Tutorial : Comic publishing on the web

Fysh

Note: This is the first of hopefully many tutorials that I hope to have grouped on the forum - if you have any comments or extra tips/suggestions, please post a reply.

So, you've got your comic ideas, you have one or more strips ready to go, and you've decided that web-based publishing is the way for you. You'll probably want to consider the following before going ahead.

Preparation:

Planning: Before you go any further, have a plan for how you're going to work on your comic going forward. If you want to attract a regular audience, a key factor is regularity and reliability. Figure out how long it will take you to prepare a new strip and decide on an update interval based on that. It's much easier to attract a readership if they see that you're consistent about updating on time. It's worth drawing up a few strips ahead of time so that you get an idea of how long an average page will take you to draw; this will also give you a buffer that you can fall back on if a particular strip takes longer than expected, or if circumstances conspire to prevent you from producing a new strip on time.

Image size & format: Assuming you've got your comics ready to go, you'll need to choose what size and image format you're going to use. To a certain extent this will be determined by your chosen page size, but you should create images at 72dpi for web publication - using higher dpi than this is pointless for on-screen presentation of comics and will just make your files larger. (While broadband is widely available, it is still a good idea to keep your comic files as small as reasonably possible, to reduce bandwidth usage and ensure your site will load as quickly as possible). You should also consider the relative merits of JPEG, GIF or PNG as file formats to use. JPEG is not particularly recommended as a format for line drawings, although it does offer good compression. GIF and PNG are both preferable alternatives, although it is worth noting that for colour work you may see significant differences between your original file and the final image. You should NEVER use BMP as a file format for web publishing, as it offers no compression and will result in far larger images than any of the previous file formats, without conferring any advantages.

Watermarking/copyright tagging: You should copyright-tag any comic work you are preparing for publication. If you are concerned that your images may be taken and re-used without duly recognising you as the creator, you can also watermark them.

Domain name/URL: This is not really important, but if you want to establish your comic's identity, you should consider buying a personalised URL. You can get URLs cheaply from the likes of GoDaddy for as little as €8-€15 per year. Bear in mind that if you want a .ie you will need to be a registered business and be able to prove that you have a legitimate claim to your desired domain name. When combined with the far higher prices charged for .ie domains, this makes the whole idea far more trouble than it's worth, so you may as well go with the more easily-recognised .com option.

Legal issues: Depending on your content, there may be legal issues associated with your comics. For example, if your comic contains graphic violence, nudity, or sexual content, your front page should display a warning stating this and advising people of the nature of your "mature" content. More importantly, depending on the hosting provider you use, there may be more specific legal requirements based on the geographical location of the server. Your hosting provider should advise of this when you create an account with them, but if you are unsure of anything it is worth contacting them first. For those comics with nudity or sexual content, it is worth advising your readers that they should ensure their local laws permit them to view such material - for example, there is currently some dispute in the UK over the exact requirements of a new law banning extreme and violent pornograpy.


Publication:

Once you are ready to publish, there are essentially three avenues of web publishing available to you. The choice between them is chiefly down to how much time and effort you wish to put into setting up your site.

Simple:

If you just want to get your comic up and running and you're not too concerned about the greater design aspects of the website itself, this may be the way for you. You can sign up for a free blog on any number of sites, including blogspot.com, livejournal.com, blogger.com and plenty more. You can also sign up for free image hosting with the likes of PhotoBucket, ImageShack, Flickr, and many more. Then you just upload your comic image to the image host, copy the link for embedding that image, and paste it in an image tag as part of an update on your blog. If you want to have a news post or rant to go with the comic, you just type it under the image tag.

Now, bear in mind that while this is about as simple as web-publishing can get, it has its limitations. Most blog sites order your posts from the most recent , so readers wanting to start at the beginning will find the layout awkward. It is also unusual for blogs to allow you set your page to show one entry at a time, which would be the preferable option when reading comics. The layout and arrangement of the page itself is limited on free blogs and may prevent you from implementing a theme that you're happy with, and last but not least you'll have ads dotted around the page which may or may not be distracting or annoying to your readers.

Intermediate:

If you're looking for something a bit more tailored to comics, but don't want the hassle/expense of setting up and maintaining a whole site of your own, there are options. Sites like ComicGenesis, DrunkDuck, WebcomicsNation and ComicDish offer free hosting tailored to webcomics. They tend to offer you more freedom in terms of customising your page, although you will still be required to have certain adverts and text on your page. If you are planning on running your comic long-term but don't want to commit to buying webspace just yet, this is probably your best option. It is worth noting that requests for new accounts from the likes of ComicGenesis can take up to six weeks to be processed - time that you can and should use to produce strips in preparation of your comic's launch.

Advanced:

If you've been doing comics for a while and have a strong sense of what you want, it may be best to buy your own domain name and hosting. This will involve a lot more work and money, but if you put the work in you will get a site that presents your comic exactly as you want it. If you want you can keep it minimalist and use static HTML for your pages, but you have much better tools available with most hosting packages so you might as well at least consider pushing the boat out. A good Content Management System is core to any website that regularly accumulates content, and there are lots of options in this area. If you're either proficient in web design or have access to someone who's willing to lend you their expertise, you can put one together from scratch using tools like MySQL and PHP; you can use an existing option like the open-source Joomla! (based on MySQL and PHP); you can use existing tools like CUSP (Comic Update Script for PHP), or if your hosting provides access to WordPress you can install the Wordpress plugin ComicPress, which adapts the Wordpress engine for comic publishing.

The main thing is that since there's a lot of freedom provided here, there is a lot of scope for breaking things. Deciding on a design that works is not a simple task, and neither is implementing it. If you want a complex site, you'll need to know what you're doing or get someone else who knows what they're doing to do it for you. The rule of thumb, as above, is to keep it simple any time you're in doubt.

A few thoughts on design:

This is relevant no matter what option you choose. There are a lot of specifics involved in site design which are probably beyond this column and better left to the realm of web design/graphic design. However, some general considerations are worth noting, including:

• Front page design - do you want to have your comics directly on the front page, or do you need a warning beforehand?
• Header/banner - do you want to have a large distinctive banner? If so, will your desired banner distract from the comics below it?
• Minimum required screen size - sure, you've got a fancy 19" monitor, but what about your readers? What about those folks using old computers with 15" monitors on 1024*768 screen resolution? Will they be stuck scrolling on every page to get past your header to the comic itself?
• Browser compatibility - generally only an issue if you're using more advanced options like CSS layouts, but worth noting: does your site render the same in every browser? Have you/can you test it on other operating systems? Is it worth including a "simple" version of the site for those who cannot view the full version properly?

Post-Publication

So you've got your site live, you have one or more comics uploaded, and you want to start spreading the word. Here are a few tips on how you can go about it.

Linkwhoring: A very common practice, this involves sticking a link to your site in as many places as you can. Put it in your forum signature; if it's relevant to a discussion post it up; include it in any online profiles you have which allow you to specify your homepage. One of the factors used to decide a page's popularity in search engines is the number of links pointing to that page - so do your part to help bump that number up. Link exchanges with sites you like or whose audience may appreciate your work are another good idea. Bear in mind that linkwhoring can quickly become linkspamming if you get carried away, and the latter activity can easily get you banned and annoy people who might have been sympathetic to you into instead ignoring your comic.

Paid advertising: A greater commitment but with better returns, you can take out paid adverts with individual sites or with advertising networks. Project Wonderful is an advertising network tailored to webcomics, and is worth considering. You could even take out adverts in traditional print media, although the costs will be much steeper here.

Anthology contributions: This may seem odd, but if you have the opportunity, contribute to anthology comics. It doesn't matter how long or short your contribution is, you'll be credited with it if it's used, and should be include your comic's address in your bio. Obviously anthologies are more common in print, but there are online magazines like the New Porker or endeavours like the Comic Challenge which you can submit work to.

Guest pages: If a comic you read regularly announces that they need guest pages, draw something and send it in. Hell, even if they haven't mentioned it - if you can produce something that might be of use to the comic's author, send it to them anyway. If they can't use it as a strip, they may use it as fan art. In the absolute worst case scenario, they ignore it and you can still use it on your own site if you put an "Other art/fan art" type section.

Promotional/merchandise items: Anything from tiny badges to t-shirts bearing particularly elegant, witty, beautiful or eye-catching items of your work, preferably also carrying a notable link to your comic. If you're starting out, keep it simple - you shouldn't be looking at physical promotional items until your comic is in some way established. For want of a better metric, let's set the bar at "six months of on-time updates at least once a week". (This is the bar Keenspot use as a minimum entry condition for comics wanting to be Keenspotted, in case you're wondering). At this stage, you'll have either a defined set of characters or a defined "spirit" to your strip if it's not based on recurring characters. You can start considering things like business cards, flyers, badges, collections of strips (either small zine-style ones or more lavish "proper" collections), and beyond that things like t-shirts and more expensive (ie lucrative) merchandise. If you really want to go down the merchandise route, you should combine this approach with the next option.

Convention appearances: Find out about any conventions nearby that are small-press friendly. While lots of cons have small press sections, some are more devoted to pushing small press creators than others. Getting a table at a small press con is the first part, the next part is considerably more gruelling - spending 8 or 9 hours sitting or standing behind that table, trying to attract the attention of con-goers and more particularly, trying to get them to buy your stuff. It's a good idea to have freebie flyers, samplers, and perhaps little things like sweets at your table to get people over initially. If they can easily see what you're selling, it will be easier to start talking to them and hopefully convince them to try your things. If you feel up to it, you can offer to do sketches for people. The rule of thumb is to be imaginative - if you can come up with things that people will want to look at, you'll get a good response.


Disclaimer: This is by no means an absolute or definitive guide to publishing comics on the web, but it does cover most if not all the important items. It's worth looking at established webcomics out there to see what you like and dislike about their designs and schedules, as this will help you figure out what best suits you.

ztoical

Fysh wrote: »

Convention appearances: Find out about any conventions nearby that are small-press friendly. While lots of cons have small press sections, some are more devoted to pushing small press creators than others. Getting a table at a small press con is the first part, the next part is considerably more gruelling - spending 8 or 9 hours sitting or standing behind that table, trying to attract the attention of con-goers and more particularly, trying to get them to buy your stuff. It's a good idea to have freebie flyers, samplers, and perhaps little things like sweets at your table to get people over initially. If they can easily see what you're selling, it will be easier to start talking to them and hopefully convince them to try your things. If you feel up to it, you can offer to do sketches for people. The rule of thumb is to be imaginative - if you can come up with things that people will want to look at, you'll get a good response.

Just wanted to add if your going to conventions to promote a webcomic a few people got into the habbit of selling CDs with their webcomic on it - please don't do this if you've got to point were your going to cons to sell your comic either have a print version or have merch relating to the comic and a flyer with the url on it. CD's are for portfolios when going for jobs not for selling at cons. I've a massive stack of these CD amassed from a few cons and I've yet to look at a single one. If I'm going to look at a comic on my computer I'll just go to the website and look at it.

Fysh

There are also plenty of webcomic directories like Comixpedia, WebComicsNation, etc where you can create an entry for your comic to promote it and raise its visibility. You can also use voting pages like BuzzComix to raise your profile.

Fysh

I've mentioned this in the main resources thread, but it's very relevant here - How To Make Webcomics, published through Image and written by four guys who make a living from free webcomics, is something you should definitely take a look at if you've decided that web publishing is the way for you. This book assumes you know how to draw, and goes instead through all the subjects that you should consider if you're going to try and produce a regular comic and publish it online.

Overheal

just wanted to add deviantart to the list of webcomic hosting potential sites. DA gets better all the time, its like myspace for artists really. Its easy to sort your work into folders within your gallery and sort them so its not a difficult thing to set up. Off-shot comic competitions happen there all the time in Original Character battles for instance. I'd throw it in as one of the better choices in the Simple category, especially if you want to showcase your portfolio as well.