OK. I'm a bitter old bastard. I'm a venomous, scarred Cranky McViciousbritches. I spend significant amounts of time of a daily basis contemplating horrible ways to hurt people, and then teach them to small children.
That said:
The entire ongoing storyline with Fuschia and Criminy over in Sinfest is just amazingly adorable. It's like a warm, cuddly drug and I go directly to that site every morning when a come online before even thinking of checking e-mail, blogging, checking here or looking for midget porn.
DAMN YOU, ISHIDA!
You turned me into a romantic.
Showing posts with label webcomics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label webcomics. Show all posts
Problems with webpages
I've been surfing a bit lately and looking at different sites. Now, I still love reading webcomics and I like looking at various news stories. I have found a site that's given me a stern reminder of what not to do with web site. Now, before you click that link, I'm warning you, it's truly pathetic and is a complete eyesore. So, let's look at the glaring problems with it as a lesson for those people who are thinking of starting up their own site.
First up the viewer is greeted with a front page that looks like some kid drew on the back of his notebook. You are to click the image to go further, however there's nothing telling you to click the image. In fact upon first seeing the image in question my initial instinct was to click the 'back' button to get away from it. There's two problems on that page. First, the image is not an inviting one and does not communicate anything about the site itself other than the name, and that's only if you can actually read it. Second, there's nothing on there prompting viewers of the image to click on it. "Click the image to enter" is a familiar phrase to anyone online, but it's not something that should be taken for granted.
Once you've clicked on it you find a fairly unattractive main page. The page is also stretched so that you must scroll to the right to navigate from there. Again, two major problems. Again, the site is unpleasant to look at, but the even bigger problem is the page stretching. Ease of site navigation is crucial. Things should be clearly labeled and easy to find. Websites like these are a presentation. Neatness counts.
Lack of content is the site's biggest weakness. There's nothing there to look at or read aside from a few character profiles which are not compelling. This site is meant to be about a new comic book company. There's no sample art to be seen. There are no previews. There's no real content. I had a previous website, that was very light on content, however there was still something there. Now, the site I'm at now is completely content driven. The sole purpose for the site is to make our content available to whomever wants to view it. The site I'm discussing now is meant to advertise the comics the people behind it intend to publish. There's nothing there to hook a potential reader.
There's a whole area about the personal belief system of the head of this site. This has no place here. I worked for a sci-fi/fantasy/gaming zine about ten years ago. The editor had a page in which he'd discuss things pertinent to the zine. These were things that readers of this zine would be interested in. He made the mistake one month of using that page to discuss his beliefs over something political. Readers did not pick up that zine to read about politics and there were complaints. Back to the matter at hand, if this site is supposed to be about a comic company, then it should be about that comic company and not also serve as a soapbox or pulpit.
And there's a forum on there for people to discuss the content of which there is none of. I know there's some very good webcomics that have their own forums, but these forums aren't of any real use to the companies. It's tempting to add them to your site, to see what people think of your work. However, you're not likely to get good constructive criticism. I tried offering that once on a forum for a fairly prominent webcomic only to have the rabid mouth-breathing regulars descend upon me like a pack of rabid howler monkeys condemning me for daring to utter something that wasn't praise for the cartoonist's work. I like a good forum as much as the next geek, but they're not really of any use and it's just one more thing to tend to when you should be worried about content. For that matter, the content should come first, and then maybe see if there's enough interest to warrant a forum.
Another problem is the overuse of capital letters and horrible spelling and grammar mistakes that plague the site. Mistakes happen, but there's no excuse for this level of incompetency for any firm that wishes to be taken seriously. Any errors should be dealt with as soon as possible. The overuse of the capital letters makes it look like it was being put together by a child screaming for attention.
Now according to this site, they're planning on shipping their books out on May 3rd. Unfortunately, there will likely be nowhere to ship them to. This website is the primary means of advertising for this company. Advertising isn't meant to turn people away.
First up the viewer is greeted with a front page that looks like some kid drew on the back of his notebook. You are to click the image to go further, however there's nothing telling you to click the image. In fact upon first seeing the image in question my initial instinct was to click the 'back' button to get away from it. There's two problems on that page. First, the image is not an inviting one and does not communicate anything about the site itself other than the name, and that's only if you can actually read it. Second, there's nothing on there prompting viewers of the image to click on it. "Click the image to enter" is a familiar phrase to anyone online, but it's not something that should be taken for granted.
Once you've clicked on it you find a fairly unattractive main page. The page is also stretched so that you must scroll to the right to navigate from there. Again, two major problems. Again, the site is unpleasant to look at, but the even bigger problem is the page stretching. Ease of site navigation is crucial. Things should be clearly labeled and easy to find. Websites like these are a presentation. Neatness counts.
Lack of content is the site's biggest weakness. There's nothing there to look at or read aside from a few character profiles which are not compelling. This site is meant to be about a new comic book company. There's no sample art to be seen. There are no previews. There's no real content. I had a previous website, that was very light on content, however there was still something there. Now, the site I'm at now is completely content driven. The sole purpose for the site is to make our content available to whomever wants to view it. The site I'm discussing now is meant to advertise the comics the people behind it intend to publish. There's nothing there to hook a potential reader.
There's a whole area about the personal belief system of the head of this site. This has no place here. I worked for a sci-fi/fantasy/gaming zine about ten years ago. The editor had a page in which he'd discuss things pertinent to the zine. These were things that readers of this zine would be interested in. He made the mistake one month of using that page to discuss his beliefs over something political. Readers did not pick up that zine to read about politics and there were complaints. Back to the matter at hand, if this site is supposed to be about a comic company, then it should be about that comic company and not also serve as a soapbox or pulpit.
And there's a forum on there for people to discuss the content of which there is none of. I know there's some very good webcomics that have their own forums, but these forums aren't of any real use to the companies. It's tempting to add them to your site, to see what people think of your work. However, you're not likely to get good constructive criticism. I tried offering that once on a forum for a fairly prominent webcomic only to have the rabid mouth-breathing regulars descend upon me like a pack of rabid howler monkeys condemning me for daring to utter something that wasn't praise for the cartoonist's work. I like a good forum as much as the next geek, but they're not really of any use and it's just one more thing to tend to when you should be worried about content. For that matter, the content should come first, and then maybe see if there's enough interest to warrant a forum.
Another problem is the overuse of capital letters and horrible spelling and grammar mistakes that plague the site. Mistakes happen, but there's no excuse for this level of incompetency for any firm that wishes to be taken seriously. Any errors should be dealt with as soon as possible. The overuse of the capital letters makes it look like it was being put together by a child screaming for attention.
Now according to this site, they're planning on shipping their books out on May 3rd. Unfortunately, there will likely be nowhere to ship them to. This website is the primary means of advertising for this company. Advertising isn't meant to turn people away.
Times achangin'...: part 3
Comics have changed a lot over the years and the evolution is continuing. Independent comics are not what they once were. It used to be a creator had a vision and would put his work together and find a way to get his work printed and distributed. I'm talking about the guys who were working their day jobs to keep those bills paid and trying to get the work done and stash away enough money for supplies and printing. These were the guys very familiar with the taste of Ramen noodles. Hunger can bring out the best in a creator.
With the coming of the internet and the advances of high speed connections the game has changed. It is possible for viewers to check out full color pages efficiently. Used to be it too a while for even black and white images to come up. I know this because NIGHT LIFE was on the web back in '95 and '96. James Madison University had stuff from the campus newspaper online back then and my comic strip was part of it.
So, now you don't need the money for a print run, you just need a site for hosting your work, and you can find free ones out there. You need a scanner. Really, that's about it. This makes it a lot easier for creators to get their work out there, and solves the problem of distribution.
This also poses a problem.
There's an absolute glut of webcomics out there. It's unreal how much there is. So, you have to sift through them to find the good stuff. This can be a rather involved process, but much like browsing the racks at the comic shop for something new you're going to find stinkers as well as gold.
Right now I'm following a few: Finder, Girl Genius, Sinfest, Fragile Gravity and a few others. These have been around for a while. They have firm readerships and they put out a quality product. They're a good jumping on point for those of you that are new to webcomics.
Really it breaks down to three types.
Hobbyists: these are the folks that are just doing it for fun. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. They don't take it very seriously, but sometimes you can find some gems in there.
Wannabes: these are the guys who think they have the hottest thing out there. Their parents and friends told them how awesome they're stuff is so they're inflicting it upon anyone who clicks their way. They often don't take criticism well.
The real deal: these are the ones to watch. They meet their update schedules. They consistently turn out decent work. They thrive on criticism both good and bad and use it to try to improve. They don't conduct themselves like petulant children. These are the people who are actually trying, and have the chops. They have stories to tell.
The web is the new proving ground for new writers and artists. The next generation of talent that you will see working for the big companies will be culled from the web. This is the new indy scene.
With the coming of the internet and the advances of high speed connections the game has changed. It is possible for viewers to check out full color pages efficiently. Used to be it too a while for even black and white images to come up. I know this because NIGHT LIFE was on the web back in '95 and '96. James Madison University had stuff from the campus newspaper online back then and my comic strip was part of it.
So, now you don't need the money for a print run, you just need a site for hosting your work, and you can find free ones out there. You need a scanner. Really, that's about it. This makes it a lot easier for creators to get their work out there, and solves the problem of distribution.
This also poses a problem.
There's an absolute glut of webcomics out there. It's unreal how much there is. So, you have to sift through them to find the good stuff. This can be a rather involved process, but much like browsing the racks at the comic shop for something new you're going to find stinkers as well as gold.
Right now I'm following a few: Finder, Girl Genius, Sinfest, Fragile Gravity and a few others. These have been around for a while. They have firm readerships and they put out a quality product. They're a good jumping on point for those of you that are new to webcomics.
Really it breaks down to three types.
Hobbyists: these are the folks that are just doing it for fun. Absolutely nothing wrong with it. They don't take it very seriously, but sometimes you can find some gems in there.
Wannabes: these are the guys who think they have the hottest thing out there. Their parents and friends told them how awesome they're stuff is so they're inflicting it upon anyone who clicks their way. They often don't take criticism well.
The real deal: these are the ones to watch. They meet their update schedules. They consistently turn out decent work. They thrive on criticism both good and bad and use it to try to improve. They don't conduct themselves like petulant children. These are the people who are actually trying, and have the chops. They have stories to tell.
The web is the new proving ground for new writers and artists. The next generation of talent that you will see working for the big companies will be culled from the web. This is the new indy scene.
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