I will never be successful on Webtoon. | Art + Storytime

[@janedoe5877]

I wish more people would go back to hosting their webcomic on their own website like old webcomics. I miss it so much

[@kellerybird]

me too! having a separate site for the comic allows you to show so much more of the comic’s personality than the more corporate sites like webtoon (but at the same time I totally understand that some people can’t pay for hosting or know how to code a website, i’m one of them lol, so I definitely get the appeal of a hosting site)

[@janedoe5877]

@@kellerybird a hosting site makes it easier to share and be discovered but it makes you just another content creator. Easily disposable by the website and not unique enough to draw people off of it. It also doesn't allow you the creative freedom to take things beyond just a comic. Look at homestuck it had full videos and little games in the canon timeline that made it so iconic.

[@kellerybird]

yeah, it’s definitely a double edged sword. that’s why I love comicfury so much, it’s a really good balance between the two in my opinion, yeah it’s a hosting platform but I can fully customize my site & all that AND get the benefits of having an active community that isn’t inherently biased towards one type of comic

[@HikaTamika]

Wait… wait what are the Tapas platform changes?! 😳 Agreed with the classic webcomics spaces having more of a community aura. I'm sure there are little webtoon creator discords or whatever, but compared to classic comics, it feels like webtoon creators are all in their own individual battles against the algorithm for (non-creator-)readers' attention rather than buddying up with other creators. Unsure. I miss the days where everyone was bold enough to try and attract people to their personal sites, or whatever platforms they preferred best. Now, for each niche/subculture we have one platform we treat as King that we try to bend and break ourselves in order to fit in on. Glad you're freeing yourself from that. Enjoyed listening and hanging out!

[@kellerybird]

Re: Tapas, it's mostly the unavoidable ads for their 'originals' comics that get shoved into my notifications and making it harder to find some comics. Tbh I'd been turned off from Tapas for quite a while and this just gave me "why bother" vibes. Ultimately neither platform really suits what I want to be able to do with my comics, so I decided to leave. I still have accounts so I can keep up with comics I read on both platforms, but I'm not posting my stuff there anymore (which I know isn't necessarily an option for everyone, like contracted webtoon creators). I want to be able to really push myself as a creator and, as of right now, I can't see these platforms supporting that past a certain point. I'm glad you liked the video! I've got more coming soon-ish (once I edit them lol)

[@HikaTamika]

@@kellerybird The way I'd prefer for my inbox on Tapas to just be likes, comments, and replies… but it's hundreds of gift episodes for licensed, translated web manhua I don't wanna readddd 😭😭😭. On top of that, I don't like how they've excluded user-made comics and novels from the… comics and novels tabs, shoving all the user content into a "Community" tab. It doesn't feel right.

[@kellerybird]

ugh yeah seeing those ads for stuff i’m never gonna touch in my inbox was so exhausting, especially since there’s no way to get rid of them. it just feels like they’re trying to alienate their indie creators , like ‘conform to our standards or good luck getting any readers I guess’. part of me wants to say putting it under a “community” tab would’ve made sense if they’d done it right, but the other part knows people new to the site aren’t gonna know that the “community” tab isn’t like… a discussion board or something

[@Voltergeist]

Hey Rink! Always nice to see another comicfurian in the wild! Our experiences are VERY similar, I had a hiatus between my first and current comic, and came back to everyone talking about Webtoon. I tried it once but I didn't like the formatting, and I feel the same way about the audience. I don't think the effort of reformatting my pages, and keeping the demanding pace of the platform is worth the way the audience treats its creators. It's so transactional and inauthentic. It's not something I need, social media has done enough damage homogenizing everyone into a 'content creator', so I don't think I'm missing out (despite other creators having told me I'm being 'left behind' for not being on there). Essentially, Webtoon is just another social media site with a webcomic function on top, and I don't blame you for not using it. It's nice to see you making videos! I hope to see more when you're able.

[@kellerybird]

Omg yeah it was so jarring coming back to comics and seeing webtoon being the dominant platform & format. I'm glad I'm not the only person that feels this way though, it really does feel inauthentic, that's a perfect way to describe it. I make comics so I can tell a story and (hopefully) build a community around that, I'm not here just to push out disingenuous content to be consumed without an afterthought. I already put a TON of time and effort into my comic and it's been so disheartening seeing people just constantly demand more and more when I can't accomodate that. Personally I find readers that will engage with the story & creator infinitely more valuable than just subscriber numbers. I'm glad you like the video! ♡ I'm hoping to get at least one out per month going forward until I get back in the habit of making them regularly again. :)

[@michaelstethem739]

I couldn't even get my webcomic on webtoons.

[@kellerybird]

Like they wouldn't let you post on webtoon? If so that's shitty of them :/

[@BlueDragonArt]

The comment system is horrid on Webtoon D: It doesn't make sense that they don't notify you...not that a lot of people comment. The whole mass production aspect of Webtoon is a turn off. Hee kitty cat footage is adorable XD Kitty gonna knock off whatever kitty feels like knocking off XD

[@kellerybird]

yeah they’ve got such a backwards way of doing things, idk how people can stand it lol glad you liked seeing the new baby lol, he’s three months old, he doesn’t give a damn what we want lol if something is in his way soon it won’t be

[@mangocafeart]

I really love how you did the line art for the braids. It's so beautiful - Rozay

[@kellerybird]

Thank you so much!! Drawing braids is so fun lol

[@SsspookyRay]

Underrated!! 💜

[@kellerybird]

Thank you! ♡

[@mangocafeart]

I am completely ignoring all the expectations of the upload speed and how many panels people expect per upload because I find it very unrealistic to keep up with. I do around 15 panels max. per upload and at the end of each upload I warn and remind readers I am not going to be rushing to upload every week. To me, making my comic is supposed to be fun. Not feeling stressed, pressured and rushed. I really do like the idea of having my comic on its own website though. Sounds like the best thing to do. - Rozay

[@kellerybird]

That's great! It's super important to know your limits when it comes to this sort of thing, overworking yourself can lead to burnout and worse. Imo having fun should definitely be a priority, especially if comics are a hobby (I know it's not always sunshine and rainbows if it's for pay-the-bills kind of work), I'm glad to hear you have that sort of mindset. :) Personally I'll always advocate for having a personal site (even if I don't have one myself), you can have a lot more freedom with how you present your comic.

[@marighoul]

thank you for reminding about tapas I almost forgot to take my series off there too. I feel like current webtoon only benefits certain comics like you said that are popular genres already, easy to consume, and update frequently. The trade off being that you advertise webtoon's platform in exchange for free hosting and maybe getting seen when the same work could be done for a self-hosted comic. It seems that the current community on there is obsessed with numbers than creating if that makes sense. Also finding out you don't get a custom banner for your comic if you are on canvas 🥲 not surprised if there is a push for personal sites once webtoon and all these other sites start loosing steam since I've been hearing alot of original creators ending their series early or leaving stories unfinished their season is over.

[@kellerybird]

Yeah I've been hearing about a lot of creators leaving or abandoning their series bc of webtoon, it's terrible and heartbreaking. It's always been a goal of mine to have a personal site for my comic and I just got to the point where I couldn't stand the corporate nature of the platforms. It absolutely makes sense what you're saying about it being more about numbers than creating & sharing art/stories, it's really disheartening to see so many people with that kind of mindset imo. I don't use this term lightly but in my opinion (& in my experience) webtoon is a pretty toxic platform 😔