Hey, hi, hello.
So this post is exactly what the title says, it’s really a filler, because I’m running behind on everything in life but I still wanted to provide some content for you on this gorgeous Sunday but I also wanted to stop and check in with everyone.
How are you? How has this past week treated you and do you have plans for this week ahead?
How about your comic? Are you doing any writing, drawing, both? Maybe you caught up on some reading? Have you set any goals for yourself this month and have you completed any so far??
I had the goal to get more work done but I’ve been slower and slower lately. :p
Recently I started to whip myself (not literally) to start getting SOMETHING done. I recently finished a page that had so much going on that I took about 2 weeks to finish it because 1. I’m slow and 2. I’m lazy and I try to provide the best quality that I can while being lazy and at last, 3. I seem to want to work on a bunch of things at once. Speaking of which, I’m actually working on some side stuff for my comic and possible merch, AGAIN. (if you know me, then you know I do this a lot.)
I also have poor time management that does not help AT ALL.
Also I wanted to share something that I found really interesting and the Duck Community can participate in: Drunk Duck Epic Duels! - I personally think it’s really cool and seems like fun, so if I ever get my stuff together, I might participate. We’ll see. (ps, this was actually discussed in the Drunk Duck Discord… so y'know, come hop on over :D)
Aaaand the Drunk Duck anthology is REALLY coming close to being available. Speaking of which, those who are part of the anthology, an email went out where we asked you for details about yourself so we can insert it into the book (really a PDF file) as like a little bio page, if you have not turned in anything at all relating to a bio, please do so. If not, we will make up horrible lies about you in the bio… Ok not really, but maybe, you don’t know, but do you want to take that chance????
Now some wholesome words and thoughts!
1. Don’t be so critical of yourself, we are indeed our own worst critics, but nothing is perfect and the important part is that we have fun and we try our best.
2. WRITE AND ART FOR YOURSELF. The internet can be a VERY negative bubble, remove yourself from that space and do what you want to do for yourself.
3. Life happens! You were finally making that lengthy buffer or catching up with everything but now you’re 2 steps back because life came in wielding lemons and proceeded to squeeze them into your perfect eyeballs? Trust me, it’s all good, your readers understand, life is a struggle. If you can, just give the public updates here and there so we know you’re okay! <3
4. BREAK, BREAK, BREAK. If you are feeling overwhelmed, take a break. Something in your comic or your writing or just anything isn’t turning out how you want it to? Get up, take a step back, breathe in, breathe out, walk around, hydrate. Come back later. I promise you, you’ll feel much better! Also if you come back and you’re still frustrated, that just means you didn’t take a long enough break, so you better pick up your booty and go walk away from your project for like 5 hours. Seriously. I’m not kidding.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and don’t take critiques to heart. If you’re struggling, ask someone for help, two eyes/two minds are better than one sometimes. If you received a critique but you’re upset about it, just don’t think too much about it. Analyze the critique. Is this something that actually does fix your problem even if it makes you upset? That person probably actually tried to help you and really don’t mean any harm. Just me, anything negative sucks but it is how we grow as artists!
6. Don’t take that toxicity. Is someone in your inner circle causing turmoil and bringing a lot of negativity into your life?? Drop them, if you can’t drop them, just take a big step back from them and have a relationship from a distance. As someone who used to be in a circle of just negativity and toxic friendships, it really does help to get away. I understand that loneliness sucks, but you can always meet new people and develop great friendships.
7. Hydrate and take care of your mental health.
You come first, drink that water, get that good rest and take it one day at a time.
Have a lovely week and I can’t wait to talk to you all again next Sunday. :]
also have a very cute picture of my bun, Maximus to complete this wholesome post.
A Filler
damehelsing at 12:00AM, April 25, 2021
5 likes!
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Corruption at 12:13AM, April 26, 2021
You should have made an article on fillers and kept that in reserve until you had nothing else to use. Things like how much filler to have in storage and other things. The irony would have been worth the wait to use it. This also works as it is a filler, but lacks the feel of a prepared filler. Now, for an idea on fillers: some comics have side stories dealing with characters away from the main group. Comics artists also sometimes have pages and even a chapter prepared to be released. The idea is this; if you have problems with writters block or something like that, have some of these side stories prepped so when your main story comics are used up. I know I probably messed up expressing it.
ShaRose49 at 12:05PM, April 25, 2021
Thanks for the lovely words! I’m doing alright, but this week has felt very pushed and I had little energy to work on my comic, which makes me feel sad but it’s not a big deal since I have a small buffer and life needs to come first. I’m gonna take a small break from the comic to rest and get some other things done. You have a very cute rabbit!! <333
Andreas_Helixfinger at 8:50AM, April 25, 2021
Me, I've actually had quite a ball recently with the script writing and also I've finally managed to overcome this aura of dread I've been feeling for quite a while now that was stressing me up over the slightest thing. It is definitely important to remind oneself that one can only really deal with what is directly at hand, and therefore should not think much about what is beyond one's direct presence or in a future that hasn't ocurred yet. I focus on what brings me joy in the here and the now, that's my vessel in the storm, lifting me above the crushing waves. And I master this vessel in the pace and the level of work that works for me. I think I actually might have a seventh comic running once this is done. Anyway. I'm rambling on. Great article, Damehelsing. Take care of yourself.
Hapoppo at 8:14AM, April 25, 2021
Some times it's not so much that you're lazy as it is that you have a page you're just not feeling the quality of, and you've had your nose buried in it for so long that you're numb to it, so you can't see exactly what's wrong with it or how to fix it. I'm currently trying to get around this problem by sketching two pages for every one I put out, with the idea being that by the time I get around to finishing the pages I go at them from a fresh perspective, or in the worst case scenario I have some more palatable pages I can work on while I chip away at the problem page. Great article!