A profession between comic artist and illustrator?

[Klaustasya]

As the title ask: Is there a job which is kind of a mix between illustration and comic art?

I'm asking because after finishing my 63 pages comic in one month and a half i got pretty much stressed and people keep saying that "pfff, 63 pages in almost 2 months, it's nothing...we do 140 pages!" and i felt very offended by this to be honest cuz that was my first comic and it wasn't even requested to be that long.
ANYWAY, drawing always the same characters everyday for a long comic with close deadlines, might not be my piece of cake....so i was wondering if there is something in between being an illustrator and a comic artist, as a profession (because i still like planning stories and drawing my own characters)

[fleohr]

Character Designer

[punkarsenic]

in a lot of minds, comic artists are illustrators - in fact, the overlap is massive, and lots of illustrated books are just comics by another name.

but there are other jobs in the narrative arts besides illustrating books and making comics - theres concept artists, character designers, storyboard artists (although really, thats comics getting ready to not be comics). you can do all those things and still be an illustrator and/or make comics, as well. and you can write a comic in collaboration with an artist, or work by your own deadlines... theres no strict rules that say comics have to be what you dont like about them.

also, 63 pages in two months is a bloody good rate - you notice most webcomics get out maybe half that? even if youre doing this full time, thats just over 30 pages a month, which is the size of your average print issue - you're doing fine! and if youre doing comics on the side, then youre doing more than fine.

speed is an important part of serialised comics - but you dont have to make serialised comics. you can make graphic novels, you can make things that come out at a snails pace, you can make things that wont come out until theyre all 100% done. the serialised comic industry is a big branch, but only a branch of the comic industry, and theres plenty of other ways of working.

[Raven_C]

You can always just do mini comics, I guess? Being a comic artist doesn't have to mean you're drawing a really long story. As a comic creator myself, my goal is to not spend my entire life drawing one long epoch. Instead, I'll draw mini comics (as in 10-30 pgs) and compile them into anthologies or zines (as collection of work and selling them at conventions). If longer comics are too much to handle I think drawing shorter ones is a good idea.

You can also do illustrated picture books/novels, editorial illustration, storyboards. That being said, if you're really dedicated to your comic, just try to work in your own pace and work with people who can understand how much you can realistically handle in a given time.

[shazzbaa]

Also, if you like planning stories and drawing your own characters, that doesn't have to be your profession for you to be able do it!! There are PLENTY of creators who have a day job that isn't comics that they like and have no interest in quitting, and then they just make their own comics at whatever pace is best for them, because they love making comics.

If you want to be an illustrator or concept artist of some kind as a profession, and then make comics on the side for fun at a much slower pace, that's an option!

[alliascompany]

That's probably faster than what a lot of people can get done. I know I'd never be able to the that many comic pages done in a month. Everyone works at different speeds.

As for your question, I would think storyboarding and character designer might be similar.