The question on the new Webcomics.com poll is simple: Do you think ad blockers have had a negative effect on your business?
Answer below.
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The results of the most recent Webcomics.com poll are in, and it seems that most of us are most worried about money, readers and time. Here are the breakdowns, and a few thoughts:
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Part of the new dashboard that Patreon has rolled out is the Exit Interview. When a patron discontinues his or her pledge, they are offered an exit interview. This gives them a chance to explain why they’re leaving.
I’ve found this to be the classic good news / bad news situation. Here’s why:
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Patreon has upgraded its service with a suite of analytics that, frankly, many of have been anxiously awaiting for a long time. Let’s give it a spin, shall we?
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They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. In switching from Photoshop to Manga Studio 5 EX, that first step (for me) was building a template. It took me all weekend, and I rage-quit the darned thing three times. But once I was past that, the rest of my transition was relatively smooth.
To that end, here’s a quick-and-easy guide to creating your own Manga Studio template.
You’re going to start with the document settings that you expect to work in regularly.
Width and Height. The physical size should be large enough to accommodate any printing plans you have. (For me, that’s big enough to fit a 13×4-inch strip with a little margin all around.)
Resolution. Be sure to make this hi-res (600 dpi or higher).
Basic Expression Color. Take note! Since I’m only doing pencils and inks at this stage, I have this set to Gray (as opposed to Color). That’s going to limit the load I’m placing on my processor. Manga Studio isn’t going to gear itself up to accommodate thousands of colors — merely variations of black and white (note, both the black and the white boxes are selected to the right of basic Expression Color). However, you’re still going to be able to use color — for example, if you like to pencil in blue. Stay tuned.
For my daily strip, I like to have certain elements built into my template. These are things that will appear in almost every strip. These are also layer elements that will play a part in my workflow every time. Adding them to a template saves me a lot of time. These elements include:
Since I worked for years in Photoshop, I had a similar template already built. And you can easily import Photoshop files into Manga Studio. That’s what I did. My Photoshop template was the template for my Manga Studio template.
This was not intuitive to me, so I’ll just make a quick note here. To move something around your canvas, you must use the Opertion tool. It’s the second from the top on the toolbar, and looks like an arrow pointing to a 3-D cube (for some inexplicable reason).
If you try to use the tool that looks like the cursor you’re used to using in Adobe products (the black arrow two places down from the Operations tool), you’ll move the entire layer!
Copyright, URL and e-mailThese should definitely be a part of your comic’s template. At the very least, they’re something to try to send traffic to your site if/when your comic gets swiped and or re-purposed.
This is as easy as clicking the Text tool, and creating lines of type.
It’s at the bottom of the tool bar, second from the bottom. But it’s grouped with the word-balloon tools. So, if you don’t see a capital “T” — but a word balloon or balloon tail, instead — just click the word-balloon element and then switch to Text in the Sub Tool menu (that’s the top of the column to to the right of the toolbar).
Fair warning for PS converts: Manga Studio doesn’t “do” text boxes. You’ll click the Text tool on the canvas where you want the text to appear and start typing.
Use the Tool Property menu to adjust the font, size, word space (kerning), line space (leading), justification and more.
Next up, since my comic is usually a four-panel comic, I’ll create a four equal frames. (Don’t worry, these frames are very flexible, you’re not locking yourself into anything.)
First, I click my Frame tool. It’s directly above the Text tool, but it’s grouped with the Ruler tools, and a couple specialty line tools. So, again, if you don’t see the Frames icon in the toolbar, click on the Ruler icon (or the Lines icon) and then switch to Frames in the Sub Tool menu.
Inside that Sub Tool menu, select Rectangle Frame, and in the Tool Property underneath, be sure the rectangle is selected. You can tweak the weight of the line by increasing or decreasing the Brush Size. The lines of the frames in the example to the right are 3 points (pretty thin). I would probably adjust those to be about 12-24 points.
Do not try to draw four equal frames. This way is far easier. Click and drag a rectangular frame across the entire area of your strip (or page).
Now you’re going to see a purple area around your frame (and when you zoom in, you’re going to see that the purple area intersects with your frame line.
Don’t panic.
That purple area is the mask that will keep all of the lines you draw inside the frame (unless you set it up to do otherwise). This mask is behind the line of the frame.
When I first saw that, I assumed it was in front of the 
line of the frame. And, if that was the case, was I going to have to make my frames 24 point if I actually wanted a 12-point line? Don’t make the same mistake. What that purple area is telling you is that when you draw a line that goes to the edge, it’s going to let that line go about halfway into the line before cutting it off. In other words, it’s going to “trap” the line. If it cut your drawn line off right at the border, you might end up with a thin line of white along the inside border of the frame. Get it?
Before we can make that into four equal panels, we have to set a gutter size. Go to Manga Studio -> Preferences and click Layer/Frame.
In this case, we’re going to set the Horizontal space to a gutter size we’re comfortable with. In the example above, it’s 8 mm. (Unfortunately, your only choices for units here are millimeters and pixels).
Now, go to Layer -> Ruler – Frame -> Divide Frame Equally.
You’ll get a dialog that looks like one on the right.
Note, I’m only making horizontal divisions (the vertical divisions box is not checked).
I’m dividing that large initial frame into four frames. And — in clicking the Duplicate Layer radio button — I’m creating a new Layer for each of the four frames.
If I were building a template for a graphic-novel page, I could easily create a grid by activating the Vertical Divisions and adjusting the number.
Now I have a four frames for my comic strip. And each of the frames has its own Layer.
When I’m drawing the illustration for the first frame, for example, I’ll click on the corresponding layer (you can see it highlighted in the Layers palette below) and draw my heart out.
I like to have a word balloon on my template, too. It has a block of text — set to my text specifications — and a word balloon. I have merged these two layers so they act as one, single layer, but the two units — the text and the balloon itself — are still separate entities that I can manipulate individually. And this is where Manga Studio’s handling of text is going to make you a believer. I can…
MOVE BALLOON AND THE TEXT AS A UNIT
If I select the balloon with the Operations tool and then click on the large rectangle that appears outside of the balloon, I can move both the text and the balloon as a unit.
SELECT THE TEXT AND MOVE IT INDEPENDENTLY
If I select the balloon with the Operations tool and then click on the text, a rectangle appears around the text. If I click this rectangle, I can move the text — but the balloon stays put.
SELECT THE BALLOON AND MOVE IT INDEPENDENTLY
If I click right on the line of the balloon with the Operations tool, I will see the balloon itself selected with dozens of little bezier handles. If I adjust that large rectangle around the balloon now, it’s only the balloon that moves.
AND BEST OF ALL…
I don’t have to pre-select the balloon layer! No matter which layer I’m working in, I can adjust a word balloon by clicking on it with my Operations tool.
Note: I keep my word balloons on a folder of layers above the folder of Frame layers. That’s because, in my strip, word balloons usually float in front of the frame lines. However, when I want a balloon to appear cropped inside a frame border, I simply click that balloon’s layer and drag the layer inside the Frame folder that it is supposed to appear in. But we’re going to talk more about folders of layers in an upcoming post.
Finally, I set up a Sketch layer. This is the layer that I’ll do my pencilling in.
I create a new layer, and then in the Layers Palette, I go to Layers Settings -> Set as Draft Layer.
And if you like pencilling in blue, you can do that despite the fact that you’ve set this file up in “gray” mode. Go to the Layer Property sub menu at the bottom of the Layers palette. It looks like this:
Click the Layer Color icon (at the top, right-hand corner, it’s the two overlapping squares). When you click on it, you’ll get a Layer color dialog. The palette now looks like this:
And now, anything you draw in this layer will be blue!
Don’t like blue? Click that arrow to the right of the blue bar, and you’ll be able to make it whichever color you’d prefer.
Why is that so cool? Because Draft Layers never appear in the final output. They don’t export (if you convert them to Photoshop files for coloring, for example). They only appear for you!
And since everything you draw in this layer is blue, you never again have to worry about inking in your sketch layer!
Whew. That was a lot of work. Luckily, you’re never going to have to do it again (until you want to tweak your template, of course).
Once you have everything positioned just the way you want it, go to Edit -> Register Layer as Template Material.
Technically, I’d like to see that adjusted to “Layers” because it’s going to include all of the layers.
Give your template a name (under Material name). And be sure to store it in the Framing templates folder (in that section on the far right). And hit save.
Next, open a new document. It should have saved the width, height and resolution that you input in the first step, but double-check just to make sure. But don’t hit OK yet.
Under Canvas, click Template. Scroll down. If you’ve done everything correctly, you should see you personalized template at the bottom of the list. Select it.
And now, to the far right of the Preset section, click on that icon that looks like an old-fashioned floppy disc.
Give your Preset a name.
You’ve officially created your Manga Studio template! The next time you start a new comic, launch Manga Studio and make sure your Preset is selected (it should be the new default). Once you hit OK, you’ve got everything just the way you want it — from the canvas size and resolution, right down to your frames, word balloon style, and sketch layer.
You can get it for free. Here’s how:
Sign in with your Google account and review your security settings. It’s simple as that. But do it today — this is a one-time offer.
Today is Internet Safety Day, and Google is using the storage space as an incentive to get you to spent the two minutes it’s going to take to keep you safer. Click this link, and then update /check your security settings. After you’re done, you will receive an automatic update on your free storage earnings.
NOTE: I just completed this. It took a couple minutes.
Via WordFence:
The following three plugins contain severe vulnerabilities that have all been fixed within the past 24 hours. Details of these vulnerabilities have been released to the public so they are likely already being exploited. If you use any of these plugins, upgrade immediately. Please share with the larger WordPress community.
I’ve been sharing my philosophy on longform comics for a while now. There have been a few consistent thoughts. The first is that I’ve always rejected the notion that longform comics somehow had a more difficult time attracting readers. Rather, I’ve argued, longform creators have been going about it all wrong. Take this piece from way back in 2010:
And as I heard the words come out of my mouth, it struck me: Maybe that’s the problem with some longform comics. They’re trying to do a comic book on the Web instead of doing a graphic-novel-based Web site.
In other words, maybe it’s time to stop thinking about putting pages up on your site, and rather think about it in terms of updates.
Today’s update might very well be a full page. But the next one might be three panels. And the update after that might be a page-and-a-half.
What’s important is how each of those updates end.
I’m going to argue that each of those updates should end on a plot point of the story. Telling a story is kinda like building a wall. You introduce the concept, brick by brick, then you start unfolding the plot — in the order that will best allow your readers to follow and enjoy the narrative. If you don’t establish a good foundation (or if you do it in the wrong order), the wall is going to fall down.
It always irks me to see a longform webcomic posted in “pages.” Pages are the individual units of a book. Updates are the units of a webcomic. So why use the units of one format in a completely different format?
When I switched Evil Inc over from a comic strip to a graphic novel at the beginning of the year, I had a chance to put that into action. Here’s what I found.
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I’m seeing this story from last year is making the rounds on Facebook. From an account of London’s MCM Expo:
Cosplay was not the centre of attention for once at the recent MCM Expo in London, when the copyright licensors of Tokyo Ghoul and Attack on Titan toured the dealers’ room in a carnival of garbage collection, rooting out and confiscating an estimated £20,000 worth of unlicensed merchandise. The unexpected entourage included reps from a Japanese company, the UK’s Anime Limited, a lawyer with a Powers of Attorney notice, and a trio of minions to cart away the swag. By the time the sweep was over, several dealers were shown the door with the full approval of MCM’s management, and the enforcers actually ran out of bin bags, leading to the delicious irony of a bootleg Tokyo Ghoul carry-all being commandeered to lug illegal Tokyo Ghoul merchandise
You can read the entire story here.
Take it with a grain of salt. I haven’t found a corroborating account anywhere yet. However, it’s a very useful illustration of something we’ve been discussing on this site for a long time now.
Here’s what you need to know.
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It’s the best daily briefing in webcomics. If you’ve ever been curious about subscribing to Webcomics.com, this post is for you.
Here’s a wrap-up that highlights some of the best posts from last month.
The BIG news is this: The complete archive of the Webcomics Weekly podcast has a new home — right here on Webcomics.com. You can now enjoy nearly ninety episodes featuring Scott Kurtz, Dave Kellett, Kris Straub and me… all in one easy-to-search archive!
Don’t Quit Those Marketing Ploys Just Yet: There was a piece going around Facebook last month:
…and it had some webcomics people clucking their tongues and insisting that it applies to us, too. In my opinion, they were giving bad advice, I explain why that is, and I share some tried-and-true marketing strategies to use instead.
The Crossbar-I: Wanna make a letterer cringe? Use the letter “i” incorrectly. We talk about the correct way to letter — straight from the pros. But more importantly, we get into the reason why it’s so darned important. [public post]
Ten Resolutions for a Better Webcomic: We all make resolutions this time of year. Sure, most of us forget about them by February, but it’s useful to set goals at a time like this. It helps to focus our attention on those areas that we know we need to work on. Here are ten resolutions I think you should consider if you’d like to do a better webcomic in 2016.
It’s January. Adjust Your Ad Rates: As I mentioned a few weeks ago, ad rates are plummeting in the opening weeks of January (as they usually do). One of the best ways of weathering this storm is to maximize the ad revenue you are generating. Here’s an easy step-by-step primer on doing just that.
Rethinking the Webcartoonist’s Secret Weapon — The Archive: Over the past several weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the future of webcomics. We’re in a period of significant upheaval, and rather than be frightened, I’m focusing on the opportunities that present themselves in such times.
Awards Roundup: Award season is upon us. Although I’ll be featuring a post with the details of each as it is announced, here’s a look at some of the awards you may want to start preparing for. For more information on any of these awards, feel free to use the Search function on this site to look up nomination/submission instructions from past years. They’re usually the same from year to year (except for the deadline dates, of course).
An Easy CSS Trick for Better Hyperlinks: Landing on a good hyperlink style is difficult. If you use the default style, you get a look that’s somewhat dated. On the other hand, if you stray too far from that, some readers might miss the links entirely! [public post]
Use this Patreon Header-Image Template: Patreon’s header image gets sliced and diced more than Wolverine’s keyboard. It gets re-sized depending on the monitor-resolution of the person visiting your Patreon page, and it gets cropped ruthlessly when you post a link to your page from Facebook or Twitter. But you can use this template to get great results across the board!
Hitch It / Ditch It Critique Series: In short: I go to participants’ sites and list something they could improve (and offer my thoughts on how they could do that), and then I talk about something they’re doing well.
Getting Great Preview Images in Twitter and Facebook: This plug-in has long been strongly endorsed by Webcomics.com. But a recent update has made it even more useful. Using its new social-media interface, you can fine-tune how your comic is presented when someone links to it on Twitter or Facebook.
The Kramden-ization of Comics: I’ve see it in my Twitter feed every day for what seems like months. It’s a solicitation for comics artists to enter a contest that’s being run by an organization that’s breathlessly touting FREE comics on the Web(!) And, right on cue, we have anxious cartoonists exalting this as the Next Big Thing. They’re frantically assembling their submissions and doubtlessly dreaming of the five-digit payday. [public post]
Your Mash-up T-shirt is Not Parody (And Even If It’s Free, It’s Still Wrong): It happens regularly. An artist is outraged because someone stole their design! And when I click over, I see the design in question is a mash-up between two licensed properties that this person couldn’t possibly have the rights to. In other words, they’re complaining that someone stole the design that they stole. And I always see the same justifications:
It’s Fair Use (or parody)!
and
I’m not making any money (or very little) off this!
Wrong, and wrong.
So let’s take a moment to understand Intellectual Property a little better.
Patreon’s Referral Program: It works like this: You refer creators to Patreon, and then both you and the creators get a bonus based on the number of patrons that the newcomers get in their first 30 days.
Shipping Rate Increase: Some creators were stunned(!) to see news about the USPS’s hike of shipping prices. Webcomics.com readers have known about it since November. Here are the details.
TPC.googlesyndication… Why Is That In My Web Stats?: What the heck is that? And why is it sending me so much traffic? The answer surprised me. Here’s what it means — and how to get rid of it!
Why I Love the UPS Store: I’ve been shipping books to Diamond Comics Distribution, and it’s a huge pain. (That’s not a reflection on Diamond, of course.) Shipping large quantities of anything to anywhere is expensive as heck these days. And for any shipment over 500 pounds, Diamond makes the request that the books are strapped to a pallet (pictured to the right). That’s a couple hours of work to do it correctly. [public post]
If you’re curious about joining, we’ve made it easier than ever with a $5 trial membership. You’ll get full access to the site for thirty days so you can see what you’ve been missing. At the end of the trial, you can choose to re-subscribe ($30 for 12 months of access) or walk away with no strings attached. You will not be re-billed unless you choose to subscribe.
Please note: The links below will lead you to content that is “subscription-only” content — unless it is listed as a public post. Why do I do this? Simple. If you see something that intrigues you and decide to subscribe, you can come back here and use this post to jump right to the post that caught your attention. And once you do that, use the other Best Of posts to drill even deeper into the site!
