Hell, I get most of my supplies from my parents. Stealing is much better than paying. But the only comic that I've really spent any money at all on is my photocomic of course. I've probably spent an estimated $1,000 on that freakin comic, which is pretty good considering all the figures, rings etc.


So, how about you? How much money are willing to put into your comic/already have?

Hmm, let me count... I already had my pc, scanner and the tablet. So I guess they don't count.

So other than that...

Typewriter/printer paper, 500 sheets, less than 4$
A set of 10 automatic pencils, each one with three leads inside, less than 3$
a mechanical eraser, perhaps about 1.50$
two notebooks for sketches and page layouts, less than 2$
a 12inch/30cm shatterproof ruler, 2$

That'd be somewhere below 12.50$ (approximately, as I'm converting currencies on the fly).

Although if you want to add the scanner and tablet which were bought with art in mind (and I really got to use them properly for the first time working on my comics)... that'd be perhaps 50-100$ for my volito2 (can't remember how much I paid for it, it's been four years now) and the scanner I traded in for a graphic card that I got for free (which didn't work with my old pc anyway), but it'd be another 50$.

Future expenses: cost of color version proof (about 13$), cost of b&w version proof (about 5$), shipping costs (no idea, couple of $s in each case?).
With shipping somewhere above 20$, perhaps closer to 30$?
Then I'll need some hosting/domain and probably ads.

Oh yeah, and totally forgot about Photoshop7, but I can't remember how much I paid for that one either (I think I might have even traded for something? Stupid bad memory).

Overall, pretty cheap :D

I'm not counting the old versions of the comic...

But I'm gonna say around 50 bucks, probably more. :3
It's all totally worth it though! :D

The money I spend on comics is pocket change (cost of materials) compared to the labour. :)

Haha. I'm with kyupol on that one. If I got paid even minimum wage for the time I put into my comics, I wouldn't even need a straight job.

But since cash is King- let's see- per issue?
2 pads of bristol board = $20
Usually around 5 replacement microns = $15
Usually a pack of micro-eraser refills = $2

Once in a blue moon I'll have to buy mechanical pencils or Mars plastic erasers, but I've got so many lying around that it doesn't count.

Right now I sneak in and use the local uni's art computer lab to scan, so that's free for the time being.

So let's say- round abouts $40 over 3-4 months to make an issue. One reason I stopped doing prints (for now) and started "The Hub" was because it was so affordable.

If I had more money, I'm sure it would go into art/drawing/comic-related stuff- like a proper drafting table and lighting (you don't even want to know how I draw these things; it's medieval); and a scanner of my own, so I don't have to do it guerrilla style. I've been spending every dime I have on art supplies for the past ten years, and honestly I wouldn't know what else to do with money. ;)

U-ugh....

Old shit when i was doing it one paper:
Pens/sakura pens: 30$?
Paper: 30$?
Art books: i stole almost all of them of them(knowledge should be freee!) 160$ worth of loot, 230 if i count that big one i got away with but it's more advertising based.

Software:
Photoshop cs4: lol
Painter 11: lol
Sai: lolcopters
Tablet: 100$

Advertising:
Made: like 40$ i think
spent: 35$ i think
Noice.

In conclusion i am a butt pirate.

Hmmm...
Well I have found the discount way of drawing cartoons... plus I kind of bring a DIY, sort of punk philosophy to my cartooning...

So basically I use...
-paper
-eraser
-whatever pencil I can find!
-scanner
-free photoshop-like software called Paint.net.

I spend virtually nothing on each comic... But I have spent oodles of time. I'd do it anyway, so the time is no biggie!

Based on the advice I've been getting from all you fine folk... it does seem as though it's time to get off my wallet and start advertising!

A note about the above software (Paint.net)... Any cartoonist who can't afford photoshop should look into this program. You need to download the .net framework... but that's no biggie at all... It isn't as good as photoshop, but it's oodles better than the cheaper Photoshop elements... and it's free! It's not an online program (incase you're wondering)

Cheers!
Graeme

Cheers!

Hyena H_ll
If I had more money, I'm sure it would go into art/drawing/comic-related stuff- like a proper drafting table and lighting (you don't even want to know how I draw these things; it's medieval); and a scanner of my own, so I don't have to do it guerrilla style. I've been spending every dime I have on art supplies for the past ten years, and honestly I wouldn't know what else to do with money. ;)

Ha, both are on my imaginary shopping list. Except I want an A3 scanner so that I can do double spreads in one go OR scan larger format artwork.

My style: an oversized hardcover book (thick enough to be solid, thin enough to be light) put on my lap with a stack of pages on top + me curled up in the corner of the bed with a large pile of pillows behind my back :D

Hum, well I think I have everybody beat for most money sunk in the whole! Fortunately it a lot of it wasn't my money!

Costs:
Paper: $2
Micron packs: $5 a five pack, probably have bought about 4 in the live of the comic.
Tablet laptop: $700 (granted, I wanted a laptop anyways)
Webhosting: $55 a year, for two years.
Domain fee: $6 a year, for two years.
T shirts: $500 for a set of 100.
Total cost: $1289

Revenue:
$100 from shirts.
$25 from advertising.
$20 in donations.
Total revenue: $145

Profit:
-$1144

or not including the laptop:
-$444

I don't call it Last Place for nothin!

i realy don't know cuz i compulsively buy art supplies

most recent was a set of 144 Copics for about 60$

Paper: ?? Mostly stolen, but maybe $5
My awesome mechanical pencil: $5 (bought solely for drawing my comic)
Pencil Lead: ~$10
Clik erasers: Probably ~$50 (I make lots of mistakes)
3-ring binders (x4): ~$5
Computer and PaintShopPro: Already owned it
Scanner: Already owned it

So, not *too* much in the way of production costs...

Advertising: ~$20 + PW money
Print volumes of my books: $70
Merchandise for me and my friends: ~$50

Revenue: No revenue. I have $5 in PW right now, but will put that back into ads.

Hmmm....Lets see...

Sticki Notes: well....since a lot of my ideas come to me while I'm at work.... $0
Small sketch book for ideas: $5
Metal mechanical pensils: $5
Mechanical Eraser (love that thing): $1
Scanner: Already owned
Computer: Already owned
1st Tablet: $50
2nd Tablet: $180

Software: GIMP is free :) (and legal)

Advertising: About $20 through Project Wonderful
Merchandise for friends and family: $60

I'll soon be upgrading the computer or buying a new laptop expressly for the purpose of comic making. $$$

I somehow spent $15 on project wonderful the past week (I got carried away, like an old person who has just discovered that eBay sells collector's item Muffy Bears)
and...
my inking pen: free (found it on the ground!!)
paper: $20 D: for 20 sheets!!
watercolors: about $30, but I had to buy them for class
I only use 2 paintbrushes. round 8 brush: $5
cheap-o wash brush: $1

so in total... $71?? wow. money flies! I'm probably forgetting some expense too...

Somewhere around the $200 range or so. I thought it was much lower, but then again, the pens add up, the printing costs of issue 1, the other products I've done for it, they all add up really quick! :D

I don't know the total since I started it, but in 2008: around $8,000-$10,000. I made around the same amount as I spent. I am hoping that in 2009, I will make slightly more than I spend.

Let's see...Two laptops 1600 (one was second hand) Latest Version of Poser 299. External Harddrive and SB Drives 200. Digital Cameras--two, 800. Website development (now defunct, but paid for) 600. Current website fees 70/yr. Hard copy comic issues, both proofs and finals 350. Merchandice stuff, 100. Advertizing (still very small--but will get bigger) 50. Endless printer ink cartridges (arg) unknown, but lots!!!! 500 at least.

Grand total to date: $4569.00

Amount earned back...er...hrrmm. Umm, it IS ahobby, right?

I think I spent about $150 in the last 2 months on a new scanner (old one broke) a bunch of manga pens, and some nice paper. That also includes my mom's never ending subscription to "the Master of Manga" (Manga no Tetsujin) which keeps on sending us supplies monthly (it never stops coming!!)

Hmm hard question. Most of the money I spend on my comic is probably on screentones, and one sheet of tones can last long depending on how much I need them. So I guess I spend about 20-40 US dollars MAX a month. I use pen-nibs which can last in several years so I only buy ink which is pretty cheap, and the papers I use are not that expensive either.

but well if I would need to buy ALL my tools at the same time it would probably go around 50-60 USD. But as I said, it's mostly 20-40 USD when I need to buy something.

25 dollars on advertising (so far)
A small fortune on coloured pencils....
but I'm making 20 pence a day from my adverts and sooner or later someone will come and donate £8,000,000.
Its just a matter of time!

jeez 500-700 dollars so far. But I had to pay for a good chunk of my pages. The little things really add up.

When I was doing Le Farce I maybe spent 30$~ on pens altogether. Most of the paper I just stole from places like work, and the fan base was built from word-of-mouth.

Not bad considering on paper it was something like 250 pages.

Costs:
Drawing implements: Free. Gifts or stolen from unsellable supplies at work
Scanner: Purchased for job. $70
Laptop & hardware: Purchased for job and school. $800
Tablet: Christmas gift. $250
Advertising: $40 spent

Profits:
Advertising: $10
Graphic Design jobs: $200
Scholarships: $5,000

So technically I've actually turned a profit of $4050 if you count the design work it helped me get and the scholarship money that I got awarded for it.

lba
So technically I've actually turned a profit of $4050 if you count the design work it helped me get and the scholarship money that I got awarded for it.

You got scholarship money for your comic?!? WHAT?!?

I used to have to buy things like art supplies- fancy paper, inking pens, art markers, etc....

Now I just draw the sketch in pencil on a sheet of printer paper, and everything else is done digitially. :] I suppose you could count my tablet - a big 12x12 I bought from Oz (when he upgraded to a Cintiq), as my tiny 4x6 was a deterrant to doing anything digitally.... That wasn't too much though, less than $150 I think. (There were 3 currencies involved, haha.)

If I ever made enough spare money somehow I'd buy a Cintiq, but that will never happen. Or at least not until they get significantly cheaper.

So far nothing, but I'm looking to buy flash cs4 which can cost a fair bit. But I'm thinking of buying educational version instead of proffesional since educational is only a few hundred and proffesional is $2000. I suppose that isn't just a purchase for my comic though since I use flash for animation as well.

Walrus

lba
So technically I've actually turned a profit of $4050 if you count the design work it helped me get and the scholarship money that I got awarded for it.

You got scholarship money for your comic?!? WHAT?!?

It was awarded to me because I showed I was capable of keeping a continuous effort in my work and that I showed a degree of effort beyond what's considered the norm for someone coming out of high school. In essence, I could have earned it if I had been doing a painting a day or doing a drawing a day, I just chose to do a comic a day.

My math might be off on how much I actually "earned" too since I counted the tablet cost into it.

Walrus

lba
So technically I've actually turned a profit of $4050 if you count the design work it helped me get and the scholarship money that I got awarded for it.

You got scholarship money for your comic?!? WHAT?!?

I got a scholarship for a comic, too. Part of the application was that you were supposed to do... crap, I can't remember; talking about how great you were or somethin', except you had to incorporate this box. At which point I thought, "panels! duh."

But I haven't made money off comics since. ;) Unless you count commission illustrations, but... blech. I hate 'em.

Haven't paid a thing.

Making a webcomic is a fun past time for me, if people like it, then that's just great. I'll put more effort into that.