Webtoon: Everything You Need to Know About Making a Webtoon for Canvas and Originals 

Were there any changes to Canvas other than a re-name?

@@walterostlie I don't believe there has been much of a change, however now the Canvas Team is interacting more with the public and canvas creators. The Canvas Team has a Webtoon now called Canvas Corner in which they post useful info for canvas creators. They also include some interviews with creators that have gone from Canvas to Originals. The Canvas Team also has an Instagram page called Webtooncanvas. They interact with creators on this page. They have also designated the second Monday of the month as #canvasday. Creators have been encouraged to upload a new episode of their webtoons on canvasday and to make an Instagram post with the hashtag #celebratecanvasday so that the team might notice your update and possibly give you a shoutout.

@@augustawickmanart I have noticed they are doing a lot for the canvas community. I really love that. It shows how much they really care about their platform and how much they just love comics.

yup and I have to say that as a reader-artist I love to find new comics on Canvas, a lot of hidden gems!

Lol we cant say "discover squad!" Anymore

I tend to talk a lot. I am trying to get more succinct though ;-)

Walter Ostlie it was just the right amount though 🤗 I like your videos and drawing style

Hah. Maybe it will still be lit in a year. Or just don't tell ages

Lmao my sister is 11 and she doesn’t tell my parents that she has a webtoon haha she lies abt her age- I’m old enough so I let her cus I rlly just don’t care

I turn 13 in a month I swear😭

Good thing I’m turning 13 :)

Awww how cute

Hahahahah. Really? Tom Nook is the man, so I'll take that.

This is a mediocre mindset because it ignores the financial aspect every artist needs to know to make its work sustainable. Even, if its not profitable... you need to make it SUSTAINABLE so it gives you enough income to keep making more comics.

​@@contodoslospoderesThis is everything that's wrong with the web and social media now. People don't make art for passion anymore. People draw popular shit just because it sells, not because they like it. It's a minority that actually care. Shame. If you run out of steam doing a comic, you can always take a break and come back wherever. No schedules or stress that comes from having to update bi weekly and trying to make ends meet.

You can draw on paper and scan them into your computer. Or take a picture with your phone.

Tbh im also planning on making webtoon , dont lose hope you dont really need a tablet when making webtoon i use an app called "medibang paint" thats where i make my digital arts its also a good app for making webtoons

Just draw your art, take a picture of it with your phone and then trace it with an app on your phone (I recommend ibis paint x)

Use ibis paint X

@@karuu030 do tell us the name of your webtoon, I'd love to follow it! I'm also planning a webtoon tbh

Nothing in life is guaranteed. I've had to walk away from comics before, for half a year. Because it felt like I was killing myself making these comics and no one cared. But I couldn't really stop, I needed to make comics. But it is hard and it's hard to make people listen or even hear you. i didn't read all your comic, I just looked at the most recent episode. Honestly. The art is great, your coloring and composition work really well. It looks like stills from an anime. Some of the dialogue doesn't read well and there may be too much. Show don't tell and less is more. Example there is a part that says "let's see if cows can jump." and then they jump. We don't really need that line. The line is kinda funny, so it could stay, but just as an example. If English isn't your first language, have you thought about getting a co-writer? Check out Penciljack.com there are a lot of artists and writers there. I have some writer friends who would love to work with a great artist like you. For updates, I know it is hard to post regularly because of life. But what if you made a promise to post every 2 months? Or even every 3 months? Yes, it is slow, but readers will know and understand. They won't think you just disappeared. If you can't promise that, it is okay. You have to do what works for your life. It doesn't mean you have to stop or there is no hope. It just means it may take longer. Also don't get too down on yourself. You have 3,000 subscribers and 51,000 views. That's really good for only 9 episodes and posting very irregularly. You should be proud of that. I understand that still isn't enough to make money, which makes it very hard. But it means there are people who love your work. I can't really answer your question. The art is good. I don't know about the story, unless I read the whole thing. I'll try to get back around to it if I can get some time. If you love doing it, you won't be able to stop. If you can stop and you don't miss it, that is okay to. Do what makes you happy. I know I didn't answer your question, but hopefully it helped. Always feel free to ask more.

@@walterostlie thank you for your answer and being honest, I really appreciate it. I started with comics 5 years ago and I also needed to walk away few times so I feel you. Most of those subscribers are from my previous comic so it's not such a big achievement anymore 😅 I did try many forms of art but for me nothing is more enjoyable then making your own stories. (No more annoying customers who don't know anything but will tell you what to do, yay!) I didn't mind that there's no profit before but well... it's been 5 years already and what I get meanwhile is only more gray hair lol Maybe it's time to draw someone else's stories, I'll think about this, thanks again

@@dorotheantus Heeey, I understand your problem, webtoon is a little bit selective... I don't want to criticize the app but its audience is only focused on romance... so that limits things for creators, and I subscribed to your webtoon! I like it. ;) keep going. Oh, and other thing, its like job interviews, there are other platforms more than webtoons.

@@adrianaholguin4286 thanks for subscribing 😀 I know there's different platforms but Webtoon is the biggest, I tried with Tapas but it was a total waste of time. Did you tried different pages yourself?

@@dorotheantus Actually I had only tried webtoon, but webcomics is also an option... even though I think there are some problems with the creators, because most of them are moving to webtoons. But what I can say is that, a story is like food, people might prefer sweet food, spicy, sour, but when you are going to cook, you are not going to cook what others like for yourself if you don't like it, cook what you want to eat. The same with stories, create something you want to read! You know hard work always pays off! Hope this works, don't do a romance if its not what you like! Because even though webtoon's audience consists mostly in romance, there are also other genres, you might want to read "understanding comics by Scott Mc'loud", its free and pdf, you get to learn a lot! I read it and it makes you feel like in a different level!

Featured/original comics get advertised by Webtoon all the time. Discover/canvas comics are sometimes advertised because an Editor found the comic and really enjoyed it. So they put that Canvas comic on the homepage. That will boost the comic's numbers greatly. Webtoon editors are always looking at the Canvas comics, they like reading comics just as much as we do.

@@walterostlie Ohhhh ok cool! Thank you so much for replying! This advice is extremely helpful ☺

I’m A good story teller but trash and I mean TRASH at drawing but I really wanna do a WEBTOON 😢.Plus my family would never support it

@@walkdownhd7625 i feel you, im pretty decent at drawing but im super slow and coming up with stories is hard

@@walkdownhd7625 I have few fantasy stories that I drew and write but here goes the family who would never support this they so-called 'cheap hobby' only D: So, I feel you man :\

You can make comics about that stuff on Webtoon. The clause is there to protect webtoon, not to overly censor the world. They have to give themselves a door in case someone posts a rage-filled, hate-filled, racist, misogynistic incendiary comic. Do a comic like that and it's gonna get pulled. Do a comic like John Wick, The Room, Texas Chainsaw, etc, then you'll prolly be fine.

@@walterostlie oh sure, I just mean comics like the witcher, preacher,sandman but I guess you can tell that I like dark horse and vertigo Dc LOL :)

The editors will help catch any spelling/grammar stuff. They will also point out where there are storytelling issues in both the writing and the artwork. Maybe the story gets too slow or something is unclear, they will let the creator know. It's up to the creator to implement it or not. But it's more of a conversation than orders.

@@walterostlie Ohhhh that makes a lot of sense!! Thank you!

Glad it helped, thanks for watching.

Hah, thanks! That's really nice of your to say.

Hah. Gonna have to do a part 2 video now. I feel like there isn't really a great answer to this and advice tends to be all over the place. There is a general consensus that posting on the weekends are a bad idea, posting on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is the best. Around noon (eastern time) is a popular time because people can read on their lunch break or before they leave for the day. I tend to stick with these guidelines. If I post early in the morning or later at night, I definitely see less views/engagement. But I really think it is more important to create the expectation. If you post on Wednesday at 10am, readers will know they can read it Wednesday morning/noon. Or if you post it at 10pm, they know it will be waiting for them Thursday morning. At the end of the day, it's going to be the content, not the time of day that will get the most views. Also how well you manage your social reach, which is a whole different problem.

For me I mainly only check out webtoon when the originals update at around 6pm PST then if I feel like it I browse canvas

Thanks for watching. Good luck with your comic making

Glad it helped!

There is prolly some modification and fixes, I assume they also re-upload everything from the start as an original and "retire" the canvas version.

@@walterostlie thanks!

Thanks for the sub! I'm glad I was able to help. Let me know if you ever have any other questions.

Glad it was helpful. Let me know when you post your comic, would love to check it out.

@@walterostlie sure :DDD

Awesome, thank you!

I appreciate the care in which you received my soul piece and the graciousness you showed by sharing it with others.

Most welcome! Thank you for watching it!

Glad it helped. Let me know if you have any more questions

Hello hello! I'm glad you found me also. I hope the videos help and let me know if you ever have any specific questions and I'll try to help.

*excessive bows* I'll watch all of your videos first, sir! I really want to share my story to the world someday and you are just a miracle! Thank you😆💖

Very cool, good luck with Webtoons. Let me know if you have any questions.

@@walterostlie I'm actually binging on your videos rn 😂 which are all very helpful. I'm so glad you are here. THanks again!

I don't always answer eeeevery comment anymore, but I do read them all. Realized how much time I was actually spending writing everyone, especially since I was writing a lot and not just saying "thanks". Sorta like right now :-) Thanks for watching!

@@walterostlie i still think this is nice , I watched most of ur videos and noticed that , I'm just lucky to stan someone like u thooo

First you need the quick, 1-3 sentences that explain your story. The logline. Then you need a summary of what your story will be, start to end. You don't have to flowery or hide stuff. This is for the editor. They need to know exactly your plan. A list of characters and bios. Concept art and around 15 sample panels of comics. I'll do a more detailed video in the future.

Walter Ostlie Oh okay thank tou for your reply!! I’ll wait for the video then 😁

Good luck, let me know if you have any questions while you're making your comic and I'll try to help you.

Awesome, congrats on starting you first episode, that's a big first step

Haven't had bunch a crunch, but I do love a crunch bar. Guess if I smashed my crunch bar up, it would become bunch a crunch.

@@walterostlie Lol that is basically it! :) they are really good.

Hah. You may as well ask "what is the meaning of life?" In all seriousness though, this is a question all comic creators ask because just in general, comics are labor and time intensive, and promises nothing in return. People have been making webcomics for decades at this point. Webtoon and Tapas weren't around back then. The creators were making the comics with zero guarantee for revenue. Of course there was advertising revenue, which is where we are at today. However, there is a huge reader population on Webtoon that will see those ads that didn't exist for early webcomics. Yes, you could make the most amazing comic ever created and no one will see it and maybe the audience for your comic doesn't live on Webtoon. Webtoon's just another store to "sell" your comic. No reason you can't also sell your comic at another store...Unless you're featured of course, then it has to be exclusive to Webtoon. But that's why they pay you. As far as making your comic more appealing to the perceived Webtoon audience, if you can do that and not feel like you've compromised your vision, then do it. But if you won't like your own comic as much, even .00001%, then don't do it.

Well if you really wanna go that route, in Japan only 0.03% of mangakas actually succeed to make enough money to live off Manga. Now ask your self, "how big is your own passions for comics?" if you can't awnser that anymore, it's all over.

Thanks! Did I not plug my stuff? I forget sometimes :-) this is my new stuff ghostbats.co/wt

@@walterostlie Hey~ The video I commented was from 2019- I just saw a more recent video of yours called 'What your Webtoon needs to have before you launch' and you plugged yourself there- I'm already subscribed on Webtoons to Ghost Bats and I look forward to checking it out! Super enjoying your RU-vid content so far, it's so well-done!

Thank you very much! Really appreciate that.

Oh no. I'm sorry that happened. It may not help you now, but I made some detailed videos about my webtoon process. It may help for future comics. Let me know if you have any questions ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-S3rVFG19e4U.html

@@walterostlie oh thanks i will for sure try it out

What's the name of your comic?

@@JaejoongPrincess I gave up....... But I'msure I will start again in the future (╥﹏╥)

@@kimyunaa6676 im sorry to hear that, but im looking forward to reading it any comic you make

The best thing you can do is start with a very small project. Like a handful of pages, a single episode, a short story. It will let you go through the entire process from start to finish and work out some kinks. Then do a slightly longer story to work out some more kinks. Then you can start tackling longer stories. Also check out this playlist it will walk you through the entire process from writing to drawing to uploading. ru-vid.com/group/PL_aLJHqAks7JL3Syu4ijSwgzMoUwV65K4

@@walterostlie Thank you so much! This helps a lot, we really appreciate it :D

Well if you have this good story in head and that you love it, I would say, Gooo for it! Don't stop already, you have to try to know :) it's okay, it's the first time! And ofc it would be not a waste ! The moment you start, it will make you progress because you'll begin to develop your story etc.. And like you say it takes time to be visible but hey, you do that for you first because you love your story and want to tell it. For the story, if you really love your story a little more complicated go for it and prepare your scenario etc the moment you feel it's OK go! (we can always do better but don't stop) and it's not a problem, you can always come back to review things, at least before publishing. You don't have to rush yourself, feel when you want!

Alice Tran thankyou 😊, I’ll go with the story and do my best to plan it out properly before attempting any drawing!!

I would say be cautious of taking on a BIG story if this is your first time making comics. It can be scary to start a big story, because you know it is going to take over your life for the next few years. So taking that first step comes with a lot of dread. Now if you make a story that's only 3 episodes, it is easy to take that step, because if it doesn't turn out exactly like you wanted, you didn't spend a lot of time, you learned a lot, and now you get to take that experience and put it towards the next comic you make which will be even better. Now, a compromise that I think is good is doing short stories inside your big story. Make a small adventure story or some back history, it's a good way to get experience, but also test out your world.

@@walterostlie Thank you for replying to this :D. I feel that you're right that since the story is a little big and has a complex plot in it, it would definitely take over my life for the next few years and it can be a little scary doing that. Since my childhood though, iv'e always been creating comics on paper and with a simple pen, it was mostly silly and light - fun stuff but now that iv'e grown up, i have a much better idea of what this is, iv'e always known the concept of comic creation but i felt like i need to get into something big now and now that i have this story, it would be a perfect time. Although for me, the only problem is that i don't have a graphic tablet and am about to buy one soon for this purpose and other art for now. Also, as you said, i think it would be better like that to make short stories inside or some back-story to make it entertaining it would also help in experience since this is my first time with digital art , thank you Walter :) , i am still going to have to give it a long thought sigh..

Hit publish, create a series, upload an episode, and boom... You're a Canvas creator. If you want to submit to their contest... Hit publish and you'll see a large black bar that says "Click here for contest submission page."

Walter Ostlie thanks

Thanks for checking out!

@@walterostlie you are welcome

Good content is good content. You may have a slower build, but I think consistency is key. I'd suggest uploading maybe 4-10 episodes at launch. So there is enough meat for people who show up for the first time because it is a brand new comic. Then they can read week to week after that. You will also see people not read for a month, and then come back to read all 4 episodes at once. So be expectant of that. Good luck!

@@walterostlie Thanks for the quick response. That's great advice! Cheers!

If you post your own comic to webtoon, you'll be a canvas creator. To be an original series, you have to be working with Webtoon and sign contracts and all that fun stuff. It is possible to make money, but a lot of work and it takes time, so it may be a year, or two, or three, or 10. It depends on how much time and work you can put into it. It took me 5 years to start making okay money, but I had a full time job. You prolly have school. It is really hard for all of us to know if our work is good. I go through it all the time. The easiest thing to do is let someone else read it. You parents, a friend, etc. Or if you are very very passionate and nothing can stop you, you can just let your passion carry you forward. If you love it that much, someone else will also. Maybe it will have some problems and not be perfect. But that's just like everyone. Good luck.

Walter Ostlie thank you so much for the reply! i was not expecting one aha, so it's very much appreciated!:D I'll keep everything youve said in mind, and will more meticulously consider my decision of making a webtoon,,, at my age especially ---- thanks again!

There is no "right age" to put your ideas out into the world, if you love your characters put them out there! You'll be surprised by how many people will love them too. It's like cooking noodles just throw them out to the wall[world] and see what sticks

Hey Graey ah i didnt see this! apologies! but awhh this is such a sweet reply, thank you so much🥺 i guess nothings really gonna happen with my characters if i just leave them to rot in the back of my brain-- ill make sure to throw em out there til stick >:D

Congrats on starting your comic! Better late than never. good luck! It looks pretty cool.

@@walterostlie thank you for the comments! That means a lot :D

If we're talking personally, I don't really like much cursing when I write comics. But if we are talking about what webtoon thinks, I think you can get away with a lot of traditional curse words. Just putting in a curse word won't be a big deal. The explicit nature is going to come in when you start describing horrible stuff or using words that have hurtful connotations. Words that attack minority groups. Now if you are just cursing up a storm with no real reason, you could get reported to Webtoon and get some unwanted attention.

You can always use symbols you know? "Don't #@€! with me you $#!@ head!"

Woot!

simple and to the point. I like it.

Still have not been able to get the hang of animation. So many props. Some people have asked for critique, so I've been thinking of a good way to handle it. Thanks

Great to hear that you are making comics, I love it! Yes, you can upload traditional comics to webtoons, but it is harder for most of the webtoon readers to read, just because it makes it very small on their phones. You can draw in traditional format and just cut the panels out and stack them ontop of each other as a quick solution to the webtoon format. But if you can only upload in traditional format, any comic is better than no comic. some people read on tablets and computers, so the size doesn't matter as much.

Walter Ostlie thank you for the reply . Yes I did Cut the images and put them on each other but I wasn’t sure if is it correct to do it this way I use pro create on my iPad because it is the only program that could work with the accessibility features for the blind and visually impaired on the iPad .

@@myartworka428 As long as it works for you, then it is a good way to do it. If you want to give me a link to your comic, I can take a look and let you know what I think.

Walter Ostlie I still did not publish the comic in WEBTOON i’m but I can send you some of the finish pages in your email or instagram my Instagram is myartworka your thoughts are very important to me thank you so much

It's free

I wouldn't worry about it. It's just going to be distracting to your reader.

Thanks for watching!

You don't need to copyright it. Technically you have a copyright as soon as you make something. Getting a copyright from the government just makes it easier to prove in court. The right to publish just means you own the story. Basically it's a way to say you didn't take someone else comic and trying to pass it off as your own. If you're under 18 you need to ask a parent as well, but that's a different requirement. You also need to be 13 at least, something like that.

Walter Ostlie ok thanks!

That is a discussion you two need to have to decide how you want to brand yourselves. You could have just one account but on each episode at the end, you can put created by X and Y, and have each of your instagrams. The one thing to think about is potential revenue. An account can only have 1 bank account and 1 patreon account. So if you do your own comic and link your patreon, the money from your duo comic would also go to that patreon. So if you wanted another patreon account you'd share with your friend, then you'd need a second webtoon account as well. Great question!

@@walterostlie Thank you so much!!!

I can be hard to find an artist to work for free. Best bet is to join groups where new creators hang out. Reddit, facebook groups. Find creators on webtoon, make friends. Create short stories that are easier for artists to commit to, just a few pages or panels. You can check out my discord as well discord.gg/FufAeG3

Your art style and skill will keep changing and improving the longer you draw. I wouldn't wait for the "perfect" art style before you make a webtoon. Keeping making your webtoon, it will change from episode to episode, month to month, year to year, always getting better. That's okay. When you create a new webtoon, you'll have all that new skill. I looked at your comic and I think it looks pretty good. Keep going, keep getting better.

Anything in particular you're wondering about? I think you should upload it to webtoon. Think about your posting schedule and buffer. That's the only general info I have. I'll try to help with anything specific though.

@@walterostlie well to give you a better sense I might as well tell you the whole story. (Trust me this won’t take long) I have a comic that I worked on for sometime that I want to try and see where it will go on web toon as a sample. I was wondering like what particular website of web tunes what I need to go through in order to submit it on.I was wondering like what particular websites of web tunes would I need to go through in order to submit it on I also am trying publishers but I’m trying to narrow it down to a specific ones that fits the type of genre .

I feel your pain and it is very natural. I don't think, as creators, we'll ever be 100% confident in our stories, but we have to move forward, make them, and complete them. The best way to gain more confidence is to make a lot of comics. The best way to make a lot of comics is to create short comics. Have fun making them, don't stress too much, learn a lot, and keep getting better. Let me know if you run into any specific problems and I'll try to help.

If you entered the short story contest, editors will be looking at all the submissions.

Yeah, that's the way. Just draw it., get it out into the world.

If it's a Webtoon canvas comic, you can do whatever you want. If you're a Webtoon Original, you'll have to discuss with Webtoon. They may want to make the anime themselves.

Really sweet style. Has an old school euro animation vibe to it.

They pay bank or paypal, so as long as their isn't some kind of trade embargo with your country and South Korea you should be able to be paid. I think Webtoon has different servers for different languages, so you would most likely need English for the American servers. But it doesn't matter where you live.

There are other violent comics on Webtoon. Just think about Rated R movies, if you'd see your comic scenes in R movies, you're prolly okay.

@@walterostlie oh, thank you very much

I'd say focus on making a good comic that you love. Trying to force an editor's attention is going to get frustrating. There is no ways to directly reach out to editors currently.

I've read before that you can go to webtoon portfolio reviews in real life to pitch your works/get feedback. Not sure if it's gonna happen this year cause of COVID but they had that option before! They'll most likely announce it in their news or something if it ever happens in the future again🙂

Depends on how the contract is setup. The contract would have to include all 3 creators if they all own the comic. If only one creator owns the comic, then they'd get the single payment and would have to send it to the other two themselves. However if all 3 are on the contract, Webtoon may be able to split the payment for you.

Walter Ostlie Okay tysm :)

Violence is fine. You can't have any nudity. If it's maybe intestines, you may want to sensor. But some blood, fighting, gun shots, sword cuts... all that is prolly ok.

@@walterostlie thank you very much, this is vey helpful!

Yeah, a gun is fine.

Walter Ostlie Thank you so much its going to be a crime and mystery comic.

I understand. Maybe ask for help from friends or comic creator groups. Check out my discord. Link in description

Not that I know of. What you're talking about is basically an animation or at least an animatic, so a video platform like RU-vid is going to be your best bet. You can check out a program called Charismi.ai that does interactive comics, I'm not sure if it supports voice/sfx but maybe you could convince them to add.

@@walterostlie Thanks so much

Good luck with the new computer. Let me know when you start posting your comic so I can check it out.

Walter Ostlie ok I will

There are a few of those on Webtoon that are quite popular. My friend does a really good one. It's not about genre. There are a lot of romance, love manga but that doesn't mean that's all there is or what it has to be. www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/nocturne/list?title_no=118492&page=1

@@walterostlie Thanks 🙂

If it is your creator owned comic, then you have all the licenses you need inherently from creating the thing. But it would be publishing and distribution rights, specifically digital. Think you need a bank, paypal, or patreon account. All that can change over time. Do you already have a comic?

@@walterostlie I don't have a comic yet, but I'm planning to create my comic that's why Im researching and asking to understand what I need.

You can prolly have full swear words (as long as it's not hateful, hurtful words) and be okay. However, you should think about your audience. If you pictured your reader in your head, who would they be? Would they want a bunch of swear words or no? Base it on that.

@@walterostlie thank you so much for this quick response . It's really helpfull. And I do think the audience I am looking for ( probably over 16) wanna hear a swear word or two for an appropriate situation.

The webtoon. Though you could get more than one webtoon featured.

The only real difference is that webtoon pays Original creators a publishing fee to show the comic. Canvas creators post their comics for free.

Walter Ostlie thank you! I’ve been wondering for a while!