So, my webcomic venture, “a Blue Screen“, is effectively done.
I’ve always wanted to put my drawing to some use, but I could never put together the right techniques and concepts that would sustain for any length of time… until I was 30, married and had two children.
My “Blue Screen” routine was every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday night, around 9pm after the kids were thoroughly asleep, I’d draw loose ideas – first in pencil, then on a Wacom – until around midnight. Invariably, I’d somehow end up in bed closer to 1am after a few light house chores, only to wake at 6am the next morning to immediately check for page views.
I was surprised how big of a glutton I became for page views, and how quickly it happened. That chart on Google Analytics was like my emotional EKG. I’d fret on the bad days and get needlessly psyched on the up days.
BUT, after three months and about 50 cartoons, it was beginning to feel more like a chore and less like pursuing some dream – especially as constant sleep deprivation settled in. I realized from the get go I wasn’t certain on the premise, theme and format – which are pretty important for any long running work. After after the novelty ran off around halfway through, there wasn’t enough to keep me going. Sleep finally became the bigger priority.
Drop in the bucket
I still like having an outlet, but the webcomic forum is too much work, once you’ve set to a schedule. Blog posts you can churn out over one, maybe two beers. But a comic can run three hours easy, and I don’t even know how many beers that translates to.
So, for what it was worth, it’s still up now. http://www.abluescreen.com. As Mark says, like many other short span webcomics, `twas a good show.
Take aways
- The webcomic medium is a saturated manure pile that few roses have blossomed from.
Not to say there’s not creative artists in it, just that the overwhelming chorus of anime soft porn and sociopathic scrawlings seem to crowd the format. - Wacom is actually a good brand, though I still wouldn’t spend more than $200 on a pen tablet.
- All the die-hard audiences on the Internet are taken. And chances are, you’re too well-adjusted to blend in with any of them.
- If you’re entering your first argument of the day with your significant other before morning coffee, you really need to re-evaluate your sleep schedule (or, depending on who you are, tell Kate plus her eight kids that her film crew and social novelty are going bye bye).