In the last three years, give or take that I've had this blog up I've never had much luck with getting folks to comment one way or another on my posts . That's despite the steady flow of traffic this blog gets. People poke their heads in, come and go and make nary a sound. I haven't got a clue as to why.
I go on other sites like Wildebeest or Glassfish or on and on, and there are comments on every single post. Several!
Whatever they're doing to get folks talking is working. I just wish I knew what it was.
I suspect that I may not be getting many comments because I don't have much time to go on forums to talk or belong to a community of any kind, so no one really knows me well enough to feel free to speak up. Could that be it? I barely can scratch together enough time to update a blog, much less go on a forum, so it's really beyond me right now to do much about it. But it would be nice to know that that's the problem and not my work. I may not know until I do start talking on a forum.
Another may be that I don't write much on my blog, just toss things up and get back to work. There is not much to hang a comment on in this blog I suppose. I just figure no one has time to read my nattering since few folks comment so I have just got in the habit of posting pictures without much comment. That may be working against me, I don't know. But in the past when I have expounded, my comments haven't excited much commentary.
Interestingly Basta has the same exact problem, as he commented on a recent post on his own blog.
Until then if anyone who is a blogger themselves, or anyone else for that matter, could offer their thoughts, I'd really appreciate it.
Let me know what you think.
Slid
Whatever they're doing to get folks talking is working. I just wish I knew what it was.
I suspect that I may not be getting many comments because I don't have much time to go on forums to talk or belong to a community of any kind, so no one really knows me well enough to feel free to speak up. Could that be it? I barely can scratch together enough time to update a blog, much less go on a forum, so it's really beyond me right now to do much about it. But it would be nice to know that that's the problem and not my work. I may not know until I do start talking on a forum.
Another may be that I don't write much on my blog, just toss things up and get back to work. There is not much to hang a comment on in this blog I suppose. I just figure no one has time to read my nattering since few folks comment so I have just got in the habit of posting pictures without much comment. That may be working against me, I don't know. But in the past when I have expounded, my comments haven't excited much commentary.
Interestingly Basta has the same exact problem, as he commented on a recent post on his own blog.
Until then if anyone who is a blogger themselves, or anyone else for that matter, could offer their thoughts, I'd really appreciate it.
Let me know what you think.
Slid
I have the same thing on my blog. If you're getting the hits, I wouldn't sweat it too much. If you want to keep traffic up here when your site opens, the best way is to give the people something to talk about, background on the pieces you're putting up over there they can't find anywhere else, that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I completely agree with you about not putting all your eggs in one basket -- or one superheroine, for that matter1 (Thanks, Mr. X!)
I don't know the answer to your specific case, but I'll say a couple of things generally.
ReplyDeleteI believe people respond to a blogger when they feel a personal identification with the blogger. My blog is more specialized than yours, 'cause it's nothin' but catfights. And I've written a little about the frustrations we catfight fetishists endure, because except for Elvis and a few producers, none of us ever get to see our fantasies become reality. Every person who comes to my blog looking for catfight art knows what I'm talking about, and I like to think that helps them see me as a person, and not just a web server dispensing sexy pictures.
Another thing I've done is to let my art spread far and wide, and I've never done a thing to stop it. By the time I started my blog, thousands of people around the world already knew my work. I don't know how your publisher feels about it, but I know some artists work very aggressively to keep their art behind their paywalls. Me, I don't care – at least for now. So I've benefited from ten or eleven years of pretty widespread distribution.
I am one of your visit, view and leave guests. I don't have a particular reason for this, I just don't often comment at this type of site.
ReplyDeleteThose sites that I do visit that have regular commentors, have a policy of always answering posts and often actually try to start the conversations by publishing in their own comment area.
If I were to comment on you blog I would tell you that I make a regular habit of checking out each of your new posts. I enjoy your art style very much and you actually seem to still be improving your already high quality work. Again... if I were to comment ;)
Slid,
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was just thinking of posting a topic about this on my blog a few days ago (decided against it for obvious reasons).
I try to update my blog as often as possible with previews of what I'm working on, and other (though rare) personal stuff, hoping some visitors would leave a comment once in a while.
I understand most people just want to see what they like, download it, and leave. But sitting in a room by myself, 12-14 hours a day, 6-7 days a week, visitors'(do I even have fans?)comments and/or email are usually the only interaction I get with other humans beings.
Oh, well. Like Linus sitting in the pumpkin patch, I'm hopeful that one day I'll actually see comments, critiques, criticism, or just a simple "hello" on my blog, in lieu of the Great Pumpkin.
I have my own comic series and blog and the lack or dearth of comments used to bum me out to no end, to the point where I felt I should just quit. But a friend wisely told me not to get worked up over it because most of my viewers are not artists or students of art, and they don't have much to say about my work outside of "good job" or "I liked this." Not their fault.
ReplyDeleteI've found that most people who read superhero comics are themselves wanna-be writers and artists who know a thing or two about the craft and are eager to offer criticism (their two cents).
Fans of porn comics however by and large are not wanna-be cartoonists; Most fans just don't have the ability to offer brilliant commentary about anatomy, color theory and so forth. They simply like what they like and are off in search of more of it.
Hope this helps.
:)
...because people arn't here to chat. They're here to grab your porn, possibly fap to it and then bail. The one's who talk are the one's who are active on every porn community you could find them, which that depends if they even know about your art or care.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you'll get a random person here or there, saying something like "good job" or "this is hot". Those cases I theorize are just self-centered acts... they liked a piece so much, they want to see more, so they'll say something (anything). It's kinda like a subconscious way of persuasion. Hell, maybe people do it consciously too. Although why not just say "I want more"?
*sigh*
BastaComix, I have to tell you I've been where you are, and it's not a good way to live. I'm pretty much a loner by nature, as I think most artists are, and it's easy to just hole up in front of the computer all the time (assuming you work digitally) so you don't have to deal with actual people, who are often fucked up and just generally a pain in the ass.
ReplyDeleteMy life circumstances forced me into a situation in which I was required to leave my quiet windowless studio in the basement of an office building and go out and meet people every damn day of the week, and it turned out to be mostly a good experience for me.
I now have the benefit of living, basically, in two worlds: the world of Cameroon Wildebeest, Jr., and the world of the 'real' me, with friends and acquaintances and face-to-face conversations.
I would encourage you to leave the studio for awhile every day and go sit in a coffee shop for an hour or two. It will make a real difference in your life.
Also, I think want to respectfully disagree with what Exofluke said. I think people who visit erotic comics sites are fans of all kinds of comics, not just pr0n. Yes, they may be on the porn-oriented chat boards, but I think they're also on CBR, Superhero Hype, Ain't It Cool News, etc.
ReplyDeleteIf all they were interested in was something to fap to, they'd stick to the abundant supply of photographic and video material available.
I seem to get pretty good response to my 'meta' posts about the process of creating art, as well as the posts that are just art itself. In fact, some of my 'meta' posts – for example, the one where isolated the two figures in the Stanton panel, or the one where I showed the Big Milly story that was partly redrawn by someone other than Eneg – got more responses than some of my posts that are just my own art.
Thanks for the conversation guys! I feel much better now. Where to start?
ReplyDeleteEveryone: it's helpful to know you all have had the same thing happen. You can start feeling like chopped liver if you don't know that everyone has the same thing happen.
Richard I am getting plenty of hits so I'll take your advice.
CW: Having ten years of exposure on the web is huge. I can see why you have more people interacting with you esp. when you are part of a community like you are.
Lor: If I were to respond to a hypothetical response from you I might say that it's good to know you are there and thanks for the kind words. That's a high compliment you've paid me. Too bad you haven't actually said any of it!
Basta: You and I lead parallel lives. You just described my life almost exactly. If I looked in the mirror would I see your face?
Yeah, wondering if there are any fans out there is a frequent pass-time of mine. I feel you Bro.
DS: I can see that there would be a difference in audience for sure. I guess like EXofluke says, they ain't here to chat.
EX: Someone told me that you can be the most popular guy in the world if you give things away. Now, that's not a bad thing since it's good to put stuff out if only to spread the word. I watch which pictures get hit on and how many times they get hit so I can gauge interest and know my audience at least that much.
CW: good advice, well taken. Two worlds is what I have too. I do need to log more coffee house time though. Drawing what I draw, however, may prove problematic at some establishments...heh!
CW it makes sense. I first looked for comics in the porn vein not because I wanted particular subject matter, but because I love comics and as far as porn goes, comics are my absolute favorite medium. So the comics orientation came first, certainly.
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued that you have the largest responses to the art commentary you put out. One of the several reasons your blog stands out to me personally is the learning I can get from it. I'll be endeavoring to do some teaching/explaining as well in the future .
I have no idea if anyone is coming here from more mainstream sites. Have you seen this on your blog? Most all of my hits come from other porn comic sites and google searches.
I get no traffic from mainstream comics sites, and I can't imagine that any mainstream sites would link to me. I didn't mean to imply that.
ReplyDeleteI'm only saying that I think fans of adult comics are also fans of comics in general.
Also, I didn't mean to imply that the art commentary gets the largest number of responses – only that it gets more response than some (but not all) of my own art.
I see. Point is that we do have a comic loving audience at least in part. I would say in large part. If the general public were more into comics in the US, I think we'd see more traffic here in porn comics land than we do. As it is, why come here if you can watch a movie or look at photos unless you do like comics a lot and can get something out of the action in a comic story.
ReplyDeleteAnd the commentary is picked up on by many, though not in huge numbers, is what you're saying. Talking about your craft is part of relating to an audience, I think. A good thing to do. It also helps clarify your own thinking about how you do things, I'm sure. It does that for me.
I never get any comments not in german and not in english. I have no idea why this is, but i hope it will change one day...
ReplyDeleteMartin
@ Cameroon
ReplyDeleteI think it's safe to assume that we hang out on different sides of the spectrum, literally. I don't know what communities you hang out at but I'm willing to bet they're not the same as where I go. Hence why our opinions are different.
The places I hang at are basically big galleries meant for any artist to show off their material. Unfortunately I had been lead to believe that these places have an art-driven undertone... which it turned out to be otherwise... so you can imagine how I've gotten the opinion I have.
I do disagree about the porn factor. Porn gets old because it can only go so far. it's reality... Art allows people to explore their fetishes beyond the laws of physics etc.
Furthermore, if it's one thing you'll notice from these big galleries, it's that a lot of simplified cartoon styles get some enormous view counts compared to other people who've thrown in amazing details and effort. Now there's many reasons as to why (from drawing popular fetishes to popular characters), but one major reason is the lack of details. Not having any major definition allows people to interpret the piece the way they want. An example of this is say if you draw a girl with big tits, a big ass and some big lips. Yet you do it with the least amount of details and also without hindering the anatomy. So all you have is the basics so that people understand that big tits are big tits. There's no texture, no extra lines to define stretch marks or whatnot, it's just the main outline. From there, people can plant their own understanding of how bouncy or soft the boobs would be, or how wet the lips are. With real porn, you can't do that without "trying" to lie to yourself.
Digressing a bit from what you were talking about Ex, I've wondered why my simpler cartoony work has gotten as much interest as the more "realistic" work I've done. It always surprises me. I work very hard on more realism, but there's a trailer park slapdown story I did that's about the level of an animated cartoon as far as detail goes, that's as popular as anything I've done. To me the more work I put into a piece the better I feel about it, but that may be my own craft, work ethic and perfectionism getting in the way of seeing clearly what's in front of me. It's easy to turn into a detail junky. Just look at what the art at Marvel by in large has turned into: an overwrought mess that's no where near as effective in terms of story telling as ,say Sal Buscema or Herb Trimpe was with their faster, cleaner ways of working. Obviously, IMO.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, to me you are making a good case for simplicity, EX. Don't know if that's what you were trying to do...
Not exactly what I was aiming for, however, there's no real problem behind it either. Feel free to lack all the details you want. I just think passion should be your major concern, not the public.
ReplyDeleteRambling * I still think the problem is with people just being too selfish. Sometimes artists do specifics for a reason and acknowledging those specifics doesn't create a consequence for anyone. So why people persist to ignore or manipulate themselves, just so they can get something more out of what you've done, is beyond me.