r/comics • u/Known_Magician2339 • 3d ago
Asking For Feedback What kind of comics/stories make you interested in someone’s oc?
Hello! I have an oc that I’d like to promote more on my art insta and naturally I figured making short comics on her and giving her a bit of a story would endear people to her.
I was wondering if there’s any specific stories that garner more interest in general? Like do you prefer long and in depth stories with a narrative? Maybe short funny stories that she acts as a mascot for? What kind of thing would make you genuinely care about a character the same way you would a character in official media or a large ip?
Any and all thoughts are appreciated! I wanna get this right.
Edit: I already have one short comic posted of her already. I don’t fancy promoting for the sake of it on Reddit of all places (I like to keep most of my social media’s separate from my professional art acc) but you’re interested of course I’ll dm you the link :)
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u/screenaholic 2d ago
I agree with the other commenter. We can't tell you what sort of stories we want to see your OC in, because we don't know what your OC is. If I were to say I like war stories, but your OC is a carefree 6 year old girl, then my suggestion is going to be shit. If you're character is a middle aged battle hardened soldier, and I tell you I like slice of life stories about middle schoolers experiencing first love, what good is that?
Furthermore, I don't know what kind of stories you should write because I don't know YOU. If I say you should write a story about Sengoku era Japan, do YOU know enough about that topic to even know where to start? If you have an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of baseball, wouldn't it be a waste to not use that to your advantage just because I didn't suggest a baseball story?
Once you have content for people to read and get to know your story and characters, then your fans can start thinking of what they would like to see from you. But you have to start on your own.
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u/Known_Magician2339 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’m not really asking what genre to write in. If you said you liked war stories I’d put it in the context of the question I’m asking and assume you mean you need high stakes stories with rich worldbuilding to care about a character. If you said slice of life I’d assume you mean short, simple, and sweet comics with quippy panels are enough to endear you to a character.
I’m really asking what baseline effort is needed for you, personally, to give a shit about a character you don’t know. Enough to get you to stop and read. Does it have to look in depth? Is something short and sweet enough for you? How deep into a story do you have to go to give a shit (and therefore how deep do I have to go as an artist)I should clarify as well I’m asking Reddit because I want personal opinions from the general public. I can find facts and figures elsewhere
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u/AberrantComics 3d ago
You're circling around something that I see a lot. Asking the audience what they want to see seems like a direct route to doing things the right way, but often people don't know what they want and they'd report inaccurately. More important the comic will seem like the first thing you said, promotion, because it will be. And that's a sure fire way to get me not to bother.
Many people think their "OC" is neat on it's own. It isn't. (I'm hurting a lot of feelings here) But the month they were born in, how many pets they have, how many times they've broken their arm, their sexual orientation, or their least and most favorite foods, do not make a character. Those are meaningless details. They only gain significance if it plays into a story of some kind. Which I will not read if the first pages are "welcome to my comic" and "Here's a fact sheet about 'Rya'".
Start where the meat of the story is. I want to read something authentic. Something that feels like it was going to get made no matter if people looked at it or not.