After Art block, what strategies do you use to start your comic again?

[KiabIce]

Soo sadly the last time I worked on my comic was end of December 2020. I'm thinking first how can I improve the comic so that it is better but manageable at the same time. Not overwhelming either.

What are your strategies to get back into the groove of making your comic again?

I'm just curious.

[Kaydreamer]

Here are some things that help me! They're more about productivity than motivation, but they do still help when my motivation nosedives as well, because the routines are so embedded now.

• Daily routine: It's been my salvation this year. Routine helps my ADHD task-switch into work mode much more easily.
• Micro deadlines: I know when I need each 'step' of an episode completed in order to finish it within my two-week window, and I'll just keep working until I complete that step. If I overshoot one, I make time of the weekend to catch up.
• Pre-written script: This is enormously helpful! If I know what I need to draw, because I have the script sitting right in front of me, it's much easier to get started. I don't do well if I don't have a script, or a list, or something already scheduled to work on.

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

I second everything Kaydreamer just said, and I add two things:

Motivation: This is a hard one sometimes, but I have two things I use to get myself excited about a project again.
1) I go back to what got me excited about it in the first place. Do you like to draw fight scenes? Expressions? Write snarky dialogue? Re-read your favorite portions and soak them in, enjoy them.
and 2) If you had a luster and lost it, go back to WHERE your project seemed to lose its shine and figure out why it stopped working. If possible, re-work that section so it DOES excite you, and let the renewed inspiration carry you from there.

Manageability: Yes, have a routine, do a bit every day. Yes, have mini-deadlines to help keep yourself on track. Yes, pre-write your script so you know WHAT you're going to draw next. But make. Sure. It's. Manageable. And what I mean by that is, don't work yourself to the bone by trying to do too much in one day, or making your deadlines too short. You should not be in pain after you quit drawing for the day. You should have time to rest, take care of yourself, and do something else. Art is an outpouring; you need time to put energy and motivation back IN you. If you go too hard for too long, you WILL hurt yourself or burn out, and then you're back to missing updates or hiatuses while you get yourself back on track. Comics are a marathon, not a sprint (unless you're doing a short-run contest or something...), so pace yourself. Future you will appreciate it, and your readers will too.

[Kaydreamer]

But make. Sure. It's. Manageable.

Myself and the 36 panel episode I knocked out in two weeks when I usually barely reach 24 completely agree. I do not want to do that again for a long time.

[KiabIce]

Thanks! Very helpful post.... I'll take what you all said into consideration!!

[rajillustration]

Something that helps me a lot is to make a pretty big buffer because when you're getting back in the groove, you will be slower. So, just make it to make it, without a deadline for a bit, as you get back into the swing of things.

And like, if I'm coming back to a project after a long hiatus, I like to write down what was working and what was maybe taking too long and overwhelming me. I usually end up simplifying projects as I go, especially as I become aware of my time and aware of my own skill level. This means sometimes I alter character designs, or I'll alter the way I render, because like...it's not a standalone illustration where that type of complication is part of the appeal, it is a comic, and it can be quite simple and still be immersive.

[KiabIce]

1) I go back to what got me excited about it in the first place. Do you like to draw fight scenes? Expressions? Write snarky dialogue? Re-read your favorite portions and soak them in, enjoy them.
a. What excited me about Open Flame was drawing the characters to life. Seeing them move on paper and interacting with the world. Fun to draw scenes where there's some humor. Maybe I'm missing more humor in my comic.

2) If you had a luster and lost it, go back to WHERE your project seemed to lose its shine and figure out why it stopped working. If possible, re-work that section so it DOES excite you, and let the renewed inspiration carry you from there.
a. Where the project seemed to lose its luster was drawing complicated poses, envoirnments, and having to keep the characters looking consistent. I also realized the first time around I could have used more references to draw poses I was having trouble with. Same for backgrounds, I could have used background references.
b. Sometimes I didn't know how to accurately pick a good image for that part of the script to tell the story best. I guess I could draw thumbnails (another thing I don't really like doing but got to start doing) to find the right picture I'm going for.
c. Another thing is the luster started to wear off as the comic progressed. Like I got tired of drawing. That was even when I had buffer and a full chapter script. I was being sloppy. Maybe I shoud give myself more time to make the comic pages.

[gabriellabalagna]

I started a July Daily Comics Challenge here for similar reasons.

A daily challenge might be a little overwhelming, but you could always set a different challenge for yourself. Personally, when I feeling I'm lacking in motivation, I turn to making challenges cause they can be really helpful to get some momentum going.

All the best!

[migxmeg]

keep the characters looking consistent

I can suggest that you don't need to worry about consistency as long as it's obvious from the character design who is who. I don't think readers notice differences in character art from episode to episode or even panel to panel .

[KiabIce]

Thanks Migxmeg!

Hope you're having a great day!

[Bokyongyo]

For me I usually start by drawing one off pieces that maybe has nothing to do with my comic, and usually after a few of those I'm back in the groove of things.

[natsjpeg]

I go back to the plot, really start imagining my whole world ive built and think about every character’s motivation. I find that telling the stories of my characters really motivates me because its what got me into starting it in the first place! And its the most fun part of the process for me, personally.

Also, planning as some people have said before really is essential

[dominioncomix]

I like to spend some time ‘living’ in the world of my comic first… daydreaming, imagining things and ideas… you know the thing where you listen to music and imagine a cool music video starring your characters? That too ahaha