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In the wake of forthcoming changes to the comic submission system, find out what it takes to get a comic published in the Torn City Times - and receive a brand new reward!
Following a thread by Panopticism on the inconsistency of the rules applied to comic submissions, the Torn City Times is making a few tweaks to the guidelines to make it clearer which comics we are willing to accept. These changes will soon be reflected in the rules displayed on the comic submission page. But in the meantime, let's explain what we're doing differently, what you need to do to get a comic published, and why we posted several s****y ones in the first place.
In an attempt to make up for a shortfall in submissions, we have previously published some comics which used memes or simple content. This will no longer be the case. If no good comics are sent, no comics will be published. However, in order to tempt more of Torn's artists into the comics business, we have made some positive changes to the submission rules too. Here are some simple do's and dont's to help you understand.
DO
Create a comic drawn to high standard containing Torn-relevant content in the 650x200 dimensions. Here's a great example of an accepted comic by Drizella, who has clearly spent time and effort in creating her piece. Not everyone can draw as well as Drizella can, but that doesn't matter, because if we can tell you've made an effort, your comic stands a good chance of being accepted.
DON'T
Send us a half-arsed copy and paste job which took you five minutes on your lunch break. Your strip doesn't have to be a Renoir, but it must look neat and tidy, and not like something you'd scrawl on a bar toilet wall at 3am. One comic that's taken you three hours is far more likely to be accepted than ten pieces which took you three minutes. Don't rush.
DO
Take time to think about the ideas in your comic and create something clever. Topical comics which refer to recent Torn events are always welcome, but we know that making these things takes a while. A little delay is fine. If your entry is funny, clever or a combination of the two, it will always stand out from the crowd. But try to avoid obvious observations on the difference between Torn and real life - we get these a lot.
DON'T
Send us an entry which heavily relies on copyrighted material, memes or non-original content. If you've redrawn something in the style of a famous comic that's fine, but making slight edits to a known strip is not enough. The comic below was rejected on the grounds that it consists almost entirely of images taken from Cyanide and Happiness.
DO
Avoid the use of template comic makers - Chedburn has nightmares about these. Please draw your own characters and scenes; the frames and speech bubbles can be templates, but their contents should be your original work. If your comic is rejected due to it being made using a comic maker and we like the idea (I'll often tell you this) you may re-submit the same content within a fresh comic you have actually drawn with your own human hands.
DON'T
Post a comic which has already been declined unless it is materially different from the original. You must also avoid posting comics which have already been accepted or stolen from other users. Doing so will result in a punishment to be determined by the admin team - probably an over the knee spanking, if I were to guess.
DO
Feel free to collaborate with another player on your entry. We're allowing this as it makes sense to let players combine their time and talents and split the rewards afterwards. However, when dual-authored comics are submitted, please post them from one account only. Only one player may receive the award and points for any one single comic. You are free to split the points afterwards if you like, but the award can only go to one person. In the event of a dispute, don't get me involved. Go bother Judge Judy.
DON'T
Message me about your comic incessantly for months begging for approval. It's less likely to make me want to publish your work because I'm a spiteful bastard at heart. My workload is often heavy, so sometimes comics take a back seat. Rest assured, if you've submitted a comic it will be viewed. If I haven't told you why it was rejected, you may drop me a message.
DO
Check out the kind of comics we've already published. Obviously we're trying to increase the standard of comics now, so don't take this as a strict guide as to what you should submit. However, it's still a good idea to see what kind of stuff we've published so you can avoid sending us an idea that's already been done. Yennenga's comic below is a recent favourite of mine because it covers a known Torn habit (flower flying), it has detail (mediocre t-shirt) and it also contains partial nudity (I like butts).
DON'T
Put off submitting a comic any longer. There is a rare honor given to those who have a comic submitted, as well as a handy haul of 250 points. And from now on until the end of time, we're offering a donator pack to anyone whose comic is published on the Torn Instagram @tornographic. This feed shares competition winners, pictures of ham, secret events and old screengrabs of Torn from the days of yore. Now it will post comics too. Isn't that nice?
That's pretty much it. Basically, if we can tell you've made a real effort to draw your own comic digitally or by hand, and it contains interesting, relevant content, it will almost certainly be published. We have a real dearth of comics at the moment, so if you spend some time on your entry it is highly likely to be approved - so long as your idea doesn't use memes, of course.
In an attempt to make up for a shortfall in submissions, we have previously published some comics which used memes or simple content. This will no longer be the case. If no good comics are sent, no comics will be published. However, in order to tempt more of Torn's artists into the comics business, we have made some positive changes to the submission rules too. Here are some simple do's and dont's to help you understand.
DO
Create a comic drawn to high standard containing Torn-relevant content in the 650x200 dimensions. Here's a great example of an accepted comic by Drizella, who has clearly spent time and effort in creating her piece. Not everyone can draw as well as Drizella can, but that doesn't matter, because if we can tell you've made an effort, your comic stands a good chance of being accepted.
DON'T
Send us a half-arsed copy and paste job which took you five minutes on your lunch break. Your strip doesn't have to be a Renoir, but it must look neat and tidy, and not like something you'd scrawl on a bar toilet wall at 3am. One comic that's taken you three hours is far more likely to be accepted than ten pieces which took you three minutes. Don't rush.
DO
Take time to think about the ideas in your comic and create something clever. Topical comics which refer to recent Torn events are always welcome, but we know that making these things takes a while. A little delay is fine. If your entry is funny, clever or a combination of the two, it will always stand out from the crowd. But try to avoid obvious observations on the difference between Torn and real life - we get these a lot.
DON'T
Send us an entry which heavily relies on copyrighted material, memes or non-original content. If you've redrawn something in the style of a famous comic that's fine, but making slight edits to a known strip is not enough. The comic below was rejected on the grounds that it consists almost entirely of images taken from Cyanide and Happiness.
DO
Avoid the use of template comic makers - Chedburn has nightmares about these. Please draw your own characters and scenes; the frames and speech bubbles can be templates, but their contents should be your original work. If your comic is rejected due to it being made using a comic maker and we like the idea (I'll often tell you this) you may re-submit the same content within a fresh comic you have actually drawn with your own human hands.
DON'T
Post a comic which has already been declined unless it is materially different from the original. You must also avoid posting comics which have already been accepted or stolen from other users. Doing so will result in a punishment to be determined by the admin team - probably an over the knee spanking, if I were to guess.
DO
Feel free to collaborate with another player on your entry. We're allowing this as it makes sense to let players combine their time and talents and split the rewards afterwards. However, when dual-authored comics are submitted, please post them from one account only. Only one player may receive the award and points for any one single comic. You are free to split the points afterwards if you like, but the award can only go to one person. In the event of a dispute, don't get me involved. Go bother Judge Judy.
DON'T
Message me about your comic incessantly for months begging for approval. It's less likely to make me want to publish your work because I'm a spiteful bastard at heart. My workload is often heavy, so sometimes comics take a back seat. Rest assured, if you've submitted a comic it will be viewed. If I haven't told you why it was rejected, you may drop me a message.
DO
Check out the kind of comics we've already published. Obviously we're trying to increase the standard of comics now, so don't take this as a strict guide as to what you should submit. However, it's still a good idea to see what kind of stuff we've published so you can avoid sending us an idea that's already been done. Yennenga's comic below is a recent favourite of mine because it covers a known Torn habit (flower flying), it has detail (mediocre t-shirt) and it also contains partial nudity (I like butts).
DON'T
Put off submitting a comic any longer. There is a rare honor given to those who have a comic submitted, as well as a handy haul of 250 points. And from now on until the end of time, we're offering a donator pack to anyone whose comic is published on the Torn Instagram @tornographic. This feed shares competition winners, pictures of ham, secret events and old screengrabs of Torn from the days of yore. Now it will post comics too. Isn't that nice?
That's pretty much it. Basically, if we can tell you've made a real effort to draw your own comic digitally or by hand, and it contains interesting, relevant content, it will almost certainly be published. We have a real dearth of comics at the moment, so if you spend some time on your entry it is highly likely to be approved - so long as your idea doesn't use memes, of course.
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