Keep the wings

And don't go for a site dedicated to the comic.

the second primarily is based upon the heavily supported opinion that: If you don't have a serious fanbase for a comic (At least two thousand views the day of a page upload) then it is likely not beneficial to make a website.

Those are some heavy stats to overcome... But whille FA is a nice place ( defenetly the friendlyest comunity for art posting i have seen ( and I saw a few ) I do wonder if i'm limiting myself by posting just here ( I also post on DA, but unless you are well known, you jsut get lost in the sea of other artists and nobody sees your shit ).

You might think yourself limiting by doing it, but the thing is you have to be able to have the amount of advertisement or word of mouth to spread.

Not to mention that some people expect up to three updates a week. If you can't maintain something like that, the awareness and willingness to view the comic drops significantly. Just look at what happened to most of Graveyard Greg's comics.

Well it is difficult to keep up a comic with work ( and sleep ) eating up 70% of your day...

Precisely.
Thus if you cannot maintain an update schedule of at least twice a week, you probably won't get the notoriety you're looking for or pageviews.

Alright, for the first question, that's a bit hard to answer. Something that someone would identify as a 'dragon' could essentially be anything. It's not set in stone, so if your dragon character didn't have wings, could he still be a dragon? Of course he could! At least that's -my- opinion. I mean, if it means anything, I've been thinking of removing the wings on mine as well. They just don't seem to 'fit' if that makes any sense.

Also, I personally think you should get a website for your comic. It makes organization and linking -so- much easier. As far as setting one up, I'm not sure. I've never done anything like that myself.

I wish you the best of luck regardless though! I'm sure people should be able to help you out a bit better than I can!

Oh it makes a lot of since... Draghi's wings are ( story wise ) functionally useless... so he cant' fly with them. But that is the way I imagined the character originally. I love wings... but I'm not good at drawing them... and they just end up getting in the way of the parts of the body i DO know how to draw... That obviously annoys me a bit.

I don't think it's wings that make a dragon and I can perfectly understand why you consider removing them, but my belly says keep 'em because I'm used to Draghi with wings and like him like that. Also some poses you did look reeeeally neat with his wings, like here in the bottom left panel!

On the second question I'd like to pass... Don't know you, but I know myself, and I'm a lazy ass if it comes to keeping things up to date. Having two online galleries AND a website for the comic would be totally too much work for me.

The problem with wings is... unless you make them outstreatched in some sort of "epic" pose all the time, they will cover al ot of the body... and if you're doing sequential art... and your main character is a dragon you can't have him "epic looking" in every panel... it would be horribly uncomfortable to be like that all the time... imagine doing day o day activities while constantly flailing your hands in the air... yeah that doesn't sound like it would be very comfy...

Only gonna answer #2: I would not make your own, stand alone website. My recommendation would be to use an established webcomic hosting site such as smackjeeves.com (where  denoyelle hosts Era of Orlon) or mangamagazine.net (where  slaverce hosts Aegis Omega). You'll have an established base and a core of webcomic fans who could discover yours just be you being hosted on a site they browse regularly.

Interesting suggestions. WIll have ot look them up. Thanks.

Well for first question technically dragons should have wings, at least if they're Western style do i get what you mean with the pose thing.

And the site thing, well not sure if you can afford to rent a site for it. Do ive seen someone who posts a comic series on Tumblr

heh... it would have to be one of those sites that hosts for free... defenetly can't afford to pay for it.

well expect to host Adds aswell

First question: Not really, wings don't make a dragon a dragon. Take easterns for example, they are wingless and still dragons.

As for the second question: Listen to the first comment.

Wouldn't i be limiting myself if I just posted here? ( and on DA but I get no traffic there ).

In a way, yes and no. Keep posting here for a bit more time, and once you see there is a stable number of viewers for your comics, go for the website.

Wings don't make a dragon, but I do like Draghi with them. Ultimately your choice.

As for external: you could. And if you needed a free hosting service, there's Comic Genesis.

Id say wings are optional. I know I would let my characters wings go to the way side in favor of displaying the rest of the pose.

As for hosting a comic, i have no idea.

Think for question one I've seen some artists stick with the winged character, but allow now and then for a certain level of transparency in scenes where they might get in the way graphically. I'm used to seeing him with them and say stick with them I think.

Regarding creating a standalone site for the comics? I don't think that's really beneficial. Those of us who watch you here are used to seeing the updates, and having FA pop them into the inbox when you upload them makes it easy to keep track of. You're likely to lose a fair number of your existing fanbase if it disappears somewhere else where people have to make a conscious effort to seek it out and look for updates. That's actually the reason that I lost track of quite a few comics I enjoyed over the years - because I kept forgetting to check up on them. The Whiteboard is about the only one I really follow day-to-day nowadays.

Like I said, they would still be posted here as well ... just wondering if I should try to expand outside of FA? ( they are also posted on DA... but honestly that place is utterly dead. You just get lost in the sea of other artists and nobody sees your stuff ).

I keep track of the comics I follow because I posted inks to them on my main page here... so they are easily accessible.

On the subject of wings...

You've already established that the character Draghi has wings. In my opinion, taking them off would be a fundamental change of the character (not because the wings make the dragon, but because Draghi has wings) - at which point I would, in my own art, be asking whether I wanted to do a comic with a new character entirely, rather than changing the existing character's design. A wingless dragon is still a dragon in my eyes, but unless the storyline showed *how* Draghi lost his wings, it would be jarring and disjointing for me to see a comic where his wings are there, and then a next one without. That'd read as a totally new dragon character in the comic to me.

In terms of hosting a comic on a separate website, given that I have a separate website myself, it does depend on how motivated you are to keep it up to date. It's an extra expense (or you've got to host somewhere that will probably be selling adspace on your pages) too.

Oh there would be a storyline showing how he lost them... I have that figured out... I just have to decide if I REALLY want to ( I'm on the fence about it ).

The reason I'd want to expand to a site is because whille FA is nice... I wonder if I'm not limiting myself here...

Keep the wings. They offer too much opportunity in storytelling and poses, even though they do have some drawbacks as you've noticed. The solution to the problems will come with time, better pose planning on your part, remembering to check and see if it's going to work with the way the wings need to fit.

If you don't already have a lot of fame, an existing webcomic community can be a great way to get attention you wouldn't otherwise get.

You've got over a thousand watchers. That's a good enough start you can go with a dedicated site. Though you may consider joining a community anyway if you can find one that fits your theme. Not something super generic like Comic Genesis, but something specialized like Big Head Press. Except, suited for your comic. The advantage is that they should manage your server and software, so you can focus on making the comic, rather than dealing with everything surrounding it as well.

Here's an old article I wrote about starting a webcomic, based on things I'd learned from my own experience: http://www.skaarj.com/starting-a-webcomic While you don't need a lot of it, some of it may be useful.

Good luck!

Well his wings ar5e functionally useless ( story wise... he can't fly ). But it's the way I originally created my character... guess I just stuck to it that way. Problem is I'm not very good at drawing wings .... and there's very few angles you can draw the character at so that the wings don't get in the way... especially when the character is present in all the panels ( can't have him epically holding his wings outstretched all the time... would be just like us going about our daily routine by flailing our arms wildly in the air all the time. )

As for the other bit... pretty nice set of suggestions you have there. Yes a dedicated ( and free ) comic hosting site was what I was looking for... but oh Lord how do you choose?

Keep the wings. But if you have to lose them you could use a trick I remember from a certain anime show (I think it was Dragon Drive): make them much smaller/decorative when not used, and magically grow to full size when needed for flight.

Draghi can't fly even in his present state... His wings are vestigial but he's just one individual that was taken from a world with much lower gravity and enhanced to be able to survive in heavyer gravity worlds... that means he's more muscular... but it also means he's way to heavy to fly... his wings are functionally useless. He's thought out that way ever sine I started the comic in it's current form.

The only reason he has them is because... well, that was the original character design and my original vision of what a dragon is... guess i stook with it.

To answer your first question, I don't think wings make a dragon. Have a wingless dragon of my own after all. However, I do like the way the wings look on your dragon.

As for your second question I guess it's really up to whether you are willing to put in the work to keeping a separate website up to date. Personally, I do like just following everything here on FA since it's easier than checking a bunch of different websites (as in, I'm lazy XP).

Yes but I'm wondering if I'm not limiting myself by sticking to just here? ( true I also post on DA but that place is dead unless you are well known ).

I think the first question more depends on what you think would make the most sense for Draghi's character. If wings are what he was meant to have, then you should probably keep them! Wings may not make a dragon, but they generally look more like large lizards with out them. =p Which honestly isn't a bad thing either. You do draw some fine wings, though... I guess I personally edge towards keeping them.

As to your second question... uhm, I'd ask other folk who post things on DA/FA who have a site for their comic as well.

I'm not very good with wings... and they sure are a chore to draw... They do look good if you know what you are doign with them... I have seen some people do some very ncie things with wings... btu I don't think 'm quite there yet.

Yea, I imagine they are rather bothersome. I've seen a few other artists like to remove wings with their characters as the wings tend to obscure other portions of the piece. Still, if you feel more comfortable not drawing them, than that's the important part! Doing what you gain the most enjoyment from. ^.=.^

Wings are important and i like them

but to be honest i understand why you ask they are very difficult to draw for some

They sure are difficult for me...

From an old story of mine:

The dragon stopped. “Speak, and condemn your town to further suffering, then!” the dragon hissed.

“Only dragons are allowed to attack towns like this. You’re not a dragon,” the man insisted.

“You repeat yourself,” the dragon said, and prepared to open his great jaws again.

“Dragons have wings, and you have none,” the man said quickly.

That gave the dragon pause. He flexed his shoulders and curved his long neck around. Yes, no wings had mysteriously grown from his back since the last time he checked. He turned back.

“A lack of wings does not stop my jaws from crunching anything I please,” the dragon growled. “To demonstrate, maybe I’ll bite your hands and feet off, and then swallow you in one gulp.”

Hehe, point taken.

Oh updates would still be posted here ( and DA ) as well... but I wonder if hanging around only here isn't limiting myself?

Not only wings makes a dragon. There's a lot of other things involved like, horns, colors, size, if they have scales, feathers or fur. The definition of "dragon" depends on your personal opinion, on how you imagine them.

But answering your question, you could remove them but, since we are all used to see him the way he is now, taking them out... well... it would still be Draghi but, imo, you should keep them because he already has it since you created him. And I like him with wings too :P

As for creating a website for your comic, well it's up to you but, I think it's pointless because we already follow you here. Websites like FA and DA are good for artists that want to show their artwork but doesn't have the knowlegde needed to setup a website on their own. Also, building your own website takes a lot of responsability. You have to find some place to host it, make the layout, code the pages, remove bugs, keep it update and most important, you have to pay for it. Not only pay monthy to keep it online but also, if you don't know how to make webpages, you would also need to pay someone to code it, remove possible bugs and flaws the page might have and keep it up and running. It would be an extra bill for you.

But before you take any conclusions analyze both situations.
1) Does your character need this modification? Would you be happy with it?
2) Would you be motivated to create and keep a website? Can you balance your financial life so it would be possible to afford it?

Think about it, and I hope you take the right decisions :)

Well you might already follow me here ( and don't get me wrong, FA is the friendliest art posting community I have seen... and I have seen a few in my time )... but aren't i limiting myself by sticking to just this place? ( well I also post on DA... but I get no traffic there... just lost in the sea of other artists ).

And I was thinking more along the liens of specialized comic hosting sites... though how you choose one of them is again... beyond me.

I didn't even realize you had a comic 'till I read this journal - I've not been keeping up too much. :)

As it's been said time and time again, wings don't make the dragon - On the other hand, I really like what you've been doing with them thusfar. I don't see very many comics with a nice, dynamic use of wings - and you've definitely got a good start on that.

As far as making a website; I'd say that'd be a good future endeavor. If you had already had web space, I could see jumping to making a website for it - but in the early stages of life it's probably not worth the money and effort of maintaining a separate site.

Well when you have to draw that character in every panel, you realize you can't get away with making stand in an epic pose ( wings outstretched so that they don't hide anything ) every time... would be just like us going about our daily routines while constantly flailing our arms in the air...

wings make the dragon, sans them he would be naught but a drake

The wings don't make the dragon, but they help a lot to make him look better (expecially if is a western dragon).
I think you should try to draw draghi without the wings and then look what version you like most.
For example i've tryed to commission an artwork with my dragon without the horns, but i didn't liked the result so i chose to add them back.

About the site... I don't know if reccomend it or not.

Personally, I like wings. It'd be a shame for him to lose his. I'd be heartbroken to lose mine. And of course, the more you draw them, the better you'll get at them.

As for a separate site, you can do so if you like, but personally, I'd prefer you keep posting them here too. It's convenient and I know I'll get to see them. If you post elsewhere and not here, I'll probably lose track just because there's so much else going on. The only comics I follow are on FA; were yours not here, I'd never know about it.

even IF I'd post to another site, I'd still also post them here and on DA.

Alright, sweet ^..^ I was worried that you were going to jump ship entirely, which would be sad. I love seeing updates from you!

Glad to hear you like my doodles.