Make Comics on Instagram: Earn Without Art Skills

Why Comics and Why it's Worth the Effort?

No-face accounts are everywhere, right? But why pick comics, especially if you've got zero background in art? Because you're even asking, that's why. Look, I've seen endless blogs talking about the "best" social media niches - sports, beauty, cooking, travel - you name it. Ok, cool, but here's the catch: these are open to ANYONE. Competition is through the roof and let's be real, it’s like everyone's copying their neighbor's homework. These niches are stuck in a rut - oversaturated and hard to grow in.

Now, let's talk comics. Ever seen them on meme pages or those zen wellness accounts? Yep, comics can slide into just about any content theme, but they really shine in two zones: well-being and humor. Throw in some wholesomeness and you're golden. What makes comics the real MVP? They're eye-catchers, inclusive (even kids dig them), and a no-brainer for breaking down info. That’s why comics are not just a good move - they're the move.

You need to accept that not everything will be perfect, especially at the start.

How To Create Comics: Even if You Can't Draw

So, you're sold on the idea but don't know the first thing about drawing? No problem. You've got options:

1) Canva

Canva has a wide range of character models and pre-made comic strips. You can easily repurpose these models for different narratives. For example, check out how PoorlyDrawnLines consistently uses the same characters to create diverse comics :

Notice how most characters are used several times with little changes? That’s efficiency.

Here’s a breakdown of a way to make a comic on Canva :

First, you’ll need to go on Canva and type ‘Comic strip’. That will give you the skeleton of your comic, the famous squares that will hold the scenes.

When it’s done, you can start adding your characters, if you type ‘characters’ you’ll have a decent selection to choose from, try to find models that could be used to show the same person, for example in the picture below, the blond woman can be used as the same person in different situations!

There is a decent choice when it comes to characters.

You got yourself your comic strip, and you chose your characters, now what?

You can create your first simple comic!

For that, you can use the same model, turn it, crop it , maybe even cut the mouth of another model to change the one from your character… Possibilities are endless.

Here’s an example of a very quickly done comic I’ve made :

‘I’m always thinking about food.’

Simple, relatable, funny for some. All done in 5 minutes with the simplest comic strip format and only two character models. With how fast and easy it is to use Canva, you can make a comic a day without breaking a sweat.

If you find that Canva doesn’t offer enough options, you can also use it by bringing assets from other websites… Like Shutterstock !

2) Shutterstock

Shutterstock is your go-to for visual content, offering a mix of photos, illustrations, and, yes, comic strip elements. The kicker? Many are free for commercial use. So, you can patch together your comic elements like a pro, no drawing skills needed.

Here’s an example of things you can stick together to make your characters :

There are lots of free and paid options that can be used for commercial purposes!

You can find a lot of models, import them on Canva and work your magic there !

3) Draw

You can go even simpler. Believe it or not, stick figures can garner a massive following. Examples? Randall Munroe on X (Twitter) and DigitallyBaffled on Instagram. These creators prove that you don't need fancy drawings to attract attention. The idea is the hero here.

There is no best way when it comes to finding out what works for you, except trying and trying again. But if you want to start drawing, here’s what I’ve used to start : A simple but good quality graphic tablet that I bought from Amazon :

It doesn’t have a screen, but at that price tag, there is just no way you’ll get a good screen tablet, so better invest on what matters : responsiveness.

When it comes to what software to use, Photoshop comes first to mind, but its price makes it a bad idea. Personally, I used Gimp quite a lot.

If you have an IPad, I recommend buying a Ipencil and using it to draw, it’s one of the best digital drawing experience out there!
Once you are equipped, I recommend you to find several comic accounts that draw minimalistic character and to just copy what they do. That’s as simple as that. Copy until you get a good hand on what is easy, and enjoyable and easy to do. In my opinion, learning how to draw is learning how to mimic things you see.

In the case of minimalistic comics, you just need to know how to draw simple forms and stick them together, a circle for the head, an oval for the body, and attach sticks to make arms and legs, and you’re golden. Remember one thing : What matters is not the aesthetic but the idea.

The ideas make the content

If you go on YouTube to watch humoritic content, you might know Joel Haver. He is a YouTuber that created a technic of ‘easy’ animation. With it, he started making videos based on real footage. The result is amazing, and it became his most successful format.

He showed his method on this video :

Since then, a lot of creators have begun using it, with great results.

Yaplaws is a content creator on Instagram that didn’t chose the Well-being or humor niche for his comics, he chose a more poetic approach that displays his life struggle.

He managed to gain a fairly good following of 50k people. His most successful comic went up to 500k likes!

Those are just two examples that show that thinking outside the box is the best way of finding gold. The humor from PoorlyDrawnLines is different from MrLovenstein, those two are different than StrangePlanet. Doing what works is not enough, you need to find your way of doing things, showcasing your uniqueness.

What finds success is unique and relatable. Like I said earlier, to learn you need to copy, now I’m saying that what works is unique. So, which is it? Well, both. Picasso had a goal, it was finding the One Piece… No, wait. It was finding the essence of an object, to make it as simple as possible, while retaining its essence.

From complex, to simple, to essential.

You don’t need to know how to draw like Raphael, to be able to draw as simply as a child, you can directly go for the path of minimal resistance. Copy until you find your style, easy and fast to make.
But for that, there is no miracle way, you’ll have to put out content, a lot, before understanding YOUR thing, and what works best.

Instagram? Pinterest? TikTok? Facebook? X?

Which platform is the best to grow an audience and to make money with your comics? All of them, obviously.

I wrote this article centered around Instagram, to make it more focused, but all the tips I gave can work for all platforms. It’s easy to make a comic into a very simple animation, or to just change the format into a carrousel, they work wonders as Reels or Tiktoks.

X (Twitter), is a great place to grow an audience when you make comics, you can just post the exact same post you put on Instagram.

Pinterest is also great, but some people might put your content without you needing to put it out (It happened to me). That’s why you should always sign your comics and put it in a place that can’t be easily cropped.

Facebook and Reddit can be good places as they rely a lot on groups. If you find the right group, you can grow a good audience there by just showcasing your work on the right places.

All in all, there is room for good content everywhere, without needing to adapt your format much.

The Money Play

Now, let's talk dough. The most straightforward option to make money out of your work is compiling your popular comics into a book, to sell it on Amazon for example.

Another is to offer print-on-demand versions of your favorite strips.

You could also count on the fact that the more your following grows, the more brand collaboration opportunities will come your way.

There is also the Patreon way, where people will pay a monthly fee to get to see exclusive content. From what I’ve seen, it’s not what brings the most money, but it’s something.

In the same way of getting paid for exclusive content, you can take on commissions to make personalized comics on demand in exchange for a fee. It works especially well if you have a pretty style.

One last way of earning money from your work is using online publishing websites, like Tapas, to host your comics. You’ll earn money from ad revenue or readers support.

You can invest on all of the above methods, or focus on the ones that have the highest chance of being profitable for you. But again, to know, you’ll have to try first!

Growing tips

Follow/Unfollow Methods Are Risky: You risk being flagged for spam.

Hashtag Caution: Use no more than three hashtags to avoid being shadow-banned on Instagram.

Consistency: Publishing a comic a day keeps your followers engaged.

Networking: Once you have a reasonable amount of content, start reaching out to other creators to see if you can do collars, or share each other’s content.

Initial Ad Strategy: Good for kickstarting your account but loses value as you grow.

Format Diversification: Turn your comics into Reels/videos to enhance your visibility.

Market Adaptation: Pay attention to what works and what doesn't. Don't stick to failing strategies.

Styling Choices: Cute, funny or quirky aesthetics engage audiences more effectively than scary or too-realistic art.

Audience Engagement: Respond to comments and questions to build lasting bonds with your audience.

End Words

Comics offer a unique blend of versatility and engagement that few other content forms can match. Even if you don't have an art background, tools like Canva and Shutterstock level the playing field. So, whether it's the simplicity of stick figures or the dynamic elements from stock sites, you've got the means to enter and thrive in this exciting space. Always remember one thing on your art journey : There is always room for uniqueness.

Now, go. Use all of what you learned and make your first comic strip. And even if you find it bad, not funny, uninteresting… Make another one, and again, and again. Because practice makes perfect. But don’t try to create something perfect, make something relatable. Nothing perfect is relatable.