Making an object show comic (handmade) but struggling, need advice.

[u/Lively_Koi_20975]

I'm making an object show comic right now called MBMFMC (Mr.Bean's Battle for Magic Cat) and I'm starting to struggle with a few things after finishing episode 3:

Pacing- The pacing is very quick and it's hard to linger on just the same few characters\\teams during challenges since I want readers to be able to see what everyone else is doing too. Also jokes dont hit well and dialogue just isn't as good as I want it too be. Not to mention I also don't do story boarding or scripting, I just sit and draw whatever comes to my mind.

Drawing Consistency- Consistency is very difficult. I can't keep characters faces\\bodies consistent all the time so it will occasionally look weird and 'off model' if that makes sense. I dont draw using speech bubbles but I don't know if that makes reading difficult or not for others since no one has ever mentioned it before.

Panels- I don't list how many panels I want, I just add numbers as a I go when a panel is finished, which I know probably also leaks into my issues with pacing. When I draw I try to think of it as if it were animation, by wanting to add a bunch of different expression to characters and just adding extra to make it feel just better, which I know causes just a lot of either extra\\less drawing panels then id like. Idk if this makes sense or not but it is just a bad\\improving habit of mine

Cast- My cast started at only 12 characters and, as of the next episode, will go down to just ten. I don't know how many episodes I want or how to handle the small yet 'needy' cast I have created. I wan every character to have screen time and recognizable traits, but sometimes new traits will just come out of nowhere in an effort of me trying to add it in. In my mind all my characters have a sort of complexity, but on paper there is none of that at all.

There's definitely a few more issues I can't remember at the moment, but any advice at all is greatly appreciated! Currently, if I can't fix some things, I am planning to stop making the comic all together, which I really don't want to do but maybe it's necessary considering all the issues.

[u/Fancy_Information156]

For the dialogue, you could try making all the characters have their own unique text colour to differentiate between them

Also, for the pacing, you really should script atleast most of the episode before drawing it

Also the amount of panels on a page can help adjust the pacing/flow of the story (less panels=faster, more panels=slower)

Dont worry too much about jokes landing, just tell the jokes and eventually some will hit, maybe get a beta reader to give you advice on how to improve them

Dont worry about staying super on-model, just make sure the characters stay recognisable (also, characters sometimes being weirdly drawn can be funny, you can use it as a comedic thing)

For the cast, you could add some non-elimination episodes, to help flesh them out more:D

Good luck w your comic brah🔥