Did you ever lose inspirations for your comic?

[PassionQueen]

So did you ever lose inspirations for any comic that you are working on? If you did, how did you get that inspiration back or how did you solve with this problem?

I'm curious to find out what you all say about this because starting a comic/manga is easy but having the will to continue it can be hard. As for me, I lose inspirations many many times for stories/mangas that I want to finish but I never really dealt with them since I usually push them away until I finally get the inspirations to pick them up again. This can be hard especially since the manga that I'm working on isn't finish and I started having inspiration to draw an old manga again.

So what is a time when you lost your inspiration for something that you're working on and how did you resolve it?

[BradNu]

I've lost my inspiration all the time before, usually I never try to get hard to work on producing a story I'm writing until I'm absolutely sure I'll go all the way through with it, that way I know that I won't lose interest, or I'm at least very confident in that. In terms of getting your inspiration back after losing it, I feel as if the only way to truly get it back is to wait and see if it returns. I've lost interest in many things before, like my inspiration to collect and read manga or to play video games and I've found that the worst thing you can do is try to force yourself back into it, if you do that then most likely it'll end up going away again since deep down you truly still lack inspiration, and just tried to force yourself to think that you had it. The best thing I can think to do is enjoy other things for a while until your inspiration comes back. Maybe you'll see a cool scene in a movie or an anime or hear a song that just brings your inspiration back, it might sound weird but, listening to the radio helps inspire me alot, as well as watching shows that I like or movies. You might just see that one thing that brings your inspiration back that makes you think. "I wanna make something like that". So if you truly have lost all inspiration for a project, I would suggest taking a break from the project as a whole for a while, enjoying other things and seeing if it naturally returns to you.
Hope this helps. Have a good one

[mariusthered]

i sometime get so fed up i don't want to carry on, my comic is no where near as big as i'd hoped it would be in fact i only seem to have a hand full of people who would miss them if i stopped, but the characters are like the kids i never had and the stories keep coming so i feel i must tell them. i have learned you need to do it for you not anybody else.

[Michelle]

Everyone loses inspiration for their comics from time to time, it's completely normal! How you deal with loss of inspiration really depends on how seriously you take your comic.

If it's just a fun hobby, it can be good to step away from the comic and indulge in other activities for a while. Nothing in, nothing out-- it can be hard to come up with new ideas if you're not out having new experiences or consuming new media. Come back to the comic when you're ready.

If you're working more professionally, inspiration is a little tricky. There will be many, many times where you have to forge ahead when you don't feel inspired. If I'm having an uninspired week, I make sure to at least hit my minimum of 1 new page. If I'm inspired, I'll take advantage of it and get extra work done. But waiting to be inspired isn't an option when you have a schedule.

I find that usually when I feel uninspired, it's more that I'm just... stuck on something. Our stories sound super awesome and put-together when they live in our heads, but translating them to the page reveals that they're usually full of holes. Filling in those giant plot holes can be crazy frustrating! That's the point where we may feel tempted to switch to something else and rediscover that magical honeymoon phase that a new project provides.

It's good to know the difference between having difficulty with a story you love vs outgrowing a story you're no longer interested in. But if you're truly enjoying your story and just hitting a tough spot, it's worthwhile to stick through those uninspired slumps. Write a list of what you're struggling with, see if you can bounce ideas back and forth with your peers. If you're drawing a blank for cool story elements, consume some new and exciting movies, games, books etc. Go outside and do some fun activities, even just drawing at a new location can be refreshing. Inspiration usually won't come if you're looking for it, but if you regularly open yourself to new experiences, it's more likely to happen.

[Silerna]

My comics relies on daily life. If nothing really happens in mine or my area then it's pretty hard to come up with a random idea. Some comics I make are complete rubish and based on fantasy things or things that does not happen to me but to family or friends. Can be hard if you need an idea right at that moment.
But mostly I can manage to get a silly thing done for a 4 panel story .

[ISNEKO]

I've completely lost all inspiration and drive for my first story comic and it isn't even that long. It's well-received by its readers here and on Webtoons, but I just don't have any will to work on it. It was just a dumb little idea I had and it feels absolutely unimportant to me.

I think the reason why I never made a story comic until now, and why I don't want to work on it, is simply because it's a comic. If it were just a book, I'd be working on it like the six I work on right now. But, I have to draw it. So, eh.

[Migue]

It´s really normal to lose inspiration when doing a comic, heck, I'd even say it would be expected. It really can take a lot of time just to draw a page, keeping with a schedule can be demanding and not feeling that all that hard work is being noticed can be a quite underwhelming.

What has worked for me is just keep on working, if I don't like what I did with my last page I'll just try to make the next one better.

Right now I'm feeling a little bit down because of reasons, I had felt this way before and I stopped working in my comics, but now it's a little bit different than before. When my motivation was top notch I worked on making an habit of drawing daily and now I just feel weird if I don't work in my comic. I no longer need to be in the zone to get on working.

Also! It really helps to know where you are going. It's important to have an idea of what you are doing and where you are going. There is room for improvising along the way, but it's important to know the goal to keep on working.

[sarrowsmith10]

Yes and no. Both the writer and I go through waves. Sometimes I'm super motivated and want to spit out a bunch of super cool pages and the writer is like blah, my writing is no good, work is too busy, not feeling it (being very general here). Then there are times when she texts me every day with super cool ideas and new scripts, but by the time I get home from work, I'm too exhausted to draw.

So, I think we've all been there. Usually either me or the writer is motivated, so we kick each other in the butt to keep at it. When we are both demotivated? It's a total disaster haha. The good news is, the script for the whole story is mostly completed and we have a pathway forward and we are over half way to the end of our comic we are most proud of. So hopefully we can keep pushing through it and still do neat things with it before we burn out completely haha.

[PassionQueen]

It's nice to read what everyone is going through and I agree with all of you. Sometimes you just gotta let the inspirations come to you or you can go and find it. After reading your replies, inspirations started to come back to me because of your wills

[Silerna]

Everyone has his/her own passion. For me I can't write at all! So writing a book is no go. Not only that but strangely I have no inspiration for long stories. That's why I keep my comic simple by short stories that can be read by people from any age. I Just love to draw and everyone is different

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

For me, it happens when I start to doubt myself. I'm sure this is a common thing that people want to create something meaningful, beautiful...etc. but halfway through the "is this any good" voice begins nagging you.
Sometimes it's just because and other times it's because I know that I can do better. So to "fix" this I either figure out what exactly I like or dislike the comic and fix that, or I just tell myself not to be so far on my self because comics will always be a learn in process.

But that's not an answer for everyone. Honestly, inspiration is one of the hardest things to keep on going, and sometimes you just got to keep riding

[GesuGesu]

I lose inspiration when I'm busy with real life work and can't dedicate as much time to think about my characters and story. I usually just go on a long hiatus when that happens.

[zigmenthotep]

"Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work."
– Chuck Close

[XzynderVexymous]

I have a few ways of dealing with the loss of interest.

One way is listening to music. especially if its inspirational movie soundtrack songs. (Like that of Han Zimmer - Flight) That motivates me
to work on my comic.

Another way is to watch a good movie. After seeing a good plot, I'm willing to make a good plot.

And lastly, I measure my priorities. I ask myself "Do I really want to make comic, or use my free time to do other things?" Once I do that, I
feel as if I almost HAVE to work on my comic.

Hope that helps.

Ya boy,
Xzynder

Earth's Immigrants | Tapas

[jurinova]

Everyone has moments when they feel uninspired. To be always inspired is just not very realistic, so it's important to not feel discouraged when inspiration runs low.

My comic is a pretty long one and there are times when I just have no inspiration whatsoever. What helps me is that I have a script ready and a schedule that I follow. The quality of my art may drop a little but I keep going even without inspiration. Not every page needs to be great, they just need to be good enough. It may seems difficult at first but routines and determination will usually be more important tools than inspiration.

Of course sometimes a break is also needed. It's important to not push yourself over your own limits. Most of the time a day or two without working on my comic is enough rest for me to keep going, but sometimes I do need a longer break. I recenty took a week long break from working on my comic because I was too busy and felt really uninspired and tired to do anything. After the break I was excited to work on my comic again because I had the energy to do so.

All in all, don't worry about not having inspiration. It happens to us all and there are ways to work without it or ways to find it.

[Tycade]

I thought, at one point that I did but, then I remembered that if I got big enough, there's a figure company that would be willing to make FIGURES of my characters! And of course, there's the reason I am writing my comic, which is to get a basic script down for a video game! (and to get some personal stuff off my chest, a lot of me goes into the pages of my comic!) How I keep motivated to work on my comic is to just, think of the future, and strive more and more to continue, and tell people about it. the constructive criticism helps too, no joke, every time that little tapastic bell has a 1 or 2 in front of it, I get all excited to read comments and ideas people have when they read my comic. It's truly invigorating and THAT is where I get my inspiration back. I just talk about it with people, and then when I get home from work or early next morning, I work all day on page after page, my hopes of hearing from people about each page growing stronger and stronger.

[gateofselidor]

Losing inspiration is normal, especially for a long-running comic. You can't rely on inspiration to keep you going, instead you need to learn the discipline to carry on even when you're not feeling motivated. If you're really feeling burnt out, a short break can help you recover. As well as that, if you look over your plans, sometimes you can rewrite future scenes, or cut out unnecessary sections and leave your workload a bit lighter and a bit more fresh.

[blanketfrog]

Inspiration is definitely a fleeting feeling for me. I agree with the previous posters who think that discipline is more important than inspiration. That's what I lack at the moment, the energy and mindset to work at it! And there's no quick one-size-fits-all fix for that, as far as I can tell.

Drawing is a hobby for me. I have a fairly demanding full-time job with a longish commute so I don't get much free time, and by the time cooking/eating/cleaning/etc. is done I find it hard to push myself to do even more. Who can be productive in all their waking hours? Maybe some people, but I'm not one of them.

I haven't updated my comic in 7 months because of this lack-of-time-and-energy problem, but I can't help but feel that it's a bit of an excuse because I could make better use of weekends. I think creeping doubt, self-criticism, and inaction have created a 'it's pointless trying' defeatist situation in my head that I need to address.

On the upside I did overcome my feelings in order to write this post and draw a little to go with it. I look forward to reading more replies, since this topic is really interesting. I'd be interested to hear what people in similar situations to me (who have little free time and are too hard on themselves) do.