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How to Create & Draw Comics Online

Online comics have become popular in recent years, with comics such as xkcd, Dinosaur Comics and Buttercup Festival drawing thousands of page views. Creating a "webcomic" and promoting it can even be profitable if you create products related to your comic. Many online comic strip artists create their own books and sell them as hard copies or PDFs. Make your web comic appeal to a wide variety of people and you'll enjoy a following and possibly profits.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Fine tip black markers
  • Illustration software (optional)
  • Scanner
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create a character. Make sure that the character---it could be a man, a woman, or a gigantic sea cucumber---has qualities that people can identify with. Write down the character's physical and mental attributes before you start drawing a comic strip. This will help you keep the character consistent over time. Does Dilbert ever change? Online comic strip characters don't change either.

    • 2

      Map out a storyline if you want the comic to be either lengthy or a "to be continued" type of strip. Keep it short, as the attention span of people surfing the web is notoriously short. Use a "one-liner" style for short comic, as in "The Far Side."

    • 3

      Draw your comic. Stick to simple lines and backgrounds for the greatest visual effect. Use fine-tipped black markers to outline your work so that it will scan well. Color is optional. Use Paint or another illustration program if you are so inclined. Using web-friendly colors to begin with will ensure that your work will really "pop," if you are creating comics in color.

    • 4

      Scan your comic---if you have not created it in an illustrator program. Hewlett Packard recommends that you "choose a lower ppi (scanning resolution of 75 or 100 ppi) for images that you'll send via e-mail or post online." This decreases the file size, an important consideration when putting images online. Web surfers generally will not wait for a large file to load, and will move on to the next website.

    • 5

      Save your comic as a GIF, as this will result in a smaller file size than saving it as a TIFF or other file type. Again, loading time is decreased when you choose a small file size.

    • 6

      Upload your comic strip, known as a "webcomic," to your website. Purchase a domain especially for your web comic if you are serious about attracting a following. Having your own domain will make it easier for people who like your comic to return to your site.

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