So, I’m planning a webcomic, and I have most of the character designs down. A lot of them are pretty complex in one way or another, which I know isn’t ideal, but I need my very very extra bois. So, I’m planning on keeping a relatively simple style, especially in terms of hair and face, so I can focus on silhouette and how the characters behave and express themselves. Any tips?
I wouldn't recommend this for general art stuff, but try a few art styles you like and select one of your more complex designs (or any design it doesn't matter much) and draw it using a style you're considering using. try not to rush, but time how long it takes for you to draw that character (with it being a relatively rudimentary drawing- not like a full ref or a bare sketch, just a line-art drawing of them that you are satisfied with).
It's up to you then how long is too long to draw them, but if it takes longer than, say, 15ish minutes total (depending on how long you take to draw), then I'd consider making the style a little simpler. you can do this by having less focus in the hands, eyes etc, whatever takes you the longest that isn't super important to the design.
You want your comic art style to be quicker so you can make more pages without getting burned out or having a lot of time between them. Take all that I say with a grain of salt, though, because I don't know what you're drawing or what your process is.
This is actually really helpful, ty :D
Of course!
Hi! Webcomic artist here! This thread is a bit old, but I figured i’ll still leave my thoughts.
In terms of simplifying your style, chances are you’ll have to cut back on some things. Unfortunately, when drawing a comic you really can’t go as detailed as you’d like or else it will take you ages to get through one panel. Understanding what to reduce and when is pretty key for productivity and speed. This usually means reducing details. Me personally, I found a way to simplify my style for comic work by experimenting. The other commenter gave some good tips. It’s nice to have a general idea of how long one panel or character will take you to draw, that way you know what to expect and where you should cut out detail.
Some tips I have for you:
1- Don’t do lineart. Do a sketch and then clean it up, just color underneath that. This is sooo much faster than doing lineart.
2- Not everything needs shading. You’ll notice for a lot of popular webtoons and webcomics, they only do very basic shading and rather add atmosphere and depth through gradients on the characters. ~Illusion~ of detail is the fastest way to do details!
3- Save panels, heads, eyes, expressions, bodies, poses, etc to reuse again. Copy and paste is your friend! Most readers won’t notice if you copy that eye from 10 panels ago and past it. Readers tend to look at a panel for sometimes >1 second, they’re really not gonna notice.
It’s okay if you’re a bit on the slower side! It takes me about 2 weeks to get out 25-30 panels. You’ll get faster as you progress and make your own techniques too!
Good luck :)
Oooo this is really helpful! I’ll be sure to try that out :)