Comic Lab

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom and Comicraft ! Wacom is the maker of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  And you're not going to want to miss Comicraft's Jan. 1 sale when all of their fonts are $20.22 each at Comicbookfonts.com This week, we discuss the importance of taking a break for the holidays. Questions asked and topics covered... Holiday content Using Blender for back...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom and Comicraft ! Wacom is the maker of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  And you're not going to want to miss Comicraft's Jan. 1 sale when all of their fonts are $20.22 each at Comicbookfonts.com This week, we discuss all of the hidden challenges in signing a book! Questions asked and topics covered... Gesture The Harold Zoid School of OverGes...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom and Comicraft ! Wacom is the maker of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  And you're not going to want to miss Comicraft's Jan. 1 sale when all of their fonts are $20.22 each at Comicbookfonts.com This week, we'll discuss composing a scene inside of a panel. Questions asked and topics covered... Art editing Dave's writing process How to get eng...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom and Comicraft ! Wacom is the maker of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  And you're not going to want to miss Comicraft's Jan. 1 sale when all of their fonts are $20.22 each at Comicbookfonts.com This week, we discuss all of the hidden challenges in signing a book! Questions asked and topics covered... How to sign a book Sketches and Artist Ed...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we discuss monthly drawing challenges — is the participation worth the stress? Questions asked and topics covered... Drawing challenges Kaijus and Cowboys Steve Jobs on tastemasters Podcaster's Curse - vertical gutters How to name a character. Today is a great time to bump up your Comic...

Editor’s Note: The documentary “15 Minutes of Shame” is found on HBOMax — not Netflix. Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we discuss writing character motivations. What's the difference between Want and Need? Questions asked and topics covered... Writing: Want vs Need Dealing with a Guilt-Tripper Netflix documentary, "15...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we wonder whether getting an animated series on a streaming service is the new brass ring for cartoonists. Questions asked and topics covered... Is Netflix the goal? USPS... it's getting worse Facebook and Instagram Schulz Museum is NOV 2022, not this Nov 22nd Finding a romantic parter...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, a cartoonist asks about going back to a project they abandoned. Dave shares some strong advice. Brad sings his. Questions asked and topics covered... Going back to an old project Monster Mash Connecting with other creators at a con Buying ads on Facebook and Instragram Kickstarter tiers...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  We're going back to Webcomics 101. We'll be talking about using the Web to build an audience. Questions asked and topics covered... Using  the Web to build an audience  Lettering dilemma How many panels per page? Learning business math How to move surplus books  The book "Arts & Numbers" can be fo...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  Help us celebrate our 200th show at ComicLabCashGrab.com ! We're celebrating 200 episodes of ComicLab with a special king-sized episode in which we assemble a list of our best advice — and discuss how to best implement them.  If you want the commemorative magnet with all 20 tips, head over to Comi...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  Creators of longform comics face unique challenges in building an audience on the Web. Or do they? Questions asked and topics covered... Long form comics "Substandard fan-created content" Kickstarter minus social media Today is a great time to bump up your ComicLab membership to the $10 tier! Patr...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  How to handle death in a comic storyline without offending your readers. Also — facing Writer's Block wile writing a long storyline requires special handling. Questions asked and topics covered... Death in comics Getting stuck writing a long story Don't comics writers like prose? Habits and routin...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  After Brad shared his debilitating bout with Writer's Block in episode 191, he shares how he overcame it, and started creating again. Also, the guys discuss what the shipping crisis could mean for small business this holiday season. Questions asked and topics covered... Writers Block — how to over...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we're discussing the recent exodus of top talent from corporate comics to Substack, a subscription-based email-newsletter platform. Questions asked and topics covered... What is Substack? Substack is an online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastruct...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we've devoted the entire show to Kickstarter — what's working, what's not, and how you can improve your campaign! Questions asked and topics covered... Kickstarter is the most tangible, real-world, evidence-based way to show how impossibly HARD it is to reach people, even with a focused...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we're talking about posting your very first comic, and later we'll talk about how to write a good ending. Questions asked and topics covered... Making that first post Matt Forbeck (@mforbeck) explains why his gaming company will discontinue shipping to the EU Q3 Estimated tax payments a...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we're talking about building your email newsletter. Questions asked and topics covered... E-mail newsletter management Ending your comic and starting something new Today is a great time to bump up your ComicLab membership to the $10 tier! Patreon backers at that level will get exclusive...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we're talking about the ideal career path for comics Questions asked and topics covered... Kickstarter strategy of "fun" Stretch Goals Ideal comics career path  "Pro-am status" Is "do a good comics" really all there is? Today is a great time to bump up your ComicLab membership to the $1...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we're talking about juggling multiple projects.   Questions asked and topics covered... Juggling two projects Sound effects Patreon solves VAT dilemma for its creators Running out of Patreon rewards Today is a great time to bump up your ComicLab membership to the $10 tier! Patreon backe...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, we're devoting a special hour-and-a-half episode to advice for exhibiting at comic conventions! Questions asked and topics covered... Exhibiting at your first comic con  Hidden costs you need to be aware of Why Dave does comic conventions What Dave won't do at shows Hot Nerd Summer — ho...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  This week, Dave shares his strategy for meeting his Kickstarter goal in the opening days — and juicing the algorithm — by using Patreon! Questions asked and topics covered... Reaching a Kickstarter goal in the opening days — using Patreon Finding your voice as a writer Schulz Museum What if comic...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  Are you self-conscious about self-promotion? Brad has a suggestion: Talk about your Pride or talk about your Joy. It's a bulletproof marketing technique! Questions asked and topics covered... Pride & Joy The history of Dave's sci-fi comic, Drive Paywalling the archive — pros and cons Today is a gr...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  What's your elevator pitch? If you had to sum up your comic for a new reader, could you do it effectively in under 60 seconds? Questions asked and topics covered... Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning Attracting collaborators Writing process — paper or software? How to maintain standards withou...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  What's your elevator pitch? If you had to sum up your comic for a new reader, could you do it effectively in under 60 seconds? Questions asked and topics covered... How to write an Elevator Pitch Bookshop.org partners with Kickstarter Selling books at comic conventions and beyond A storyline drive...

Today's show is brought to you by Wacom — makers of the powerful, professional, portable Wacom One !  Delaying gratification is extra hard when you're a comics artist. Also, Brad is seething with jealousy when Patreon asks Dave to be an ambassador. Questions asked and topics covered... Patreon Ambassador Delaying gratification  How much story per panel? Digital lettering Copyrighting the name of a...