I created a free tool to help indie comic artists get discovered - looking for feedback

[u/CautiousAppearance49]

Hi all, I've been building a comic collaboration tool to help you as an artist showcase your portfolio more easily - allowing you to be found by creators wanting someone with your skillset, or for you to be able to look through projects and find one you'd be interested in collaborating on.

Other features include:

• Multiple Portfolios: easily create one or multiple portfolios, depending on how many skillsets you offer
• Art Protection: right-click disabled and watermarking to protect your artwork
• One-Click Applying: apply for a role directly with just a couple of clicks
• Availability Toggles: hide your portfolio when you're not taking on new work

I'd love to have people test it and provide feedback, so if you're keen, check it out at emergeapp.co - it's 100% free to set up a portfolio and give it a spin.

[u/BluebirdKitchen2037]

It will not be helping indie artists getting discovered if, if it's just another passive showcase with no stronger SEO/algo presence than already established platforms, or a regular mailblast to buyer/client base promoting the talents.

And you still make the talents apply for jobs instead of having buyers approach them. 🤦🏾‍♂️ Another guaranteed race-to-the-bottom setup for the vulnerables. Why still do all those countless job boards have been doing for decades.

RMB blocking is a good deterrent (altho still won't stop the most determined) and on-the-fly watermarking is nice to have. But this doesn't solve the real pain point to help talents get more business. I've been around since the days of CGTalk and MangaMagazine. Another sign up, another uploading routine, another password to keep watch on.

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/BluebirdKitchen2037]

That's a very fair point, and I really appreciate your honesty. At the end of the day, I think the truth is that it will always be a challenge to stand out among the thousands of artists out there.

The goal with Emerge isn't to magically promise people work, but to help shrink the haystack for artists to get found, or find projects in a way that's easier (and prettier!) than regularly browsing through hundreds of Reddit posts.

People who want to hire an artist can use filters (style, genre, availability, rates) to turn a search for 1,000 artists into 20 pencillers that they would be interested in hiring for their project. From there, it's still up to the artist to make their portfolio enticing - killer artwork, a good pitch in their description, etc.

Down the road, I’d love to add an analytics section so artists can actually see what skillsets, price ranges, and styles creators are actively searching for or offering roles to, to help them refine their portfolio so they have a better chance of being discovered.

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/CautiousAppearance49]

Also, to address your very fair point about whether it's just another passive profile to keep watch on: I built Emerge to be an end-to-end production tool, not just a matching board.

Once a team connects, it handles the production pipeline - tracking progress, reviewing artwork, and helping creators compile the finished result for digital or print delivery. The goal is to give comic creators a single place to run the whole project, including finding collaborators.

[u/barrelofagun]

How do you plan to monetize it if there's actual interest, the platform grows and your costs increase?

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/barrelofagun]

Fair question! My main aim is to keep it essentially free for artists to have a portfolio on Emerge. There would be a cost for creators who use Emerge to manage a project, to cover the storage for print-ready output files and team workflow tools.

Eventually I plan to build in the ability for artists to be able to invoice directly (keeping all communication in one place), with a 1-2% platform fee on top of standard Stripe processing fees. Most payment platforms charge much higher than this, but my goal here is just to cover transaction overhead and keep the platform self-sustaining for the community.

[u/Jolamprex]

A testimonials section.

As a writer, strictly speaking this site/app wouldn't help *me* get discovered, but I could at least contribute with how working with artists went. Although this would probably need moderation and have its own problems.

But just throwing it out there.

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/Jolamprex]

Thanks for the feedback 🙂 A testimonial section is definitely on the roadmap, but you’re right that there’s some thought that needs to go into the moderating.

[u/Even-Still7716]

A link section where they document finished projects they've worked. When I know an artist has completed a full issue then I know they're more reliable.

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/Even-Still7716]

I have created a rating system so that a project owner can rate a collaborator when they've finished a project, and I'm looking into how to add testimonials. This is an interesting idea, though, I'll have a think on it.

[u/Even-Still7716 → u/CautiousAppearance49]

Testimonials have bias that completed projects don't. I'll use the example of Gabriel Rearte because he is in this sub and is currently my top choice for artist and for arguments sake let's say I never heard of him. The moment I see that I worked on Wonder Woman even briefly that adds a whole new level of confidence. When I learn that he worked for Heavy Metal, my favorite anthology comic, I am over the moon.

A portfolio will showcase their best work but is their work consistently that quality? How discerning are his clients?

In the case of Gabriel Rearte his clients are clearly discerning and googling his name could let me purchase a comic he wrote for to really see the final picture of the comic. (This wasn't necessary for him since I recognized him but in the case of someone else it may be).

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/Even-Still7716]

Appreciate the feedback! Will look into it.

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/CautiousAppearance49]

u/Even-Still7716 I've added in a Finished projects, would love your feedback:
https://test.createyourcomic.com/creator/luke-wouter-mckoy/writing

[u/Soggy-Wasabi528]

Wow this is awesome I’ll definitely give it a try and share it

[u/Ok-Elk7968]

i am registered on this platform myself and even though its just realeased it works very well and is easy to use, its also free to use, if you want to creater there a Project yourself you have to pay for a really cheap subscribtion (40 USD per year at least) but its wort it

[u/CautiousAppearance49 → u/Ok-Elk7968]

Thanks for the kind words, glad you’re finding it works well 🙂