Our resource list isn’t exhaustive, but hopefully it will help. Feel free to suggest other resources by emailing treesandhills@gmail.org.

MAKING COMICS

Jessica Abel’s DIY Tutorials - Good lessons on materials and the process of drawing comics.
Comic Script Templates For Microsoft Word - Automates and simplifies script formatting. For older versions but presumably still functional because they were recommended by w.MA writer Michael Finger.
Comic Tools - “Snooping into cartoonists’ tool boxes. Updated weekdays.” MK Reed posts the results of her survey of artists’ habits - take the survey yourself!
DIY Comix - an instructional pamphlet by Shawn Granton (some assembly required).
John MacLeod’s Small Press Comics FAQ - Info on making comics.
Make Comics Forever!! - Cartoonists share their thoughts and advice on productivity.
Brian Lee O’Malley’s Comics Advice - Posted in response to some questions.

Software

Free Serif Software - Serif Software offers older versions of its software for desktop publishing, image manipulation, making webpages and more for free.
GIMP - Image manipulation program.

PRINTING COMICS

Jessica Abel’s DIY Tutorials - Good lesson on making minicomics.
ComiXpress - A print-on-demand service that specializes in comics.
DIY Comix - an instructional pamphlet by Shawn Granton (some assembly required).
Dream Weaver Press - Small run printing, run by self-published comics artists.
Guerilla Press - “a free independent publishing resource site…promoting a DIY approach to the small press world.”
Lulu - Print-on-demand publishing.
John MacLeod’s Small Press Comics FAQ - Info on self-publishing.
No Media Kings: DIY Book Press - Self-publishing info, with a bookmaking emphasis.
Reproguide - By Ron Rege Jr., David Choe, Brian Ralph, & Jordan Crane. “It’s a fairly thorough guide to Xerography, Silkscreening, and Offset Printing” in PDF format (requires Adobe Reader) from Reddingk Books.

PUTTING COMICS ONLINE

HTML Help

HTML Goodies - Extensive.
Lissa Explains It All - Aimed at kids, but good for anyone.

Webspace

Blogger - Free blogs, hosted on your site or theirs. Not designed as a comics site template but will do in a pinch. You’ll need an image host.
Comic Genesis - Free, customizable comics host w/ automatic updater. The help files could use a real overhaul to make it easier to get started, but plenty of people are using it & it seems useful if you can get the hang of it.
DeviantArt - Not great for multi-page comics, but it’s free and has a large community.
DreamHost - For if you just want to rent some plain ol’ webspace and set up your own site.
LiveJournal - Free blogs. Not designed as a comics site template but does pretty well in a pinch. You can tag your posts for sorting, and there is an extensive community which includes many cartoonists. You’ll need an image host unless you want to pay money.
Webcomics Nation - A pay service with automatic updating & various tools, support & community (part of the Modern Tales family of websites, which also includes our forum host).

Image Hosts

Flickr
ImageShack
PhotoBucket

Other Tools

Oh No Robot - “OhNoRobot is a free search engine service for webcomics! You can sign your comic up for a personalized search engine, along with tons of other great features. Your readers aid you in the task of transcription!”
Online Comics - Directory of online comics. Get listed!
RSSpect - Free Automatic RSS feeds - help people keep up with your site!

PLACES TO BUY COMICS

Coming soon!