We hear stories of the mega popular series on Webtoons that get movie, anime and book deals. As exciting as those are, there those who are just starting out. Everyone has to start somewhere. For Webtoon, that means an uphill battle to finding your place on Webtoons and getting readers.
DizzySpot has stories on Webtoon, Tapas, and other places have been around since 2015. She’s just starting out and slowly growing her fans one by one, story by story, learning as time goes on. As fun as it is to hear of big names and their struggles becoming big. Those struggles are a common right now occurrence for DizzySpot. They’re more real. They’re in the now.
JOESEPH SIMON
How long have you been writing and creating art?
DIZZYSPOT
I have been drawing ever since I was a kid. But it was more of an on-and-off hobby. I only started taking art more seriously in 2015 after I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I dropped out of university and spent all my time drawing and writing, trying to find an activity that would help me get out of my illness.
JOESEPH
Tell us a little about yourself.
DIZZYSPOT
I’m from Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. I’ve been through some troublesome times during my teens. I developed glaucoma when I was 13 due to steroid drops I was using and lost 95 percent of my peripheral sight as a result. Growing up was not easy, and I focused on my studies. My only hobbies were playing video games, playing music, and drawing from time to time. I wanted to enjoy the little sight that remained as much as possible by doing the things I loved. I also felt guilty for enjoying these things a bit too much at the expense of my studies sometimes. Now, as an adult, I finally managed to get a job as a telephone operator recently despite my handicap and mental illness and I draw and write on the side.
JOESEPH
What influences do you have as a writer and artist?
DIZZYSPOT
I’ve been influenced by many things since my childhood, from video games to anime to books. I’ve always loved fiction. But over the years and meeting new people and thinking about life in general, I want to write about my personal experience and mix it up with fantasy. I really want to focus on writing about things I went through especially after I became schizophrenic. Also, I am influenced by things from the real world too like religion and things I studied such as sociology. So, even if I’m just a small unheard voice in this world, I hope to be able to touch the hearts of a few by sharing my writing and art with them.
JOESEPH
What do you use to create your art?
DIZZYSPOT
I started using Medibang Paint Pr when I started digital art, which is free art software. Then I decided to purchase Clip Studio paint. I think it was worth it. It’s better than Medibang in many ways and you get a lifelong license.
JOESEPH
You also do art for other writers. How different is that compared to doing art in your own writings?
DIZZYSPOT
It is much more difficult because the writers often have a better imagination than I do haha. So they are a lot more detailed and it’s harder to illustrate their writings because the characters they write have more depth than anything I could come up with on my own and the sceneries are more detailed too. I am lazy and cut corners a lot when I draw by not adding background for example. But it’s all a learning experience and I would definitely like to work with my writer friends again. At the same time, you get to experience different characters and different stories. It’s a great experience and worth it.
JOESEPH
Your niche is fantasy. More specifically, Fantasy drama. What is Fantasy drama? And what about Fantasy drama that captures your interest as a reader, writer, and artist?
DIZZYSPOT
Fantasy drama, to me at least is just a fantasy-themed story with tragedies. I was actually not sure of the term when I made my first comic of the “Fantasy Drama” genre. y comic was actually originally meant to be a Fantasy Comedy. But as I wrote it took a turn for serious events occurring as the story went on because I failed to convey comedy. So I decided to make it a fantasy drama.
I was always interested in serious epic stories like Lord of the Rings or lighter fantasies like Dragonlance. I’m more inclined to like lighter fantasies though because they can balance serious and ludic at the same time. I like serious stuff but also light-hearted, funny moments. This is what I truly want to convey in my stories because I feel this is just right for me.
JOESEPH
Tell us about your currently running projects and where people can find them.
DIZZYSPOT
My comics are up on Webtoons. I wrote a bunch of comics but I am only really focusing on my main comic “Malicia” for the moment. I only recently started updating the art for like the third or fourth time. But this time I am sure of my improvement. I am also working on a comic dub project of Malicia right now with aspiring voice actors. You can check out my other comics Alien Superheroes and The Prophet on Webtoons. But I haven’t updated them at all art-wise or story-wise. Also on an anthology project called Project Zeus with my writer friends. You can find details about it in my journal on Deviantart. I am not the project leader though but will be writing and providing some scenarios in the future. I might be working with a published author soon but this is still in the works so I can’t give more details about that.
JOESEPH
For readers who might not be familiar with Webtoon, what is Webtoon for readers? Why should they check Webtoon out?
DIZZYSPOT
Webtoons is a free webcomic platform where you can read all types of webcomics. They are a new form of online comics usually meant to be read on mobile since you scroll the comic instead of turning pages. It is to me a new form of art and totally worth it. You can find all genres of comics on Webtoons. And you can become a creator if you feel like it too. It’s completely free to join so check it out!
JOESEPH
As a creator, what are Webtoons to you?
DIZZYSPOT
As a newbie creator, I believe Webtoons is a great platform to host your personal comics. It does not matter if you do quality stuff or not, everyone has the freedom to join and share their comics. For being a total stranger, I’m kinda proud of having reached 10000 views over the years. Even if it took time and even if most of my subscribers became disinterested in my comic due to long hiatuses and infrequent updates, haha. It would have been harder to get my comic noticed without a platform like Webtoons for example.
JOESEPH
Webtoon gets something like over 10 million people a day. It’s a great number, but there are 500,000 creators of Webtoon coming out. The top Webtoon, Lore Olympus has over 1.1 billion views and 5.8 million subscribers.
Obtaining those high numbers are pretty hard. I’m a fan of your efforts, I also know your readership is still at a starting stage. What has worked and not worked in getting new readers?
DIZZYSPOT
At first, I was publishing my comic just for fun. Despite my lack of skill when I first started publishing some people
still liked my style and story. I was happy back then and tried to update weekly always thinking about new ideas and story progressions almost every day. Then as the story got longer and longer I believe some people became disinterested. So I shared my comic with friends and asked them for feedback.
They all told me I had to improve my art. I tried but it was not easy. I often had to take breaks from my comic to practice illustrations and art in general in order to improve. I am not focusing on getting new readers right now though. I just want to update my comic with my improved art before I continue where I left the story.
I am also giving plenty of my time to the comic dub and talking to the voice actors who joined me and giving them insight into the project. I want them to be part of that story. They influence, inspire and encourage me in many ways and are one of the main reasons I’ve improved this much right now. So I’m really thankful to them. I got some new fans this way too.
JOESEPH
What’s your goal on Webtoon?
DIZZYSPOT
At first, I just wanted to share my comic and get some readership. But as time went on, I became less and less focused on attracting new viewers. I just want to have fun with this project now. My comic does not even conform to the correct webtoon format anyways since it still has traditional comic panels that read from left to right. I will keep publishing my comic quietly even if I don’t have any viewers.
I just want to be able to share it with the people I know or who are interested in it. I just want to complete my story. I am constantly planning future arcs. That is all I aim for.
JOESEPH
What has been the easiest part of being on Webtoon?
What has been the hardest?
DIZZYSPOT
Webtoons are super easy to use. It’s free to join and easy to organize your comic pages before publishing. It is very user-friendly.
To be frank, I haven’t had a very hard time being here since I go mostly unnoticed. I just do my thing quietly.
JOESEPH
What Webtoon got you into Webtoon and what one inspired you to create Webtoon?
DIZZYSPOT
I must say, with a lot of guilt, that I did not really read up on any Webtoons before joining. I only browsed some comics and was impressed by the art. I knew I could not reach this quality at all.
I eventually started reading several webcomics I found interesting later on though. Me not knowing anything about webcomics prior to joining would explain why my webcomic is in the wrong format haha. I joined because I looked up sites that could host my comic. It was as simple as that.
JOESEPH
From a creative standing, writing a webtoon is a different kind of writing than a comic or prose story.
Having said that, I’m curious about what your thoughts are on what I just stated. For example, your story, the Istian King is both a Webtoon and prose on Tapas. As Istian King’s creator, how different are those two (prose vs Webtoon) for you to create?
DIZZYSPOT
This statement is very true. Prose can actually be both more difficult and easier to create than a webtoon. From what I can tell from my experience writing both, it’s easier to lose the logic of the actions and thoughts of the characters when writing prose.
When I draw, I can picture logical conversations and character actions more easily because I have to plan what the characters are doing and saying while drawing them. It’s a bit hard to explain. But prose has the advantage of giving your characters more depth like their internal thinking and past and backstory or background information about the world and societies you create. Those are two very different art forms and what I write in prose cannot be fully replicated in a webtoon.
JOESEPH
Content on Webtoons can be on any schedule. Where weekly is common, there are series that are daily. What is yours and how is keeping that schedule up?
DIZZYSPOT
When I originally started I kept a rather regular weekly schedule. But I did get discouraged by my own lack of skill and decreasing readership. So I went on several hiatuses and breaks in order to focus on improving myself. I even said I would discontinue my comic until I reached a level I was satisfied with. But I’ve stopped caring about those weekly schedules. I am mostly planning my story from beginning to end so that I can come up with something more cohesive and better planned out than just dishing out new content every week. Even if I mess up my storyline, I will edit the story to fix my mistakes.
This is what I’ve done with the first arc of my comic. I changed some scenes and especially the dialogue. And I’m planning to do the same for future arcs. I don’t want my story to be read weekly. But more like a small novel or short comic. So people can read up the first arc for example which has already been completed. Except I’m still updating the art right now.
JOESEPH
Webtoon has become huge in a short period of time. It’s really changed the comic industry. As a creator, how has it changed your writing, art, and comic trajectory? For example, how would you have approached doing comics if there was no Webtoon or Tapas?
DIZZYSPOT
I would most probably only have been sketching random comic pages on paper without any continuity. Webtoon’s platform allows me to save my progress and create an overarching story. If it did not exist I would not be here drawing that comic. It made it so easy for me and without it, I don’t think I would have had enough ambition to draw and write comics.
JOESEPH
You’ve had ups and downs with creating and releasing work. Talk about those.
DIZZYSPOT
Like I mentioned before, I was discouraged by my lack of skill and decreasing readership. But in the end, I said “To hell with it”. I don’t care about readership anymore. I just want to write and draw that comic. This is what allowed me to persevere. I would always redo if I can improve something. I edited my comic three to four times over the span of 4 years.
I would like to share it with my friends and future kids one day. That’s why I won’t give up even if my progress has been slow lately. Just had my downs with life like everyone does. But I’ll motivate myself again.
JOESEPH
I’ve seen your progress as a creator. There are scenes I can tell where in creating there might have been a struggle but you came up with a unique perspective story and or art-wise to cross the finish line. How do you work through creativity that becomes a struggle?
DIZZYSPOT
I already mentioned it before. I’m lazy, and I cut corners when drawing and writing. So I just try to find easy and simple solutions to come up with some story plots and resolutions without it being too much of a Deus Ex Machina. I’ve been working harder on the next stories though. So maybe you won’t see me pulling up all those excuses to make the characters get out of sticky situations anymore haha.
But I digress. I’m not that self-aware as a writer. I apply more of a problem-solving approach to my stories. That’s the way I think about it anyways. So if there is a problem in the story, I must come up with a decent solution and try to avoid Deus Ex Machinas.
JOESEPH
My day job is as a graphic designer for the music industry. For my job, I actually don’t have a style. I have to conform to the style that the client wants. I find this to be a disadvantage to my having a visual identity as a graphic designer in the industry.
You have style is unique to you. I’m curious, do you think that is an advantage or disadvantage?
DIZZYSPOT
It is advantageous in the sense that you have free reign over what you do and create. But it’s a bit lazy. What I mean is that you’re not always pushing yourself to get the best story or best illustrated scene or panel out there if no one is telling you where you should be improving. But that’s probably a personal problem I have when creating my stories.
I know I can do better but I don’t put in the amount of effort I should. In my opinion, you need to have that free reign. Even if it’s just something you do on the side, at least you can share it with your friends and loved ones. It is your identity, the unedited truth.
JOESEPH
Let’s say things take off for your creative ventures, what’s your goal? For example, do you want to release anything in print?
DIZZYSPOT
I’m not so much into physical copies. I could keep one personal copy of my comic for myself and my family though. I actually have not thought much about selling my work. I just know it’s not good enough so maybe that’s why. But I’m going to make comic dub videos of my comic soon. And my dream is to make my comic in an animated show someday!
JOESEPH
Getting readers is a lot of hard work. It’s not just posting something on Webtoon and they will come. What should other creators expect and how can readers help in the struggle to gain a greater readership on Webtoon and Tapas?
DIZZYSPOT
For webcomics, the art has to be appealing. So if you want to attract viewers you should all definitely be focusing on improving your art. All my friends told me the same thing. Also, network and share your stories with friends.
JOESEPH
What does it personally mean to you to get someone following your stories on Webtoon, liking or commenting?
DIZZYSPOT
It means a lot to me. Even if it’s just one like or one comment. It makes me happy.
JOESEPH
What advice to yourself do you have that is hard for you to accept?
DIZZYSPOT
It’s that drawing and writing are not just having fun all the time and feeling good about what you do even if the result is lackluster. I wished I could tell myself that drawing and writing actually require effort and that it is also like work and should be treated seriously like studies or work. Then maybe I would have improved faster.
JOESEPH
What’s been the easiest advice from others to implement that helped you?
DIZZYSPOT
It was my friends’ earnest and honest feedback and critiques. They also recommended videos on how to improve my art and writing.
JOESEPH
What other advice do you have for people who want to start a series on Webtoon.
DIZZYSPOT
You actually need to study art and writing. And you don’t have to spend a single penny to study that. There are free resources all over the net and free youtube videos that are here to help you.
JOESEPH
Finish this sentence:
It’s not easy being creative, but…..
DIZZYSPOT
You have to persevere and experience new things in life constantly. Write about what you like and your own experiences.
Thank you Dizzyspot for this interview. You can follow DizzySpot at the following:
https://www.deviantart.com/dizzyspot
You can do a search for DizzySpot on Webtoons or Tapas and find a lot more! This is your chance to follow someone at the start of an interesting career!
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