Any grad students here making comics and having more fun doing this than their thesis work?

[orangeandglad]

Well, the title pretty much covers it. I'm finishing my 4th year of grad school in a doctorate STEM program, and lately, I can't shake off the feeling that I'm enjoying my life as an artist more than a scientist. At the same time, I can't imagine myself doing comics for a living and having a hard time letting go of grad school. Art has been with me for the longest time since I was a kid and the last thing I want to do is making one of my escapes stressful by fulfilling job requirements and demands of clients. I've started to loathe grad school and its process in the most bitterly way, but I still love the research because it's meaningful.

I've been sitting on this thought for a while now. Hope there are others out there that feel the same or experienced something similar.

-ORANGE

[HNLEE]

OMG I FEEL YOU! I would much rather draw than do thesis but i also that's not happening. I wish I could turn of reality and just draw freely ugggh Sadly, both my study and my art, the things I once found pleasing end up draining me. Now I just kind of wanted to sleep all the time.

[hierogriff]

I'm starting data collection my third year dissertation this summer. I've been making comics on and off during second year, but I've been able to resist blowing off ALL my Uni work to make comics, haha. I just hope that when I graduate I'll have more time for hobbies!

[orangeandglad]

RIGHT?! It's really hard to get out of bed sometimes. I think the thought of going to a good coffee shop really helps. Food in general lol. You can do it!

[orangeandglad]

That's what I'm hoping for, too. Switching back and forth between my work and comics is like switching between two brains. I don't know how you do it, but I need time to pick up momentum before I can move on to some thing else. It's either one thing or the other. Poop.

[Sanz]

Oh dude...i was a sales rep then an accountant....it was really really really boring... I was miserable...and I hated my life and i couldnt even figure out why... Youre not the only one, trust me, whos day job basically sucksass (lol even of you like it) and you cant wait to get home and use the right side of your brain. I gave it up for a field in the arts. Now i do 3d concept rendering for a metal fabrication company. I didnt care about the wage. If most of my life is to be spent working for someone i want to enjoy it. we only get one life. I remember while i was an accountant it would be hard for me to get back into drawing and creating unless it was a weekend where i had time think. Maybe you need that. A moment to just brainstorm to get the creative juices injected into you like heroine.

[WintreKitty]

I totally get this. I'd rather sit down and write my reviews than write all the papers I have to do for my post-baccalaureate, and it is only going to get worse when I go into my masters. Please let me have the brains to NOT do a PhD! I feel like I would regret it immediately... and yet I still consider it.

Switching back and forth between my work and comics is like switching between two brains.

100% true. My writing styles are completely different. Using scientific terms and large pompous words isn't exactly ideal for my reviews. They should be more light-hearted and fun. Sometimes I struggle to switch back and forth between the two.

[Aspie_Gamer]

I guess I'll be the odd one out and come out and say it. Personally, I think with the way our (the United States) economy is, college isn't a feasible choice economically speaking. Also, I personally feel that they don't really teach you anything in college you couldn't easily learn from social media like youtube tutorial vids or sub reddits on Reddit dedicated to whatever you are really interested in. Its why I didn't go to college after graduating high school almost two years ago. In fact, I think I learned more about networking as a budding artist from the internet than I would have had I gone to an art college just from being more proactive about my webcomic Life of an Aspie since early February. I also feel like I've picked up a thing or two about entrepreneurship as well.

Now if you are happy with spending time in college working towards whatever it is you want to be, more power to you

[HNLEE]

YESSS the coffee shops and the snack breaks are like my sanctuary~ haha Food does make everything better. Good luck to you too!

[eleoza]

Oh gosh.... I so agree X_X
My school work piles up and here I am, obsessing over my own comic and drawing like crazy QQ
Self disapline is what we need I guess XD but it's so hard to stop doing what you love and focus on the icky stuff x.x

[Jrej]

I think a lot of my creativity comes from boredom.
At least at the start.
I never drew as much as in a boring classrom.
Never thought more about my story telling than when I was working quiet shift as a receptionist.
When I was at university, I had 3 months off for summer! Imagine the potential!
And yet, that's when I did the least amount of drawing.

I just need the quiet, repetitive, operational work enviroment to push my creative brain forward. Now, with the weekly updates and the story structure all done I think it's easier to carry on. But at start it was essential...

[iddqd]

I am finishing my doctorate with maybe a year and a half left. I think that developing loathing towards grad school and busywork it entails is perfectly natural and healthy, actually. But at the end of the day, as much as doing professional work is stressful, it's probably still going to leave you with more time and money to do whatever art you want to do, as opposed to being a pro artist. And as much as I hesitate to say it, I would probably also loathe doing art full-time. Every time I spend a day or two drawing, I feel incredibly drained. Maybe at the end of the day I am just a lazy grad student who just wants to procrastinate.

[orangeandglad]

I am finishing my doctorate with maybe a year and a half left. I think that developing loathing towards grad school and busywork it entails is perfectly natural and healthy, actually.

You go, iddqd! So close to finishing! I'm trying to get out of here in 8 months, but yes, these feelings may be a sign that it's time to go. Spread mah wings!

[orangeandglad]

Getting into the correct mindset is always challenging. Besides boredom, my creativity tends to peak the most when I stop caring.

This clip from Ex Machina covers that problem so well. One of our favorite quotes from an okay movie. XD

@Toad_Sta_Ovn Isn't it strange that in the US we're paying so much money just to get graded. Ugh.

@WintreKitty Unless you really want to become a tenured professor only, I'd say go for the PhD lol.

@christinaeliz lol heroine is a nice way to put it. Thanks for sharing your experience I'm glad you figured out what you really wanted to do and had the guts to move on. I tell myself that life is short. There's only so much I can tolerate anyway. I'll be doing some serious thinking this summer and traveling.

[yenrou]

We just finished our thesis! Graduating soon, hoping that I can now give enough time on making manga / comic .