👨‍🎨 HOW TO START AS A VISUAL STORY AUTHOR

Some of our readers ask how to become an author and where to start. Here's a simple roadmap: from idea to first readers.

1️⃣ KEY LAUNCH STEPS

Idea and format: vertical webtoon or page comic, genre, target audience.
Characters and world: a short synopsis of a couple of paragraphs to understand where the story is going.
Script → storyboard: first "movie in your head," then rough thumbnail frames.
Art: sketch → line art → color → text in balloons.
Build a buffer: cover + 3–5 first episodes to avoid burnout at the start.
Publish and keep a schedule; consistency matters more than speed.

2️⃣ WHERE TO GET TOOLS

Russia: Krita, MediBang Paint, Toonlio, ibisPaint, Autodesk Sketchbook, Blender (for 3D backgrounds), PureRef (reference board).
Pro standard: Clip Studio Paint (has webtoon templates), Photoshop, Procreate for iPad; payment from Russia can be tricky.
Tablet: Huion and XP-Pen — affordable entry, Wacom — premium.

3️⃣ WHERE TO PUBLISH

In Russia: Toonlio, AcomicS, plus your own VK and Telegram channels.
Abroad: Webtoon Canvas, Tapas, GlobalComix, ComicFury; art on ArtStation, DeviantArt, Pixiv.

4️⃣ WHERE TO FIND LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE

VK comic communities and author chats on Telegram, Discord servers, comic festivals and contests (including regional ones), library comic clubs (e.g., at RGBM), joint jams and collabs. Abroad: Reddit (r/comics, r/webtoons) and themed Discord servers.

5️⃣ HOW TO PROMOTE

Short videos: time-lapses, speed arts, before/after in VK Clips and YouTube Shorts.
Consistency over intensity: one post per week for years is better than ten posts in one week and then silence.
The first frame decides — it must stop the scroll.
Show yourself and the process: people are more likely to follow a person behind the comic.

toonlio.ru

t.me/toonlio
vk.com/toonlio

💬 Now over to you: which topic should we cover in more detail?
— Script and storyboarding
— Choosing software and tablet
— Where and how to publish
— Promotion and first subscribers

Write in the comments 👇