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I’m gonna be honest with you guys here today. I’ve been a bit frustrated lately, and it has to do with my own creative process. This a struggle that I think many of us here can relate to. We have this story, or even a number of stories, that we can’t wait to see unfold to their fullest. And we may have readers who want it too. But because of various factors involved the process of getting there is—slow. Very slow.
If you’re someone like me who have seven webcomics you try to keep running, it can become very frustrating, because I know I really have no one to blame but myself. I the creator set the standards, the methods, the length, the priorities etc. I could speed up the process by avoiding drawing the pages in the amount of depth and detail that I do. But I don’t. Because I want to draw all that depth and detail.
I could perhaps speed it up again by trying more effective more automative tools. But I don’t. I draw everything by hand on a digital pad the same way I would draw on an analogue piece of paper because that’s the way I like to do it, and I don’t want to stop doing that. I could again speed up the process by cutting the scripts, make the story more simple, short and sweet. But I don’t. Because I want to tell these stories the way I feel they are meant to be told, in full, in all of their complexity.
I could prioritize one comic over the others at a time so that at least one comic has a regular updating pace. But, once again, I don’t. Because I want to see all of my comics advance and not be laid on ice for who knows how long. This means that I very likely won’t produce more then one page per week for each of my seven comics. That’s like an update for each comic every other month I believe. Yeah, it hurts. But that’s where I’m at, at least for now. So I’ve been having this struggle inside my head.
Part of me thinks:
“What if I could make three updates a week? That would hit the spot, wouldn’t it?”
But then another part of me responds:
“Yeah, but that would surely lead to burnout. Plus you’re always gonna have other things going on in your life and it just isn’t realistic to think that you’re gonna have the time to consistently fill that kind of quota.”
So! My conclusion is - as the saying goes - you made your bed, now you have to sleep in it. And so I’m trying to come to terms with it all. I’m obsessed with my webcomic creation and I guess that is the problem. It would have been easier to accept things as they are if I wasn’t so obsessed with it. If I could learn over time to be a little bit more detached from it and allow other things to come to my attention, it wouldn’t be a problem anymore.
Anyway, this has been me just sort of venting my mind. I wouldn’t mind hearing what your thoughts are on what you’ve just read here. Feel free to let me know in the comments below and have a good Sunday.
Trying to accept a slow creative process
Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:00AM, Sept. 24, 2023
9 likes!
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Andreas_Helixfinger at 10:12AM, Sept. 25, 2023
@TheJagged - I can definitely relate^^
TheJagged at 9:33AM, Sept. 25, 2023
The only thing stopping me ftom cranking out 5 pages each day is my inner procrastination demon. It's never a lack of ideas or even time that stops me, but the procress of converting the idea into lines... i always find the least interesting part. That's what takescthe greatest effort, to force myself to actually sit down and draw. Sometimes i wish had something like a personal trainer for art. Sit down and draw, maggot! No videogames today, gimme another page!
Andreas_Helixfinger at 8:48AM, Sept. 25, 2023
@J_Scarbrough - Focusing on just one comic now I might actually be able to build up a buffer over time so that I can go off to celebrate the holiday season this year without cutting back on the updating.
J_Scarbrough at 8:18AM, Sept. 25, 2023
This is exactly why I give myself as generous of a buffer as possible, so that way, I don't have to rush myself and I can take my time, because otherwise, it runs the risk of becoming a slave to your work, which obviously takes all of the enjoyment out of the entire creative process. With the second season of VAMPIRE GIRL, I actually started working on that almost two years in advance, because I knew it would take a long time to complete - especially since I still pencil and ink physically by hand on paper. Usually, my other work will be faced with a slow creative process due to other extenuating circumstances, such as running out of resources and/or funds, and having to look for alternative routes to take to complete a project.
Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:34AM, Sept. 25, 2023
@plymayer - Well, Kirby and the gang had a studio full of co-workers for one:P
Andreas_Helixfinger at 12:33AM, Sept. 25, 2023
@Jason Moon - I'm fairly sure that I can do the former, after all, all the comics already have kind of a spontanous feel to them. As for the latter, well, we'll se^^
plymayer at 3:32PM, Sept. 24, 2023
I don't know how Kirby and the gang did it, cranking out page after page.
plymayer at 3:31PM, Sept. 24, 2023
It happens. Keep on truckin'.
Jason Moon at 12:47PM, Sept. 24, 2023
Just have complete fun with it. Don't write or try to force a story just listen to music and draw what you feel. Maybe smoke a little pot ;)
Andreas_Helixfinger at 9:33AM, Sept. 24, 2023
@dpat57 -I will👍
Andreas_Helixfinger at 9:32AM, Sept. 24, 2023
@PaulEberhardt - Fascinating and relatable^^ Thanks for always sharing your thoughts, Paul:)
dpat57 at 9:31AM, Sept. 24, 2023
Ow, I felt this. Do what you can, and good luck!
Andreas_Helixfinger at 9:28AM, Sept. 24, 2023
@Banes - Agreed. I am glad I posted this and got a straight, honest response. It has really helped me face facts and come to terms. Because often times it's not enough to tell yourself these things, you need to hear it being told to you from somebody else to really have it hit home. I'm drawing the line here once and for all now. One comic. One page at a time forward til' the last. Molly Lusc for the win. Here we go.
PaulEberhardt at 9:24AM, Sept. 24, 2023
I'm always too damn slow too, and THEY (whoever THEY are) keep stealing time, so it goes by faster every day. Want proof? In the 60s, the Beatles sang about "Eight Days a Week" and today we only get seven!! ... Ok, I'm being silly again. | Yes, I'm pretty sure everybody can relate. If I tried to draw all the ideas I've got up my sleeve at my current continental-drift-tempo, I'd have to quit my job, also quit sleeping and everything else and hope to somehow manage to live to be 200-300 years old. However, being slow is also a sign that you care, so it's not a universally bad thing. I'll never forget how a famous German cartoonist boasted in an interview: "I've gotten much better at what I do: I used to scribble my comics three or four times as fast as I do these days." To those who don't know Brösel: that guy has sold millions of books since the 80s, and he was proud of being slower. I can tell you that really lifted me up! ... Btw., paneltastic is right. Couldn't have put it better.
Banes at 8:50AM, Sept. 24, 2023
Agree with paneltastic - and it seems like it was a good idea to vent your frustrations. It's so easy to get stuck in our heads and create bigger problems for ourselves than we need to! One comic, moving forward regularly, and you'll be rockin' it!
Andreas_Helixfinger at 8:30AM, Sept. 24, 2023
Actually, second thought. I think I'm just gonna put them on indefinite hiatus til' further notice.
Andreas_Helixfinger at 5:33AM, Sept. 24, 2023
paneltastic@ - Yeah. Hearing it from somebody straight, you're probably right. In fact I'm kind of seriosusly considering it now. In fact, I think I could just straight up delete six of the comics and work those stories into this one comic I got going. Might even make it all better.
paneltastic at 3:02AM, Sept. 24, 2023
SEVEN?! Ok, that seems excessive. Even in my prime I was only juggling maybe 2-3 active comics at once and those were newspaper style gag-a-days. You really need to cut back to one or two and focus on maintaining their quality. Revisit the others later when you've finished the first. I know the frustration of wanting to chase every story at once but it leads to several unfinished works rather than a few well made completed ones. I think you'll find much more enjoyment if you devote more attention to a few rather than so many.