At what age did you really get it together, creatively?

[djwaglmuffin]

I'm 34...the answer is:

Never. I haven't lande don anything I like that i can call my own that other people will like and enjoy. Granted, I have a style all my own that is pretty identifiable but...still...not there yet.

:<

[VandaQ]

That's a really interesting question. I'd guess that if you are unsure when things fell into place, to say so, you still haven't figured it out haha

I am still figuring out stuff, but I'd say things definitely got more coherent and clear when I started writing short stories. I was always more of a one-shot gal, but I kept pushing myself to write novels. That did help me develop a lot of skills, like natural pacing and how to do description well on a constant basis. But I started writing short stories seriously around a year and a half ago and now I can say that anything I write would put to shame years and years of previous writing (and failed projects).

So... I'd say that out of the eight years of writing experience only around one has been a consistent creative experience. I still have failed projects, I still rely heavily on feedback from other people. But, in the same time, I am now confident enough to know I am a decent writer.

(I hope that's what you meant with those questions...)

[shazzbaa]

I don't know really! Like...... based on everyone else's ages I might be missing the point, but to me the idea that I could ever say "Ah, yes, I really feel like I've hit my stride" except in extreme retrospect is tough for me to imagine!

I'm 31, and right now I'm making work I'm really proud of, but like, is this The Thing I'll Be Known For? Have I really Hit My Stride? idk man!!! I'm still developing!! It could become that, or I might not make that work until I'm 50 or something.

My first webcomic, Today Nothing Happened, did find some popularity, and there are a bunch of folks who've been following me since then, but now that I'm doing a new comic, there are folks reading Runewriters who are surprised to learn that I had a comic before this one. It's weird because like, that could easily happen again? Runewriters could take off more and become The Thing I Make.... or I could make a new thing after this one's done and THAT becomes The Thing I Make and everyone is one day surprised to learn I had a whole fantasy comic before that, and everyone looks back at Runewriters as the place I like, experimented with the themes or techniques that I would eventually use later When I Found My Stride.

I don't really know! I feel like I could never really know. The process of being confident in my art and my storytelling has been so gradual that it's hard to pick a single point where the balance tipped

[Penni]

I was a writing fiend in high school but I was discouraged from taking writing (and drawing) "too seriously" from my mother as she didn't see it as a solid means for me to support myself. I stopped writing for many years after that and I just got back into it last year. It took my several months for me to feel good about it again. So I guess to answer the question it would be the current 29 yr old me

[indagold]

Well I always had it in me since I was a child, the only time I lost it was my fandom phase from 12-15 when I abandoned my original art for shitty cringe inducing fancomics.

But besides that I always had interesting stories to tell. I was always about the world and the overall aesthetic of scenes and environments and less the people when I was younger so weird mary sue abominations, love triangles and emo edgelords never appeared much. It was so vague and simplistic I can still take concepts today from 15 years ago and adapt them into stories. In fact I just finished a recent comic based off an idea I had when I was 9

[punkarsenic]

i like this answer. a lot

[storytimebiondi]

I'm 31, and right now I'm making work I'm really proud of, but like, is this The Thing I'll Be Known For? Have I really Hit My Stride? idk man!!! I'm still developing!! It could become that, or I might not make that work until I'm 50 or something.

This is totally how it goes. I'm 32 and I feel like I have a good handle on structure, theme, character, etc. My practice has come to a point where I'm comfortable with my creativity, but that doesn't mean I've hit a stride. Understanding and execution, I've found in my recent writing, are two very different things.

I don't think I've by far hit my stride. I've got a long way to go yet. Even if I have already been published in minor anthologies etc. I feel like I've done some work worth taking note of, but I feel like I can do so much better also.

[HollowEve]

12
Before then, I hated writing. I despised English class. I would do whatever I could to avoid writing. The funny thing is, I've always loved to read. I just hated making the stories myself.
I can't say what changed my view on things, but one day I decided to write a Tokyo Mew Mew fan fiction and I haven't stopped.

[SynCypher]

Hm, this is interesting because creativity is sort of a set of peaks and valleys. Sometimes you'll hit your stride, only to fall flat on your face and have to recreate yourself or make something new, so in that vein its hard to judge where you really 'get it together'. Since art is a life-long journey, it's hard to quantify in this way. That being said, 'known for' is another matter.

I've always been 'known' as the artist. When it comes to personal strides or a groove though, mine had a couple of starts. (And I'm also no Terry Pratchett so, who knows if the feeling is different after a certain level of notoriety) When I was 9 I started my first comic and when I was 13 I finished it. It was over 1000 pages and had seven generations of characters (as I tend to move on from one group to the next with a beginning, middle, and end with each group and following through). When I was 14 I started my first novel and when I was 16 I'd finished the trilogy and a host of short stories. I'd also started my tattoo business (so I could buy a Gamecube, yeah, yeah, get your laughs out now) and I did commission work. So those were my separate grooves where I felt (each time) that I had it all 'together' as it were. (Hah, usually at the beginning of a project when I could secure a false sense of bravado about what I was doing.)

I won't go down the entire laundry list but, my creative path has lead me to run my own shops both online and IRL, participate in adjudicated galleries (every time I've submitted work I've had a piece up in the main gallery, which can be difficult when upwards of 300 pieces are submitted and only 50 are chosen), meet and take a painting class from the head of the DreamWorks art department, write and self-publish a children's book, started another trilogy (working on getting proper publishing done for that one), and ultimately this has continued throughout every job I've had, any schooling I've done (all for other things, as I work primarily as an editor), and through it all as I've gotten older, my bravado has melted and I can tell you 1000% I don't personally feel like I've really had anything 'together' looking back despite hitting several grooves where I felt I'd done good work.

I don't know if I'll ever feel that way. I think if I felt like I had my shit together, I'd be worried that I was doing it wrong hahahah. I've a very long way to go with my digital skills, alas. I've worked with physical tools all my life (paint, ink, clay etc.) so, yet another start was when I was 17 and in college and figuring out digital tools on my own. I'm waaay not the best at it and I'm doing what I can to acquire new skills and as always, I feel like I'm flying by the seat of my pants. My hope is that some day, I'll have made something that inspires others. Dunno when that'll be, if that'll be, but I like the idea. Maybe someday I'll know how Terry Pratchett felt.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Eighth grade was my magical year (I was about 12). In just a few months I went from drawing and writing the kind of stuff I'd been doing since 3rd grade to drawing and writing the stuff I want to do for the rest of my life. My artistic skill increased exponentially; it was like I blinked and suddenly I knew anatomy.
Of course, there was still a learning curve, especially with digital art, but everything I know now was built off of the skills I'd gained in that year. ^^

[spadesart]

i have to say when i was 17 or so and i entered william and cog in an oct. it was the first time i pushed myself and wanted to succeed.

[chromaticmyst]

I got pretty decent at drawing in middle school because that's when I was super into anime and had this fire to draw. But I stopped drawing when I went to college because I had no extra time.

In the five years after college, I've just devoted all my time working on my career as a designer (it's a creative career, but not quite the same as being an artist). I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I find it hard being just "okay" at something I decide to do. And now I'm finally at a spot where I feel accomplished as a designer, and want to go full-circle back to being an artist!

I'm in my late 20's now, and have only started to draw again seriously in the last couple months. Essentially, I'm picking up from where I left off a decade ago. Lots of catching up to do, and still a looooong way from "getting it together." But I know I'll get there eventually

[Shanny8]

Had been drawing little comics on notebook paper since I was in 6th grade- I didnt really start trying to draw "large scale" like the comic book pros until I was in art school. The first couple of years my art suffered badly- until I started taking advice from a couple of pros; thumbnails. One of my biggest strengths was that I had good composition- how to transfer the art action from one panel to the next. I didnt really start liking my comic page work until I started to reduce the amount of cluttered art I had in my panels- which was when I hit my late 20s.

Not to say I'm an ace at it...there's still stuff that I'm learning- from ink tricks to coloring to lettering rules; that's what makes creating comics fun!

[Kura]

10 when it came to writing.

Kinda young but you know, I never said I was any good at it, that's just when I decided to take it seriously, write my books, storyboard, word build, get people to read / critique my stories, fix the things they would question me or critique me on because I was serious about making these things good. (even though you know, they were not because I was pretty young, but I did my best haha)

Even when I was younger than that I was more interested in how cartoons, books and comics were made more than I was watching / reading them. So I studied them every chance I got, reading every book I could find at the library (not the how to draw books, I never found those very helpful) but yeah got around to applying that to my own work when I was 10.

Getting my drawing style took a little longer. I drew all the time but was also jumping around from style to style or drawing random things, but it took a while before I found a look that I liked, maybe around 12? Then about 16 I realized that I had developed into a style that was being recognized by other people as mine.

To be honest because I started so young I grew up with adults going on about how cute it was that I was trying to 'adult' as well as constantly being told it was a phase I would grow out of. So a lot of the times I'll look at my work and everything I accomplished and just... feel like a child, or like I never figured out how to grow up. When the truth is more I just knew what I wanted to do and took it seriously very early on.

[craicin]

this is a tricky question!

I didnt really take it seriously until I'd finished regular school and had to go into further education. I picked art because I was always going to, its the only thing i could concentrate long enough on.
Even then I wouldnt say i was at the point where I was doing stuff i'd consider "my style", like in college and at uni i always had different stuff that was uniquely mine and recognizable. but I never produced enough and at a good standard, that i was happy with until very recently. in 2018. tbh. and even now that i am pretty content, i am still in the mind frame that ive a lot more still to do and achieve when it comes both quality and quantity. ive a lot more searching still to do.

personally i dont feel like anyone ever sits well with the style they have, someone elses work is always going to look more dynamic and more interesting. I suppose! much like your own face...
you just do everything you can with what youve got.

[ilustrariane]

this year....27 years old!!

i kinda lost the last 3 years to OCD, and 1 year to arm pain.

[Oksa]

is this The Thing I'll Be Known For? Have I really Hit My Stride? idk man!!! I'm still developing!! It could become that, or I might not make that work until I'm 50 or something.

This especially because I think you can never know. I've been drawing and making comics since I was.. uhh, let's say 12. I have had a lot of works, but haven't really worked with them like I do now, with my current project.
I mean, I'm making my first huge comic and for the first time, going to actually show it to people in tapas. And I feel like this one is the best I can make RIGHT NOW, but after years pass, I cannot know. I like to think that I might have it all together for now, but there is always more you know? X'D

[feuersichel]

Hmm, tricky question. I was drawing and making comics since 9 (and yes, they were total masterpieces! Totally!...). But I didn't take it seriously and had loooong brakes without drawing. It was 3 years ago when I got really back into art and started to study it (i'm 26 now). Have I found my groove? No, definitly not, but I'm on a good way with my current comic.

[sarrowsmith10]

Wow, I really got to hand it to you all who are super young creators! (teenagers and younger) Here you all are, on the internet, posting your art, learning and growing! It's so exciting to see. You have SUCH A HEAD START!

For those of us in our 30s, keep in mind that the internet wasn't even really a thing until we were in High School and webcomics were mostly non-existent. (Yes we had the internet, but it was nothing like what we have now) Who remembers Corel Paint? hahahaaa.... ah.. good times.

I've always been artistic, I enjoyed coloring books, drawing animals and people, but never anything serious through my teen years. I didn't particularly like reading anything outside of science or nature books, certainly no fiction unless I was forced to. So I didn't have any kind of creative writing dreams or that sort of thing. I did take an intro to Oil Painting Class and Scientific Illustration class while I was in college for my humanities credits. I really loved those classes, they made me feel really good about being an artist, even though I was a biochemistry major.

I had never read a comic book until after I had gotten married, although I had a small collection of Sailor Moon manga and a few copies of Naruto I had picked up from a past summer I had spent travelling in Japan. At the request of my darling husband I started creating my own comics in my mid 20s. I'm now in my 30s, so I've had a few years of finding myself. I like to think I have my own style and way of doing things now that is fairly consistent, but I'm always trying to get better so I'm not really sure if I've found my "stride" or not.

As for screwups I'm not really sure I've ever failed at some huge project horribly or anything? There are a few projects that I have shelved because I simply didn't have the time or motivation to work on them? So maybe that? Art isn't my career, so I have a lot of freedom to work on what I want and do it at sort of my own pace.

[inkycharland]

I knew I wanted to draw around the 3rd grade. I have no idea what age that is, but that's about the time. I did the normal kid stuff at the time mimicked what I saw. Copied over a lot of Disney and X-Men. Colored with cheap colored pencils, and generally did it for fun.

I started to "get serious" in middle school. Or at least, I thought about being a creator as a potential career. This is the time I narrowed down my scope from general drawing to sequential art. I continued from there, and made goofy little comics. I kept up a drawing routine that I would call, "convenient work." Basically, I would create when it suited me, and if I wasn't "In the mood," I didn't work.

That all changed, when I went to SCAD. I went for two years. (It's so f-ing expensive, so I had to leave.) I majored in sequential art. I learned my best lesson while there: Artwork is really "Work" with the occasional art. I learned to fill up sketchbooks, draw constantly, study anatomy, and really put effort in. But I still didn't, "really get it together, creatively."

I left and changed majors to Graphic Design. I went to a small vocational school, and learned how to use the creative suite backwards and forwards. I spent several years fighting the good fight, in graphic design. It was all right, but ultimately unsatisfying. No groove to be found, but I finally learned something fundamental: Creativity and talent get you only about 10% there. (Yes, maybe for others it gets you more, but I doubt it. What seems effortless and so easy for some, is really still the 10% with 90% being a good routine.)

So at about 28 I finally learned my lesson. So I changed careers, I changed to computer science. I started going back to school. When I wasn't in class or doing homework, I spent all the time I could spare on art. I don't know that I found my groove, but developed a process. I set personal goals, and deadlines. I stuck to a process. I started making prints, and art to sell. Once I was more comfortable with my routine, I started Pretty Power Princess. I started that at about 32-33.

I'm 36. I'm a web developer With my artwork no longer being the main source of my income I feel more creative and focused than I've ever been. I continue to develop a better and better process. I see improvemtents, and most of all I'm having fun.

I would tell you how many screw ups I've had, but there are millions, maybe billions. Too many to count. Your process, if you're constantly working, doesn't give you time to focus on the past. Just move to the next day, the next checklist item, the next drill, the next sketchbook. It will all move along.

Sorry for the life story, but it's a complex question. One worthy of a complex answer. In summary, I say, "keep it up." Work. Just work. "The groove" isn't a glamorous thing, and it's not something only the most talented can do. It's a nitty-gritty process. The ability to get as much work in as you can, and constantly try to refine the process. I'm still not there. I don't know that I'll ever be. But I love the process. I love the work. Love the work, and in my mind, you're in the groove.

Sorry for the sloppy writing, I was in a hurry.