ComiXology and KDP Comic Publishing with Daz-created Images
TheSolitaryMystic
Posts: 9
Greetings all. Through some of the comic-related topics I have seen that there are Daz-artists who have used published their comics through ComiXology (which is moving to KDP in Feb. 2022). However, ComiXology states explicitly on their submission page that they do not accept comics created with 3d-rendered images from Daz, Poser, or Cinema 4D. I am wondering how some of the authors were able to publish their work through ComiXology, and if there are certain workarounds that will allow that platform to accept Daz-created comics? If not, do you know of any good online platforms that are similar to ComiXology that DO allow 3d-rendered comics? Thanks in advance for your help.
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Comments
Most likely the artists either use DAZ and other 3D programs as a basis to draw from (like some artists use live models), or the 3D renders are then modified in another program so they look 2D. There are ways even within DAZ, Poser, and Cinema 4D to make a render look 2D instead of 3D.
Well... I had to look up the rule because it seems dumb, considering that many main-line comics use 3D as a step in their process... and digital art is an integral step in virtually all comic art these days.
https://support.comixology.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042720894-What-is-required-for-a-submission-to-comiXology-Submit-
From what I can tell, the rule is this:
"Please note we do not accept photo comics or 3D-rendered comics"
Comics do use photos and 3D generate art... but, IMO, there's a hugh jass difference between raw photobooks & raw render output as compared stuff you'd see in a comic.
/If you don't do any sort of post-work or think it's anathema/blasphemy, then you need another platform for sure.
...
If you're worried about not getting in, then self-publishing to your own site or blog might be a logical first step. IMO, before you even get to Amazon/ComiXology, I'd try self-publishing/blogging/doing the 'Gram/etc. For instance, Nathan Pyle's "Strange Planet" started on Instagram before it became a physical book thing. I think Pusheen the Cat started on Fb or somewhere before it became what it is today.
Generate sufficient mass, and then they shouldn't care how much is 3D versus how much is art because they'll get the sales.
Thank you all for taking the time to give feedback, I really appreciate it.
I typically do postwork in Topaz Studio 2 for my renders and then put them into Comic Life 3. I try to make my images more 2d-ish for the most part. I am working on a few different projects, one of which I am hoping will be a graphic novels series, but given how time-consuming it is, I wanted to have an idea of what platform I ultimately would like it to end up on.
After looking more through Kindle Comics, I was able to find quite a few 3d-comics in which there doesn't seem to be much post-work at all, which I found encouraging. I am still waiting for feedback from KDP, but it looks like self-publishing on Amazon may allow obvious 3d-rendered images regardless. If I get clear confirmation of that I will add it here in case any one else is interested.
It is also encouraging to hear about comic authors' success stories coming out of the self-publishing/social media space. I am not very marketing savy, but I have thought about using Deviant Art as a place to generate iterest as well. I know a lot of people are using Patreon these days too, but I haven't tried that yet.
If you publish directly through Amazon, you don't have that rule.
As far as publishing on Amazon, it is mostly only good for exposure. When you enroll in Kindle Select, you get paid by the page the customer reads. With comics, it's a hard 1 page= 1 Kindle page, where with text only books, the number gets inflated in favor of the author (1 page= 2 Kindle pages). The payout is less than half a cent per page, so if you put out a 20 page comic, you make less than 10 cents from everyone who reads it through Kindle Unlimited.
For straight sales, you'll have to choose the 35% royalty payout. If you choose 70%, you get hit with a delivery fee based on the file size of the book...and image-heavy books have large file sizes. You'll make less than if you had chosen the 35% payout.
If you decide to go through Comixology, they will take half of the payout as their fee. Instead of 35%, you only get 17.5% for every sale, and in essence, Amazon double-dips on your sale. Also because they own Comixology, Amazon does what it can to push Comixology titles onto the best seller charts, and tries to suppress self-published titles. I won't get into all the games they play with me, but it was more than enough to keep titles out of Kindle Select and sell them elsewhere.
I started a Patreon page oferring my books to patrons before they go live on Amazon, and most of the audience followed me. I recently started selling through Gumroad and now I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
What advantages are there to selling through Gumroad in your particular instance?
Have you tried hosting on Comic Fury?
https://comicfury.com/
jjmainor: That is all very useful information, thank you! Like zombiewhacker, I would also be curious about your experience with Gumroad as well?
riverman63: Until now I hadn't really looked into comicfury, I like what I'm seeing there and am grateful for the recommendation.
Money. You keep much more of the sale price than you do from Amazon.
Gumroad lets you sell multiple formats. Amazon only sells your book as a mobi, so you need a kindle or the kindle app to read it, and from what I've seen, an awful lot of digitial comics readers aren't using Amazon's products and services to read comics. With gumroad, you could sell a pdf, epub, or whatever. If you wanted to collect the pages as individual image files and wrap them up in a zip file, you sell it that way.
If you're doing it on your own, there's another option that you may want to look into. There's a site called Payhip that lets you sell your digital downloads. If you choose the Free membership, they charge 5% per transaction. If you purchase a monthly subscription, the charge goes down to 2% and there's a premium subscription that allows you to keep all of the revenue. You may want to check them out.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I never heard of Strange Planet, so I took a look at it on Instagram. Is it s comic book - like a sequential story - or is it like a comic strip with 4 to 6 boxes with drawings in them?
In this case, more like a comic strip (and definitely not "Watchmen" LOL).
That being said, he's parlayed the webcomic strip format into successful physical books, merchandise, etc.
Yes, each individual piece within the books is usually 4 boxes... but so are a lot of successful web comics made up of a few panels at most. So were a lot of comics in the Sunday paper. Some were serialized, yes, but also each set piece was containable relatively few panels (as compared to modern comics where sometimes you have a whole comic book where very little happens and things get really really stretched out).
There's something to be said for being able to tell a story in 4-6 panels.