When your art style changes

Often webcomics are a long term endeavor spanning over multiple years. In that time it is inevitable that your art style and character designs will change. As an avid webcomic reader I saw my fair share of project restarted in an attempt to standardise the art direction and character designs.

This was done for the sake of streamlining the characters as well as standardising the artwork to make it look more consistent. However, given the nature and length of webcomic projects, particularly comics that aren’t one-shots, you’re bound to see changes in the art style yet again as one can only reboot a project so many times before it begins to feel like groundhog day. For me, I love going back and seeing the old art and plots of stories I love as you can see how far the artist has come, and in turn, take heart that you too may experience a similar elevation of skills.

When it comes to the writing of comics, long form comics face a much more difficult challenge compared to short form or one shot comics. As one writes and begins to explore the story, even if the outline has been worked out, the story is bound to change. Unlike a novel however, editing and amending the story can be difficult as the webcomic is essentially a work in progress rather than a finished product.

Of course, you could always complete the comic from start to finish and then release it. That is always an option. However, there is something about the organic nature of webcomics and real time audience participation/feedback that may be missed if done this way.

In the end, it is best to accept that the evolving nature of webcomics may result in your art style and character designs changing and that there may come a point where you have to let your previous style stand.

Have you ever fixed the beginning of your comic to match the current art style? How has your comic evolved over time? Let us know in the comment section below! And join us on Sunday evening for our Quackchat at 5:30PM(EST)!

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