On Success And Lawn-Care Machinery
A number of people have been thinking about success in webcomics lately. First up, Jennie Breeden of The Devil’s Panties — if you saw her on stage at SDCC, you could tell that she’s thought a lot about how to make it in [web]comics, and I don’t think I enjoyed meeting anybody as much as her. She’s put a lot of her ideas down in a new FAQ, and if she lets me, I’m going to excerpt her excellent advice when I get around to making the Webcomics School recaps into something more permanent.
But even with all this methodical planning, is she still evil enough to go after guys in kilts with a leaf blower? And should you listen to her?
Yes, she is, and yes, you should.
Next up is Andy Bell, who did a presentation on making it in webcomics for Parsons/The New School; the talk fleshed out a lot of these points, but there’s a hidden message on the last slide, so be sure to go through the entire thing. Since many people know Parson primarily through TV’s Project Runway, I’d like to invite Bravo to consider Project: Webcomic; I think that T Campbell’s blog said he’s looking for a gig, so we can have him host it. I’m serious, this could be cool.
From Owen Dunne, guy with the Fox option, success means changes:
Sept 27
Sorry the YDK updates have been so sporadic.
As you may be aware, I’ve been working on a YDK pilot script, and that’s been taking quite a bit of my time. It’s not that easy, because it’s writing for Hollywood, and that’s different than just writing. The whole thing about YDK, the comic, is to take a life story, edit it down to four panels and illustrate it. Scriptwriting, on the other hand, requires that I take that same four panel story and stretch it out to forty pages. Which isn’t to say that it’s hard, it’s not. But doing it so the powers that be think it’s funny enough is.
So it’s a learning process, but a fun one. I’ve met some incredibly talented people who have been more than kind with their expertise and knowledge of the business.
One of these days I’m going to write a long piece about this process. Until then, I appreciate your patience.
The common thread we’ve got here is that if you want to be an overnight success, you’re going to have to work really hard at it for a long time in semi-obscurity. But the possibility is out there, and it’s in your hands alone. Go do good work, and show us what you got.
Thanks for the link to Scott’s blog. I needed that. :)
By Abby on 09.30.06 12:21 am
These links help a lot, thanks!
By larsbrown on 09.30.06 1:05 am
[…] Too funny not to mention: Jennie Breeden, creator of the online comic The Devil’s Panties, has an unusual hobby: At conventions, she chases after guys in kilts… with a leafblower. (Warning: link goes to a photo-heavy page guaranteed to take forever to load. Link via Fleen) […]
By Journalista » Blog Archive » Oct. 2, 2006: He’s French, of course Marvel made him gay on 10.02.06 6:47 am
[…] The reason this one caught my eye is that my brain was still rolling around some of the recent discussion about what you can expect from a webcomic. The thought I had was you do a comic for the reasons you want to; if it’s a chore that you don’t enjoy (and don’t have time for), don’t do it. If you like creating it, and a half-dozen of your friends bug you when it doesn’t update, I’d say that’s more significant than the opinion of a stranger. If what you want is to appeal to the broadest possible audience, then my opinion alone isn’t as valid as those of lots of people. […]
By Fleen: Written by bitter, haggard wordbeasts » Potential on 10.04.06 11:13 am
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