Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. It happens at the beginning of every month — you lose a few Patreon backers. It can be demoralizing, so let's discuss ways to survive the churn! Also, how do you restart comics after a long hiatus? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Surviving the churn Restarting after a long hiatus Learning to write You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep 287•Transcript available on Metacast Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. We often get asked by our listeners, "How can I increase my audience?" Well, in this episode, we've got you covered! We'll give you some great tips on how to grow your readership. Plus, we'll be discussing some fundamental rules of typography. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... How to build an audience UPDATE: IDW layoffs UPDATE: Incorporating Patreon into a website Living in a PROTOPIA...
Jun 08, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 286•Transcript available on Metacast A listener asks if OnlyFans could be a Patreon alternative. Also, how do you know it's the right time to launch a Kickstarter? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Could OnlyFans be a Patreon alternative? Is this a good time for a Kickstarter? UPDATE: New Yorker cartoonist Taking a break from cartooning You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewar...
Jun 01, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 285•Transcript available on Metacast Today's show is sponsored by Dreamhost ! If you want to own and control your own work, Dreamhost can help you get started. A listener is planning to exhibit at a comic con — and their five-year-old wants to sell their own comic there, too! Should children be encouraged to sell their crayon-crafted cartoon books at conventions? Also, we discuss the difference between thumbnailing and penciling. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Five-year-old tabling at a con Twitter Blue UPDATE: thumbnails vs. pencils UPDAT...
May 25, 2023•59 min•Ep 284•Transcript available on Metacast A ComicLab listener asks for advice on publishing two versions of the same book — one rated PG-13, and another rated R. Sounds an awful lot like what Brad does. So why is he so against it?! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Two versions of the same book UPDATE: New York Times portfolio review UPDATE: Brad's birthday present How many hours spent drawing? Building narrative tension Hiring an assistant after an injury You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to e...
May 18, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Ep 283•Transcript available on Metacast Let's talk "comics" — literally. A comic could be a single piece or an entire book. It could be a single panel or a series of panels. And although the word implies humor, many comics aren't supposed to be funny at all! Isn't there a better word for this thing we do?! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The word "comic" Lettering ... the invisible art "Traditional artist" Hi-res art as a Patreon reward? You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Su...
May 11, 2023•59 min•Ep 282•Transcript available on Metacast Today's episode is sponsored by DreamHost — your first step in owning and controlling your own work! Artificial Intelligence continues to loom large in the comics world. New projects purportedly written and drawn entirely with bots are garnering mass attention. Is the breathless exaltation justified — or does it come down to novelty? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... AI novelty Does a certain level of success bring a sense of complacency? UPDATE: Commission scam to look out for UPDATE: Dave's Writer's Bloc...
May 04, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep 281•Transcript available on Metacast Writer's Block often boils down to a crisis of confidence. How do you conquer that? Also, a listener asks for advice on a hybrid comic — half sequential art and half prose. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Writer's Block UPDATE: Joy-con mapping for your digital tablet Hybrid comics You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards. $10 — Gain acc...
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 280•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we're joined by Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (" War and Peas ") to talk about their unique collaboration. Also, will a wordy title hurt your comic's chances of success? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Wordy titles Public-facing Patreon numbers UPDATE: Silicon Valley Bank crash UPDATE: A DIY digital-drawing tablet controller Interview with Elizabeth Pich & Jonathan Kunz (" War and Peas ") You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — ...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 279•Transcript available on Metacast A listener asks about doing a practice project — and Kickstarting it later. Also — more than one hundred years of comics history tell everything we need to know about how comics companies treat creators. (And it ain't good.) ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Practicing to be pro Comic History - corporate comics UPDATE: Brad won the argument on ECCC UPDATE: when 250k viral moment tells you that this is a marathon not a sprint Marking an anniversary with a book You get great rewards when you join the ComicLa...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep 278•Transcript available on Metacast We're talking comics with our special guest Karl Kerschl , who talks about working in both corporate and independent comics, and prepping the Kickstarter campaign for "Death Transit Tanager." ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Working in both corporate and independent comics Prepping a Kickstarter Shipping from Canada Launching a Kickstarter on Patreon vs Kickstarter pre-launch notifications Social-media strategy for Kickstarter Juggling multiple projects Pitching a comic to Images Comics Collaborating with...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep 277•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we're talking comics with Special guest Lar deSouza , the artist of " Least I Could Do " and " Looking for Group ". Also: is it time to hire a marketing manager for your social media accounts? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Hiring a marketing manager for social media Lar deSouza (" Least I Could Do " and " Looking for Group ") You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the excl...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep 276•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we're talking comics with Caitlin McGurk! She's the curator of comics and cartoon art at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum , and she's got some terrific stories about her work there. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The Marvel Method of Comics was bonkers! UPDATE: "The Mysteries" - Bill Watterson and John Kascht UPDATE: 50 minutes of book-printing advice in ProTips #270 UPDATE: Twitter's 2Fa isn't as bad as you're being told UPDATE: Reddit's IPO UPDATE: New YouTube CEO is pro NFT Cai...
Mar 23, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 275•Transcript available on Metacast Thumbnailing is one of the most often-repeated pieces of comics advice — and yet almost everyone skips this step. We're gonna talk about it anyway. Also — is there a hidden problem with a "fake it 'til you make it" attitude? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Comments on Scott Adams Thumbnailing Drawing hands and feet UPDATE: Taxes Fake it 'til you make it? Continuity errors You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possibl...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 274•Transcript available on Metacast Should an independent comics artist publish "floppies" — those 20-30 page stapled comics similar to those that Marvel and DC publish monthly? Also — will the occasional "wholesome" comic ruin your image? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Should I be embarrassed about my floppy? Wholesome comics UPDATE: Eisner Awards UPDATE: SDCC Panel Discussions Where to place house ads Inverted word balloon tails You will get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 —...
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 273•Transcript available on Metacast Our special guest Scott Kurtz ( PvP , Table Titans , Mort ) joins us to answer questions from the ComicLab community! ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Studio layout How to create different personalities for characters What to do if your art doesn't match your writing You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips podcast. Plus $2-tier rewards. $10 — Gain access to the Comi...
Mar 02, 2023•59 min•Ep 272•Transcript available on Metacast Cory Doctorow's theory of enshittification describes how platforms die: "First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die." We'll talk about that in detail and answer a ComicLab listener who wonders what webcartoonists can do to participate in Free Comic Book Day. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Cory Doctow's theory of Enshittification ...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep 271•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website... and own and control your own work. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. Special guest Kevin McShane talks about his return to comics, his "boring" approach to creativity, dancing on TikTok, and A.I. comics. One quick show note: Our recording software failed to capture a clean recording of Kevin's microphone for the first 15 minutes of the show. Our audio engineer Matt made a tremendous effort towa...
Feb 16, 2023•56 min•Ep 270•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website... and own and control your own work. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. Is it "cheating" to use copy-and-paste in your comic? The answer may surprise you! Then we're joined by Special guest David Betancourt , the comics-culture reporter with The Washington Post . ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Copy... Paste... Perfect! UPDATE: D&D using Creative Commons UPDATE: Getty Images is suing Stable Diffusion Inter...
Feb 09, 2023•58 min•Ep 269•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. Everyone seems to be wondering where to post/publish their comics. So we'll talk about what it really means to "own and control your own work." Then we're joined by Ellen Woodbury of " Pizza Cake Comics ." ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Where should I post my comic? UPDATE: D&D OGL 1.1 UPDATE: class action lawsuit vs AI art After a pause — retool? Interview with Ellen Wo...
Feb 02, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep 268•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . Everything you need to launch a website. Transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee. It's often hard to get creativity started, but how do you turn OFF creativity when it's distracting you from your main project?? ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Turning OFF creativity Stories from quitting your day job UPDATE: I have *tried* to incorporate a.i. into my sketch ideation phase. It. Is. Useless. For. Me. My partner is more successful than me You get great rew...
Jan 26, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 267•Transcript available on Metacast Today's show is sponsored by the Lucy Cavendish College, the fastest growing constituent college of the University of Cambridge. We'll be talking to Dr. Joe Sutliff Sanders, an American scholar of the genre, launching the first world-class collection of graphic novels at Cambridge’s Lucy Cavendish College. Make a donation to the graphic-novel library. Get in touch with Dr. Joe Sutliff Sanders ALSO ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Finding a good writing class Working for a company that asserts copyright UP...
Jan 19, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep 266•Transcript available on Metacast To celebrate what would have been the legendary cartoonist's 100th birthday, the Charles M. Schulz Museum invited Dave and Brad to come to Santa Rosa, California, to talk about the influence Sparky still holds over today's comics artists. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... The influence of Charles Schulz Q&A from the audience You get great rewards when you join the ComicLab Community on Patreon $2 — Early access to episodes $5 — Submit a question for possible use on the show AND get the exclusive ProTips po...
Jan 12, 2023•52 min•Ep 265•Transcript available on Metacast It's the first show of our SIXTH YEAR of podcasts! As we head into 2023, we're going to make some bold predictions of what the next 365 days have in store. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Patreon will use new features to slowly entice people away from the Founder's level TikTok will be banned in the US Clip Studio will unveil such amazing features that no one will complain about the paltry subscription price Webtoons will become a major player in print publishing Twitter will complete its fade from its p...
Jan 05, 2023•56 min•Ep 264•Transcript available on Metacast At the beginning of the year, Dave and Brad made some bold predictions — involving Kickstarter, Substack, NFTs, blockchain, and more! As they bid a fond farewell to 2022, they take a moment to see how many they nailed... and how many they failed. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... NAILED IT: Kickstarter will back off blockchain FAILED IT: Patreon will launch a Kickstarter competitor NAILED IT: Cryptocurrency and NFTs will recede... for different reasons! NAILED IT: Substack creators who took the signing dea...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep 263•Transcript available on Metacast Today's show is being brought to you by Comicraft. Mark your calendars — their New Year's Day Sale is right around the corner. Each font will be priced to ring in the new year — $20.23! We often talk about achieving success, but this week, we tackle another question — What if it actually happens?? Success rarely shows up looking like we thought it would. ON THIS WEEK'S SHOW... Comicraft New Year's Day Sale What if I succeed? Different fonts for different voices How to simplify one’s art Reading ...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Ep 262•Transcript available on Metacast Today's show is being brought to you by Comicraft. Mark your calendars — their New Year's Day Sale is right around the corner. Each font will be priced to ring in the new year — $20.23! Is this the perfect time for nostalgia over old-school webcomics? Also... when Dave attends a sci-fi convention, and kind lady walks up to his booth with some helpful advice. AND THEN SHE APPEARS IN BRAD'S STUDIO TO SING ABOUT IT! (For those of you who are new to the show, allow us to whisk you back to 2019 when ...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Ep 260•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . If the implosion of Twitter has you wondering if you should finally build your own website, Dreamhost is there for you. With transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee, they'll get you started on owning and controlling your work on the Web. As an OG webcartoonist , Bill Barnes has deep roots in the comics community. As the person in charge of the team that developed Microsoft Lobe and other A.I. solutions, he has an inside-industry view of artifi...
Dec 08, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Ep 259•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . If the implosion of Twitter has you wondering if you should finally build your own website, Dreamhost is there for you. With transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee, they'll get you started on owning and controlling your work on the Web. Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar talk to a pro-am cartoonist who wants to build a running gag into their comic. But does the concept have legs? Also: Why does 3D art get dismissed as lazy? ON THIS WEEK...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep 258•Transcript available on Metacast This week's show is sponsored by Dreamhost . If the implosion of Twitter has you wondering if you should finally build your own website, Dreamhost is there for you. With transparent pricing and a 100% uptime guarantee, they'll get you started on owning and controlling your work on the Web. Cartoonists Dave Kellett and Brad Guigar do a deep dive on Print-on-Demand! Then, because it's a train wreck we can't stop watching, we talk about the ongoing Twitter meltdown and what it means for independent...
Nov 24, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Ep 257•Transcript available on Metacast 
