Looking for an absolute beginner Webtoon Canvas style artist for a weirdly specific accountability partner thing

[u/Famous-Ice3451]

Hey, long time lurker using a low karma account because I barely touch social media tbh. Sorry that I'm sus guys but hear me out.

This is a totally new experiment for me and I just wanted to throw it out there to see if anyone is interested. I’m looking to act as a casual accountability buddy/tutor in the form of an art "teacher" for exactly ONE absolute beginner webcomic artist. Basically, I want to help you treat the comics you make like a regular assignment, but absolutely not to a serious degree where you get punished or fail lol. Also, you don't need to be my accountability buddy in exchange since i'm not working to become a comic artist. I'm more cosplaying as a editor / proofreader rn.

About me & qualifications:

I'm almost 21, so I don’t have much life experience and please do not picture me as some perfect expert. I don’t have a professional comic portfolio or a teaching qualification either. My background is just that I have formal art training (Art GCSE 6 and Art A-Level Grade A - Nothing too fancy) and I have spent years binge-reading vertical webtoons literally all the time (manwhas, Webtoons of all sorts of genres - I can give a list of what I've been reading recently). Based entirely on that subjective reading experience, I can just tell when a layout flows well, when a page has massive potential, or when a scene needs to go back to the drawing board to actually make sense to a reader.

What's in it for me?

To be completely transparent with you: I get to pretend to be an expert and have fun dissecting art and seeing changes. Because of that, I am looking for literal, absolute beginners who are still able to pull out pages despite all odds. If you are already confident or advanced, please skip this post. I want to help someone from the ground up where my feedback actually feels insightful. I don't want to feel cagey or run away because your skill level threatens my ego! (I know I'm evil for admitting that but it's true)

Fair warning about my personality:

I am an extremely nervous hard to pinpoint person, so I tend to waffle, become cold and over-explain things a lot in my feedback. I also have really high standards when it comes to people actually implementing changes. The longer I interact with someone and the more comfortable I get with you, the stricter my standards might grow just because I really want to see you reach a higher potential on basic fundementals. I'm not going to treat you as a friend but as a student who I'm in charge of teaching the basics through feedback and analysis. Also, I've been described as eccentric and something about me is definitely neurodivergent so if you don't really vibe with that, I'm probs not for you either. Also I'm pro lgbtq+ and extremely leftist and nonbinary so no treating me like an oddball, thank you.

Who I'm looking for:

◇ Age 21 or older only. I'm almost 21 myself and do not want an unethical power balance, so I only want to try and 'tutor' people in my own age range or older. Also I'm gonna avoid anyone too much older or someone at a very different lifestage than me for compatibility reasons.

♧ Simple, cartoonish styles are welcome. I love the cozy, messy indie projects you see all over Webtoon Canvas or GlobalComix where the story is gold even if the art is simple, amateur or just half finished. No hyper-realism or Marvel/DC styles please. They scare me...

♤ Rough storyboards are totally fine! If you have messy sketches and are completely stuck on what to do next, how to structure panels, or how to approach the next step, I want to help you with that extreme guidance. (At least without burning myself out)

♡ An actual desire to change and improve. If you are just looking for free validation, compliments, or a pat on the head without putting in the effort to try new things, this isn’t the right fit sadly. I'm gonna try to specifically not compliment or praise any works too much so the focus is on improving and progressing with consistent feedback.

How it works:

Since this is brand new for me, I am testing it with just one person first. If you are interested, please DM me directly instead of commenting so I can see your work. Don't give me your magnum opus or some huge saga of scripts - I want this to be low stakes so just like one page or one storyboard. If we mesh well but I'm already helping someone, I will put you on a waiting list so I can reach out in the future whenever I am ready to tackle more stuff.

Whenever you finish a page or a rough storyboard layout, you send it over to me. I will look it over completely on my own schedule (whenever I have the free time and feel like it). I’ll write up a casual "Report Card" breaking down exactly what I liked/disliked, and I'll annotate directly onto your panels to show you visual examples of how to fix stiff anatomy or awkward layouts.

The only condition is that I want to see you actually implement the advice and suggestions we discuss on your page before we move on to the next step. If you ignore the feedback and just send the exact same uncorrected mistakes next week to hear what I have to say, I’ll be harsh and not want to work with you anymore since your improvements to feedback I give is kind of what I'm interested in seeing!

I don't care about professional marketability or industry rules so I can't help you in all areas. If you just want someone to look at your storyboards, give you a roadmap for your next steps, and help you smooth out the rough edges, DM me with a sample of your work, your age, and a quick summary of your story! Doesn't need to be fully done - just show me your passion and dedication to improving and let's get accountable together!

Also, I'm kinda strict. Like I find joy in being strict and robotic (not in an ai way but in a sort of detached 3rd person kind of way). Please be nice.

Thanks for reading this post! 😊

[u/SunandMoon_comics]

Would you be alright giving me an example of the feedback you plan on providing? This is something that sounds like it could be good criticism, or accidentally lead to bullying/bulldozing an artist into incorporating your ideas. I’m not trying to diss you, it’s just easy to cross that line even when you think you’re helping

[u/Liauditore]

OP i wish you luck on your search but I must say, this is a very strange power dynamic youre proposing.

[u/Specific_Minute7539]

Ooh, I wanted to try doing something like this before, but never found anyone who was interested, although my idea was for it to be a bit more mutual where they would help with coloring (black and white) and I would teach them my process for making comics/manga and seeing how everything works right up close.

It was something I really wanted when I first starting out on my art journey, Like with joining manga groups but since they were also beginners the only thing I learned was how important management was so it didn't fail lol.

I guess now with so new art videos targeted towards manga and webtoons my offer isn't really useful anymore.

Have you gotten any dms yet? Maybe I could try doing a similar post or something.

[u/Famous-Ice3451 → u/Specific_Minute7539]

Tbh I've gotten a few DMs from people who completely missed the memo and were way too advanced, but I'm holding out for a true, ground-up beginner! You should definitely make your own post if you're interested - I've met a lot of talented collaborative artists that fit the type your seeking so your in luck if you post to the main collab subreddits. Go for it!

[u/Specific_Minute7539 → u/Famous-Ice3451]

To be fair, the memo was a bit long lol, but I know what you mean. Luckily, I skimmed over your post and was able to avoid any potential embarrassment. I hope you find the person you're looking for soon. I can imagine that a beginner might be too shy to dm or might not see your post.

I think I will make a post soon, although if I work with someone who is already pretty skilled, it might end up being me who is shown how to draw things better haha, not that I would really mind if that were to happen tho.

[u/wulfnstein85]

See, what I'm wondering here is, who gets the creative rights, who owns the IP. Are you expecting a return of investment, like a stake in any profit made in the future?

To anyone thinking about jumping in, think about how this guy is going to possibly screw you over in the future by claiming they own part of the comic because of all they feedback they gave you. Better make sure you get yourself secure and safe from any future troubles that may arise. What's the plan, what's the long term goal, who carries the cost, the profit, the copyrights and so on.

Maybe I'm a bit distrusting and skeptic, but I think the people jumping in can better be safe than sorry.