ikleyvey

[ikleyvey]

Tbh at this point you should just make your own webcomic app/website because it would probably be 100 times better than whatever going on with webtoon right now.

hahaha it wouldn't tho, sorry 💀

Here's the fundamental issue with webcomic platforms that a lot of people just don't realize (and why they're so difficult to run successfully):

Storage costs are incredibly expensive, it's why so many sites have limitations on file sizes / page sizes / etc. because all of those images and site info have to be stored somewhere, which costs $$$.

Maintenance costs are expensive and get more so as you grow, you need people who are capable of fixing bugs ASAP and managing the servers and site itself

Financially speaking, webcomics are in a state of high supply, low demand. Loads of artists are willing to create their passion projects, but getting people to read them and pay for them is a whole other issue. Demand is high in the general sense that once people get attached to a webtoon they'll demand more, but many people aren't actually willing to go looking for new stuff to read and depend more on what sites feed them (and what they already like). There are a lot of comics to go around and thus a lot of competition with a limited audience of people willing to actually pay for them.

Trying to build a new platform from the ground up is incredibly difficult and a majority of sites fail within their first year. Not only do you have to convince artists to take a chance on your platform, you have to convince readers to come. Readers won't come if there isn't work on the platform to read, but artists won't come if they don't think the site will be worth it due to low traffic numbers. This is why the artists with large followings who are willing to take chances on the smaller sites are crucial, but that's only if you can convince them to use the site in favor of (or alongside) whatever platform they're using already where the majority of their audience lies. For many creators it's just not worth the time, energy, or risk.

Even if you find short-term success, in the long-term there are always going to be profit margins to maintain. The more users you pull in, the more storage is used by incoming artists, the more you have to spend on storage and server maintenance costs, and that means either taking the risk at crowdfunding (ex. ComicFury) or having to resort to outsider investments (ex. Tapas). Look at SmackJeeves, it used to be a titan in the independent webcomic hosting community, until it folded over to a buyout by NHN and then was pretty much immediately shuttered due to NHN basically turning it into a manwha scanlation site and driving away its entire userbase. And if you don't get bought out and try your hand at crowdfunding, you may just wind up living on a lifeline that could cut out at any moment, like what happened to Inkblazers (fun fact, the death of Inkblazers was what kicked off the cultural shift in Tapas around 2015-16 when all of IB's users migrated over and brought their work with them which was more aimed towards the BL and romancee drama community, rather than the comedy / gag-a-day culture that Tapas had made itself known for... now you deadass can't tell Tapas apart from a lot of scanlation sites because it got bought out by Kakao and kept putting all of its eggs into the isekai/romance drama basket.)

Right now the mindset in which artists and readers are operating is that they're trying way, way too hard to find a "one size fits all" site. Readers want a place where they can find all their favorite webtoons without much effort, artists wants a place where they can post to an audience of thousands, and both sides want a community that will feel tight-knit. But the reality is that you can't really have all three of those things, not on one site. Something always winds up having to be sacrificed - if a site grows big enough, it'll have to start seeking more funding while also cutting costs which will result in features becoming paywall'd, intrusive ads, creators losing their freedom, and/or outsider support which often results in the platform losing its core identity and alienating its tight-knit community.

If I had to describe what I'm talking about in a "pick one" graphic, it would look something like this:

(*note: this is mostly based on my own observations from using all of these sites at some point or another, they're not necessarily entirely accurate to the statistical performance of each site, I can only glean so much from experience and traffic trackers LMAO that said I did ask some comic pals for input and they were very helpful in helping me adjust it with their own takes <3).

The homogenization of the Internet has really whipped people into submission for the "big sites" that offer "everything", but that's never been the Internet, it relies on being multi-faceted and offering different spaces for different purposes. And we're seeing that ideology falter through the enshittification of sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. where users are at odds with the platforms because the platforms are gutting features in an attempt to satisfy shareholders whom without the platforms would not exist. Like, most of us aren't paying money to use social media sites / comic platform sites, so where else are they gonna make the necessary funds to keep these sites running? Selling ad space and locking features behind paywalls.

And this is especially true for a lot of budding sites that don't have the audience to support them via crowdfunding but also don't have the leverage to ask for investments - so unless they get really REALLY lucky in EITHER of those departments, they're gonna be operating at a loss, and even once they do achieve either of those things there are gonna be issues in the site's longevity, whether it be dying from lack of growing crowdfunding support or dying from shareholder meddling.

So what can we do?

We can learn how to take our independence back. We don't have to stop using these big platforms altogether as they do have things to offer in their own way, particularly their large audience sizes and dipping into other demographics that might not be reachable from certain sites - but we gotta learn that no single site is going to satisfy every wish we have and we have to be willing to learn the skills necessary to running our own spaces again. Pick up HTML/CSS, get to know other people who know HTML/CSS if you can't grasp it (it's me, I can't grasp it LOL), be willing to take a chance on those "smaller sites" and don't write them off entirely as spaces that can be beneficial to you just because they don't have large numbers or because they don't offer rewards programs. And if you have a really polished piece of work in your hands, look into agencies and publishing houses that specialize in indie comics / graphic novels, don't settle for the first Originals contract that gets sent your way.

For the last decade corporations have been convincing us that our worth is tied to the eyes we can bring to them. Instead of serving ourselves, we've begun serving the big guys, insisting that it has to be worth something eventually and that it'll "payoff" simply by the virtue of gambler's fallacy. Ask yourself what site is right for you and your work rather than asking yourself if your work is good enough for them. Most of us are broke trying to make it work on these sites anyways, may as well be broke and fulfilled by posting in places that actually suit us and our work if we can. Don't define your success by what sites like Webtoons are enforcing - that definition only benefits them, not you.

#webcomics resources

[ikleyvey]

#REAL #genAI shills are abusing your ability to imagine personhood in an inanimate thing #our science is not yet at a level to be able to create artificial sentience

[ikleyvey]

Krabi (1976), Václav Mergl.

[ikleyvey]

Alright I just wanna share a little something that happened to me today with ya’ll. As some of you may know, my boyfriend and I are moving in the beginning of February. We actually just signed our lease today, so it was time for me to contact our utilities company as well as our internet company to get them switched over to our new apartment.

Utilities went off without a hitch. So I call my internet company, I don’t wanna be a snitch so let’s just use a made up company name. Like, how about… Verizon? So I call Verizon and let them know that I will be move. I’ve been with them for about three years now, and previously I was on a contract with them, but this past year I have been on a month to month.

So I start speaking with a representative, and he tells me that the speed that my current plan has (75 mbps) is no longer supported by Verizon. They now only have 100 mbps and up. He tells me that I’ll have to upgrade to a different plan and that I’ll have to pay a termination fee to cancel my contract with them.

I’m like um…??? I don’t have a contract with you? I used to have a contract with you, but then I called to renew it and you put me on a month to month. And the guy is like “Well maybe that’s what he told you he did, but he actually put you on a contract”. And I’m like: “But I didn’t sign any contracts, the first contract I did with you guys I signed” and he’s like: “A verbal confirmation over the phone is enough”. And that’s the first point where I’m like, either this guy is new and has no idea what he’s talking about, or something is not right.

So I tell him that I’d be happy to stay on the contract with them. And he says that I can’t, because the place we’re moving only has the 75 mbps and up. And I’m like, “Well how is that my fault? You’re the ones who aren’t supporting my contract anymore. Can’t you just continue my contract and just update the speed?” And he’s trying to tell me that there is no way he can possibly do that. 

And so I ask him for the price breakdown and it’s the monthly price, plus the $90 termination fee, plus a $99 installation fee when the tech comes to set up the router in my apartment. And I’m like “I’m not paying an extra $189 to you guys for essentially the same service because you’re the ones screwing me out of my contract.” And he goes to talk to a supervisor, and they say the same thing. And he talks to another supervisor, and they say they can’t help. So finally I ask to speak to a supervisor.

I explain the whole story to the guy. And he’s like “The system over here won’t let me override this in your contract”. Listen up. Any time a representative that you’re talking to says this to you, ask to speak to someone else. This is complete and utter bullshit. I worked in IT for four years, and let me tell you, if there wasn’t a way to override every single system we used, then we would’ve been in serious shit. Companies will try to tell you that the system won’t let them override what you need done, and the truth is one of two things:

1. The person you’re speaking with doesn’t have the authority to override the system. In other words, they are useless to you. This is not their fault, politely ask them to transfer you to someone who can help.

2. They are deliberately lying to try and ply you for more money. In other words, they are useless to you. This is not their fault, this is what they’re trained to do. Politely ask them to transfer you to someone who can help.

So I was transferred to a different department. And I explained the whole story to yet another representative. And he immediately said: “If you move to a place where the services in your contract don’t exist, then your contract is null and void”. This, my friends, is what I vaguely remembered reading in my original contract with Verizon. So I said: “So you won’t charge me the termination fee?” And he said “Of course not, we’re not allowed to”.

And then he went on to waive half of the installation fee for me for all of my troubles. I was on the phone with this stupid fucking company for an entire hour, but in the end I saved $130. $130! After finally finding the right person to speak to.

TLDR: So please, if someone corporate tells you that their “system” won’t allow them to change your account, don’t take no for an answer. Keep pushing until you get what you need!

[ikleyvey]

Changing my belief system from "this is the hill I'll die on" to "this is the hill I'll kill you on" has done absolute wonders for me 10/10 do recommend

#real

[ikleyvey]

Six of Swords

#for BtHc

[ikleyvey]

Rosy afternoons 🌷

Tip jar | Wallpapers | Prints | Twitter | Bluesky

[ikleyvey]

i have been constantly in tears over this newly hatched duck i found on instagram last night

#I LOVE IT #BABY

[ikleyvey]

Viktor at one of his workstations

#viktor the machine herald #my art #ikleyvey art

[ikleyvey]

I hope this picture of a quetzal makes your day at least a little bit better :)

#resplendant quetzal

[ikleyvey]

DJ Valtur, one of the strongest dudes in Twin Theorems!

He considers himself the voice of the people and he's always live at least one radio station in the city. He does live commentary on events that transpire, including combat so he'll be your personal shoutcaster if you end up in a brawl in TT! He's able to control his devices and work station using the Highway cables AND snap high voltage at enemies.

#artists on tumblr #concept art #oc #original character #character design #original character design #my art #ikleyvey art #sketch #ikleyvey

[ikleyvey]

[ikleyvey]

GET YOUR BODY OUT OF SURVIVAL MODE SO YOU CAN CREATE FROM YOUR HEART

[ikleyvey]

My wyvern design that's meant to sit somewhere in medium complexity if it were for a game! You can see how its body is rather streamlined and doesn't have large visible scales.

I emphasized its head and tail, when it's a neutral or hostile mob in a game so the player pays most attention to those because that's how it deals damage; and I placed a pattern on the wings for when it's a mount!

#concept art #creature #creature design #wyvern #dragon #game concept art #ikleyvey art

[ikleyvey]

did you guys know about this oc stuff. you can just make a guy. big if true

[ikleyvey]

Here's concept art for Lilis! One of the head scientists at Soul Arch, from Twin Theorems. As you can guess, she's cold, calculating and has a cruel streak.

#artists on tumblr #concept art #character design #twin theorems #art #original character #original charasters #sketch #anthro #anthropomorphic #mouse girl #ikleyvey art

[ikleyvey]

Solari forefather from Targon comic concept art; Here's the spear that would later be reforged into Leona's sword Zenith Blade

#targon comic #artists on tumblr #art #concept art #character design #spartan #oc #ikleyvey art #league of legends