>>To use myself as an example, (because I am a fantastic example of this) if I hadn’t written a webcomic, I would have never been published. I write about gay things, and while the world is changing, people aren’t exactly banging at my door begging to publish my stories where the girls kiss each other.<<
I love the fact that webcomics are widening representation and diversity. If you want to see girls kissing girls, or boys kissing boys, there are webcomics for that. There are webcomics with brown people and poor people and all sorts of other groups that usually get ignored in the mainstream. So whatever your interests are, you can probably find a webcomic about that, and throw money at the artist as a way of saying, "Thank you for depicting (favorite character type)" or whatever. I like this about crowdfunding in general, but webcomics are special because they give visual representation. That helps people feel not so darned invisible all the time.
>>Maybe in a few years time I could have presented work to a publisher and been picked up, but without drawing my comic I wouldn’t have gotten the drive to get better at art to get myself to a professional level. Webcomics are a transitional stage for many artists, which give them the experience in comic writing to go into other work.<<
I think this is great too. The interesting thing is ... story and character outweigh art. One webcomic I see echoed a lot is done all in stick figures: http://xkcd.com/162/
You don't need an expensive art class to learn how to draw. You just need some materials and an audience who will tell you what sucks and what works. You can learn by doing. Hack it out, put it up, and pay attention to the feedback. If people say you suck at drawing feet, then draw more feet. Draw feet until you get good at them. By then people will be commenting on different flaws and you can switch to something new. Whatever skill level you start with, if you draw 3 comic strips a week for a year, you will be better at it then.
Thoughts
I love the fact that webcomics are widening representation and diversity. If you want to see girls kissing girls, or boys kissing boys, there are webcomics for that. There are webcomics with brown people and poor people and all sorts of other groups that usually get ignored in the mainstream. So whatever your interests are, you can probably find a webcomic about that, and throw money at the artist as a way of saying, "Thank you for depicting (favorite character type)" or whatever. I like this about crowdfunding in general, but webcomics are special because they give visual representation. That helps people feel not so darned invisible all the time.
>>Maybe in a few years time I could have presented work to a publisher and been picked up, but without drawing my comic I wouldn’t have gotten the drive to get better at art to get myself to a professional level. Webcomics are a transitional stage for many artists, which give them the experience in comic writing to go into other work.<<
I think this is great too. The interesting thing is ... story and character outweigh art. One webcomic I see echoed a lot is done all in stick figures:
http://xkcd.com/162/
You don't need an expensive art class to learn how to draw. You just need some materials and an audience who will tell you what sucks and what works. You can learn by doing. Hack it out, put it up, and pay attention to the feedback. If people say you suck at drawing feet, then draw more feet. Draw feet until you get good at them. By then people will be commenting on different flaws and you can switch to something new. Whatever skill level you start with, if you draw 3 comic strips a week for a year, you will be better at it then.