#looks amaing!!!

[genericpuff]

Tbh at this point you should just make your own webcomic app/website because it would probably be 100 times better than whatever going on with webtoon right now.

hahaha it wouldn't tho, sorry 💀

Here's the fundamental issue with webcomic platforms that a lot of people just don't realize (and why they're so difficult to run successfully):

Storage costs are incredibly expensive, it's why so many sites have limitations on file sizes / page sizes / etc. because all of those images and site info have to be stored somewhere, which costs $$$.

Maintenance costs are expensive and get more so as you grow, you need people who are capable of fixing bugs ASAP and managing the servers and site itself

Financially speaking, webcomics are in a state of high supply, low demand. Loads of artists are willing to create their passion projects, but getting people to read them and pay for them is a whole other issue. Demand is high in the general sense that once people get attached to a webtoon they'll demand more, but many people aren't actually willing to go looking for new stuff to read and depend more on what sites feed them (and what they already like). There are a lot of comics to go around and thus a lot of competition with a limited audience of people willing to actually pay for them.

Trying to build a new platform from the ground up is incredibly difficult and a majority of sites fail within their first year. Not only do you have to convince artists to take a chance on your platform, you have to convince readers to come. Readers won't come if there isn't work on the platform to read, but artists won't come if they don't think the site will be worth it due to low traffic numbers. This is why the artists with large followings who are willing to take chances on the smaller sites are crucial, but that's only if you can convince them to use the site in favor of (or alongside) whatever platform they're using already where the majority of their audience lies. For many creators it's just not worth the time, energy, or risk.

Even if you find short-term success, in the long-term there are always going to be profit margins to maintain. The more users you pull in, the more storage is used by incoming artists, the more you have to spend on storage and server maintenance costs, and that means either taking the risk at crowdfunding (ex. ComicFury) or having to resort to outsider investments (ex. Tapas). Look at SmackJeeves, it used to be a titan in the independent webcomic hosting community, until it folded over to a buyout by NHN and then was pretty much immediately shuttered due to NHN basically turning it into a manwha scanlation site and driving away its entire userbase. And if you don't get bought out and try your hand at crowdfunding, you may just wind up living on a lifeline that could cut out at any moment, like what happened to Inkblazers (fun fact, the death of Inkblazers was what kicked off the cultural shift in Tapas around 2015-16 when all of IB's users migrated over and brought their work with them which was more aimed towards the BL and romancee drama community, rather than the comedy / gag-a-day culture that Tapas had made itself known for... now you deadass can't tell Tapas apart from a lot of scanlation sites because it got bought out by Kakao and kept putting all of its eggs into the isekai/romance drama basket.)

Right now the mindset in which artists and readers are operating is that they're trying way, way too hard to find a "one size fits all" site. Readers want a place where they can find all their favorite webtoons without much effort, artists wants a place where they can post to an audience of thousands, and both sides want a community that will feel tight-knit. But the reality is that you can't really have all three of those things, not on one site. Something always winds up having to be sacrificed - if a site grows big enough, it'll have to start seeking more funding while also cutting costs which will result in features becoming paywall'd, intrusive ads, creators losing their freedom, and/or outsider support which often results in the platform losing its core identity and alienating its tight-knit community.

If I had to describe what I'm talking about in a "pick one" graphic, it would look something like this:

(*note: this is mostly based on my own observations from using all of these sites at some point or another, they're not necessarily entirely accurate to the statistical performance of each site, I can only glean so much from experience and traffic trackers LMAO that said I did ask some comic pals for input and they were very helpful in helping me adjust it with their own takes <3).

The homogenization of the Internet has really whipped people into submission for the "big sites" that offer "everything", but that's never been the Internet, it relies on being multi-faceted and offering different spaces for different purposes. And we're seeing that ideology falter through the enshittification of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. where users are at odds with the platforms because the platforms are gutting features in an attempt to satisfy shareholders whom without the platforms would not exist. Like, most of us aren't paying money to use social media sites / comic platform sites, so where else are they gonna make the necessary funds to keep these sites running? Selling ad space and locking features behind paywalls.

And this is especially true for a lot of budding sites that don't have the audience to support them via crowdfunding but also don't have the leverage to ask for investments - so unless they get really REALLY lucky in EITHER of those departments, they're gonna be operating at a loss, and even once they do achieve either of those things there are gonna be issues in the site's longevity, whether it be dying from lack of growing crowdfunding support or dying from shareholder meddling.

So what can we do?

We can learn how to take our independence back. We don't have to stop using these big platforms altogether as they do have things to offer in their own way, particularly their large audience sizes and dipping into other demographics that might not be reachable from certain sites - but we gotta learn that no single site is going to satisfy every wish we have and we have to be willing to learn the skills necessary to running our own spaces again. Pick up HTML/CSS, get to know other people who know HTML/CSS if you can't grasp it (it's me, I can't grasp it LOL), be willing to take a chance on those "smaller sites" and don't write them off entirely as spaces that can be beneficial to you just because they don't have large numbers or because they don't offer rewards programs. And if you have a really polished piece of work in your hands, look into agencies and publishing houses that specialize in indie comics / graphic novels, don't settle for the first Originals contract that gets sent your way.

For the last decade corporations have been convincing us that our worth is tied to the eyes we can bring to them. Instead of serving ourselves, we've begun serving the big guys, insisting that it has to be worth something eventually and that it'll "payoff" simply by the virtue of gambler's fallacy. Ask yourself what site is right for you and your work rather than asking yourself if your work is good enough for them. Most of us are broke trying to make it work on these sites anyways, may as well be broke and fulfilled by posting in places that actually suit us and our work if we can. Don't define your success by what sites like Webtoons are enforcing - that definition only benefits them, not you.

[amarcia]

he just looks like a little guy...........

[shmunter]

dancing with friends is good for the soul

[markscherz]

I… do not understand tumblr live. Like, are there actually only about 50 people streaming across the whole platform at any one time? And why are so many of them just… people smoking? Or unoccupied desks? And why is nobody talking about frogs?

[simplydnp]

It will be a joint q&a but since they cant call it pinof because of dan's rebranding they call it Phil Howell and announce they're married

points are being made

[elmushterri]

Hello I just wanted to illustrate how freaking excited I was to hear you had a Tumblr so I made a dumb thing

and our favorite fem lesbian Luna

I SQUEAAKED. the squeak I squok. OMG. PEOPLE WHEN.. WHEN PEOPLE MAKE ART OF MY LIL JUPITER GIRL. AND LUNA⁉️⁉️ Look at her 🧡🧡 We are winning today withy your blessings of art! I am adding this to my next vid in the intro!! (unless you say no ofc!

[jayrockin]

Talita: Have you had any luck dating? (before you met Shyam obviously)

Talita had a handful of relationships and flings with humans in college. None of them stuck, for a wide variety of reasons.

[garpen]

Wonder Woman

[traceyc-uk]

I've just discovered your drawings and am now obsessed 😭💙 they all look full of life and have so much personality and I just wanna ruffle your MC's hair!!

Thank You!😭 also for taking the time to say means the world 💚 this blog has been as therapeutic to draw if anything and I try put bits of myself in the story and character. Saying that I felt a bit bad in the crucio comic there were so many 😭 face reactions as was meant it to be a bit silly and funny at the end, it was heartwarming that many wished hugs this wee Fifth Year.

A drawing to channel all those hugs into a super tight ultra hug and hair ruffle from Seb. I like to think the experience only bonded them closer for the shadow mountain comic 🫂

[fizzytoo]

fun in the snow!

wesley by @birdietrait! <3 (wesley uses they/them)

[catpeepeepoopoo]

heyyy murderbot nation

[genericpuff]

Thoughts on the most recent Rachel Smythe interview (from the podcast Lore OlymPOD)?

I didn't know they had done an interview with her so I checked it out, made it through most of it. Not really anything outstanding to say, they ask all the same questions that many other interviewers have asked before and she answers with just as much vagueness, contradiction, and complete lack of self awareness as usual.

Though I will say that I laughed when she said she doesn't engage with comments because she "doesn't like being mean". When upon actual digging you'll find she has a history of being the "mean girl" often for no reason, to the extent that she's very obviously used LO to "get back" at her haters and has even engaged with even her genuine fans in really shitty, oblivious ways. Cough. Cough. Cough.

I had to turn it off around the point she said that she didn't want Hera to be too mean and "more likeable" (she isn't likeable at all, but okay lol) because she's always "so mean" in other adaptions, with the exception of Disney's Hercules because that movie is, according to her, "very Christian". Sure thing, Rachel, you really dunked on those pesky Christian adaptions.

[mollysunder]

Arcane missed a golden opportunity to have Silco do Jinx's hair onscreen. The sheer POWER of a moment where a parent takes care of their child's hair is second to none.

I'm not talking about some scene of idle hair brushing. I'm talking about showing Silco use a rough hand or a gentle hand with Jinx's roots. Does he let her squirm while she sits, or does he constantly adjust her head to the right angle?

Is he really bad? Does he learn to get better for Jinx? Jinx has an absurd amount of hair that SOMEONE has to invest time in to take care of, or maybe it's a team effort. There's so much they could do with it

[sparxyv]

I want you to know that I have scrolled through your page after coming back to HL brainrot, and I have deviously fallen in love with Mousey. Like seeing your artwork of him makes me so giddy to the point I swing my legs and twirl my hair. 😭🫶 I love your art and page sm, the only thing that I look forward to.

THIS HAS ME SO UNBELIEVABLY HAPPY.. 💋💋 LOVE U ANON THIS WAS SENT WEEKS AGO BUT IT MADE MY MONTH!!!

it makes me so ecstatic that people love my art AND my characters?? i swear it makes me feel like i'm living 13 year old lukas' dream 💜

ANYWAYS.. i see that the people like mousey 🙏 and mousey LOVES the people.

if mousey was able read these messages, he would be beyond happy.

mousey LOVES being loved, being popular, all of that.

that being said.. it would 100% go to his head.

he can't shove it in sebastian's face though 😔💔

[amasdoodles]

These are commissions for personal artwork ONLY. Read my TOS here for more in depth information. I retain the ability to turn down a commission for any reason.

Contact me at amascommissions@gmail.com if you're interested! Commissions offered on my Ko-Fi as well!

[makotafi]

Gojo as 3 of my favorite magical girls ehehehehe /cosplayer gojo/shoujo gojo

I tried to copy the cute shouju anime style but ehhhhhhhhhhh I don't think I got it right

:[

Shout out to @twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat for the idea !!!!

Commissions