Question for webmanga-ka and readers

[Ashley]

Hey guys, this is a double-action thread.

For webmanga readers, the perennial manga question: if a series had well, sub-par art, would you read it if the story was good enough?

Here's why I ask. For years I've been trying to put together a webcomic. I think I've finally got a half-way decent story together (I'm still working on the details) but the problem is despite being a former art major, my manga-ka'ing skills are well....not that great. ^^;;

For webmangaka and other aspiring artists: is there anyone out there who would be interested in teaming up for a webmanga? I'm willing to share the basic plot in return for some sample sketches; PM me if anyone's interested. I'm not looking for full time commitment....just maybe 10 hours a week or so.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

[Arnobius]

Well I'm not so much of a online manga reader as I am a webcomic reader, but maybe the answer I have will be the same. For me the art is not as important as the storytelling. One one hand I've stuck with "Questionable Content" since the beginning when the art was downright awful because I enjoyed it, but I abandoned "Megatokyo" despite the improving art because I thought the whole thing lost its focus.

So basically as long as the comic is interesting, even if it is mediocrely drawn it is preferable to a comic that is well drawn but dull.

[Syreth]

Hmm... tough question. I only read a few webmangas myself, but I would tend to say that the art/story quality go hand-in-hand. But given the choice between the two, I would say the story is more important than the art. If you can't draw people in with your story, then people will say, "Oh, wow, that's some nice art!" but won't go back to check for updates (at least I've done that before).

As for your comic, Ashley, I would say go for it and do it yourself if you have the time. There are a lot of people that would at least take a look at your comic on CAA and if you have a good story; they might find themselves hooked. But who knows, maybe you'll find an artist on here with the time to help you out.

[Linksquest]

I think what usually attracts people to a series is the artwork in the first plaec. If someone hears that a particular series has a good storyline then usually people will look at it for that reason. I think it would really depend on HOW sub-par the art of it would be. I don't think you will have a problem with that in your webmanga, however, Ashley.

I wish you well on it!

[Shinja]

if its a good story id read it^^

[Pepper Kittie]

I'd say go for it, Ashley! We all need to start somewhere, and even if it starts out pretty rocky you'll get better as you go. It's fun to read a manga or comic and over time see how much it's improved from the first chapters. It's true that people judge by art - I'm guilty of that sometimes, as the first mangas I look at when I'm shopping are the ones that I like the style of. But if you have a good story that draws people in I think it makes up for the sub-par art. Just be confident in your storytelling skills and the rest will come in time. At least, that's the way I'd like to view it. I'm not all that much of a manga artist, but I'm confident in my writing skills and pray that that'll make up for the crazy pictures I attempt. I'd help you out if I could but I don't have the spare time, or even the talent probably that you're looknig for. We're both learners in this ^^;

Nya, but I'll pray for you in your adventure, Ashley. We're CM hostees after all. Hope it works out for ya ^^ Oh, and another thing - if you have a great story, I bet others will be attracted to your manga because others tell them about it. Most of the webcomics I follow have been shown to me by friends who really liked the story. I'll tell people about your comic if you give it a try! What kind of a story are you thinking about, or would you rather not say quite yet?

[Esoteric]

That is a tough question huh? Personally, I've considered a web manga too, but while I'm decent as an artist, my character drawing skills stink. They lack a consistent look and it think that's the important thing in comic art. If you can draw your characters consistently, they might not be the coolest looking ones, but the comic will have a solid art style.
I agree, story is way more important than art, but since it's a comic, the artwork is certainly part of the package. The more of an action story you're telling, the better your art skills will need to be, but if you're story is mostly dialogue driven, then I think you can get away with far less technical skill as long as you have style.
I wish I could help, but I'm lacking in time and talent as well. Good luck to you and give it a shot. Put together a really good first chapter that will hook your readers.

[Steeltemplar]

I really think that content trumps art in a big way on the internet. Of course, most webcomics which have mediocre art do tend to be humorous ones - White Ninja, Real Life, early Penny Arcade, and so on. If you are doing something serious, it does make art more important to the reader so that they can better maintain the dramatic connection to what is going on. However, I think that in the web medium, content is still the most important factor and you should be able to garner and audience if your story is riveting.

[rii namuras]

(If the art is terrible, and I like the story, I'll read it. Period. Good art is wonderful, but without a good story, it's no good.)

[mechana2015]

For webmanga readers, the perennial manga question: if a series had well, sub-par art, would you read it if the story was good enough?

For webmangaka and other aspiring artists: is there anyone out there who would be interested in teaming up for a webmanga?

Q1: If the sotry seems worthwhile yes, I will stick with *ahem* less than quality art. I've stuck with some odd looking art to see what happened next.

Q2: Maybe... I need to remake my schedule so I have more focus for stuff like this... take a look at my art and tell me what you think...

[Sephiroth]

i think the art can be hte firsst thing ppl consider, but ultimately its the story/characters/humor etc. that keep ppl interested. so its worth a shot, plus look at some of the other ones out there taht started of with mediocre art and got better as they went along. the more ya do something improvement seems to come naturally.

[soul alive]

I agree with the concensus that story trumps art. Some of my favorite webmanga currently have pretty good art, but started out at a much lower artistic level, but I kept with them because I enjoyed the story. And I've tried and failed to get into some comics that had beautiful art but uninterresting stories. And while art does attract me at first, if after a few pages the story isn't worth it I won't continue.

Personally, I think that if you will have sub-par art, pull it off well by catering to what you can do. I respect someone who puts effort into their art and tries their hardest to put out a good product, even if it doesn't look like what they want. I have seen artists who cop out of things they have trouble drawing, by actually writing on the comic, where the drawing should have gone, something to the effect of "I can't draw such-and-such very well so I'm not even going to try." (I beg of you, no matter how badly something may be turning out in a drawing, never ever do that.)

[Scarecrow]

I guess I'm gonna play the devils advocate here. Personally for me its all about the art. If the pictures don't keep my eyes glued then I wont bother reading what they have to say. I'll find something with better art even if the story is not as great. I've always been more of a visual person though and even when it comes to movies, beautiful cinematography and visuals will help me overlook a pretty average or simple storyline thats been done 100 times. Of course its important not to overload or then noone pays attention to whats going on cause they're too busy looking at everything (one of my problems with MirrorMask)

Alot of people say the story is the most important part but that is not true IMO. I think they are pretty much equally important. The expressions, colors, and all set the moods and emotions you are supposed to feel while reading. This all comes from the art... not the story. UNLESS of course you are writing a novel or something. Then you are able to tell everything in words. But when it comes to comics, you cant discribe what the person is feeling or the mood or whatever, you have to rely on your pictures to get that across effectively.

So for me, being more visual (its even hard for me to get my ideas on paper because I can't describe exactly what feelings and stuff I'm trying to get across and unfortunately, my art is nowhere near good enough to capture everything I want effectively), the art comes first. If the story is crap though, I'll browse the pictures but I wont bother reading it. If the story is excellent but the pictures are not up to my standards, I wont read it or bother looking at the rest of the pictures either.

As for the OP, I'd say do it yourself anyway. The only way you will get it to look exactly the way you want is if you do it yourself. It may not be the best art in the world but you'll get better and like someone else said, many have started with some pretty sub-par art but got much better as they went along.

[bigsleepj]

For webmanga readers, the perennial manga question: if a series had well, sub-par art, would you read it if the story was good enough?

The art being good is always a bonus and but quite frankly I prefer story above art. The art must also in a sense reflect / fit the tone of the story, believe, but that's not neccesarily a must.

[Gypsy]

I usually go for story content for the most part ... but art also plays a big part too. That's not much help. ^^;

[Wave]

Hum I would have to say for me its about 60% art and 40% story. The fact is that most of the manga I read I read because I like the art AND the sorry. I'm prety picky thow. I have yet to find a manga that capters the best of bouth worlds. Gypsy's manga comes prety close though.

But pactice make prefict so start you web manga and start praticing.