On June 27th, I had the opportunity to speak at Black Dog Books and Records about Zines and Comics, organized by Grand Rapids Lit Fest. Special thanks to Rue and James who co-paneled with me. I appreciate the insight they both brought, as it helped me think about the motivations of my craft deeply. There was a lot that happened within the span of one to two hours, but here are some of the highlights I’ve remembered.
Beginning stages of comic process. Where do visuals come to play, and how to go about with corrections?
One of the first few questions I received was generally on the visual art making components. Some of the insights shared about narrative crafting is thinking about stories first, then creating characters or set pieces soon after. Though, I find myself thinking of a character design immediately then coming up with a story around it. It depends on the project, but it’s leaning more on writing story outlines before the beginning phases of concept art.
Since my experience is with self publishing, the decisions I make for my comics or printed media starts and end with me. Especially with comics. I make corrections throughout when actively creating the pages, then minor editing soon after finalizing my issues or chapters. I find the flexibility good, yet it could be a potential problem if working with someone else. I have not done a collaborative comic work before, but I’m curious with how much work is divided.
2010’s webcomic community culture. What changed?
I feel this could be a separate post in the future, but in terms of how indie publishing changed traditional publishing is fascinating. Rue brought up some good points on how pre-social media marketing structure is unsustainable with the current internet climate. If we have to return back to late 2000’s or early 2010’s internet, then there’s a bunch of scaffolding to be had. The return to analog, either having in-person community events and building community outside of the common outlets, is probably the best way to sustain creatives and involvement in the public.
My knowledge on webcomic culture has changed so much since Webtoons have proliferated with its branding and public perception. It’s disheartening that the indie spirit is now a similar caliber to professional comics, which isn’t a bad thing itself, but it also throws those who are new to the craft on the way side for chronically online habits. I miss the days of SmackJeeves and other smaller forum communities, but that means to work harder on those spaces.
Final Thoughts
So far, I had good conversations with the audience and panelists. Great commentary on various topics, such as the use of AI and its effect on artists. I don’t mind having further discussions with creatives in moderated platforms in future events, not just in GRLF.
For non-visual artists, the art making process feels like a nebulous thing. Such as, “you need the divine spark hitting you before the art comes on canvas.” That is so far from the truth. A lot of it comes with practice and preparation. The extent of the planning will depend on the person. For me, there’s gotta be some structure in the mix. If only more folks are aware that art making should have the same caliber with other creative fields, then maybe we can decrease the gap of the arts being devaluated in society.