I’m am hanging on by a thread trying to make it to the end of this chapter and to our next Q&A episode! Meanwhile, I’ve been on a mission to get HD Issue #2 printed in time for The Great Lace 2026! I’m going to feel so accomplished having two HD comics at my table and I’m not too far off from having material for a 3rd issue.
You can order Hard Decora:The Comic #2 here!
With that being said, let’s get into the making of Hard Decora:The Comic #2!
From Vertical to Traditional
Since I created issue one I switched to a vertical comic format to suit Webtoon’s needs because at the time that was my priority. I know I could have made into a traditional page first then bring the panels over into a vertical format but I’ve grown to really like the flexibility of the vertical format. I don’t have to think about how much page space I have to fit the story. I just create whatever panel shape I feel suits the action taking place.
Fitting my panels into a traditional page format was not as tough as I thought. It felt like a puzzle game to be honest haha As long as I was not so married to it looking like there were no spaces at all between pane I didn’t have much trouble. I was open to experimenting with panel gutters and using word bubbles to guide the readers eyes in the right direction.
I’m mostly worried that the print guides I set were not exactly right. I can’t read the ruler in the art programs (bad at mathematical things/measurements). I just used the guides from issue 1 which is the same size so hopefully that worked. Next time I will ask the printer for a template they could send me.
Recognizing My Growth as an Artist
I’ve changed my drawing style a lot since the first issue of my comic to the second issue and it will probably look a bit different from the second issue to the third issue once that comes out. Some of this was planned, like my switch from a more realistic grittier art style to an even more “anime” inspired art style with bigger eyes and less harsh shadows etc. I’ve also improved the look of my lettering. It’s not so much in this 2nd issue but in the third issue that I learn how to adjust line and letter spacing to appear more like how they do in my favorite comics. In the 2nd issue you’re seeing my journey to my current stage.
Some of the changes were just me trying to figure out certain character’s designs. I’ll have a separate character sheet and then totally disregard it because I don’t like it anymore. It is easier for me to judge the character designs in action rather than a separate sheet made in advance. I gotta see them act! So this results in some inconsistencies. This brings me to my next topic…
Future Artistic Goals
Looking back at all my comic work reminded me of where I’d like to focus going forward.
The first thing is using my favorite panels of my characters to create a more detailed character sheet. Hopefully if I’m basing it off of my favorite panels it will be a character sheet I stick to. I bought a great character turn around reference guide (from adorkastock) so I don’t have to fuss with the character posing part either. That can be an obstacle for me . Another thing with character development are defining the voices of each personality. To do that I’m going to complete some character building writing exercises like describing a room from my character’s POV. I’ll be sure to share this you all to hear what you think!
Next, I’d like to try a season based upload frequency where I plan to post for 6 months then be off for six months (or less). This would be instead of making a buffer and trying to keep that buffer indefinitely. It’s rare that I actually finish a comic episode within a month time span so any buffer amount while still posting monthly will never last long. I plan on posting WIP on Kofi so there’s another way to engage while I work on more pages 😀 Let me know if there’s anything else I should feature there as well.
Thanks for reading! I hope you all enjoy this comic journey along with me :3 Are you working on any long term projects? How are they going? Leave your response in the comments!
