Webcomic Artist

I'm curious as well lol

They probably don’t make enough to live off of. I think it depends on where you post your work too. Also with illegal sites like this, even uploading free webtoons, it’s hard to make a living at all.

i've heard that unless you're some absolute big-shot (eg. true beauty, pruple hyacinth etc), it isn't enough for a living. most of the artists have another job too.

Honestly, True Beauty stuck gold because they got a drama out of it. She's also branching out and doing other stuff. I saw her do a photoshoot. She's also a Korean creator where her work is on the original Korean platform and then it go translated into English for the English Platform. I also think it's in Japanese and Thai. Where as Purple Hyacinth, Freaking Romance, Lore Olympus, Age Matters and others are only on the English Platform. (Wait, I think Lore Olympus just got a Korean Translation. Lore Olympus is making it big with merch at hot topic and her work is being compiled into a book.) It really does depend on the platform. Webtoon, Leh.zin, T.ap.as, and Tapp.yto.on all have Korean counterparts and then you have the Korean only- Bom.toon, Ridi.books, and others I can't name. Those larger known platforms have you work on a weekly basis or a 10 day basis. So yes, it may be their full time job, but they could only be making $10-$20/hr for 50-60+ hours of work a week. And cost of living for a webtoon artist is so much more than rent, utilities, and groceries. It's having good internet to upload and communicate with a team. Having technology that works. So computer, a tablet, a good stylus. Maybe painkillers for that wrist pain. And a lot of webtoon artists have gone on hiatuses for wrist troubles, so thats a good hospital bill too. Sooo....yeah. They could be living off of a comfortable $500 a month after bills. Lets think about it, if they make $15/hr with 60hrs/week thats $900/week or $3,600/a month:
Rent: $700-$1,000 (including utilities like wifi, heat and air, water and garbage.)
Groceries: $50-$100/week
Computer: $1,000
Tablet: $150
Stylus for tablet: $50-$100
Hard Drive for Backup: $200
They probably have a secondary back up service that works on the cloud, like dropbox, which is $10 a month
They also have to have their program that they draw. Adobe has a creative suite that has illustrator, photoshop, and others for $50/month. Or there is procreate for $10/month. Clip studio is also popular among artists and thats $220, though its a one time purchase.
They also probably have a team. Colorists, sketchers, and background artists. This own team could be paid by the platform or by the artist. It depends.
Yes, things like computers, tablets, and stylus, and other technology are one time buys- but those are your own property that you use for work. That is a part of you. Without it, you cannot work. So you have to factor in that maintenance and care. I've seen so many artists have to postpone work because their tablet broke or they lost an upload somehow. So $3,600 may seem like a lot. But then there's taxes. Then there's the living. So many things can change, like the rent can be like...what if you had a roommate, or living with your parents. Or something like that. But in that corner of your room or house, it is your workspace. It is a part of you. So you have to factor everything into that little corner in the room.
So....no. They are not making a whole lot of money. Thats why artists hate illegal sites. Some authors only publish on patreon or have a patreon account where you can get special episodes or member only content if you donate. But I've seen stuff from patreon get uploaded here too. So...yeah. Everyone hates illegal websites.

i thought we had to pay only once for procreate O.O

It looks like there is a one time buy, but for some brushes and other things, there are in app purchases. It does really depend.