Speaking Engagements

Interested in having the four Halfpixel cartoonists talk at your university, convention, or art department about making an independent career on the web?

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Thursday
02Jul

Learning the Webcomic Medium

As I learned what type of tools were required for the production of my webcomic, I also spent time schooling myself on the webcomic/cartooning medium itself. Here are some tips I discovered along the way that will help you better prepare for transitioning into this brave new world.

1.Give yourself time to research the medium

I spent about five months hunting and gathering relevant information through various resources. During this time, I explored numerous established webcomics, graphic novels, cartoons, artists, and forum discussions to further my knowledge. There was a lot of Googling, copy/pasting, as well as photocopying of information which I keep in hard copy within a big blue binder. It was an overwhelming but fun phase for me. Lots of exploration, learning, and excitement. I would advise people to take the time to really explore the pros and cons of producing a web comic but have a blast with it!

2.Engage in self teaching

Be prepared to be self reliant in seeking answers to solutions. My self teaching involved learning about aspects such as appropriate tools, blogging software, SEO concepts, web comic business models, character design, composition, and inking techniques. Insight was often gleaned from numerous articles, comments, and forum discussions I extracted from long drawn outGooglesearches.

3. Use the Net

With the Internet, knowledge is at your fingertips. Obscure and specific information can be accessed very quickly with search engines such as Google. Google is my best friend because with it, I am able to access an unlimited amount of ideas and imagery that can positively influence what I produce.

4. Use the library

The public library is a very cost effective way of exposing yourself to printed works of great artists. The library has really allowed me to explore artists I would never have normally thought of consuming because of financial restrictions or personal biases. One such example would be my discovery of "Frank" by Jim Woodring. I initially passed it off based on the character design of Frank which I do not find particularly appealing and also due to it’s odd visual language. But because I could just borrow it without any sort of financial commitment. Now I have come to really appreciate the strange narratives and the alternative ways of thinking/seeing Jim Woodring has to offer.

5. Invest in Books

If you can spare the money, invest in books that you feel can further your web comic. By that, i mean if you feel a book has aspects of writing, artwork, or concepts that can really serve as a jump off for you as an artist, then buy it so you have that reference to vibe with.

6. Consume cartoons, graphic novels, comic books

Read, read, read as much as you can. I absorbed whatever I could get my hands on. Nerd out in the biggest fashion here because it is enjoyable and educational.Visit your local comic book store regularly to check out new stuff or classic works. Max out your borrowing limit at the library.

7. Attain samples of interesting work and critique them

I photocopied artwork from books I borrowed from the library to keep as reference material in my sketchbook and binder. As I compiled work from different artists, I would record my own critiques on each sample. Just short brief blurbs on what worked and what I felt could be improved on. I would maintain an awareness of what I liked or disliked in terms of writing, sequencing, pacing, and artwork. By doing this I was actually studying the underpinnings of what makes the work valuable. After a while, I could see reoccurring patterns of what I liked and disliked. With this knowledge, I could modify my work accordingly to produce something I could be happy with.

-- Submitted by Jeffrey Cheng

Wednesday
01Jul

Welcome to the New Webcomics.com!

After a brief hiatus, we're back and better than ever. You'll find the first official post, the July To-Do List,  beneath this one. But first, a few things.

  • Big thanks to Penny Arcade's Joshua Price, who was instrumental in getting the new domain up and running. Thanks, too, go to PA's Robert Khoo, for the use of the URL and a phenomenal amount of support.
  • Thanks to Squarespace for their awesome service. For those of you who are looking for a simple Web-publishing solution, I urge you to check them out. They get webcomics.
  • And a special thank-you to Kris Black, who is the mastermind of the site redesign. Kris knows how to make the Squaresoft tech sing, and he's a tremendous Web designer. That "wow" factor you got when you saw the new site? All Kris. And he's a cartoonist, too. So he's one of us.
  • The forum is back! When you go to check it out, be sure to look for the special forum-only search engine in the right-hand column. This is going to be indispensible in finding older topics.
  • The Submit an Article section works again. Feel free to send along any articles for possible use.
  • The book around which this site was built, "How To Make Webcomics," has been nominated for a Harvey Award. Winners will be announced at the Baltimore Comic Con. Come on out, it's gonna be an awesome weekend!
  • Last but not least, we were down for almost a week while we were getting the site moved over and working out bugs. Please help me spread the word that Webcomics.com is back and better than ever!
Wednesday
01Jul

July To-Do List

It's July. Comic Con International is in three weeks. If you're going, it's time to triple check your prep, start getting ready to travel and brace yourself for the upcoming hurricane of comicky goodness.

Comic Con Checklist

  • Get your books for Comic Con. It's too late for Media Mail, so if you haven't done this by now, you're gonna take it on the chin in terms of shipping costs. Remember to include Delivery Confirmation.
  • Call the hotel and double-check your reservation. If you've shipped books to the hotel, call and confirm that they have arrived.
  • Promote your appearance from your site -- include mentions of any special merchandise you'll be bringing.
  • Start saving change for your cash box. Remember Robert Khoo's rule of thumb: Bring 5% of your expected earnings in Ones and Fives.
  • Double check your travel checklist.
  • Review your airline's baggage restrictions. Find a bathroom scale to weigh bags so you don't get any surprise surcharges for "heavy" luggage.
  • Stock your con toolkit.

Non-Comic-Con To-Do List

  • First Saturday of the month is Ignored E-mail Amnesty Day. Answer that month-old e-mail without guilt.
  • Update your site. Do you still have a link to your MySpace page? Time to point that to Facebook or Twitter instead.
  • Are you Twittering? Register with www.bit.ly to condense URLs so they're postable. The advantage? Bit.ly tracks how many people click on the condensed URL.
  • We're running into a couple big holidays -- Fourth-of-July weekend and Comic Con week -- this would be an excellent time to really pump up that buffer.
  • Back up that hard drive. Move old files to DVDs/CDs, external drives and/or off-site storage sites like Dropbox.
  • Review your ads (Project Wonderful, Google AdSense, etc.). Are you making more money than you'd make by selling one or two extra books every month? If the answer is no, perhaps you'd be better off advertising your own merchandising instead. That space is valuable. If your ads don't know it, you should.
  • Make it a goal to post three significant posts in your comic's blog every week this month. See you your readers respond.
Monday
22Jun

Anyone got WordPress / ComicPress advice?

From the mailbag...

Can you provide any illumination on designing a site using WordPress and ComicPress? I hate to admit it, but my Web design skills are about 10 years out of date, and the sheer vastness of the ComicPress forums makes finding the help you need a daunting task. Is there any way that one could use Dreamweaver in design mode (not Code mode, please) to design a site using what seems to be a versatile CMS?

So... howabout it? Anybody have time to do a step-by-step guide for a quick-and-easy webcomics site using Comics Press for Word Press? It's way beyond my expertise. If you can help, please send your tutorial to me.

Thursday
18Jun

Wizard World Philadelphia

Wizard World Philly is this weekend! I'll be exhibiting in Artist's Alley, and I'll have copies of the new Phables book and, possibly, copies of the new, full-color Evil Inc Annual Report Vol. 4. If you're interested in buying a specific piece of original art, get in touch, and I'll try to have it on hand. Wizard World Philly is at the Pennsylvania Convention Center all weekend.