Business
(Byron’s note: Bear with me as this story from my childhood leads to a point for us comic creators) 1969. It was the summer of Woodstock and Man landing on the moon. It was the first time actors appeared nude on Broadway in a little musical called “Hair”. It was the Age of Aquarius and […]
Take your seats, class. If you followed directions and did your homework from our last session, you should have gathered all the specifications from your printer as well as set up all your comic files to be easily placed into an InDesign document. You may have even started a new document and set up your […]
Even if we refer to our comic as a “WEBcomic”, one of our typical goals as a cartoonist/creator is to eventually collect our comics in book-form, to sell and actually earn some profit from our endless hard work and strict deadlines. While we may have mastered Adobe Photoshop, and possibly even tinkered with Illustrator enough […]
During our many podcasts here at Webcomic Alliance, we often talk about the importance of cultivating a relationship between you and your audience or fan base. Well kids, for today’s article, I’m going to offer a unique suggestion that will help you do just that during this holiday season. Freelance illustrators and designers often talk […]
Zorphbert and Fred wasn’t a webcomic when I started it in 2006. Actually, I had no idea webcomics were a “thing”. I figured people may post them online if they, you know, wanted to give their stuff away for free. I had no clue anyone could effectively monetize their comic online, especially without the […]
It seems like webcartoonists are in a never-ending quest for more page-views – but is that an outdated goal? (More importantly – will it turn us into a fossil just by grasping it? At least it won’t melt our faces off…) To answer this question, I contacted Thom and Kambrea of Shadowbinders to share with […]
Last time, as you recall, I walked you through the steps of setting up an email opt-in program to help build up subscribers to your comic as well as building a database of users to negotiate with printers and conventions. In this second part, I’m going to go over the steps I have taken over […]
One of the many things we have to do, or should do, as independent comic creators is to manage our readers. From the start, we should be enticing our readers to get involved in our comic. One great way, which most of us do already, is through the comments section. You should interact with […]
Many of you may know that I am a graphic designer for a snack foods company, before I come home and do my “real” work. My company often exhibits at food-centric trade shows, much like we do at comic cons, promoting our brands and drawing interest in the corporate programs we offer to schools, hospitals, […]
A Roundtable Discussion of 3 Table-Mates 3 webcomic creators, squeezed into one table, at an indie book expo. Lets see what happens. That was pretty much our motto. Dawn, of Zorphbert & Fred — Sci-Fi! Chris of Capes and Babes — Supernatural! Krishna of PC Weenies — Nerdy Technology! DAWN: As I […]
For me, the Baltimore Comic Con has always been experienced in two different ways. The first eight years of the show’s existence, I experienced it as a fan. For the last five years, I have experienced it as an artist in Artist Alley. It is also the only convention that I have attended every single […]
Managing projects in life is not an easy task. Let’s say you have, like me, a day job, and do a comic outside work. A lot of people are like me, a lot more have also a family, kids, etc.. In the end, accumulating projects can become unmanageable and highly stressful. The result: lost of […]
Hey folks… a few weeks ago, Dawn “interviewed” me – actually, it was more like a conversation between friends that we just converted to a text format. Well, now it’s my turn to return the favor and give you all a glimpse into the wonderful world (quite literally) of Robin Dempsey, the other newest member […]
So, you’ve have this comic for a couple years now, and have managed to put out a book or two or three. Maybe you’ve done a couple locals conventions, or maybe even a few big ones. Maybe you’ve taken the plunge (reverse-pun intended) and decided to even fly to a few. Maybe, while going through […]
Dawn: It’s time to get to know one of our newest members a little bit better. Chris, I could easily ask you all the typical questions (how long have you been drawing? Did you read Calvin & Hobbes? What motivates you?) but lets make this more fun. We are, after all, complete human beings […]
What follows is an editorial opinion by me, the official Old Fart of the Webcomic Alliance. This opinion is not shared by my fellow Alliance members. I am stating this up front as my opinion is going to be used to drive home my point. Now that I’ve clarified this, let’s get to the point […]
If you’re a business-minded creator, you know it’s best to keep up with the latest news in our ever-growing field. The Webcomics business is still very much in it’s early stages, and while the technology-based media (like, say, PC Mag) will run articles on the latest-and-greatest webcomics out there, most of the country is still […]
The concerns are always the same – Google is updating their search algorithms and its becoming more and more difficult to ‘game’ the system. How are the honest producers of content expected to stay relevant and near the top of the rankings when there are others who are dedicated to experimenting and finding loopholes in […]
In the past, we’ve looked at a lot of different aspects of branding. After doing a lot of research recently, I dawned on me that I may have skipped over an important distinction – just what your brand is. Often, when I say brand, people tend to assume that I’m referring to their logo – […]
So, maybe you’ve been inspired by a few favorite comics out there, and are thinking about starting your own (web)comic. Naturally, you have some reservations and are asking yourself, “Am I talented enough? Can I keep up with updates? What if no one find my comic funny? How long before I make cute little […]