It just occurred to me that in 2026, I will have been making comics online in some way, shape or form for 20 years. It doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but here we are.
My first attempts were nothing spectacular, but they got a good response from the forums I posted them on. I spent the next year learning about dip pens, brushes, non-photo blue pencils, gutters, the Ames lettering guide, velum coated bristol vs. printer paper, scanners and then digital tools.
That entire first two years were utter garbage, so I bought every book on the comic making process I could find at Chapters and McNally Robinson. I even looked at animation books about character design.
Year three saw noticeable improvements. I had characters that weren’t carbon copies of one another. I had locations. I had a favourite set of pens and tools I was now comfortable with. I was legitimately happy with my progress.
There were setbacks. The first was when my scanner died and I didn’t have the money to buy a new one. I tried to make the switch to digital since I had a Wacom tablet and Photoshop Elements. Then I dropped my stylus and it rolled off my desk and hit the ground tip first. I tried making comics with just a mouse, but it didn’t work well. I had no way of posting anything for a year unless I posted pictures with my phone, which wasn’t ideal. It was enough to make me want to give up. For a time, I did.
When I had enough money for a new scanner, I went big. It was a monster of a machine. I could finally work on 11” x 17” paper and not have to cut it up and restitch it back together in Photoshop.
Life went on, and I had my first child. Those first years were insanely busy, but I was still able to post the odd experimental comic to test the waters of a new series. The only thing I didn’t like, or post, was my 24 Hour Comic. It was rushed and I was not happy with the final product. It was a waste of 24 hours. I’d rather do a page a day and put out something I was happy with.
When the pandemic hit, I went back to university (online) to finish my degree(s). I didn’t think I would have time to do any comics, but for the final projects in a couple of classes we were given the option to do something creative rather than just writing essays. So I was able to make two short comics to earn my grade in those classes.
A year later I was as able to sell my first comic to an anthology and actually see it in print a year after that.
Since then I had another child, so I am back to my experimental phase. Luckily, I now have an iPad with a stylus and palm rejection (it wasn’t always this way/easy,) so I am able to draw when the little one goes down for naps, or late at night when the rest of the family sleeps.
Now that I’m approaching year 20, I think it’s finally time I took the plunge and self published a graphic novella in 2026. At the very least, it will be an ebook, if the tariffs are resolved by then, I’ll do a Kickstarter for a print edition. 2026 was going to be my final year doing comics and focusing on fiction writing only. If this pans out, I may stick with it a little longer. If it fails, at least I’ll have something to show for 20 years of self taught art and storytelling!
