. Or at least, I nipped it in the bud before it gave me a permanent injure that required surgery.

This is a pretty stupid thing to say in a blog like this, but I have seen it again and again. People, take care of your hands, especially the one you draw with. Most people in the world are extra careful with their eyes, well, it’s not so hard. I have stupidly injured myself doing everyday things, and I’m afraid it could have been avoided. I hear a lot of people saying they smashed their fingers using a hammer to hit a nail… why??? Why doesn’t anybody use pliers to hold the nail into place? Why do people keep peeling potatoes without holding them using a napkin? Why do people keep touching the iron to see if it’s already hot??? Okay I only did that once, gimme a break

Choose a chair you feel comfortable in. Allow yourself to put your feet up and prop back from time to time. You’ll spend a lot of time in your chair so consider it an investment. You don’t want to save on a chair and spend on a chiropractor.

Make sure your chair is at an appropiate level with your table. Do NOT force your wrist, either up or down, the straighter it is, the less damage you do. Consider wearing an ACE bandage while working, at least for a while (you can create an habit by that)

I have tested a lot of surfaces to run your mouse in, and so far nothing equals a straight sheet of normal printing paper. Yeah, mousepads suck, even those who have boobs. Sorry, Japan.

I recommend optical mouses, but I don’t recommend wireless ones. They’re not worth it, IMHO, they take too many batteries. Now, wireless keyboard is very useful, especially if you’re running a two-monitor system.

Avoid spending a lot of time typing in those tiny laptop keyboards. They’re horribly uncomfortable.

Move your feet around for better circulation, you’ll get less tired if you do that.

Finally, LISTEN to your body. If something’s not working for you, be it your monitor, keyboard, mouse or tablet, it doesn’t matter if you spent a lot of money on it. Your health and comfort are way more valuable! Especially if you’re in this for the long run.

Word on the street is that when you’re going to buy a domain, you make a LIST before you go to your favorite registrar. And if you find the domain you want -your first choice- BUY IT IMMEDIATLY.

Lots of people go first to check if a domain is available, then take some days to “think about it.”

Well, except that according to some people (I include myself, by the way, even if I have no way to confirm this is actually a fact) there are bots checking out what domains are wanted by people, and if you don’t buy them right away, they will snatch it from your hands and then try to sell the domain to you for an obscene amount of money. You have probably heard of this people… they are called domain squatters. They have no use for the domain but they will buy it so they can resell.

So next time you search for the domain of your dreams, be sure you hit the enter button with the right hand while your left one nurses your credit card.

Happy Domain Buying! (Thanks a lot to ziRta of http://www.oseano.net for reminding me of this)

Which by the way, got me thinking about hiatuses, vacations, and all that.

Everybody knows that for a webcomic to work, it needs to have something of a schedule that includes frequent updating on it.

But eventually, even the most disciplined cartoonist needs a break. There are a few notable exceptions out there. I think Chris Crosby has updated daily for a decade without missing a strip, or something like that. But everybody knows Chris is not human, and he’s made of puppies instead. Most of us, however, need the occasional break, either to prevent burnout or to come up for air.

Creative work is actually pretty demanding on the psyche. Pretty often I tell people what I do, and they can actually believe I draw the thing. But then they ask “And you come up with this stuff everyday???” and they make a face like I’m pulling a fast one. I guess that after a decade and more somehow I’m missing the magic of it all, but I’m telling you, at some point it becomes routine. I’m not saying that in a bad way!

Deep down, however, our ideas well tend to dry up from time to time. It’s time for a vacation!

Right here I’m not going to speak about hiatuses that are triggered by external events. There’s no point in that. If you suddenly stop updating because a medical emergency or a computer malfunction or a natural disaster happened, then it’s inevitable. No, here we’re going to discuss *scheduled*, planned hiatuses, breaks, and vacations.

Every hiatus hurts your numbers. Know it, face it, accept it. The shorter, the less, of course, but how can you minimize the damage? Is it possible?

Yes.

1. Time them up with the holidays.

The first and most important strategy is to synchronize your vacations with the rest of the world. Everybody knows that  most people read their webcomics at work, so naturally holidays equal very low audience. There’s also another reason: holidays are opportunities for people to get away and/or spend time with their families. A lot of them are away from their computers or a working wi-fi connection. Others are engaged in activities that involve getting out, going to parties, or traveling. Readers are more likely to be understanding when you take time off your comic when it’s a holiday… after all, no one’s working.

What are the best holidays to schedule a long vacation? AFAIK, it’s the Christmas break. I take time off every year on December. Mostly, around  Thanksgiving audience takes a dive and doesn’t come back until mid January. This might not be such a good idea if you’re moving merchandise, but at least two weeks before Christmas nothing gets shipped in time anyway. Take it off.

July and August are good choices too. Spring Break. You can also take shorter hiatuses during the year on popular holidays such as July 4th. I’m mostly speaking about the anglo audience, of course, but cater to your own.

2. Make “bridges” with weekends.

Weekends suck in terms of audience (actuallyFridays suck too) so if you’re taking days off, time them appropiately. That means if you’re running on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, you don’t take off Wednesday since it’s the middle of the week. It’s best to take Friday off so you get a long weekend and more time to recharge. Even if you’re going on holiday vacation you can take advantage of this: update on Wednesday, miss Friday, start again on a Monday.

3. Prepare material beforehand.

This includes things such as guest strips, recycling, or anything you can put together fast and without a lot of work. If your Dead Piro things are taking more time than your regular strips, forget it.

4. Announce it.

Don’t just vanish off the face of Earth. Let your readers know when the hiatus starts and when it ends.

5. Keep a tight community.

Fan-based communities, such as the ones that exist in forums and the like, are more likely to keep themselves occupied and involved with your comic during a hiatus.

6. Keep an RSS.

I’m totally guilty of not having added an RSS to my comics yet, but I will. This month. I promise! Anyway, not speaking about me: a lot of people completely depend on RSS to follow what they follow. Mailing lists and the like , and also social networks are good to let people know you’re updating again.

Do you have any other tips for taking a guilt-free worry-free vacation? Share in the comments!

Why this? Seriously? Does it have to be an article on the Casual Webcartoonist? Can’t you just, I dunno, keep a folder of it or something?

Yes and no. You see, the unconstricted world of webcomics is wonderful and shiny with hummingbirds and pie, but that very same freedom carries a cartload of problems on its own. In my case, I have been making a serial for, let’s see… 11 years. Thanks to the archive availability of the web, I can keep on recalling facts from Day One if I want to (not that I should). The possibility is there. And even if I don’t, I do have to keep Day One in mind.

Why? Because you, and me, and everybody else -well, geeks anyway- knows what is like to be an obssessive fan of anything. When you’re a fan, you know the characters and read, if you skip it then you catch up later. When you’re a hardcore fan you read it religiously not only once but several times. And the ultra-rabid fan knows not only the canon continuity but also the non-canon. (Often this leads to trouble as people start mistaking one for the other. True story!)

Now, what does it mean? It means that if you FAIL, there’s going to be some people who will notice it. And the beauty of the webcomic is that in that case you could, hypotetically speaking, revise the events. Probably not the original ones -unless it’s easier- but the new ones. Of course you can do it, but it’s gonna be embarrassing, and also double work and a pain in the ass too.

So what’s to be done? Well, yeah, you COULD keep a folder of it. Now try to keep a folder of 11 years of on-and-off daily webcomic facts. Eeeh? No. Didn’t think so.

Since the folder of the whole thing is a bad idea, here are some strategies for your forgetful woes.

a) Be the most rabid fan EVAR.

That’s right, this implies rereading your archives from time to time. It should be fun, right? Well if it doesn’t, then this might also help identify a problem with the writing in general. The best comics out there have a high re-readability ratio. Read one storyline at a time, don’t try to cram a whole decade down the hatch in a single sitting. You want to pay attention to the facts.

If a certain storyline in the past is relevant to your current storyline, yeah, better read that one too, and perhaps the previous one and the one that comes after it.

It is entirely embarrassing when your fans know your stuff better than you do ¬.¬

b) Detect unfamiliar elements that might have a history you don’t remember.

Once you’re ready to tackle a new storyline, sit down with your faithful notebook.

You know in sitcoms and soap operas, they do a brief recap of previous events before the episode starts? Well, this is a good practice for you too. Write down:

“Previously on Serial Webcomic!”

“Psychopathic Blonde Guy was stalking Redhead Girl, but Redhead Girl told her Brother, and Brother put on some clown makeup, and Psychopathic Blonde Guy ran away terrified. But now Psychopathic Blonde Guy is targeting Brother etc etc etc”

This is also good to have a general feeling of what you have just done, especially if you want to judge if a change of pace or mood is convenient, if you want to take some other characters in the spotline, and all that.

Once you have this, you can start working. The simple fact that you made the recap will keep you from making the mistake of forgetting Redhead Girl is no longer worried about the stalker because the Brother supposedly solved that.

Write the whole thing down. Then you sit and check for holes.

Now for your next situation you want Blonde Psychopathic Guy to break into Brother’s car and wait for him there with a long, hard knife. But wait!  Is this car a familiar or unfamiliar element? If you have this car in a lot of storylines then you maybe have the facts about it ready and available. But if you only mention it ocassionally, then you have to give it a double thought. Wait, does this guy even own a car? Where did you see it? Check the storyline. If it’s a convertible, then whoops! Bad plan. Maybe the guy can’t even drive. Maybe the car was destroyed or it’s malfunctioning in another storyline. In any case, you have to focus on the unfamiliar element: Brother’s Car, and actively look for potential continuity holes.

If the car is available, then  you move onto the next element, and so and so.

c) Keep a folder… of the recent, relevant changes.

If a familiar element, like a character, goes through an important change, write it down so you remember it. Example: I have to continually remind myself April has short hair now. There are times where I still draw her with long hair first, but fix it in the ink stage. However if you’re in a hurry sometimes you forget to check these sort of things.  You can also keep a folder for your current storyline where you can keep track of: clothing, wounds/scars, costumes, hairstyle and accesorizing. Add anything that might be relevant, i.e. “Mike is wearing his robot hand in this storyline”, “Chester is missing” and such.

d) Proof-reading. You can run the script through your friends or faithful readers and see if they can spot something that is amiss. It’s very easy to be so close to the forest you can only see the trees. Don’t be embarrassed!

If you guys have any other strategy to keep track of your continuity, I’d love to hear about it. Share it in the comments!

I found these to be useful reads/resources. Creativity is tricky stuff: speaking with other creative people will keep your gears oiled as well.

http://www.webcomicmarketing.com/ <– I loved this one. It’s full of useful tips.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/ten-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-one

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/feb/20/10-rules-for-writing-fiction-part-two

Some of this are silly and good for a laugh, but some of the advice is extremely useful. Keep it under your hat.

http://comicrazys.com/category/famous-artists-cartoon-course/

Timeless advice on getting better at drawing. Oh my God. There’s just so much to read! Check the back issues, there’s a ton!

http://psd.tutsplus.com/articles/web/50-totally-free-lessons-in-graphic-design-theory/

Is Graphic Design kicking  your ass? Would you like a quick dip into the art and science of making things look good? Check it out.

http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/index.htm

Lots of tutorials on drawing manga style. I like these because they’re aimed to beginners. There’s also photoshop tutorials and stuff.

Enjoy! Next week I’ll be back and we’ll be discussing some of the aspects of writing.

Good question.

Freebies are a thorny issue. Yes, I mean that even in the face of the free culture that is the very base of the e-conomy.

Why work for free? Well, there’s several reasons for this.

* Because you want to. <— the most important, really.

* Because it’s good promotion. <— careful!

* Because it has added benefits.

Now, the first one is a no-brainer. Sometimes it’s a gift for a friend. Sometimes you’re bored. Sometimes it’s for charity, or for the fun of it. Sometimes you just want to be nice. Fanart, a comic that’s meant to showcase your opinion, a good joke you can’t resist to make, a sketch duel with other artists. These are all good and of COURSE you can and should make as many drawings as you’d like without having constantly to worry about if it’s making money for you.

But as a pro or semi pro, you’ll find yourself wondering about the last two.  The “added benefits” one is not so complicated -although technically, one of the benefits could be promotion, and then it’d be the other reason- but mainly I mean things like a comic strip you’re doing for “free” but earns you money because of your ad networks or merchandising. This is of course the most obvious reason, but other benefits are more subtle. There is the aspect, for example, of good PR, or simply tightening your bonds with other cartoonists, feeling as part of a group, practice, expanding your skills, and all that. The only thing to ponder about this one is: are the added benefits worth the time? If you’re feeling yourself dedicating time from paid projects to free ones… probably not. Remember, your time is valuable. But it is more valuable when you have little of it!

So this bring us to the second reason and the question: is it worth it?

As always, the answer is: it depends a lot. If you’re starting, the answer is almost always yes. If you’re “established”, the answer is most likely no. If it’s something you can do in an hour and you DO have an hour to spare and the promo you can get out of it is reasonable, go for it. If it’s going to take you a whole day and the promo value is so-so, then no.

Sometimes people who are not your friends, but acquaintances, or friends-of-friends, will ask you to make artwork for them for free. Ordinarily you should say no. A lot of people think drawing is so much fun, you shouldn’t be paid for it. Well… no.

Don’t be afraid to say no. Like I said: your time is valuable, and those hours you’re going to be working for these guys you can spend it doing stuff that pays, or resting from working on the stuff that pays. My rule of thumb is: if it’s something they’ll be making a profit from, always charge for it. If it’s not, then they get ONE freebie, tops. Otherwise it becomes an endless strings of favors, and seriously, screw that.

As for doing things when there’s a good promise for promotion, well, do your homework. Snoop around to see if they’ve got the audience that will make it worth it. No? Maybe they have potential? No? Well… shrug and move on.

SN: So hey guys, there’s this people or this site and they want me to make a logo/mascot for them, it involves drawing this cool cartoon logo and the partybets logo in flames with some lightning on, or dude X wants me to draw him an avatar for a game, or girl Y wants to make so-and-so a special gift, I want to do it but how much should I charge for it???

Usually the heart of this question is, in truth “How much do YOU usually charge for it, so I can know more or less what’s the usual fee for this?”

This is, I think, the wrong approach. Artists have a wild range of fees even among their own works, and as such, mostly you’ll have a vague answer or something that’ll feel -usually- too high to the newbie.

So here’s a very simple method to figure out how much you have to charge. Ready? Here we go.

First, you have to take out the fixed cost. This means, how much money is the job costing YOU to take.   This is the easiest part, although it can be more or less subjective. For example, do you have to mail the finished product? How much is that going to be? Do you have to buy a special kind of paper? Markers and/or brushes? Do you need a special print job? Long-distance phone calls? And all that.

Once you have this fixed number, this is the minimum you have to charge. This is so you don’t actually LOSE money by taking a job (this happens a lot). Allow a few bucks over that basic fixed number, to take in account subtle things such as electricity, phone calls, or gas to gather the things you need. Certain added benefits of the job might be considered -things like promotion and prestige-, but never charge less than your fixed cost.

Now comes the most important part: time is money. If you’re going to dedicate the project a certain number of hours, and these hours can be spent making money in other project, make sure that THIS project pays more (or at least equal). Sometimes this is hard to quantify, so here’s a tip: estimate the number of hours the job is going to take (including preliminar work, research, and revisions) and figure out how much your time’s worth. Sometimes you will discover you were even willing to work *below* minimum wage, all things considered. *shudder*

Do you have a final number? Good. Now a last consideration. Let’s consider if YOU think it’s a fair price for both of you. Do you feel guilty? Reconsider. Do you feel they’d be ripping you off? Reconsider. Somewhere in the middle you’ll find a price that will make you say “I’d do this job, and be happy about it, for ______ bucks”.

There’s a lot of informal business going on online and it doesn’t always necessarily involve a contract. Make sure, however, that everything is clarified: payment, deadline, and when and how you’re expecting to be paid. Don’t be vague or timid: it’s a business transaction. Try to be specific too about the extent of the revisions, and insist in doing preliminars for approval. Otherwise you might be finding you doing and redoing something again and again and again.

Do NOT let someone tell you that since drawing is so much fun you should be doing it for free. Sorry, no. If it’s that much fun and it’s so easy, let them do it themselves! But don’t take a job where you feel you’re being underpaid, unless you absolutely need the money. You’ll feel dirty afterwards anyway, probably. If you’re going to charge less than you think you deserve, do it for FREE (but do it for the fun).

Other nifty uses for the default PW ad: merch, donation page, a particularly good storyline. Remember! The space you have in your page is pretty valuable. Some people even call it “real state”. PW ads often go to the default on weekends on many comics, so don’t waste it!