kim soleum's lorazepam

A solargraph is a long-exposure photograph that captures the path of the sun across the sky with a pinhole camera, often made from very simple objects like beer cans. The exposures can last days, weeks, or months. Personally speaking, they're up there with cyanotypes as being among my favorite kinds of optical art.

So first of all this one girl told us about a newer metaphor in Russian, "I have paws", which is something you say when you don't really want to do something, so you say you're incapable of doing it since you have paws instead of hands. Like, "hey, finish that report" "aw but I have paws :(" and I think that's adorable. It's like "I'm just a girl" but for animals.

We also had the task to invent a novel metaphor and have the others guess what it means, and the teacher really liked my "she's such a capybara" = "everyone loves her". Capybara energy is like golden retriever energy except you're chill about it. You're just vibing and everyone digs that.

Over the past 7 or so years, we've seen this absolute shift in expectation, migration, and stagnation in the webcomics sphere which applies to style, sustainability, and the platforms grip on readers and creators

I'll be the first one to say that webcomics are not an easy way to make money and a majority of folks who make them rarely see profit. This has always been the case! But when virality, siphoning audiences from all over, and opportunity to 'get printed' presented itself, that expectation shifted.

So let's talk about what those expectations are now: 🔴Demand for Higher quality- less readers will check out beginner looking works or comics that feel too 'faulty' in style meaning less excitement to see webcomics grow over the years. Polish is expected and commented on consistently by readers

There is also an expectation for specific visual and narrative styles. This applies to other social media platforms too- in that works that take less investing in are often promoted and prioritised. That means less risks on narratives, less nuances, and shorter series running.

🔴All on one site/app- That may seem pretty fantastic for getting new readers (and is the absolute main sticking point for so many artists) but when algorithms and specific series are wanted, your works have a harder chance getting to the people they need to. The search function is trash for a reason

I'm not one to toot the competition flute, but there's a level of that at play when the spotlight for that platform is actually pretty small. What you get is a lot of readers checking out the same comics, and not spreading it all out to find yours (their subs have a cap for this reason)

🔴Sustainability (and lack thereof)- The creator of these comics are often burnt out and given little support- all while fighting to see what is allowed on the platform with its excitable censoring. I won't speak for originals (there's many testimonies you can find) but their experiences of burn out are harrowing

With the high production expectation for a person who is rarely given help (often has to hire out of pocket for that) and the readers who want Updates Now, it's a frustrating place to post your comics with no rest. It's 2026, we shouldn't be treating cartoonists this way still.

Webtoons (the company) is always going to be interested in making a profit. That's sort of where it all starts and stops here. They'll embrace the slop machines (more slop sources) for investors, they'll mistreat creators, cancel 'unprofitable' comics, censor work, and protect that bottom line. That's their MO, always!

So when I see these conversations that inevitably float around about Webtoons and how the only response is 'stop using it', I think we also need to deconstruct what it's done to creators and readers and how they engage with/create works too- because it doesn't seem that simple of a solution

Webtoons has solidified itself in webcomics as the Place to start and stop with comics. They want you to use their app of course, but they've conditioned folks to think it's the only way to share your stuff. How do we break this? How do we get people to stop using it?

We share resources 😎

Also, for webcomic creators who either make their own website or use a comic platform like Comicfury, consider using a peer-to-peer ad network like Comicad.net to advertise your webcomic and create ad space on your own website.