Hey fellow DuckWebcomics artists!

As someone who spends hours hunched over a drawing tablet (or sketchbook), I've been thinking a lot about ergonomics and self-care lately. Those marathon creative sessions can really take a toll on our backs and shoulders!

Here's what's been helping me stay comfortable:

Posture checks - Setting a timer to remind myself to sit up straight

Stretch breaks - Quick shoulder rolls and wrist exercises every 30 minutes

Comfort upgrades - I recently added a massage cushion to my chair and it's been revolutionary for those tense drawing sessions

The massage cushion has been particularly great for:
→ Relieving upper back tension during long inking sessions
→ Helping me relax between panels when I need creative breaks
→ Preventing that awful “artist hunch” after hours of work

What's your workspace setup like? Anyone else found good solutions for staying comfortable during those late-night comic crunches? Would love to hear about your ergonomic tips or favorite tools!

My setup is in a small closet with a slanted roof where I can only stand up if I'm right next to the door. I tend to draw late at night or early in the am. I usually draw on paper or color on my wacom cintiq 27. It gets very cold in the winter so I have a small space heater and wear the inner lining of my snow boots as well as a scarf and a blanket on my lap. What keeps me going is trance music, hard liquor, and occasional other stuff.

Imagine if you had to block out the scene physically and provide costumes and props. When doing the initial images for the panels, I'm often running around putting everything in place and then adjusting poses of the figures from moment to moment. I usually only work fifteen to thirty minutes at a time. Need to get up and think between things. Then there are constant changes and adjustments and repairs necessary on figures, costumes and props.

Editing and putting in backgrounds are done on my laptop and I have done that anywhere and everywhere. But usually never sit longer than thirty minutes to pace and rest the hands.

Only time I really marathon anymore is writing. That I sit and type wildly when inspired. Once spent eight hours banging out a whole chapter for one piece. No more. I was sore for days.

And there are breaks for puttering with other projects. My best ideas come when I'm otherwise engaged.

None of you use massage cushions? Extraordinary!

My set-up is nothing fancy, just a 22" display with a standard mouse and keyboard. And a trusty copy of SketchUp 2015. My forefinger gets sore sometimes with pressing those mouse buttons, but I take a break until it's feeling less strained. Which can sometimes take a day or two. My bog standard office chair has one of those slightly curved mesh backs and the way it contacts my lower back is quite comfortable and supporty, I never have a sore back.

I just simply allow myself breaks when I need to. I already have a bad back anyway, so that's the least of my worries from such crunch sessions; actually, what I really had a problem with after a while is my hand starting to cramp, especially after the inking process, because the inking process is perhaps the most frustrating since it's (supposedly) the final thing, but you seldom get it right the first time.