WEBCOMIC DEVLOG #1

August 19, 2024

So a while ago I caved in and made a Tumblr blog for my WIP magical girl webcomic to help get people interested in the project. I was inspired by a couple of my friends who already have pages for their stories/OCs and so far it’s been working well for them. I was hesitant at first, because I didn’t feel ready to make it “official” that I’m working on it as a webcomic? But getting interest in your original stories is hard if you don’t already have an audience for it, so here we are.

So when is “too soon” to announce a project really? I think as long as I don’t promise a release date it should be fine, right? The only downside so far has been that I’ve answered a couple of Tumblr asks that aren’t canon anymore (whoops) thankfully nothing major.

CURRENTLY WHERE I'M AT

During the New Year I said that it was my goal to have a finalized script by the end of 2024, but right now that’s looking unrealistic. I probably should have been more specific on my initial goal. Sometimes it’s hard being a creator who's both the artist AND the writer, there’s always so much to do! Like some of my character designs are still rough because I’m mainly focused on writing at the moment.

I did finish an outline for my story back in June though. I try not to dwell much after finishing a draft because it’s usually a feeling of disappointment? That feeling when you finish something and you know it could always be better. And if you dwell on it too much it can turn into self-doubt and spiral into something worse, so I moved my attention onto other things.

I distracted myself for couple of weeks by learning how to code in HTML/CSS, mostly so I could get some skills to build a website for my webcomic someday. It was definitely a learning curve but, I think I have a new hobby after trying it? And I've been trying to find more hobbies outside of art and video games that won't destroy my bank account (looking at my figure collection). After that I felt confident to write again and I was even able to rework my magic system so it works better for the story!

WHAT'S NEXT?

Since this is my first project of this scale I want to be as “responsible” as I can if that makes sense? I’ve seen too many webcomics I love fail due to lack of planning, usually through an indefinite hiatus, being stuck in a reboot cycle, or just abandoned. It’s the curse of “your first webcomic” and I’m trying to avoid that as much as possible. I mean I already have some experience making comics so I won't be completely in the dark but, this will be my first long-form one.

It might also be that the standard for webcomics has gotten higher or maybe it’s my high standards (probably both). I just know I wouldn’t forgive myself unless I told at least one of the stories trapped in my head. So currently on my to-do list:

Back to writing!
Make some new comic pages for practice! I haven’t made any since my last comic and because my current project is more action-oriented I’d like to figure out a new workflow.
Learn SketchUp and revisit Blender to make 3D comic assets.

Sorry if you were expecting more updates on the webcomic itself. I’ve only been posting what I already have on the blog and some behind-the-scenes stuff for Ko-Fi members. When it’s at a more presentable stage then I’ll be more than happy to share things with you guys!

RECOMMENDATIONS

Current Watching:

✧ "The Dragon Prince" - I’m catching up because the previews for the new season look amazing!

YouTube Video:

✧ Felt this was relevant. Don't let self-doubt and perfectionism hold you back.