How successful are indie digital comics ? like the ones sold at places like comixology

Are you looking for sales numbers? Or something else, like number of views or downloads? I'm not being difficult but if I've learned anything in the age of the Internet, it's that Success is a relative term.

OK well ask how many sells does a indie digital comic get ?

I've searched the internet looking for clues .I can't find any. Us old folks have difficulties with this new tech ;)

all I found for sure was the not digital teenage mutant ninja turtles hard copy done well .which does not help at all.

I found this article online. Hope it helps.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/45884-let-s-do-the-math-digital-comics-revenues-vs-print-comics-revenues.html

Thanks for the link to that article, EClark. I've printed it out for later reading.

Just remember that that article is about people who have a deal with Apple specifically. I don't know if there even is an industry standard. For instance, you might be able to set up an even better deal with Google Play.

The article linked is outdated by 6 years. Amazon owns comixology now and is no longer distributed on apple (unless they changed it again). They also have a monthly subscription plan, similar to the kindle unlimited plan, which just launched last year, making the info in that article even more outdated.

So how many sells a week does Bubba get on comixology ?

I can tell you where to find any thing 3D related and I thought any thing 2D related but damned if I can find the answer to this simplest of questions.

I asked on other 3D forums ,Apparently no one use 3D to make comics.

I think you're asking a question that can't really be answered except on a case-by-case basis, so the answer is going to be completely different from one person to the next.

Comixology was one of the highest grossing apps on the ios store for 2 or 3 years in a row, until Amazon bought them out and removed the ability for in-app purchases.

But even that isn't a true indicator of how well indie comics are doing, since they sell everything from indie to major publishers.

Maybe try researching some indie comics you're familiar with, get an idea of how popular they are and find out how they got their audience.

Look at the top indie comics on comixology and other sites, and see if you can find where they originated. Example, one of the comics on their indie top sellers list had a kickstarter campaign in 2015 that netted over $160K in backer funds prior to publication. I found that in 5 minutes by picking a title at random and doing a google search. Kickstarter has been pretty good for at least some indie comics. So has patreon.

Might also try joining a forum dedicated to indie comics and ask people there, since their info would probably be more accurate than what you would find here.

If you contact some of these independent publishers ... infering that you are researching for an article you are writing, I'm sure they would share information and you can calculate based on several contacts. Just a thought. If it works you COULD write the article. Apparently it's needed. Send it to Renderosity Magazine ... I did an interview with Mick Grey of DC (known him for years) and they published that.

You could also try contacting the makers of some of the software the artists use. I've always been fond of ComicLife by www.plasq.com.

**AmbientShade **If 3D,Comic etc etc vendors case-by-case basis are from $10.00 to $100,000.00 a year then the average would be $50,000.00 a year.

The Kickstarter Backer n Backers rewards I need to further research. but Digital Comics don't cost much to make $10.00 a month. I don't know if I would even need $160,000.00 for a movie. I'll never know where Hollywood gets these outrages budgets.

A indie forum is a solid Idea but I've been on DAZ Poser forums for decades and never got any hard fax about sells just speculations n hear says.

Boni DAZ Poser Vendors won't give any information so I doubt indie digital comics would either. You can not find DAZ Poser Vender sells on the web either.

My grammar is terrible so a righter I'm not ,If I did get a article Renderosity Magazine would half to edit it a lot.

What's a Renderosity Magazine article pay anyways ?

EClark1894 Absolutely use the apps you like. I tend to get apps that have a lot of info n youtube tutorials ,I need all the help I can get ;)

RorrKonn posted at 7:27PM Fri, 03 March 2017 - #4298667

**AmbientShade **If 3D,Comic etc etc vendors case-by-case basis are from $10.00 to $100,000.00 a year then the average would be $50,000.00 a year.

I think the more important thing to do is focus on making the comic first, and then worry about how much you can make off of it later when you're ready to start marketing it. Your first one might not go anywhere, or it might become huge, but either way it will help to establish your presence and grow a following and you'll learn a lot about the industry and the process along the way. I'd also recommend watching/listening to some indie comic creators podcasts on youtube while you work on whatever it is you're wanting to produce. There's a ton of videos with some good advice about comics and illustration and the graphic arts business in general out there.

AmbientShade This is why I'm asking questions. I don't know what to do and I'm trying to figure that out. My strengths are Art n Imagination. So I half to find where there fit that I make it. Starvation is not a option.

Don't know if I'll make it but I would like to make a 3D movie. Was thinking along the way I could sell the meshes n make comics with the meshes. I realize how insane I sound but if mickyd's keep having there $1.99 sales n I sell a few meshes n comics along the way. who knows.

You need to decide what it is you want to do first. Trying to create a comic, and a movie and build models to sell are all different projects that each take considerable amounts of time investment. Doing it all by yourself at the same time is virtually impossible and will make it harder to get anything done at all. And I say that from experience.

If you don't have a story then you might look into freelancing for other comic book writers who need artists and are willing to pay for your work. That would probably be the fastest route to a paycheck in the world of indie comics. But that also requires having a good art portfolio to show them. It doesn't necessarily have to be comic work but it needs to demonstrate the best of your abilities.

I've been working on my own comic for the last 12+ years, which is based on a story I've been writing since 1990ish. I've had similar ideas, that I would build the models I need to use in the comic and sell the models which would also help to promote the comic. That alone has sucked up so much time that I still haven't gotten to the actual creation of the comic yet. I have roughed out story boards scattered between sketch books and psd files, a ton of reference material, literally thousands of pages of notes, character sketches, etc., that I've amassed over the years, but I'm still a long way off from turning any of it into a polished comic book ready for an audience. I just work on it a little at a time when I can. At one point a few years back I was even working with a few other people on adapting it into an rpg. We had started putting together a kickstarter campaign for it but it all got to be too much and I wasn't getting any real progress made, so I went back to the basics of just working on formulating all of it into a tangible story.

What I've found from my own research (and listening to what other comic artists who have published their own work have to say on it) is that most digital-only comics don't have the same appeal that print comics have, and for the most part the return on them in terms of individual sales between print vs digital is pretty much the same, so you're not really saving anything by going purely digital. With comic books people prefer having the physical copy in hand. They might read a digital one but getting them to buy it is a lot harder than it is to get them to buy a physical copy, even when the digital is cheaper. Digital eliminates the trade aspect of the comic book industry, which has pretty much always been the life blood of the industry. Most people sell or trade their comics when they're done with them and only collect their favorites. That's pretty much what keeps comic book shops in business. If you spend much time in comic shops you'll notice that their used section is always a hundred times bigger than their new, and they almost always sell other stuff like vintage toys and collectables. The trade value of all that is eliminated in digital comics. That doesn't mean that there are no digital comics out there that are making good money, it's just that it's not the route most comic artists take because return on investment tends to be a lot lower. It costs the same to develop a digital comic as it does a print comic. The only difference is the cost of producing the print version, but those costs are still taken up by distributing the digital version. Even if they start out with a purely digital version - which a lot of them do - they still work print into their design plan at some point. Plus, its easier to promote your comic at comic shows and various events if you can hand someone a physical copy to look through instead of scrolling through some pdf pages on your ipad. IMO, comic book enthusiasts are art collectors in their own way so they want to have that physical copy to interact with. However, it almost seems to be the reverse on the adult oriented side of comic books, where digital and even 3D generated seem to be becoming the norm. There's still a lot of printed adult comics out there but its harder to get them marketed in print format it seems, whereas there are a ton of websites that publish digital adult comics and a lot of them are always looking for new artists.

The short of it is, none of it is an easy task and it's probably not going to make you rich any time soon. That's why the whole reason behind getting into it has to be because you want to make comics, not because you want to get rich. If you're good at making comics then the money will come later. Here's a video from a guy whose own comic won best indie comic in the UK back in 2014. Even with that he had to move back in with his parents because it cost him more to produce it than he made in sales.

https://www.comixology.com/Video-Nasty-1/digital-comic/93264?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy There splitting the profits between 5 of them. I never found any proof that Video Nasty was Britts #1 in 2014 on the web but it's only .99 Cents.

I can write my own stories. I have a vivid imagination. There be based on adventure ,anarchy n chaos. there be R rated some T n A but not pron.

The comic collators wanting a real world comic is a good point. Top 10 Times Comic Book Creators Were Screwed Over.Most publishers want to buy the rights ,I won't sell any thing that's mine.

I've not even had a marriage last 12 years ,I can't find no one that's willing to put up with me that long ;) I'll have some thing to show soon and If I don't feel I'm making enough progress fast enough ,then I'll let it go.

I wouldn't half to be rich but with these outrageous 1001% cigarettes taxes now ,need lots of $$$. Eating's nice to. I'd be good with 300,000.00 a year.

RorrKonn posted at 1:41AM Sun, 05 March 2017 - #4298692

AmbientShade This is why I'm asking questions. I don't know what to do and I'm trying to figure that out. My strengths are Art n Imagination. So I half to find where there fit that I make it. Starvation is not a option.

Don't know if I'll make it but I would like to make a 3D movie. Was thinking along the way I could sell the meshes n make comics with the meshes. I realize how insane I sound but if mickyd's keep having there $1.99 sales n I sell a few meshes n comics along the way. who knows.

McDonald's isn't just going to to fork over a bunch of money for cartoon characters that no one has ever seen or heard of before, Rorrkonn. So that's definitely not the way to go.

lol. i don't think that's what he meant.

It's hard to tell what he means sometimes tho.

Here's a webcast from Will Terry that I'm currently listening to while I work on some modeling.

It's not about comics but about making money from your art.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbUugKu1Jqg

I know I know you all can see me wrighting a novel now can't you .LOL.

They rag George Lucas for making characters aimed at toys. I'm sure it upsets him as he swims in his Billions ;)

mickyd's has had comic books before.maybe you could sell them another mickyd's comic you wrote along with toys.

I've always said if you want to be a Michelangelo ,Pablo Picasso all ya need to do is get your painting hung in the Whitehouse.

Gods knows if not for youtube I'd still be making cubes. but would be nice if they would say what they have to say n be faster about.

To be honest, the only characters McDonald's has ever sold that I've ever wanted were the California Raisins.

EClark1849 posted at 8:08PM Sun, 05 March 2017 - #4298752

To be honest, the only characters McDonald's has ever sold that I've ever wanted were the California Raisins.

Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Don't know about working for mickyd's but differently wouldn't work for wallyworld.

Top 10 Most Evil Business Men in the World man that's cold

RorrKorn My personal advise is this: First ..Learn to build 3D models There will be a big demand for quality 3D models as 3D printing becomes more and more affordable.

Forget "making it" with your own 2D art renders (Comics ,selling prints etc) it is a pipe dream you will starve or at least become homeless.

3D character Animation?? well you can make money sometimes particularly with forensic animation for the medical and legal Fields ..but your own animated movies for profit?? No ...do that only for personal enjoyment.

if I had to recommend one of the above over the other it would the modeling. part I recent began to model my own custom clothing for use in Daz studio. at the very least it will save money on buying content and you may even make some "phone Data bill" money if you decide to start selling in this market.

Here are some outfits I Designed and modeled last week for the Genesis 2 and 3 figures.

Learn Modeling most of all.

....more

..and for the G2 and G3 females

..last one

Wolf359 Well done on your out fits and being I was cold half the day they look nice and warm ,also :)

I appreciate your solid advice.

I can model n sculpt some. RorrKonn's Gallery I'll sell the meshes I make for the movie.

I know making a movie is a insane idea .Apparently I'm insane, Guess it's funner then being sain ;) .Hollywood makes millions n millions with movies ,Even roster teeth has made millions .My goal is a simple $300,000.00. Even if I never make a pennie at it ,I'm not going homeless or hungry. I'm old n use to living comfortably. I didn't mind living under a bridge when I was a kid but I'd mind now.but it would be nice to make something at it or at least get Netflix to air it or something. Have some since of accomplishment. It would be disappointing to spend all that time and effort on something and have nothing to show for it.

wolf359 posted at 10:39PM Mon, 06 March 2017 - #4298803

Forget "making it" with your own 2D art renders (Comics ,selling prints etc) it is a pipe dream you will starve or at least become homeless.

I strongly disagree with that sentiment. There are way too many self employed illustrators making good livings doing what they enjoy for this to be true. Just the list of people whose work I follow is pretty exhaustive and it barely scratches the surface of who else is out there doing the same.

It's like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it. If you treat it like a hobby then it will never be more than a hobby. If you treat it like an actual job and stick with it then you'll eventually grow it into a full time living. But you have to want it and work at it and make sacrifices for it. Otherwise you'll never get anywhere if you just sit around and daydream.

If people like Sakimi Chan can make $30K+ a month painting fan art in photoshop and making tutorials, then anything is possible.

Nice work on those clothes tho Wolf.

RorrKonn posted at 10:44PM Mon, 06 March 2017 - #4298820

Wolf359 Well done on your out fits and being I was cold half the day they look nice and warm ,also :)

I appreciate your solid advice.

I can model n sculpt some. RorrKonn's Gallery I'll sell the meshes I make for the movie.

I know making a movie is a insane idea .Apparently I'm insane, Guess it's funner then being sain ;) .Hollywood makes millions n millions with movies ,Even roster teeth has made millions .My goal is a simple $300,000.00. Even if I never make a pennie at it ,I'm not going homeless or hungry. I'm old n use to living comfortably. I didn't mind living under a bridge when I was a kid but I'd mind now.but it would be nice to make something at it or at least get Netflix to air it or something. Have some since of accomplishment. It would be disappointing to spend all that time and effort on something and have nothing to show for it.

There's nothing insane about wanting to make a movie. I have several scripts that I've written and have even submitted to contests. At least one has come in the top five. I actually bought Poser all those years ago to try and put together a storyboard to show a producer. And while that's as close as I've come to actually putting a movie together, if i had had just a bit more drive, money and knowledge, you'd be talking to a filmmaker right now. Is the road difficult? Yes it is. Other-wise, everyone could do it.

I'm STILL considering making a film using a script I've written.

AmbientShade _I like Sakimi Chan Art but How is Sakimi Chan selling fan Art and not getting sued by the original owners ?

EClark1894 _ Congrats on ya top 5 .I'm not asking any one to make the movie .I'm going to make the movie my self on a home PC. Decades ago Before PC I was going to draw a movie Till I realized it would take me 300 years. Then there was the PC but you needed render farms still cost to much .but now we have real-time so it is feasible. Thou I've never herd of it being done. I have a good idea what all needs to be done thou I'm still not sure how all of it will be done in a timely matter. and since I've never done this before I'm sure there be stuff I didn't factor in.

Because she's not really selling anything. She's giving tutorials and access to her files in exchange for donations. Fan art is a gray area anyway. A lot of artists sell fan art at comic cons. Some even put them together with collections of their work and sell them as print copies of their sketch books. Technically the copyright holders could stop them, but there's so much of it out there they'd spend more money trying to than its worth. And in some cases they wind up hiring the artists to do work for them.

Rorrkon, you might also remember that you're not really limited in getting your stuff in front of people for them to see. If I ever did put out my own film, I'd probably try to work out something with YouTube or Netflix, or Hulu. These guys are desperate for good quality content, especially from new producers.

Don't know how easy it is to make it as a comic artist, but I would assume that for the majority its quite difficult, but I think its possible to make your own comic or animation movie and make it a success, even if you are not producing high quality graphic material etc. If you just have a good idea and a bit of luck by getting noticed and so forth. For instant South park - this is the first episode First episode they definitely didn't.make it due to there artist skills :D or if you look at the comic called Maus which as far as i know is also quite succesful for it storytelling. Another example is the guy that wrote "The martian" this is from Wiki:

**Andy Weir, the son of a particle physicist, has a background in computer science. He began writing the book in 2009, researching related material so that it would be as realistic as possible and based on existing technology.[8] Weir studied orbital mechanics, astronomy, and the history of manned spaceflight.[9] He said he knows the exact date of each day in the book.[10] He specifically avoided physically describing the characters when not necessary for the plot.[11]

Having been rebuffed by literary agents when trying to get prior books published, Weir decided to put the book online in serial format one chapter at a time for free at his website. At the request of fans, he made an Amazon Kindle version available at 99 cents (the minimum allowable price he could set).[8] The Kindle edition rose to the top of Amazon's list of best-selling science-fiction titles, where it sold 35,000 copies in three months, more than had been previously downloaded free.[8][10] This garnered the attention of publishers: Podium Publishing, an audiobook publisher, signed for the audiobook rights in January 2013. Weir sold the print rights to Crown in March 2013 for over US$100,000.[8]

The book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list on March 2, 2014, in the hardcover fiction category at twelfth position.[12]**

Not that I know anything about your skills or story etc. But there are some people that make it out there, turning there stuff into huge successes, maybe you are the next one, who knows? :D

But I think as some others have already suggested that you should do it as a hobby unless you have the resources to do it full time with the risk of it not being a success, if the stuff you make is good someone will probably notice you at some point...anyway just my personal opinion.

Yep. A lot of people made fortunes in the early days of Kindle. Another example of a similar self published story is Hugh Howey's Silo series - post-apocalyptic sci-fi. From short story he published as an experiment to 20th Century Fox buying the film rights. Amanda Hocking made over 2 million from her kindle sales in less than a year. And there's a huge list of others. Not sure if Kindle is still the cash cow it was in its early days - seems like Amazon caught on and stepped in to put a stop to it. But it's still a very good outlet for no-names to get their work in front of tons of people without the need for gatekeepers deciding who is worth publishing and who isn't.

My own humbling experience at selling a book is this: MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING. Everyone who has read it has liked it, usually 5 stars. Doesn't mean squat.

If nobody knows about it, nobody is going to give it any stars. From what I've read, some people throw a lot of money at marketing their book, spend all of their time marketing etc. Some have hired companies to buy thousands of e-copies, so it can rise to top of amazon. The thinking there is REAL people will then buy it because it is doing so well. I don't have the time or cash to do that, (and it feels like cheating) but I also have a job, so it's a free time thing at best.

Friend of mine published through a publishing company, through an agent etc. (just finding an agent can take years) It was an amazing experience, but in the end, the advance was spent on the publishers recommended marketing agent, who was terrible.

Best advice I can give is write what you love and put it out there. Don't give up on your dream, but don't give up your day job either. Good luck!

Correct. Marketing is everythng and it's most likely going to cost you some cash.

I remember Amanda Hocking saying that if it weren't for facebook and twitter she would never have made it. But at the time she did all her marketing herself because she had no extra money to spend on it. She was a caregiver at a nursing home which is where she wrote her first kindle books during her down times. She also couldn't afford an editor (which was obvious, lol).

putrdude posted at 10:37PM Wed, 08 March 2017 - #4298942

Friend of mine published through a publishing company, through an agent etc. (just finding an agent can take years) It was an amazing experience, but in the end, the advance was spent on the publishers recommended marketing agent, who was terrible.

Sound like a scam to me ,I'd half to get violent.

"Nice work on those clothes tho Wolf"

Thanks Ambient I know it is not impossible to make a living with 2D Art/illustration it is just that that sector is flooded with very talented& unemployed Art school grads looking for that "niche" and it seems to me less an area of potential future growth than something 3D related Like GameDev of 3D printing

I am considering offering 3D content as well in the future as well as my character animation and VFX work as soon as I get a better hand on UV mapping( Arggh!!)

Anyway here is an early build on a modern Space suit for the genesis 2 male I did over the last 2 days. still needs some detailing on the rigid parts but nearly done.

It's imposable to flatten a 3D mess in to a 2D map perfectly or correctly .So don't drive ya self crazy with UVMaps .

EClark1894 posted at 6:38PM Thu, 09 March 2017 - #4298884

Rorrkon, you might also remember that you're not really limited in getting your stuff in front of people for them to see. If I ever did put out my own film, I'd probably try to work out something with YouTube or Netflix, or Hulu. These guys are desperate for good quality content, especially from new producers.

TV cable prices are outrages. n smaller selection .So I'm a BIG fan of PC TV ;) Hulu has Shadow Hunters Don't get that on TV here. Netflix has Civil War it's cool.Way more stuff then I could ever watch.

3D-Mobster posted at 6:45PM Thu, 09 March 2017 - #4298890

Don't know how easy it is to make it as a comic artist, but I would assume that for the majority its quite difficult, but I think its possible to make your own comic or animation movie and make it a success, even if you are not producing high quality graphic material etc. If you just have a good idea and a bit of luck by getting noticed and so forth. For instant South park - this is the first episode First episode they definitely didn't.make it due to there artist skills :D or if you look at the comic called Maus which as far as i know is also quite succesful for it storytelling. Another example is the guy that wrote "The martian" this is from Wiki:

**Andy Weir, the son of a particle physicist, has a background in computer science. He began writing the book in 2009, researching related material so that it would be as realistic as possible and based on existing technology.[8] Weir studied orbital mechanics, astronomy, and the history of manned spaceflight.[9] He said he knows the exact date of each day in the book.[10] He specifically avoided physically describing the characters when not necessary for the plot.[11]

Having been rebuffed by literary agents when trying to get prior books published, Weir decided to put the book online in serial format one chapter at a time for free at his website. At the request of fans, he made an Amazon Kindle version available at 99 cents (the minimum allowable price he could set).[8] The Kindle edition rose to the top of Amazon's list of best-selling science-fiction titles, where it sold 35,000 copies in three months, more than had been previously downloaded free.[8][10] This garnered the attention of publishers: Podium Publishing, an audiobook publisher, signed for the audiobook rights in January 2013. Weir sold the print rights to Crown in March 2013 for over US$100,000.[8]

The book debuted on the New York Times Best Seller list on March 2, 2014, in the hardcover fiction category at twelfth position.[12]**

Not that I know anything about your skills or story etc. But there are some people that make it out there, turning there stuff into huge successes, maybe you are the next one, who knows? :D

But I think as some others have already suggested that you should do it as a hobby unless you have the resources to do it full time with the risk of it not being a success, if the stuff you make is good someone will probably notice you at some point...anyway just my personal opinion.

12th is killer

AmbientShade posted at 6:46PM Thu, 09 March 2017 - #4298946

Correct. Marketing is everythng and it's most likely going to cost you some cash.

I remember Amanda Hocking saying that if it weren't for facebook and twitter she would never have made it. But at the time she did all her marketing herself because she had no extra money to spend on it. She was a caregiver at a nursing home which is where she wrote her first kindle books during her down times. She also couldn't afford an editor (which was obvious, lol).

LOL I would half to have a Editor or a lest a school kid fix my grammar.

putrdude posted at 6:48PM Thu, 09 March 2017 - #4298942

My own humbling experience at selling a book is this: MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING. Everyone who has read it has liked it, usually 5 stars. Doesn't mean squat.

If nobody knows about it, nobody is going to give it any stars. From what I've read, some people throw a lot of money at marketing their book, spend all of their time marketing etc. Some have hired companies to buy thousands of e-copies, so it can rise to top of amazon. The thinking there is REAL people will then buy it because it is doing so well. I don't have the time or cash to do that, (and it feels like cheating) but I also have a job, so it's a free time thing at best.

Friend of mine published through a publishing company, through an agent etc. (just finding an agent can take years) It was an amazing experience, but in the end, the advance was spent on the publishers recommended marketing agent, who was terrible.

Best advice I can give is write what you love and put it out there. Don't give up on your dream, but don't give up your day job either. Good luck!

Day Job ? I'm suppose to have a day job ? I call my self a professional Artist ,My old lady calls me a professional bum .LOL