Webcomics AS Product

One of the things I remember about my dad was he NEVER EVER went back to a company that sold him a lemon. Not only that he would tell everyone he knew WITH MILITANT FERVOR. Every chance he got. You know the saying about business, if you treat a customer right they will tell 3 people, if you do them wrong they will tell six, well my Dad took it to whole new levels. I think he alone put a car company or two out of business ( ALright maybe I made that up ). On the other hand, he ALWAYS went back to the company that sold him a good product, year after year after year. I am sure you all know a person like this if you aren't like that yourself.

No what matter business you are trying to create, the one thing I think it boils down to is the product. In my case it is a comicbook story. The comic product is comprised of two things, 'word' and 'picture' that add into one*, 'experience'. So unless you are selling a necessity ( water, food, shelter ) that's exactly what you are selling ( and even those are sold as experience ). The product ( experience ) must be completely considered. It needs to be well thought out, including plot, art style, colors, dialogue. If you want people to part with their well earned money to support what you produce you have to consider every little thing ... I mean I am talking every little prop that shows in the background**. Do everything you can to enrich the story. Think about it would you part with your money for ok stuff, good stuff or great stuff? In my opinion, to have the best chance for success the product must be of the highest quality.

* Check out Scott McCloud's book 'Understanding Comics", I have read it 6 times already, I highly recommend it!

** Props are usually very carefully considered for movies, a good example is 'Citizen Kane'

Lastly, I want to note that I have started a second blog called Fish Story. It just seemed more appropriate to separate the art & story & personal notes from the business end here at this SoulCanon blog so I created a behind the scenes blog. Besides some subscribers might like the content separated into two discernible feeds. I would also like to note that this blog will go to a 3x a week posting schedule ( M, W, F )

Later gator!

Webcomics Marketing Strategies : Tutorials

Tutorials
Part of a 13 part series: Exploring Webcomics Marketing Strategies

I explored something about tutorials earlier but I thought I would expand on this subject even further in this post. Tutorials are like articles but for 'noobs' ( inexperienced people ) who want to learn how to do something. Personally, I use the web for every kind of research I can think of (I use tutorials all the time). Its what makes the web so powerful, information, you can learn how to do just about anything. The great thing about tutorials for your webcomic website or even regular comics website is three-fold.

• It builds a certain intimacy and trust between you and your patron ( getting to see the 'magic' lets your patrons relate to you )
• Really good ones can be viral in that people will posts links to it
• There are quite a few tutorial sites that allow you to add your tutorial to their listings*
  

Tutorials will get you search hits on it for a long time to come since there an unending number of 'noobs'. Tutorial sites can get you hits from people who like art and might be interested in your comic. Tutorials can give you a nice lasting presence.

Just about anything is fair game for tutorials. Check out PolyKarbon it is a good example of how tutorials can help your webcomic. Another might be BlamBot, they have some tutorials on things related to comic lettering.

Lastly, just a tip, the better and the clearer the tutorial, the more mileage you will get out of it ;)

*Here are some good tutorial websites to submit to...
Good-Tutorials.com
TutorialGuide.net

Webcomics and Website Integrity

I saw a little news post on Comixpedia. There seems to be a dispute about the results of a sketchbattle. Now, I'm sure there all all sorts of arguments about how who does or who does not want popularity. The real issue is the integrity of the website and the polls at sketchbattle.

This is why it actually blows me away that the admin for sketchbattle admits to changing the results. He 'says' he added them back in. But how do we really know this? I mean, now that he has changed them in any way, how can you trust the votes now that he has done something like that? Now the site seems like nothing but a spam magnet to me. It was interesting idea but who knows if any vote counts?

This is where I rope it into webcomics. It sooooo important that to your patrons feel you are reputable. If they for any reason think you cannot be trusted, do you think that any items sold in your store will get sold? Or that you are really the one doing your comic? Or, if they would even provide you with their email for the forum? I sure as hell won't be submitting any of my information to them.

Webcomics Marketing Strategies : Giveaways

Free Giveaways
Part of a 13 part series: Exploring Webcomics Marketing Strategies

Free giveaways have been a staple of the internet business model since its inception ( Free email addresses, free searches, free etc etc ). This has been no different for webcomics. Webcomics have been giving away the work on their front page for years and its been successful, people like comics and well, they're free. The 'If you build it they will come' business model has worked very well in a few certain ways. However, since then a 'tsunami' of webcomics has flooded the market. Attention is a much more difficult to achieve. One of the ways to get more attention is free givaways. This may seem silly, in light of all that has been given by the big websites, however it can work very well with a little imagination. You just have to be creative and innovative...

Here are a couple of sites that gave me a spark:

• How Free Giveaways Can Boost Your Small Business Revenues
• Giveaways to Win Them Over

Webcomics Marketing Strategies : Articles

Writing Articles
Part of a 13 part series: Exploring Webcomics Marketing Strategies

Out of all of the research I did on this topic, I found that it was seen as a great way to promote your website. All you do is write an article on a subject of interest and make it available for anyone to post to their website or link to the article. It can even be viral since a lot of websites are hungry for free content. However, the caveat to writing articles is that it requires a position of authority on the topic being discussed. The only real way I can think of that this would be useful to a webcomic is if you have an area of experise that relates to webcomics. My area of expertise that relates to webcomics is probably photoshop. I have been using photoshop for 12 years now. I have been designing, painting and optimizing the whole time and I have a BFA in Illustration. Plus, its my job. I use it almost everyday as a multimedia designer. I believe it makes me somewhat of an expert on the subject. So I think that I will create articles/tutorials on using photoshop to make webcomics.

Here is a bunch of tips on writing articles to promote your website...

• Great 'how-to write articles' article
• Using Articles to promote your website
• Writing Articles May Be Better Than Hiring SEO Firms
  

Webcomic Tips for Making Money

DJ Coffman has started a blog on webcomics. His is a bit different than mine. My blog is a journal about trying to create a webcomic business while he is an established creator and 'money maker' sharing tips. He's doing it to help others who want to create a business out of webcomics ( at least a part time one ). Annnnnnd he's book marked annnnnnd now he's o'me feeds. Pretty friggin' cool!

You can also visit his webcomic here.

Webcomics Marketing Strategies : Newsletters

Newsletters and Magazines
Part of a 13 part series: Exploring Webcomics Marketing Strategies

I believe one of the things that makes the most successful webcomics is that they are aimed at a niche. Penny-Arcade, CTRL-ALT-DEL and PVP are all aimed at a specific niche, video games. The advantage to aiming at a niche is the availability of niche media. Video magazines are great places for media exposure. I believe if I want to give my webcomic the best chance for success I have to have a niche. My webcomic is a scifi/fantasy story so it would seem the niche would be scifi/fantasy. However, there is a problem with this. There aren't anywhere near that number of scifi magazines that video games cultivate. This presented a problem. After some research I found there was a lot of scifi newsletters/magazines and hobby/fantasy magazines. My research also revealed that the advertising in newsletters and small magazines is cheap and they tend to hungry for free news and stories. A ha, there's my niche ( better than I thought )!

(Added 10:26am)
Ah, it did not occur to me until now, e-Zines and email newsletters. There is a ton out there emailed to people who are actually interested in the scifi niche. A lot of them have been around for years and years. Hmmm...

Webcomics Marketing Strategies : SEO

SEO or "Search Engine Optimization"
Part of a 13 part series: Exploring Webcomics Marketing Strategies

During my research exploring webcomics marketing strategies I discovered a lot can be found on search engine optimization. This makes sense since there are billions of pages competing for users. SEOs or 'Search Engine Optimizers" are businesses that offer better page ranking using a variety of techniques:

• Computer aided submission to 1000's of search engines
• Extra sites used to forward the user to your domain
• fooling the search engines

However, as you can see most of it is just spam and businesses that blow smoke. They really just take your money or get you banned from search engines or even both. Be careful what you do.

The good thing is my research got me a lot of good resources for good SEO I can share...

1. Pandia: Get your SEO Basic training here
2. Wiki: They have an article for more basics
3. Search Engine Optimization --- An Overview
4. Google's advice on SEO
   
5. Linkage!: SearchGuild.com has a huge listing of great SEO advice including...
• 11 Deadly Sins Of Search Engine Optimization
• Ten Steps To A Well Optimized Website - Step 7: Website Submissions
• Working with the robots.txt file
• The 10 steps to get into the SEO '“Hall of Shame'

Lastly, here is one of the major search results that got me all the info...

Webcomic : World Design : Nirvana 4

Nirvana Final!

Here is the final version of the sky city 'Nirvana' (from my webcomic) that I started posting back back in this post. I gotta say I'm happy with it. Not so much for its "beauty" but what I got out of it. I think one of the reasons is a tip I found reading the game guide Myst Uru Complete Chronicles a year or so ago. The guide included a behind the scenes section in the end which included an interview with the head artist for UbiSoft's Myst series ( At least that's what I remember ). In the interview he said something that didn't catch my attention at first. "...you look at all the structures, and they're very simple, structural, geometrical. You're talking about very pure and direct shapes, like squares and circles that are powerful in terms of civilization" My interpretation is that simple shapes are easily recognizable and therefore easily assessed by the reader on an emotional/subconscious level. Therefore they are iconic. Now at first, as most people do when we receive advice, listen on only the most superficial level.

A few weeks ago, when I started the drawing of "Nirvana", I imagined a giant city with hundreds of buildings on a platform. So, my first few attempts at the city were similar to the Scifi channel's Stargate: Atlantis. However, it never seemed right. It just didn't touch me on a emotional level. Then a week ago, I was brainstorming and I saw the book in the corner of the room and that's when it hit me. The shape of the building needs to be simple. Not complicated with pipes and tons of details. Details only engage the conscious, technical mind as it explores how all the details come together. Simple shapes ARE better because it reaches the part of the human story tellers/artists are trying to appeal to the subconscious emotional level.

Please make comments, I would love to hear any opinions on the digital painting!

Webcomics Marketing Strategies : Media Relations

Part of a 13 part series: Exploring Webcomics Marketing Strategies

What my research got me...
I went out to research media relations for webcomics. I found almost nothing on the web. Which is kind of surprising considering the number of webcomics out there. On the other hand, its not so surprising since it is a medium that is still trying to figure itself out. Never mind pitching its newsworthiness to non-webcomics focused news sites. So, I went on a more general search, media relations to see what I could find. After sifting through a lot of websites covering the big business or product/store/service related small business I found a couple of good articles that can be applied to webcomics. One asks, Can Media Coverage Build An Online Business?. I also found a very good article that reviews how to foster connections we make with the media. I'll talk about the concepts I took away from these articles...

1. Media Coverage is free advertising
   
2. Media Coverage makes you and your online business real
   
3. Media coverage is important for a online start-ups
4. Foster relationships with reporters
5. Just say yes to any interviews requested
   
6. Create a database of media contacts
   

Expanding on those...
Media Coverage is free: How you gonna beat that?

Media Coverage make you and your online business real: What is meant by 'real' is it makes your business 'real' to your potential patronage. Media coverage validates your online business in a positive way.

Media Coverage is important for online start-ups: Try finding a new site on a search engine with generic key words. Try searching on webcomic, do you see your webcomic on the first page or page #2,360,000 ( the results count )?

Fostering relationships with reporters. One of the things I remember most about my research is something I never thought about but makes perfect sense. Most of the news-tips reporters get is from the people they know. It's no different than the business world. To me, it seems especially important in a community like the webcomics.

Just say yes to interviews: Why would you say no? Its free advertising!

Create a Database of Media Contacts: It's just good business, it makes press releases easier, and helps you keep tabs on your media relationships

Next: SEO or Search Engine Optimization

Webcomics Marketing Strategies

I was doing some exploring in the Comixpedia forums the other day and found a thread on 'Advertising Frontiers'. It discussed trying to market to fresh audiences. This sparked a thread in my own mind. How do I plan to market this blog and eventually my webcomic? I decided I needed a plan, so off I went, searching the web for ways to promote my blog and strategies for the webcomic-to-be. I did a fair amount of research and found some great stuff ( I also found lots of crap! ). In the coming weeks I plan to detail what I found in a series of blog posts called "Addressing Webcomic Marketing Strategies". Each post will explore in detail the research results and how I plan to address them. The posts will follow this format I found on seo-writer.net ( a freelance marketing resource site )...

• Media relations, including news releases and canned stories.
• Search engine optimization
• Writing articles for online and/or offline distribution
• Newsletters
• Free giveaways, including e-books or custom software
• Online classes ( tutorials )
  
• Affiliate programs
• RSS feeds (online syndication)
• Blogs
• Paid advertising or PPC placement (pay-per-click ads in search engines and elsewhere)
• A testimonials strategy
• Free samples
• Classified ads (offline).
• Business cards
• Pamphlets
• Discussion forums

Next: First on the series docket, Media Relations

Webcomic : World Design : Nirvana Stage3

At this stage I have added all the building below, developed all the major forms, and added a few minor details...

Buildings below the towers...
I finished the blocking out the shapes of the buildings below the towers... even at this 'block' stage they took a lot of time. I am willing to spend it though. The detail in there will be a key to making the towers look as massive as I see them in my head. If I don't the towers will seem like toys in a puddle. My next post of 'Nirvana' will show the finished ( or near finished ) version. If you think you might like it enough that you would buy a print, shoot me an email

I love digital painting...
Yeehaws, I now officially love the smudge tool. It acts like a finger smudging an oil painting only with the access to 'Undo'. Plus, no messy paints on the digits!

I have used smudge before. It didn't seem THAT useful, however, when I used it on the clouds, it really added a beautiful vapory feel to the clouds! Clouds usually takes a lot of time for me to render by hand and look good. Hats off the smudge tool, my new reason to love digital painting ;)

A little tip....

Digital Painting Tip
As a little addition to the last post, I thought I would post a little digital painting tip... Making really loooooong straight lines with a wacom tablet is really hard. In photoshop use the pen tool or the selection lasso ( set for straight lines ) to create a silouette of the entire building using the shading/modeling color, then block out the highlite color ( In the digital painting below, I used the lasso, set for straight lines and a gradient ). This will not only give you nice straight lines. It is also waaaaaaay quicker ;)

Webcomic : World Design : Nirvana (Pt.2)

I can be a bit of a bore...
As an artist I try to take every opportunity to look at other creator's creation process. My fiancee, Melinda, can't stand to sit around after the movie as I dissect the 'Extras' sections of DVD's or rant for hours about how I found a new process that will expand my skills as an artist. I can be, to people who don't do what I do, a big bore, even the to the ones that love me. I can be quite the incessant. But that's the good thing about this blog, you can shut me off anytime you want ;) Now onto my little process rant...

A couple of years ago, I saw a disney movie, I think it was called, 'Treasure Planet'. As I remember, in the extras sections ( It may have been paintings in the credits ) , there were a bunch of behind the scenes paintings. Some showed paintings that depicted scenes that were actually in the movie and others that never were. At first, it seemed strange that some of the painted scenes did not fit into the movie's plot. My first guess was that these were 'cut', however, it then occurred to me, maybe they were never meant to be in the movie. Maybe, the paintings were purely created to get a feel for the look of the story. Experimental in nature. They just developed a clear idea of how the story will feel and look. Kind of like a writer's synopsis. I have found that this process helps me a LOT. Story and design ideas just flow from my head when I do this sort of stuff versus trying to pull it out of thin air. This digital painting, is my experiment with the The Order's sky city 'Nirvana'.

More about 'The Order'
The people of The Order believe in 'control'. Their society prides itself on being able to use technology to control their world, or to give it 'order'. This includes everything from their daily lives their genetic make-up. The weather however, is a topic of contention and not something they like to discuss ( seriously ), since it is one of those things they cannot control ( oh the irony ).

Artistic Comments
This is the second stage of this digital painting. My goal was to block out base shapes, colors and gradations ( if you notice, the clouds are just gray blobs ). In the next stage, I will finish out the ruins below the towers. I think a moon in the background might be in order but I think it will be very small. This should help depict the sheer size of these towers.

The webcomics studio...

What my studio looks like...


I share it with my fiancee, in our bedroom/workout room/office. Not very 'condusive'. That's my G5 Mac ( very cool ), my 5x7 wacom ( I love the wacom ), me dog, Jake ( Or as we like to call him, 'The Jakester") and the printer ( yes on the ground... no room!). I hope to improve the studio situation in January when I will have my very own office to work in!

Still, this would be a lot better...



Anyone of you millionares reading this webcomics blog are feeling generous enough to get me a robot frosty server? ;)

PS: I got a buzz link from Comixpedia ( webcomics news source ), very cool ( This can be taken as a shout out ;)

PPS: Related link, there are those that struggle and then there's the Iron Man Challenge, creating comics of any kind takes dedication, will I have it in me? Even if it kills me...

Webcomic : World Design : Nirvana

One of the things I am trying to take the time to do with the webcomic/story is to explore and design as much of the world as I can. I hope to explore every aspect I can think of, including ones that will never even be mentioned in the story. Some of the elements in the story can be eluded to, while others simply help me build a background for each of the characters. This process, I think, will allow me to 'choose' what I will reveal rather than what elements I will have to invent to 'add' to the story. Therefore, making the story come from a more geuine source.

The great thing about this blog is that it forces me to not only imagine and draw the story elements, it will also force me to articulate those elements. And, in doing so, explore in even more depth. So, without further ado, here is my first world design installment....

This sketch, depicts 'Nirvana'. Three towers holding the millions of people who make up the religiously zealot group 'The Order'. At the bottom of the towers is the old city that Nirvana was built upon. Each one of the towers, standing 8x ( Approx. 1000 floors ) the height of the Empire State Building represents a direction on their moral compass. They hold and produce everything that a society of this size would need. Running on geo-thermal energy conducted by select pilings (below the towers) the towers supply the power to run the residences, schools, shops, factories, vehicles, weapons and food generators. Below the towers are the ruins of the city that preceded them.

In my next few posts I will be posting the coloring stages to its full color version digital painting while revealing more about the towers and the society that lives within it.

Webcomic : Story/Plot : Synopsis

So far, I have shown only a few hints at what my sci-fi webcomic, 'Reign of Fear', is about. That's because I have not created something that would give you an idea of what the comic is about, a synopsis. Now, I don't want to give the story away, but I do want to give you an idea of what the webcomic is about. Here is my first draft...

Imagine what would happen if aliens really visited earth? What would happen to earth's social and religious fabric? What would it mean to the world's most influential religions such as Christianity or the Nation of Islam? Would it breed whole new Religions? Or even a whole new kind of nation? Or a whole new global war?

'Reign of Fear' picks up 25 years after the arrival of the aliens in 1996. The Order, a religious social power has defeated the Farcooth Rebellion and now dominates the world economically, religiously and technologically. 'Kael'. 'Ondrea' and 'Marek' survive in a world being 'ordered' by 'The Order'. A world they resisted so hard to avoid.

I still think it needs a lot of work but its a start. I am going to work on it until I think it is really good. ( I will post my next draft soon ).... My theory here is that I think it is important to create a really good synopsis. A synopsis will give the me a chance to articulate what I am trying to create, have a teaser for press releases preformed, as well as a core idea that can be referred to when writing the story and an 'About Story' synopsis for new readers to get a handle on the story. Plus, if I were ever to pitch the story to a publisher, I will already have a synopsis ready for my packet ;)

PS: 'Reign of Fear' and this blogs content is copyright 2005, Jeff Wamester, ALL rights reserved!

In the next post, Webcomic : World Design : Nirvana

Webcomic : Random Thoughts : What is Success?

What is success in webcomics? I mean, how famous, rich or valuable awards can you reasonably expect for a 'wildly successful' webcomic? Now that's a darn good question. Success is a funny thing. I mean, what is success? Being famous? Is it having more money than you can spend? Is it the objects you own? Is the prizes you covet? Or could it be something else? And you may also be asking what in the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks does that have to do with little old webcomics? Well, lets just store this little idea in the back of our heads, we'll come back to it at the end of my little rant...

So much of what we assume to be success is dependant on what other people think of us. Mull this for amoment, what would be a great example of what our society's ideal of success is? I would argue to say, actors, musicians or even professional athletes. They have all of the things I mention above. A good example might be Micheal Jordan, or maybe Madonna? Another good example might also be... OJ Simpson? LOL, sprung a trap on ya there...

What I am getting here is that, I am doing this webcomic for one reason... success. However, my idea of success may be different than yours...

1. The comic becomes a viable business that I can make a stable living
2. A publishing company picks it up the comic and it sells millions all over the world
   
3. It is made into a bunch of movies, I turn into the second Stan Lee, "Excelsior!"
   

Now these? A little ridiculous? In my opinion, yes.

#1, above, is a maybe... if I'm lucky, and would consider it 'wildly lucky'. Here is what I think will be success for me. Any single one of the following or combination of the following I consider a great success...

1. Enjoying the process
2. I complete the story, beginning to end
3. I make a nice little bonus check at the end of each month from advertising, sales, etc generated from the website
4. A publishing company picks it up

Now these may not seems like wild success to you but to me anyone of these would be something so few ever actually achieve. This because they are truly so difficult for a person to achieve. In the reality, of the ones above, I only have control of the first two. Success to me would truly be, for me, finishing the story I want to tell in the medium I want to tell it :) and enjoying that process.

In closing, the reason for this little random thought is not so random. I am putting to writing, so I do not forget, what I am truly trying to do. So, here is a little piece of my mind, before you start any endeavor.. write down what you will consider to be success. Getting there is a lot easier when you know where you are trying to go... Metaphysically speaking that is..

Webcomic : Business Plan : Phasing

Over the past few months, alright maybe years, I have been trying to launch a webcomic business. And for the most part I was failing. And until recently, I did not realize why....

Creating a business is far larger proposition than one would think. The wide range of requirements a business requires to start ( required for the best chance of success ) is a little discouraging when one steps back to see it as a whole. I was trying to launch a huge endeavor in one foul swoop. This paradigm made every step seem infinitesimal to the whole job and huge at the same time. Each requirement was such a commitment of time.

Failure can be the mother invention too ( although it can be construed for 'necessity').

Recently, due to all of my life's frustrations, I stumbled upon an idea. Why do this in one huge step? Why not phase it in? [ Little Bang ] Birth of an idea... Why not use the phasing as way to promote the comic? Now, for some of you, 'phasing in' this may have seemed obvious, but for someone like me this thought actually popped into my head and did not at the time seem so 'obvious'... The subsequent thought however does seem, at least to me, like a less obvious twist to phasing. This in turn led to a business plan ;)

1. Start a blog tracking the progress, this will act as a journal, a progress chart, and a log of your work towards publication, AND a tool for promotion
   
2. When the comic is ready for publication, publish it with WebcomicsNation, taking advantage of the publicity/marketing
3. When the website design is ready to be launched with all of the functions fit into the honed business plan, the infrastructure is cemented in, and you have a reasonable audience that will support a move, move to own website/server
4. Join or create a webcomics collective
   

If anyone can think of anything else please let me know using the comments section below.

PS: I would like to say, or in a blog, type that I am glad I have started doing this 'journal'. It is both catharthic AND it helps me articulate/document my thoughts for future reference...

PPS: One could, if one wanted, see the last PS note above synonymous with the 'noun' meaning of rather than the 'verb' meaning of catharthic, depending on your feelings towards my blog. OK, enough with the fart jokes... PFFFFFT!

Webcomic : Infrastructure : Comiclife

I saw this product online. For some of you less inclined to some kinds of software, like photoshop. ComicLife for the mac might be a good choice...

Webcomic : Character Design

Another sketch of 'Kael' from my webcomic. I think I like this piece. It 'seems' like Kael. If you want a little insight into the character ( My fiance pointed this out ), he is a bit like 'Sawyer' from the ABC show 'Lost'.

For future reference, I will be posting character 'visions' like this on a regular basis. I try to draw the characters from the story whenever I get a chance. It allows me to 'discover' more about each character. Whether it be the drawing technique, the way they are drawn or the character's 'attitude'. Sometimes, this technique leads me in other directions and then other times it reaffirms what I had originally envisioned.

As personal critique, and it is just my opinion, I think my pencils are a lot better than my inks. When I ink the lines, the line work just dies right there on the vine. It's a very good thing there's hi-rez printing these days that allows the printing of full color ( including pencil lines ) printables. Otherwise, ug, I would need to hire an inker for all my work. [Imagine a sneer here ] Those damn professional tracers! Kidding ;) ... I am one to talk, I can't ink for my life!

In the next episode, 'Webcomic : Business Plan : Phasing'

Webcomic : Infrastructure / Webdesign

I have been trying to design the website for months now. I'll try for a few weeks then realize that I need to consider a lot more than I had originally envisioned. Even with my background its a difficult, time consuming proposition. Lets review...

The website for all intents and purposes will not only be the viewscreen for the comics it will also be the 'store front', the business model and the business software. This means the vehicle, in this case the website, needs to be carefully considered. Needs:

1. Membership
2. Store front & Management
3. Easy secure comic archiving
4. Stats
5. Advertising Management ( Sponsor Management )
6. Mythology Database and Management
7. Email subscription services
8. Store management
9. Business Model Enforcement
10. EZ redesigns
11. 'Email to Friend' Capabilities
12. Low/No bandwidth costs
13. Low hosting costs
14. EZ/Remote content management

* If anyone who reads this has any other things that you might find important please post a comment in the blog! ;)

If any of these are ignored it can present a whole lot of problems later on down the road or at the very least a whole lot ad hoc work when I should be keeping up with the story or updates. So this presents me with the following choices...

1. Create my own webcomic website with all of these functions ( only because I have the knowledge, if one does not have the knowledge then it would either not be an option or you would need someone else to do this )

2. Use an online service ( they automate a lot of functions )

Now creating my own webcomic site, even with my knowledge, is quite an investment in time, plus it means I must also maintin it. This could be cheaper in some ways but more expensive in time. On the other hand it provides me with the ability to completely customize and to create whatever function I would need and completely integrate them with the business plan. Plus I can redesign the site anytime I want. This is a very seductive option for that reason alone.

Using an online service has some checks in the 'Pros' department. For instance ( and in my opinion the best option for an online service ) there's WebcomicsNation. This site has a lot of the major functions that I mention above. It is already being used by over a hundred cartoonists and it comes with some free advertising! However, all of the functions are based on one business model and has limited design options ( as far as I can tell ). So much for flexibility or customization.

The thing is, I have a business plan in mind for the webcomic later on down the road that WebcomicsNation would not be able to accomodate....

So that leads me to the double secret 3rd option... HA!

3. Start with a moderntales account and 'graduate' to my own site.

This option will be good because...

a. It would allow more time and experience to forge a clearer business model and website functions that I would or would not want.

b. It would allow me the time to create and test my own website whilst I am building a fan base

c. I can take advantage of the advertising WebComicsNation provides

d. It provides me other marketing options that would be a large investment in time ( should I create my own website )

e. I could contiue with webcomics as the alpha site should my site go down or something similiar

Mmmm, yes, a ONE MILLIon dollar idea... Muah ha haaa, Muuuuahh Ha Haaaaaaa! ( Try to imagine my pinky pointing at the corner of my mouth )

Character Design

This is a preview of one of the main characters in the story, "Kael" Trying to find the right look is hard for a main character. In this case I think it needs something. Haven't decided what yet though...

Well after taking a second look maybe I do like the character's look. Maybe some photoshop inlaid pattern or logo on the shirt(s)?

On another note, I noticed while writing this... I used to suck at making cloths. I think I am getting a little better ;)

Blog Categorization

Here's the plan, everytime I make a post I will use the title as an update category. Each category is a part of the process required to make the comic. Here are the categories...

1. 'Screen Play/Plot Update'
2. 'Character Design' * Will include sketches etc
3. 'World Design' * Ditto
4. 'Website Design'
5. 'Infrastructure'
6. 'Business Plan'
7. 'Random Thoughts'

Why the blog?

This blog is meant to be sort of a web journal detailing the processes and the difficulties involved with starting something one would hope to have success. In this case it's a webcomic...

I plan to 'journalize' the ridiculous number of things to set up a 'good' online comic ( plot, character design, WORLD DESIGN, website, automation processes for the website, website payments, (this is just the short list) ) . All of this takes a lot of time especially for one who works a full time job.

I hope to make journal entries and post progress sketches at least a couple times a week if not every day ;)

My first blog entry

This is my first blog entry. I'll be back with a real entry in a few hours.