Making a webtoon takes longer than I thought
When I first decided to make a webcomic, I imagined finishing 60 pages in two weeks. I imagined how beautiful the panels would be and the detail I would add to my sketches. I planned to layer the colors in a way that invokes strong emotion and awe and brings every scene alive. Each panel would be visually appealing. But I spent a whole month on a single panel when I finally started making my webcomic.
I corrected every mistake in the pose and tried to make every stroke perfect. All this time added up. My webcomic became a looming monster hidden within a file. As a result, I feared opening that file and working on my story. In the end, I spent two to three months on my first chapter. Also, I reduced that first chapter to about 20 pages instead of 60.
When you are making a webcomic, you are your own film crew. You oversee postproduction and pre-production. Your responsibilities include lighting, camera angles, composition, color coordination, costume design, hair and make-up, special effects, and more. And this isn’t even including the story.
Regardless of the time spent on art and planning the story, other aspects impacted how long it took me to complete that first chapter. Life doesn’t go as we plan it to. It’s a lot of work to take on your own webcomic while balancing family, children, work, illnesses, friends, and hobbies. Because even if you set time apart, unexpected events will pop up.
This often leaves me with only Saturday and Sunday to work on my webcomic.
Calculating the time
Someone once said it takes them a week to line art and a week to color their webcomic. Let's say it took me the same time to line art and color, except I only work on Saturdays. This means I would take 7 Saturdays to complete those two tasks.
Unfamiliar terrain
When you are unfamiliar with something, it will take you longer to get used to it or master the skill. I’m new to making webcomics/webtoons. I’m also not very confident with my art. Both are new terrain for me.
It’s like taking a new route versus going home the way you usually do. It will take longer to get home because the path is unfamiliar. You might get lost or go the wrong way. And you will be asking people for help a lot unless you're lucky and skilled at using maps.
Trying to get around in a new city or country is even more tricky.
The simple solution
However, there are ways to create webtoons faster. You’ll need to decide which matters more, quality or quantity, or your time and mental health. Because pushing for both quantity and quality will lead to burnout. However, it depends on what your goal is.
For example, my goal with my current webtoon is to get used to making a webcomic and practice my storytelling skills. The more you do something, the better you get at it. Storytelling is my passion so that’s where I’m placing my focus for now. As a result, I decided to focus on quantity over quality. I’ve been creating shorter chapters for a short webcomic story.
In comparison, a creator could focus on quality if they aim to express their creativity to the fullest and challenge themselves.
Quick tip
Determine your goal then set boundaries for yourself. This is to make sure you stay on track. For example, my boundary is to stay under 30 pages.
Secondly, it is important to find a healthy way to split your time. This is still something I’m working on. However, I try to work on my webcomic at least twice a week for a few hours. But time blocking or a project management technique might be helpful if you plan to take your webtoon full-time. Plus, it is important to always take time out for yourself.
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