Some thoughts about comics

Bonjour tout le monde! Howdy?

I hope you're spending a good week folks!

This is a journal I wrote on dA but when I wrote it there, it didn't get any comments from anybody. It was something I wrote from my heart (as I always do when I write) about my experiencies of last year 2015 and the first months of this one, when looking for good comics to read and follow to get inspiration for doing my own. So I felt a bit bad when no one commented....

I post it here now, cos I think maybe some people who have an account in blogger would like to comment about the subject :)

So here, this was riginally written on Thusday Mar 24, 2016.  And you can see the link HERE

As some of you who watch me know, some days ago I commented I was going to start my first web comic this year.
But, Franckly, I must say that in these days I've been working at school I haven't feel much in the mood to draw something new.
Probably due some of the stuff happened last year that was a bit dissapointed...Or probably cos I've had lots of stuff to do for my collegue is the reason why I don't feel like drawing more, since I'm exhausted of making designs and illustrations for my homework.  And as I've noticed, drawing for homework isn't like drawing for your own amusement...Sometimes it gets fun, but it feels like a duty most of the times XD

So About the comics?...
Well, I thought I was going to do them...but I'm not sure now...
At least right now I don't feel like I have the inspiration to do it, and one of my friends commented me that he thinks making comics will not help me to make my art well known....
Which now I think about it...and I think he's got a good point. And maybe he's right, and making a comic will not make my art be recognized...
But is funny, another friend I talked about a year ago (cos making comics is something I've been thinking for years XD not just now) encouraged me to make comics saying that what I needed for my art to be recognized as I would like, was precisely to start making a webcomic!
So is weird XD I guess is cos everybody has a different perspective of the same suject. As in mexico we say "Every head is a world" *chuckles*

However, my friends have made me re-think all this. And I've started to question myself in these weeks if I'm ready...if I'm good enough to make good comics.
Specially because I feel my stories need a lot of work and aren't not very well constructed yet, so to speak. Also, I feel I need more knowledge on how to make comic pannels and how to express scenes in comics.

So what I've been doing have been to look for comics and read them. To get references about how to make comic pannels and dialogues in the best way, one that is understandable.  Also I'm looking for onomatopeias I might need. And also to get knowledge, reference and inspiration to make my own comics.
Because, all my life I've made comics..but I always liked a lot more to make them than read them. XD
And now I realize that probably I haven't read enough comics to know about comics and how to make a good one.

In this search of knowledge I've found a lot of very awful comics, though...

Lots of vulgar or gross ones, or comics with a not very nice to the eyes style of drawing. (aka. a gross drawing style) And I think that's what have "poisoned me" temporarily, so to speak.
Also I've been dissapointed because the very few comics I've got to find that I think are great...are comics I can't finish reading since I need to pay for them, and right now I have no money for that, and neither a credit card.

I've read a couple of good comics for free that I've liked, but most of them start good and then end in a sad or gross or vulgar or weird way..most of them, I don't think I'd like to talk about them right now...
Talking about the bad comics I've read..is not a pleasant thing to talk about...Not at all. =P
Let's just say, that in my search of knowledge about comics, I've been entered by accident on pages of webcomics I wouldn't like to talk about, and I will never want to enter or read anything about them again. EVER.

But, For example, I've recently found by chance one comic (that I'm not going to name, at least right now I would like to reserve that for myself ) that was a romance/love story of a girl and a robot, settled on the victorian age. I found the synopsis of it on an article that was supossedly about "the best webcomics ever made". And it called my attention cos victorian age is one of my favorite ages for stories. So "I gave it an eye" as we would say in mexico.

The artwork wasn't the most realistic I've seen, something that is usually necessary in this type of comics, but sadly not much people care of.
But even so, the cartoon style of it wasn't bad to look at..It was nice actually.
Also, the plot was witty, the story was original and believable, the characters were good.

But a bit after the first chapters completed...It seemed to start again the same story but backwards! O_O
I think the first story should have been the end, because after the first one the comic continued, and it became so weird and just silly and nonesense....And it happened that it was a april fool's joke...thanks goodness! For a moment I thought it was going to ruin the story for me.

And after that the girl made a prequel to the first story, but I didn't wanted to continue reading to know how it was going to be.
Maybe because a friend of mine told me that on this genre of comics, people usually start well, and later they
became crazy and their comics get ruined...
I think probably so much stimulous on their minds when making said comics is too much for them to control. 
I don't know...but In short, in part I didn't kept reading cos feared to be dissapointed by an awful or too sad story...
In part I stopped reading because the stuff became repetitive and, as there was no dialogues, nor very expressive facial expressions (which are a very important part of this kind of comics!) well, it seemed to me some scenes were too repetitive. It was the same thing but with other characters. So I got bored.
Also, it was too much to process for my mind for one day. Comics like these makes one's mind exhausted.

But again, I'm not sure why I arrived to read that one XD
Although I must say I talk about this one because, actually it was very nice. The story was interesting and the end was very heartwarming. I was one of the nicest comics on this class I've seen so far.
Along with other that features mass effect character's love story, too.
Usually I don't like love or sexy stories, so I don't read them nor look for them.
But in these times I've been feel lonely..I feel weak and fragile, and hopeless (some of you know why) and in these cases love stories that end in a heartwarming way are good for the heart :)
Also, is funny. I think what I appreciate about this comic, is that it have made me feel better with myself because this comic has no dialogues, and the facial expressions aren't like super well made, but even so, you can understand the story and it conveys emotions!  I think that's cool! 
I found it by chance looking for other thing completely different I was just looking for a steampunk comic.
But today I'm thankful with God I found it though, even if it wasn't much what I excepted. Cos to find a good comic (at least the first story I read and I'm talking of) I had to look and look for days and months for it and go through some gross and disgusting stuff...that it was not nice at all!

I'm not sure if the comic I would like to make was one of this genre, though...
Although there are not much good comics of this genre, so it might be true what my friend said, that most people in this field are...well....they have become crazy...
And end making comics with what people wanna see just because is stuff that is popular. And thus their comics tend to be come more and more dumb and nonesense with the time.
Because they don't make comics to their heart's content, but to what is popular among people who aren't even sure of what they want! And it feels to me like they sell their soul just to gain some popularity.

I've been taking my time to look and read comics from all the genres I've been ever felt interested on making comics of. Even if is just a part or a couple of pages of the because, as I said, most of the good ones I've found need money.
I've seen who's my competition on all the comic genres I've been interested on picking...and it worries me...For many reasons.

I'm not sure if I will be good enough to make comics...
I'm not sure if people will enjoy my ideas...because most of them are not what's popular in nowadays...but I'm not in most of the things that I've seen they are popular and beloved by millions.
And I'm pretty darn sure I'll always make my comics to my heart's content! So I'm afraid that if I don't sell my soul like the others...my art will never be recognized and I'll never become a cartoonist...

Plus! I've had physical trouble that avoids me to draw for months. As I said before too, I think one of my teeth has a problem cos hurts. And my tablet's pen is too loose and the cursor moves like if I'm in a earthquake having parkinson! And that makes me feel exhasperated very quicky when I try to draw, and so frustrated.
And I think I try to blame the problem I've got with the tablet for the problem I'm having trying to draw facial expressions...cos I don't want to accept that probably I have got rusty on this cos it's been a good while I don't practice...

Alors en fin, I think a comic from me will have to wait..a while at least.

Is a bit funny my fear of failing as a web comicker...since I've made comics for a long time, almost all my life, but just for fun, I never published anything. The only ones who saw some of my comics were my siblings when they and I were kids, and when I was teen and they were kids.
And is not the same to draw comics for my siblings and me just for fun, than to draw comics for a wide range of public.

As I said, I've been seen other comics and I feel I still have a lot to learn..and a lot to polish my artwork, I need to practice facial expressions a lot more cos they are (and always have been) the most important part of my art! Also, my stories because they seem to have a few of the so called "plot holes". And I don't know anybody who would like to help me to fix those "plot holes.

Well, meanwhile I think you can enjoy a couple of thoughts from me about comics, and share your opinions about your favorite comics.
Please, share your thoughts about comics, I would like to hear all that! :D
If you have read the comics I mention in this post, please feel free to share your thoughts. I would love to hear that as well.
Just don't mention the comic I mentioned here by name, if you want to mention it by name sent me a note. Since I'd like to reserve it for personal reasons...and I think you will too ;)

Fear of the failure?...

Hiya there folks! How have you been?

I haven't had much time to post artwork in these times, cos I've been doing some big projects on the school and they demand me a lot of effort and time. So I haven't had the time to draw for personal projects. 

I've given me a bit of time to surf the net some days ago, looking for ggood webcomics for reference and inpon how to make a comic. Also to check what are the most popular webcomics on these days. 

But what I found..it kinda dissapointed me...

Cos with that search I've realized that the most popular ones are usually the comics that have sexual stuff in them, weird porn stuff stuff like sadomasochism and vore, homosexual (lesbian/gay) comics, or comics with gross out humor...

Or comics where people make fun of characters for being intelligent and kind and transmit the message that intelligent and kindhearted characters are loosers, while mean and dumb characters are "cool and amazing". 

In short, I haven't found many actually cool and fun webcomics...hardly only one or two in the sea of webcomics.

Meanwhile, I see how they phraise sunstone like if it was the eight wonder of the world! I see people phraising furboz and garabatoz comics...I see how they play Jollyjack, for giving you some examples.

...I see how people phraise porn over and over and over!

Of course, I don't judge people who like lesbian or gay stuff, gross out humor stuff, or erotic comics, or comics with sexual innuendos or vulgarities or comics with lots of swear words just for the sake of saying swear words.

I don't agree with them of course, but I've always thought there should be a variety of comics for everybody, and everybody has the right to have their own tastes.

Is just that...Now I've seen the comics that would be my direct competence in the webcomic field, in the case I make comics, and I realize with terror that I'm not into any of those themes!!....and that's what makes me afraid...

I'm afraid that people ...that they don't like my ideas...

Not the art itself, because I know my art is good, but I fear people hate the ideas I have and I'd like to make comics of. And that nobody ever comes to read my comics.

..I fear of that kind of failure.

..But in the other hand, I cannot make a comic about themes that are popular, just because they are so popular. Because I'm not into that, and thus, even if I tried, that wouldn't come from my heart! And it would be a disaster.

Plus, if I do this...surely it would be selling my soul to the devil. And I'd not be in peace anymore.

So..I don't know...Discovering that terrified me... I feel like running away and hidding, and not to think about making comics again ...=P

I feel like I want to keep my ideas for myself and and......give up?....

You know..Most of the artist I admire and who make comics, I admire them and their comics because their comics have themes that are probably not the most popular ones.

But they don't do comics about sujects just because they are popular. At contraire! They decided to do their work truely from their heart's content!! :D And this is what makes them be awesome!!!

Because they share a bit of their your life experiences, what they like, what they dream! A part of themselves!

And that's what I would love to do! And even so I fear of what will happen if my ideas aren't well received...I will still do it! :D

I will face my fear and I'll risk to the failure.

Because I know, that if I get good results with this, it will worth the effort and the risk!

Also, there are a lot of other comics that have been sucessful and are still loved by millions. Comics about adventure and action, or fantasy or sci fi, comics about frienship.

Llike tin-tin, asterix and obelix, or Lou! Some of my all-time favorite comics.

So I think if there's an space for comics with stuff I like, and people loves them...why there shouldn't be a place for my comics too!

Incoming comics

Like scenic panic, there should be a name for the fear of releasing comics and totally fail on it. I think there should be a name for that, cos I have that now and I need to name it! 

XD
Fortunately, I have a way to get rid of it; Joking about it...and my dear friend Faik's help of course! 
Because I've always thought that the best thing to face fear is...to joke about it! Cos that way you feel the fear becomes smaller, and not so intimidant. 

It happened that a a couple of friends of mine have been encouraging me to make a comic last year (well, since a good while more XD) and specially one of them have told me that doing a webcomic would for sure make my artwork being well known. And I would really like to be a well known artist so people can ask me comissions, since I need the money for my college.
So, despite the fear, I think that this year I'll try to venture on the amazing (and scary ) world of webcomics.
Finally, after 3 years of hard work on character design and plot and all that stuff (most of that time working hard to fix the so called "plot holes" every story has) I already have 3 histories ready to be told on a comic, and I probably will release one of them this 2016.

But since I can decide which one of them deserves better my attention. I will need your help folks!
Soon, I'll post a journal about it...well when I can have more time,  talking about these stories a bit, so you can opine and help me to decide.

Meanwhile enjoy this little doodle of me making fun of my fear and take care!