I've been spotting some really good webcomic art lately. Like so good it's like professional stuff you know the stuff that would be in mainstream stores. Most of the webcomics I read now is that.

So anyway I've been getting that down feeling about my art. It's not up to snuff anymore.

What do you guys think? Are most of the webcomics you read inside or outside DD really professional looking artwise? Ok how about your top ten favorite webcomics? How does it make you feel about your own art?

Has the standard gone up for webcomic art?

I always followed well-drawn comics, so I couldn't really say...and on another note.

Youse is crazeh! Demon Eater is teh cool...

Yeah most of the comics i read are pretty good in terms of art, and i'd dare say a lot of the stories tend to be good because of this. Of course it's not always true, but usually someone with strong sequentials and art has been making comics before that and knows more then someone just stumbling in.

I also think that webcomics are starting to have a standard, it's now harder to say 'webcomics are all poorly drawn amatuer shit' like in 2004, because 5 years down the road, it's clearly not true.


I think my own art is improving nicely, but that doesn't mean crap since i haven't even finished most of my projects. xP
Maybe someday i'll finish them all at once and have a marathon. (i wish)

If the only thing I cared about is great art, I'd be reading the scanlation mangas online... which is what I'm doing these days, half for fun and half to bone up on manga techniques again.

I do think the standards have gone up as more artists are getting into it. But it's only the median that has gone up. The average is the same thanks to greater influx of young poor artists as well as more learned artists.

There have always been some well-drawn webcomics, but there are definitely more of them around these days.

What I think has happened is that indie creators are slowly starting to realise that the web is a good distribution method. Previously, there was Fortress Mainstream which nobody could break into unless they happened to be sponsored by someone already in the industry. Everyone else who had the talent but couldn't get the breaks would have to finance their own print runs and hope to recoup some of that cost by selling at conventions. A lot of good work was (and still is) produced by the indie sector but most of the creators lost money on it.

As the web has begun to lose some of the stigma attached to it, those indie creators have started to realise that, by posting on the web, they not only save themselves the cost of a print run but their work probably reaches more people too. Also, the advent of PoD has meant that the indie sector and webcomics are no longer mutually exclusive. Posting your comic on the web in order to build a fanbase and then printing through ComiXpress or IndyPlanet is now a common "business model" for a lot of indie creators.

As a result, yes, the standard of art in webcomics is generally a lot higher than it used to be. The nice thing, though, is that this isn't pushing out the the amateurs or those creators whose ideas are just too way-out to be financially viable. The internet is a very democratic medium. With virtually no barriers to entry, the beginners and the true innovators can still get their work online to be read.

Drawing a webcomic isn't exactly a rare hobby, there's bound to be at least a good few comics that stand out and look professional

ERasER
Drawing a webcomic isn't exactly a rare hobby

It used to be. I think that's the point man. Jilly's saying that there's more of those comics around now.

Heh, when I started putting up Pinky TA here in 2004 it was good to have one of the few comics on the net with my sort of art. It's a lot more common now. -_-

Well,The comics I translate or read have nice art.
But some webcomic I've read in Korea have pretty bad artbut attracting a lot of people because the story fit the art.I think good art in webcomic or any kind of comic is the one that fit the story line.

ozoneocean

ERasER
Drawing a webcomic isn't exactly a rare hobby

It used to be. I think that's the point man. Jilly's saying that there's more of those comics around now.

That's true

I think the level of artwork has improve, like other people have already stated. That's a great thing, of course, because I think that it's cool that you can find so many well-drawn comics online without having to buy them or anything. Even so, in my opinion, the art can be amazing, but if the story is unappealing I don't think I'd care about the comic. XD

JillyFoo
So anyway I've been getting that down feeling about my art. It's not up to snuff anymore.

I can relate to this. There are so many amazing artists here on DD and elsewhere, that sometimes I feel a little ashamed of my work XD. Honestly, I feel a little embarrassed, but I'm constantly trying to improve, so hopefully one day I'll become one of those high standard artists.

The standard has gone up.
Here is proof.
http://www.drunkduck.comSmug_I_Could_Do/ [drunkduck.comsmug]

are you sure you haven't simply gotten better at avoiding the shite comics? because that's pretty much what i did.

sometime i go looking fro bad comics. it takes not time at all to verify that they still exist and haven't quit from shame.

Remember, at least one in three webcomics are terrible.
Think of your two favourite web comics.
If they both seem okay then it is YOURS!

I'm glad we have so many top quality comics here at DD. It makes it so easy to come up with features these days. :)
I have thousands on my fave list and newer and better ones join every day, it's pretty amazing really.

It's funny, there are less and less people on the forums (seems like it anyway) but more and more good comics joining all the time.
It's better when the new guys DO come to the forums though because if they've got a good avi or great sig banner I definitely check out their comic for a potential feature.

harkovast
Remember, at least one in three webcomics are terrible.
Think of your two favourite web comics.
If they both seem okay then it is YOURS!

OH SNAP!

JillyFoo
I've been spotting some really good webcomic art lately. Like so good it's like professional stuff you know the stuff that would be in mainstream stores. Most of the webcomics I read now is that.

So anyway I've been getting that down feeling about my art. It's not up to snuff anymore.

What do you guys think? Are most of the webcomics you read inside or outside DD really professional looking artwise? Ok how about your top ten favorite webcomics? How does it make you feel about your own art?

Has the standard gone up for webcomic art?

Yep. The standard has gone WAY up.

I used to have horrible art in 2000-2001 (see my BK comic. Skip the cover pages please) and still got a few readers. But now, if I had that same level of art, I doubt if I'll even get one regular reader.

kyupol
I used to have horrible art in 2000-2001 (see my BK comic. Skip the cover pages please) and still got a few readers. But now, if I had that same level of art, I doubt if I'll even get one regular reader.

Actually there are those on here with pretty bad art (Worse than your old work)and no more than 10 pages with minimal plot covered receiving fanart.

What Faliat (probably) means is that some people have no taste. (Which would explain CAD's popularity.)

This probably goes for you too.

The standard hasn't improved.
Individual people have improved (some haven't) but I could go and find you a dozen poorly drawn comics I've never heard of in about five minutes just here on the duck, so there are certianly not less bad ones then before (and the bad art is as bad as ever.)
There are still plenty of badly drawn ones, in fact there are more bad ones then ever.
I cant see any noticiable shift.

The best thing about webcomics is that there are no standards.

This is also the worst thing about webcomics.

I would definitely agree that the standard has gone up. Making webcomics has an incredibly low for entry. The dumbest people in the world can make them. That's why people are working harder and harder to stand out. Not only that, people are growing tired of the kinds of comics that purposely use crappy art, stick men, sprites, and easy comedy. These days it's not as entertaining to see Mega Man yell the F-word.

I kind of theorize that some of the internet's longstanding popular webcomics wouldn't make much of a splash if they debuted now instead of earlier when there wasn't much competition. But you never know.

ozoneocean
I'm glad we have so many top quality comics here at DD. It makes it so easy to come up with features these days. :)
I have thousands on my fave list and newer and better ones join every day, it's pretty amazing really.

It's funny, there are less and less people on the forums (seems like it anyway) but more and more good comics joining all the time.
It's better when the new guys DO come to the forums though because if they've got a good avi or great sig banner I definitely check out their comic for a potential feature.

That's something to feel good about. I get annoyed when I read on some mainstream webcomic sites that DrunkDuck is a comic hosting site for beginners only. There are some really good new comics coming here. May Keenspot not steal them away!