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Oct 2020

Hey all!
I'm in the process of working on my comic buffer, and experimenting with creating pages 'batch style' for the first time.
In other words, I sketch all of the pages in the batch, then line them all, then color them all etc. etc.
Previously, I worked in the style of completing one page at a time, and this is a pretty different sort of workflow for me.

I was curious what sort of work process other comic artists here used. If you've attempted both, which process do you prefer, and why?

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    Oct '20
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    Oct '20
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@thel3tterm- I tried 'batch style' when I first started, thinking that it would be a time-saver. It probably was, but I also found that it didn't leave much wiggle room. If I wanted to add some extra dialogue or an extra panel, I couldn't unless I wanted to redo an entire page (I'm a traditional artist, haha). Nowadays, I go one page at a time for the flexibility. It's a much better fit for me - plus, instant gratification!

How has 'batch style' been working for you so far?

I haven't gotten very far with it yet, but I might give an update on my progress with it soon!

I can see how it'd be a bit frustrating with traditional artwork for sure. I couldn't imagine doing it with some of the traditional comics I've made in the past.

Up until now, I worked on them one at a time for instant gratification as well hahaha. Though, after hearing how much faster batching can be, I decided to give it a shot.

I do batch style. I sketch an entire chapter and then go back and finish them one by one. It kinda allows me more time to have my structure sit there and look fresh and new when I come back to actually finish with teaks.

I do batch. Because my traditionally drawn comic will contain spread-pages, I cook up a format of drawing 2 pages on a single A3 paper. 95% of the time I would scan the paper when 2 pages are done inked. The rest are digital processes until a cycle is complete. (from sketches to finalized digital outputs). I currently do 2~4 pages in a cycle, and then repeats again for the rest of comic pages.

I draw whole chapters in one go, myself. They were of varying lengths until I settled on 28 pages for my 3rd and 4th chapters.
I tried a four page batch method but I hated it. Could never get a good rhythm going. More used to working in whole chunks as all my previous stuff was made that way.

I definitely do batch style and knock out like 10-15 pages at a time. I'll usually pick one scene that has the same setting or lighting and do those all together to ensure the lighting and colors are the same.

I do mixed :slight_smile:
The traditional part I do batch. I draw the whole chaper, than line the pages. Sometimes when I have difficulties with a panel or page, I work on easier pages. Than I go back to these parts with more determination.
At coloring I do the pages one by one, so I can upload the finished pages. This way I can note my readers that I am alive, and I am working on the comic.

I've done various degrees of batching and it does often help my speed. I started out doing just a page at a time and then switched to doing 4-6 page batches for a while. But as I've gone on and started spending more time and effort in certain areas, I need to do shorter batches so I'm not working on the same step for too long at a time. Spending multiple days in a row doing the steps that are harder for me, like shading, tends to burn me out. Nowadays I usually will do my layouts for most/all of a scene as a batch, but after that work on finishing the pages in batches of two. I think it's maybe slowed me down a little, but it does let me focus on the specific pacing of each two page update, so that's nice.

I do a mix. I sketch out the entire chapter first and then line and colour section by section. I don't know how much time it actually saves, but it feels like it saves time and having the entire chapter sketched gives me a lot better chance at editing properly but given how doing the lines kills me I definitely couldn't stand doing an entire chapter of lineart at a time.

I do things one page at a time since I don't really plan my comic, I make the story up as I go.
I'm quite indecisive with the story so doing things by batch is difficult for me as I always end up changing my mind about where the narrative goes lol

I also do kind of a mix. Also traditional artist, working with ink and Markers. The sketch-lines I do pretty much, whenever I like (mostly, when I should go to bed x,D ). The rest I do as batches Ă  4-6 Pages (mostly who are in the same color-sceme). This especially helps when coloring, as I have the right markers directly in my hand and don't have to change them every-time. Like, when I'm doing my charas hair I have the correct tones in my left hand and then draw the hair in all of the prepared pages. This safed me alot of time. Also I don't have to remember, which of my x-brown tones I used for this random background-object nobody cares about anyways...

The other good thing I figured out: I have to finalice every page of the badge. For example: before that, I was sometimes stuck in doing mini-corrections, wait as I didn't feel comfortable etc. Now it kinda forces me to get my butt up and finish it xD

But in the end it depends on every artist itself. I haven't done my pages batchwise until very recent and for me, it works out.

Having tried both, I personally prefer the batch method. I'm definitely in the group that finds myself working somewhat faster/more efficiently that way! I only ended up reverting back to page by page for my previous comic towrds the end because I burned through my buffer and didn't have time to both complete batches and meet my weekly deadlines lol. That said it was a mistake on my part not to just take a break and rebuild a buffer to the point where I could do batches again :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: Live and learn, I suppose.

Hehe same here. I ink my favorite parts first (facial expressions, not counting panel frames) to boost my confidence on the pages. The boring, difficult parts will have to wait. Also a bad inking on the pages would destroy my art mojo. :joy:

I wish I could do batches, but it just doesn't suit my style, so one page at a time it is. I constantly change my mind on the composition, dialogue and flow of the pages that if I had ten pages inked I'd have to redo some of them.

I always have rough sketches of a chapter ready but allow the pages room to live. If I get a new idea or something else seems better than what I have on the sketch, I can easily change it.

I prefer one page\panel at a time. It's a little slower, but I like to get it all done so I don't have to go back.

Oh wow, its pretty interesting hearing all of these different approaches and perspectives here! I might try a mixed approach if the 'classic' batch work doesn't go so well for me.

I do mixed =) I sketch a few pages, and when I have had enough of sketching (mainly around 3-5 pages) I start inking. While inking, I usually do 2-3 at the same time (the ink has to dry #traditionalartist XD) and when I'm bored of inking, I sketch again or do the screentones digitally =P

...Basically my workflow is complete and utter chaos °_°"""

I sketch a batch of 2-6 pgs and complete ink and tones one page at a time from there.

i used to post only one page per episode but the readers complained and wanted more so now i do about 20-30 per post :scream:

its ok though, it moves the story along quite nicely

So far, I've been working on my comic one page at a time. Although seeing as how some people say that they get their pages done faster when doing them in batches, maybe I should try it. :thinking:

Agreed hahaha, that's the main reason I decided to try it. It also seems like it'd be much better for uniformity and having a better planned story structure.

I tend to work in batches of 3. Well, I storyboard on paper first (4 pages per sheet, front&back),then when I move on to drawing in ClipStudio, I draw 3 of the pages and then work those until completion, rinse& repeat. I just recently adopted this method, before I would work on one page sketch to finish, set it to go up, and then start on the next.

I like the batch method more myself as I get to see more of a scene at once outside of my head, and can adjust as I go.

Em... Sorta one page at a time? I will script in batches (one chapter at a time), which means I MAY also do thumbnails (I should, but I usually get lazy and then pay for it when things don't add up). Then I work primarily on one page at a time, but I may leave that page if it's giving me issues and work on the next few pages, doing rough drafts and such. Usually that jogs my brain and I can go back to working on the main page.

It's A LOT less efficient of a workflow to do one page at a time, but, eh... I was working in batches and I ran out of steam because I didn't get the instant gratification of having something shiny and completed every couple weeks. x.x Also because my nerves and muscles are all borked up, I can only work in short bursts anyways, so there's no point in having a long workflow.

I tried batch style a while ago with my first webcomic, it didn't work too well for me since I kept getting frustrated that I wasn't finishing all of the pages in time for when I wanted to upload. Now that I know some more tricks and have a better idea of how to make comics, I started doing one page at a time, but worked my way up to two pages once I had a good buffer. So now it's a sorta flexible batch upload style (idk if that makes sense). It works for me. I feel comfortable knowing I only need to upload at least one page a week, but I can still do two or more pages if I wanna get through a scene quicker. This probably doesn't work as well for people who prefer to be more consistent with uploads, so that would explain why I don't see this option brought up much.

This batch style is how I work too (sketch all the pages, then line all the pages, etc.), and for me personally I can definitely say it's faster than working one page at a time. The longest part of the process for me is lining all the characters in the batch of pages, everything else is fairly fast after that.

Does doing it 'classic' batch style like that ever contribute to burnout for you?
I know lining is definitely the longest and most grueling part of the process for me, and I'm sort of curious about whether doing it batch style can cause artists to get drained faster.

Batches are the only way to go. Before I was batching, I've struggled to maintain the pace. Nowadays I even have free time sometimes!

This is how I work. Draw 4 pages, go back and ink/color all 4. It breaks the work up so I'm not just doing the same thing day after day.

Kinda depends quite alot for me: Am I stressed? - One page/time.
Not stressed? - BATCH STYLE WHOOOOOHOOO NO ONE CAN STOP ME *flies off *

I prefer the batchstyle tho, making speachbubbles and dialogues are way easier and the dialogue doesn't come off at stiff and boring as it might do when I do one page/time.
Working with batches, I almost always go 3 pages at a time, as 4 is too many and 2 is too little sorta? 3 is my magic number, haha xD

By the end of the batch I usually feel miserable and like I ran a marathon :cry_01: but then I take a day or two off to do other things, and I feel fresh and ready to work on pages again :smile_01:

One thing I do when working on full chapters is to tackle a lot of the bigger, more important images first when my energy is higher.
That way when I'm running low on steam and motivation I only have more standard images left to do. Also, with the end in sight I tend to speed back up in anticipation of finishing.

Ooo that actually makes a lot of sense but I've never thought to try that before :0 I'll keep that strategy in mind! I almost always just go chronologically lmao

If I didn't do that I'd be be killing myself on pages that didn't really deserve it.

I stared off doing one at a time, but now I do batches. I find batches more efficient especially if multiple pages take place in the same scene. Therefore I can keep an eye out for background consistency and redundancy of panel layouts. Although sometimes it could mean doing 4+ pages at once. The only time I'd do one page on its own is if its a single scene.

Teach me your ways, oh great master! O_O

What's there to teach? Take few planned pages (I began with threes, now trying to make it to to five pages a batch) and work on all of them simultaneously and iteratively. First thumbs, then sketch, then line, then flats, and so on.