Originally posted on FurAffinity.

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In addition to the free Open Canvas beta, I use another Japanese art program called Paint Tool SAI (or Easy Paint Tool SAI, or SAI Paint Tools). Unlike Photoshop, this software is designed specifically for digital art and illustration. It’s affordable too – the cost is around $50 US. SAI is my go-to program for digital inking, for example see Chapter 3 from my Roza webcomic.

Roza panel, inked with SAI

Paint Tool SAI: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Loads almost instantly
• Preview PSD thumbnails in file browser
• Customizable brushes
• Customizable hotkeys
• Smart color blending
• Load and save PSD files
• Can load corrupted PSD files
• Brush smoothing option
• Magic wand tool is more accurate

Cons:

• Can’t load very large image files
• No support for fonts or text
• Less brush options than PS
• Max brush size is not that big
• No gradients, vectors in v1.0.1
• Fewer layer blending options and color adjustments than PS

As you can see, most of the cons are things that SAI lacks compared to Photoshop. For a program that’s less than 1/10th the price, it’s not that bad at all. There are other cool SAI features I haven’t mentioned, but here I’ll focus on my primary use: digital inking.

Inking with SAI

The SAI interface is fairly intuitive

For basic inking, you just need to find the following:
1. Adjust smoothing – makes your lines less wobbly. I usually set it between 5 and 9.
2. Pen tool – the default works fine for me
3. Layers – similar to most image editing software, add new layers and adjust opacity here
4. Brush size – adjust here to presets, or use the slider or hotkeys to scale more gradually

Once your art is inked, you can easily color with SAI or another program that supports PSD.
Please note that in the example above, I’ve customized the placement and settings for the control panels. You’ll find them pretty easily and can arrange them however suits you.

Conclusion

I’ve used SAI mostly for inking, so there are plenty of other features I’m skipping over here. Still I’m confident that this software will do most of what any artist needs, and at a very good price.
If you’d like to give it a try, there’s a free 30 day demo.

Happy painting!

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Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals by Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges Known for their manga-style illustrations and comics, Lindsay and Jared have teamed up again for this book aimed at aspiring furry artists. This is the definitive furry art book available – chock full of diagrams and full-color illustrations, with clear instructions for beginning and intermediate artists. They even have a section dedicated to bird anthros! The art is done in a mostly anime/manga style, which may discourage some. You’ll also have to look elsewhere for more detailed tips on human anatomy – check further down the list for book recommendations. Still, if you’re looking for furry art books, I recommend you start here.

Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist by James Gurney Award-winning artist and author of “Dinotopia” James Gurney has again put pen to paper to give us insight into his techniques. Followers of his blog Gurney Journey will find similar material in this book. You’ll see the behind-the-scenes details of Gurney’s work- his sketches, studies, miniatures and models. Gurney is strongly influenced by the masters of painting and illustration, and relies heavily on traditional techniques. This is not an in-depth study of any particular method, but rather a sample of problem-solving tricks and approaches to different kinds of illustrations. Great inspiration and reference for intermediate to advanced artists.

The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals by Joe Weatherly My new favorite animal drawing book! This is, in fact, the best guide to drawing animals I’ve yet seen. Includes some great advice on pose, construction, technique and anatomy of a wide variety of animals. Good balance of helpful text and illustrative sketches. Artists looking for more detailed animal anatomy will have to do further research, but this is the place to start.

Drawing Scenery: Landscapes and Seascapes by Jack Hamm This book, cleverly disguised as a dull grayscale exploration of landscape drawing, is in fact an awesome resource for the fundamentals of composition, value and form. Hamm’s text is clear and concise with plenty of diagrams. Great for building or returning to foundation skills. For best results, study the text and do the suggested excercises, and return occassionally to brush up your knowledge. Hamm’s “Still Life Drawing and Painting” is also a great fundementals resource, but is unfortunately out of print.

The Animator’s Survival Kit by Richard Williams All-in-one resource for animators. Contains all the basics with descriptive text, lots of nice sketches and diagrams, up to more advanced technical info. Not just for animators- if you’re troubled by stiff or awkward poses this book can really help.

Drawing the Head and Figure by Jack Hamm The style is dated, but this book covers everything from basic construction, to the details of the eyes and hair. There’s even a section near the end for drawing realistic clothing! Lots of diagrams and sketches, in a variety of techniques- so if one method doesn’t click with you, there’s usually another way to try. This is a nice tangible alternative to the out-of-print Andrew Loomis books.

The Art of Animal Drawing by Ken Hultgren I often refer to this book when I have trouble or need some reference. Includes basic info on line, weight, stretch and sag, composition, tension, and caricature. The fantastic section on horses is reason enough to get this book. The only thing it lacks is info on more obscure species. However, you can apply these techniques to almost any animal. Although now I prefer the Weatherly book as a more complete reference for animal drawing, this old standby has solid info and is well worth the price.

Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair You’ll likely find a copy of this text in every animator’s library. It’s full of great advice for cartoonists and animators, most of which is conveyed in illustration with some textual notes. The first half deals with cartooning techniques- building and rotating figures and heads, facial expressions, and the like. The last half focuses on animation, with rough sketch examples and different movement cycles. There are several partial editions, so be sure you get the complete text.

Some other excellent books:

Find used/out of print/obscure books:
half.com
Bud Plant Books
Stuart Ng Books

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Use the Line tool

It’s probably the simplest way to make a panel border- drawing a straight line.
Select the Line tool from the Shape button on the toolbar, or press ‘u’ and choose it from the icons at the top. Make sure arrows are turned off on the dropdown. Set the weight however you like- for the Roza comic, I’ve been using 4 px for all panel borders. Click and drag to create the line you want- holding shift forces a horizontal or vertical line. Disable ‘anti-alias’ if your lines look too blurry. I tend to leave it enabled, especially for diagonal lines.

Use Stroke on Selections

Another handy way to create a panel border is to use ‘Stroke’ on a selected area.
Make a selection using the Marquee tool (shortcut- m) or lasso tool, any shape of selection will work. From the top menus choose Edit, Stroke – and adjust the settings as need. I always set location to ‘inside’ because it results in neat, square corners – center and outside create a rounded corner effect. You can use this method to outline odd shapes, circles, and characters that pop out of panel frames.

Use Stroke on a Path

Similar to the selection method, but paths allow you to use custom brushes to stroke the edge.
Use the Pen tool (p) to create a path around the area you want to outline. Click on each corner of the box you want to create. Holding shift will create straight lines here as well. If you need to edit the path, hold ‘a’ and select the point to move it around. Once you’re done with the path, hold ‘a’ and drag over the path to make sure all points are selected. Then from the Paths palette menu, choose the empty circle option to Stroke Path with Brush. Whichever brush and color you’ve got set currently will draw along the path you’ve selected. A square brush will create a box with neat corners. Use other brushes to create different effects – rounded, wobbly, grungey, dashed or dotted lines. You can use Edit > Stroke the same way as with a selection (see previous tip). Convert paths into a selection by pressing CTRL-ENTER.

Use Stroke as a Layer Style

A little trickier, but this method works if you’re already making your panels as separate layers.
Select your layer and choose the layer styles button from the Layers palette (it looks like a cursive f). Choose the ’stroke’ option and configure it how you like – as with the first tip, an Inside stroke is the only way to get sharp corners. A handy trick – if your comic art is flattened and you just want easy panels, create a new layer with a white square. Add the stroke effect outline, then set the layer to ‘multiply’ mode. Only the stroke is visible!

I’ve used a combination of all of the above methods in my comics, so it’s simply a matter of choosing the one that’s right for you. The important thing is to keep your style consistent – use the same line weight, and save your layer styles or brushes for stroking. Good luck and happy comicking!

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Tools used:
DokuWiki (story)
PaintTool SAI (sketch, inks)
Adobe Photoshop CS2 (cleanup, color, text)
Wacom Intuos 2 tablet (for digital drawing/painting)

You can see the final version of this page here.

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1. Actions

For an example of how to use Actions to create thumbnail images, check this tutorial.

2. HSB Sliders

3. Color Balance

Use Image > Adjustments > Color Balance or CTRL-B to access the Color Balance controls. Use Color Balance to tweak washed-out or bland images.

4. Adjustment Layers

Adjustment layers work differently in Photoshop CS4. If you’re using an earlier version, you’ll find them immensely handy. Adjustment layers allow you to do all the usual color tweaking without committing the changes to your art. The layer sits above any art you want to affect. You can also adjust the layer mode and opacity or edit the mask of these layers. To create a new one, go to Layers > New Adjustment Layer and select the adjustment you want.
That color balance thing from tip #3? Try doing it as an adjustment layer!

5. Layer Styles

6. Layer Blend Modes

Blend modes are another way to adjust color and add effects without doing any irreversible damage to your art (noticing a trend here?)
Set layers to ‘Multiply’ to darken the layers beneath – great for coloring scanned drawings. An example of this in action can be found in the Inking with Pencil tutorial. Experiment with other layer modes to add interesting effects to your art.

7. Magnetic Lasso Tool

8. Dodge for Sketch Cleanup

Ever scan in a pencil sketch, only to notice it’s covered with eraser doodles, smudges, and other random gunk? There’s a quick Photoshop trick to clean all that up.
Select the Dodge tool, set your paint color to black, and then lightly airbrush out the smudgy stuff. Using dodge gets rid of the lighter gunk, without lightening your lines too much. It can be hard to see depending on the lighting in your work area and your monitor settings. To double-check for gunk, invert the colors of the sketch (CTRL-I) and look for light grain and edges.

9. Layer Masks

Layer Masks are yet another way to edit your art without doing anything irreversible. Masks affect layer transparency- ‘masked’ areas are hidden. The mask itself can be edited at any time. You can even use masks to create animations!
To mask a bird out of this sketch, I create a selection around it, and then use that selection as the basis for a new mask.

My sketch now appears, minus bird. The mask appears next to the layer it affects in the layers palette. By holding ALT and clicking the mask icon, I can see and edit the mask itself. Masks also work on adjustment layers (tip #4).

10. Desaturate and Flip

And now, my final tip. This one isn’t as Photoshop-specific, but it’s a great way to double-check your work as you progress.
First, create a black-and-white version of your art- you can use an hue/saturation adjustment layer with saturation set to 0. That should show you the value range of your work. Is the focal point obvious? Does the character stand out from the background? You may want to adjust the levels of your layers with the desaturate layer still on to check your work. The second check is flipping. If you horizontally flip the image, does everything still look ok? Do characters or trees tilt or seem off-balance? Are facial features symmetrical?
Try these tricks a couple times as you progress on your art to nip problems early.

That’s all the tips for now!
Feel free to try these in other digital art software- the names may be different but they often have similar features to Photoshop.

Good luck and happy arting!

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Cute kitty girl right? Well unfortunately this is all she is right now. You’ve most likely read “How to Make a Web Comic Part 1” and you have a basic idea who the characters are. But who exactly is your character? All we know is that they’re a person. But what’s their driving force? What keeps them going? Who are they? If you don’t consider this then you won’t get very far in the writing process of your story. Remember the character pushes the story forward, not the other way around.

Basic Info:

Alright, so let’s start with this young lovely lady. Let’s go for some very basic things for right now.

Name: Eleanor Young

Okay, so she has a name now. This can either be the easiest or hardest part of making a character. When considering a name you should think about what you’re story is about. In Eleanor’s case I’m going for a “real world” story. If you’re writing more of a fantasy or science fiction story, something a little more complicated would be appropriate. Just try not to go overboard.

Gender: Female

Pretty much a no brainer, your character is either going to be a guy or girl.

Species: Black and white cat

It’s not really difficult to pick out a species or race for your character when you’re writing out a profile for them. Just keep in mind your rough draft of your story. It may force you to make your character something other then what you want them to be. In Eleanor’s case, it really doesn’t matter what she is, and I decided on a feline since they tend to be smaller and I wanted a small character

Age: 20 (As of 01/16/08)

Birth date: January, 16, 1988

Birthday’s are important whether you make up the dates or not. They place your character in the time of the story. It also gives you a time table to work with.

Astrological Sign: Capricorn

Chinese Zodiac Sign: Rabbit

If you’re having a hard time coming up with your character’s personality consider their signs. You can either use this, or work against it. It’s your call.

Height: 5’3’’

Measurements: 32-24-32

Your character’s size. I’m glad I picked a woman so explaining measurements will be easier. Basically the measurements are in inches and go, from left to right, bust, waist, hips. Ideally a woman’s bust and hips should be equal while their waist is about ten inches smaller, thus forming the infamous “hour glass” figure. Generally men have a wider bust then both their waist and hips (Don’t be afraid to make it all even though, it could make for an interesting character).

Background Information:

Alright we got the bare bones of Eleanor. Let’s work on some background information.

Family Background: Orphan, adopted by Young family.

History, background: Was left on the door steps of the Young family. Was raised with the knowledge she’s adopted. A good childhood, but made frustrating with the lack of knowledge of her birth parents.

Whoa! Now we have something we can write about. Eleanor’s an orphan so there’s a number of possible stories right there. It also helps explain why she’s so reserved.

Home: Newark, Delaware USA

Birth place: Unknown

You’re character is going to need a place to live. And usually you know where they were born. But for Eleanor’s case we’re not sure.

Physical Description:

Alright time to move on to a more in-depth physical description. It’s at this point you might want to break out a Sketch pad or piece of paper while you write down the description.

Hair style: short, frayed but organized

Possessions, make-up, jewelry, etc: Choker, with a purple button on the front. Chained bracelet.

Well now Eleanor has shape. She’s an actual physical person in a story. But well, we’re still not sure WHO she is.

Personality:

Everybody says that personality is the most important feature in a person and they’re right. Without it you would just interact with the same boring persons over and over again.

Likes: Scott, her adopted parents.

Dislikes: Her birthparents for abandoning her.

Oh, who’s Scott? Character interaction is a nice thing to have, and it also builds up your cast. So Eleanor already interacts with at least three other characters. It looks like she doesn’t want to have anything to do with her birth parents though. Hmm, I smell a conflict in the story.

Fears: Meeting her birth parents.

Ah the conflict, at least something for the future. Maybe Eleanor will meet her birth parents. That would make for an interesting drama.

Goals: To get through life. Stay in a relationship with Scott.

What you’re character’s driving force is. She wants to be with this Scott fellow. So when writing out a story think of different things that might drive them apart. Remember this Desire+Conflict=Drama.

Vernacular (way of speaking): Quite, but sweet.

The way your character talks. Pretty simple at this point. You can either make it something expected or unexpected. Accents are a nice touch to have sometimes, just try to be careful with them.

Psychological condition: Stable.

Your character’s mind set. What they’re really thinking. Eleanor really doesn’t have any problems that she hasn’t come to terms with. So she’s stable.

Character behavior: Withdrawn to most, but extremely friendly to her friends.

Character behavior, this will affect interaction with other characters in your story, whether they are small secondary characters, major supporting characters.

Positive characteristics: Overall nice person. Cares for her friends.

Negatives characteristics: Quiet and reserved. Usually doesn’t talk. Holds scorn for her birth parents

Positive and Negative characteristics will impact the way your audience feels about your character. Generally, whether your character is “good” or “bad” you should fill this out. Character flaws make the protagonist feel more appealing, and something positive for the antagonist might make us hate them more.

At this point your character is pretty much ready to go into your story and do their job. You may want to consider adding “fluff”, basically information that isn’t one hundred percent necessary, but would make for interesting moments in the story. Also if you’re writing a fantasy story consider adding an abilities section, maybe your character has super strength, is a pyromancer, can transform into animals, or has magic blood…….right.

It may seem like a lot of work, but really once you write a couple of character sheets out you shouldn’t have a problem. It’s always a good idea to have a written out profile over a reference sheet any day. Simply put the more you draw the better you get, and you’ll have to update your reference sheet if you go through any major style changes. With a Character Profile you won’t have to update it so often. Really the only time you should update your character’s profile is when they go through a rather involved event that may change their way of thinking or life.

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The process can be broken down into 8 stages:

• 1. Brainstorm
• 2. Rough Story
• 3. Character Design and Planning
• 4. Final Script
• 5. Drawing the Comic
• 6. Get it Online
• 7. Get it Seen
• 8. Profit?

Part 2 of this tutorial covers steps 5-8: Drawing the Comic, Get it Online, Get it Seen, and Profit(?).

5. Drawing the Comic

The first steps laid all the groundwork so that I can quickly and efficiently draw my webcomic. With the characters designed, story plotted, and script complete, the next step is to start sketching layouts for my pages.

I created a layout template file to help at this stage. The script for two pages is printed at top, and the boxes are the same aspect ratio as the final comic page. If you’d like to use my template, download the PSD file here. Print the template page in ‘landscape’ mode for the best results.

I can loosely sketch out my pages in the boxes. The benefit of having two on each page is that, if the comic is printed, the two facing pages of the book can be planned and laid out in a complementary fashion. You probably will want to avoid, for example, two pages with the same layout side-by-side. There are no unbreakable rules for layout, but keep in mind that for western readers, the eye moves from top to bottom, and from left to right. Your first panel should begin at the top left, and lead the eye in a zig-zag across and down the rest of the page by use of panel shapes and composition.

Above are some examples of page layouts I frequently use. My webcomics usually have 5-6 panels per page, which I find suits the size and pacing for my stories. Feel free to experiment with the size, shape, and number of panels to best suit your comic!

As you can see from the example, my layout drawings are really rough. It’s essentially a stick figure, with some attention to pose and facial expression. It’s ok to draw rough, because you can just toss the rough layout and draw a new one if you want to change things up. The final page has a somewhat different layout from the initial rough sketches above.

If you’re interested in learning more detail about comic page layouts and storytelling, I highly recommend Will Eisner’s Comics and Sequential Art. A good companion is Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. Both books can be had very cheaply as used copies, or in the local library.

After completing layouts, I draw the final page artwork, then clean up and color it in Photoshop. A more detailed walk-through of my process can be found in this tutorial. Use whichever style and color scheme best suit the theme of your comic.

Tada! Finished page. Now, I’m going to assume that you know how to draw your comic the way you’d like, so I won’t discuss how to finish up the page. There’s plenty of other tutorials to cover that if you still feel unsure.

6. Get it Online

Great! Now you have a comic, but how will anyone ever read it?
The internet makes it easy to get an audience – don’t worry about printing or conventions, just get a website. There are several web communities dedicated to webcomics, which provide free hosting (web page server space) as well as the scripts that will automatically update your comic.

Webcomics Nation has a free membership option, as well as a beefier premium mode for about $10/month.

Comic Genesis appears to be the new incarnation of KeenSpace, a longtime free webcomic host. Popular comics can get listed on their premium site, Keenspot.

Drunk Duck has a spotty track record, but appears to be reborn as a solid option for budget-conscious comicers.

These sites are great for testing the waters with a new webcomic, but be cautious as any free online service can up and disappear with a moment’s notice. If you can’t afford much else, you can register a domain name for your webcomic, and have it redirect to the free webcomic site. If the site dies or your comic moves, you can simply change the URL that your domain points to, and your viewers won’t notice the difference.

example of the Wordpress control panel

The more advanced option is to pay for webhosting (generally $5-15 a month) which usually guarantees your comic won’t disappear abruptly. However, you’ll have to design a website, and install any scripts needed to update comic pages automatically.

The design and updates can be combined in one package by using blog software such as Wordpress. There’s even a popular webcomic variation called ComicPress that can be installed. These scripts require a web host with PHP and mySQL, and can be intimidating to less tech-savvy artists. The benefit is that you have full control of the site, and that comic pages can be scheduled to appear on dates in advance.

An easy alternative is Walrus, a php webcomic script that can be incorporated into any php pages. It has a lot of the same functionality as the blog scripts, but lacks the more advanced (and complex) features. There are plenty of similar php scripts floating around online, so there’s always an alternative if you hit a wall trying to install one.

Photoshop also has a function for generating image galleries in html, which you can use to make your comic website. Chose the option File > Automate > Web Photo Gallery, and set up the options as you like. More advanced users can create a custom template to change the style of the web pages. To update these sites quickly, for example to add or remove some images, just run the script again to overwrite the old pages. Then you can upload the files Photoshop creates onto your webserver.

Or, as I did in the case of ‘Nymph’, you can just use good ol’ fashioned HTML to code your page, and do all the updates manually. For short or infrequently updated sites, this is the simplest and most elegant solution. I like to use html goodies to refresh my memory for html tags and css tricks.

7. Get it Seen

So, your comic is online now, but will anyone see it? And how will you know if they do?

Let’s tackle the second question first. Once we know how visitors arrive to the comic website, we can analyze how to direct more and better traffic there. Google Analytics is a great free tool for traffic analysis. By pasting the analytics code on every webpage you want to track, you can see detailed statistics for your site visitors.

example of the Google Analytics dashboard screen

Some important factors to consider:
Usability : which browser and screen resolution is most common? You can find out under “visitors – browser capabilities”
Keywords : which search engine terms are most popular for your website? You can find out under “traffic sources – keywords”
Referring sites: which webpages are linking to your website? You can find out under “traffic sources – referring sites”

Usability

The web browser and screen resolution used by visitors to your website is important. If folks can’t see your comic properly the first time, they might not come back! Make sure your website looks good in a variety of web browsers and screen resolutions. For Nymph, almost 50% of visitors use third-party web browser Mozilla Firefox. 30% used the latest version of Internet Explorer. 12% used the older IE 6 browser. The rest use Safari or other less mainstream browsers. There’s a handy tutorial here that explains how to test your site in various browsers. To test how it looks in different resolutions, go here. 1024×768 is a pretty safe resolution these days. Try to design your website to maximize the number of visitors that can see it properly.

Keywords

Keywords are the terms users type into a search engine (like Google) to find your website. Google uses data from meta tags as well as content from the webpage itself. Meta tags are information embedded into the website itself. While these are used less and less by search engines lately, it’s still good to include. Try to find the most precise phrases to describe your site, as well as terms you think users would input to find it. It might help to check a similarly-themed webcomic and see which meta data they’ve included.
Here’s an example from Nymph:

It’s helpful to think of keywords as phrases – ‘kelly hamilton webcomic’ is more likely to pull up my Nymph site than just ‘nymph’. Since many search engines give higher priority to page content than to meta tags, be sure to include the keywords in the body of your page as well. Use plain text instead of images, or image alt tags when you can. Don’t overdo it, though- google with punish sites that try to work the system, by giving them low priority in search results. Play fair and it will work to your advantage!

nymph website – a simple navigation system and uncluttered design

Referring Sites

Sites that link your pages are referrers. By using Google Analytics, or alternatives such as Cpanel, you can find out what site your visitors were at previously. This is handy to figure out not only which sites link to yours, but also what kind of sites your visitors tend to like. You can use this info for advertising (more on that later). But how can you get other sites to link to yours?

First, create a few ad banners and include them on your site. You’d be surprised at the number of folks who will link to your site with an ad banner, because they like your comic and want to share it.

nymph banner example

Next, why not include links to some of your favorite webcomics as well? They may notice and return the favor. Be sure to warn your visitors before they head off to websites with adult content (unless, of course, your site is adults-only as well).

Request a ‘link exchange’ with other webcomics. Many popular comics won’t bother with this, but if you contact smaller sites or more niche interest comics (furry, for example) you may get a positive response. Webcomicers are a generally friendly bunch, so don’t be afraid to ask. You could alternatively contact the webmaster simply to let them know you like their comic and have linked them. They may respond positively and link you in return, but would ignore a ‘cold call’ link exchange request. Remember that nobody ‘owes’ you a link, so mind your manners. And don’t ask permission to link to another website, it’s proper ‘netiquette’ just to link them without the bother.

Get your comic listed on the many webcomic directories online. Be sure to read the requirements of each site and make sure your comic qualifies.
Online Comics
Belfry Webcomics Index
The Webcomic List
ChoiceComics
TomGeeks
ComicSpace
TopWebComics
BuzzComics

Be sure to promote your webcomic on your blog, personal website, and online art gallery as well. Check the Art Online tutorial for some examples of where you can post your artwork online to get more exposure.

8. Profit?

Your comic is online, and people are reading it! Great, right? but how will you pay the hosting bill? and why bother with the effort of making a webcomic anyway?
If you want to turn your passion into profits, then you’ll need to figure out ways to gain revenue from the webcomic. Advertisements have been a long-time source of revenue for many sites. When the ad market crashed, many relied on profits from merchandise. Some earn money from print editions of their comics. You’ll have to find the right balance on your own, but here are some options that can help repay your efforts.

Google Adsense : displays flash, image and text ads based on your site meta data and content.
Yahoo Publisher Network : similar to google ads. You won’t get paid for non-USA visitor views and clicks.
Amazon Associates : earn a percentage of sales by advertising Amazon products.
Project Wonderful : banner ad network, created by a group of webcomic artists. Mostly webcomics participate.
Lulu.com : Print-on-demand books, comics, and artwork.
Paypal : Sell subscriptions, merchandise, or solicit donations without need for a credit card merchant account.
Ebay : Sell original artwork or commissions.
Furbid : it’s like ebay, for furries.
CafePress : Print-on-demand merchandise like shirts, mousepads, posters, etc
Zazzle : similar to cafepress, POD merchandise

I’ve tested all these services and found them honest and easy to use.

project wonderful ad management page

Some other ideas:
Diesel Sweeties has a newspaper deal, in addition to revenue from PW ads and merchandise.
Penny Arcade does commissioned print comics for various game publishers. They only advertise products they personally test and approve, ensuring visitors can trust the integrity of third party merchandise advertised on their site.
Jay Naylor offers two free PG-13 webcomics with regular updates, but the adults-only spinoffs and side projects have to be purchased. He also has a subscription-based sketchblog- again, adults only.
Wowio offers participants a piece of the profits from downloads of PDF webcomic ebooks. Membership seems to be invite-only now, though.

In Conclusion…

Don’t forget that the sky is the limit for webcomics. There’s no right or wrong way to draw, host, or publicize your comic. That mysterious charm that launches certain webcomics to fame and fortune can’t be formulated. Hopefully, though, this tutorial will help your webcomic reach the quality and recognition it deserves.

Happy comicking!

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Ok, so I’ve been trying and trying to find a good fur texture that works. But much to my dismay, I can only find one or two tutorials out there on fur texture, and they’re not very detailed. So, I thought I’d make my own. After much testing and redoing and trying and tears, this is what I came up with. I hope you can learn something from it too.

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Also, a note from Farore:

This works with any kind of inks, scanned, photoshop, openCanvas, whatever.

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