Do you enjoy the process?

[Ayumi]

I think I still enjoy it. Not all parts though.
Writing the script sometimes can be a bit hard, because I'm still not sure in some points of the story.
I hate the sketching part, because I always feel that I can't draw as good as I want, and that my paneling, setting of the scenes are boring.
This feeling only begins to disappear when I start the lineart. Lineart, coloring and rendering are all can be a bit exhausting, but I love doing it. I think it's rare compared to other artists, but I love and I'm usually satisfied with the result. I know that my drawings are not perfect, but I like what I do, and kinda proud after I finished a page or chapter. I can see the development, and that's important to keep going.

[abigaillmartin]

I’m actually the opposite. I LOVE coloring! It’s so fun with all the colors and I don’t like doing lineart!
flops on the ground

Linearrrrt whhhy?? WHHHY??! I just want to color already! Lineart is necessary though so it must be done.

[Lensing]

Interesting, you 2 should team up probably

I just thought the same when I read Ayumi´s comment.
Sketching is my favourite part of the process.

[abigaillmartin]

Sketching is actually really fun. You can go as crazy as you want and it’ll look better when you get to the digital stage

[AmysGames]

Agree in general with the above comments that I enjoy parts of the process, but not necessarily all of it, lol. Coming up with ideas is fun, writing is usually fun, sketching is fun, lineart and coloring it depends on my mood, backgrounds are almost always a pain.

[jwabeasley]

Hm, for comics I'd say I enjoy most of the process. Each part of the process takes a different mindset and I enjoy switching between them.

I'll break down the steps and rate my enjoyment:
1. Plot/character ideas - I literally cannot stop coming up with these, all the time. Scenes, characters, concepts, all that arises naturally from the environment. These are fun to think about, fun to talk about (if you have a good listener).
2. Preproduction - this stage is a lot of fun, too. Exploring ideas, working out what things look like, doing concepts for new ideas, this is another thing that I will never stop doing.
Only the needs of being a human animal and existing in a society will stop me from 1 and 2.
3. Writing/storyboarding. This part is fun, I usually do the writing of each chapter in a week or so. During that week, I can hardly think of anything else. I'm constantly thinking about how each panel and each page should go, what the next line should be, symbolism, managing pacing, all those things. I love problem-solving and managing variables like that.
4. Preliminary sketching. This part's a bit tedious, working out in-detail the composition of each panel. I try to make this step go as quickly as possible, but it's a lot of problem solving, too. I do the lettering during this phase, which is always a pain.
5. Sketching - this part is great, it's fun to see the drawing come to life. This is the first part that can get me into the creative "flow" state where I'm focused entirely on the act of creation.
6. Inking - I don't have to think hard for inking, I like to put some music or videos on and try to get into the flow process. Time passes quickly for me here.
7. Painting - just like inking, I'm not usually thinking too hard, I just try to get into the flow and stay there. This phase is the most frustrating to be interrupted in.
8. Scanning/digital touchup - I don't enjoy this much, but it usually doesn't take too long, at least.
9. Posting/Marketing - This is the most tedious and least natural part of the process for me. Finding the audience, posting around, that part's the least natural part for me. Also, I usually care very little for my paintings when they're done - once the thing is done, I'm also done with it.

That about covers it for me. If you left me alone in a shack in the woods, a cloistered cell, or some other place where I don't have to do any life stuff, I'd still be making art and stories, usually as comics. That's not really a chore for me, although since it is my hobby rather than my profession, I don't usually get to a place where I've just been doing art all day and don't feel like doing any more when I get home, the way standard pros get.

[NOOR_ASAKZ05]

I remember when I started illustrating my story, I was enthusiastic and didn't care about the quality. But after a while, I felt a lack of confidence because of my simple drawing style, and this made me depressed and stop working. Then I realized a very realistic truth: that a good story doesn't require high-quality illustrations; it's enough that it's clear. Anyway, I'm currently (a prisoner) of an important stage of my studies, and as soon as I finish them, I will return to publishing strongly, especially since I've started to associate drawing with escaping stress, and this was advice from one of my friends... But in general, I enjoy writing my story so much that I talk about it constantly (I've become the first fan obsessed with the Nadezhda story).

[kyupol]

Overall enjoy the process especially the inking and shading part.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Yes, even the things that are tedious about the drawing process, I enjoy to some extent. Sure, color flatting can me monotonous, but it's also soothing, "low risk", and satisfying. I can understand wanting to get a piece of art or writing done quickly, maybe you're especially excited or anxious about the finished product, but these things take time regardless of your goals. And rushing your work isn't going to get the result you want anyway.

For me it's less about the act of creating art itself and more about my mindset at the time of creation that's going to determine whether or not I'm enjoying the process. If I've been burnt out or stressed, starting a new piece will feel like a hassle. I think that's probably how it is for most artists: they enjoy the creation and art form but the stressors of life can get to them and color how they feel about their work. If you're on a tight deadline, flatting and lineart are going to feel like so much more of a hassle than they actually are.

For writing it's a bit different for me. I get writer's block far more often than I do artist's block. I do need those strokes of inspiration to get me writing otherwise I feel like I'm word vomiting on to the page. I still enjoy the process of writing, but for my projects is feels incomplete because most of my projects contain a visual element.

[Shanny8]

If there is a part of the process that I'm like "meh" about, it's the penciling stage...I used to like it but as my stuff started to become more meticulous, I started sacrificing detailed pencils for a better finish in the inking stage; I've gotten used to the coloring stage now- I still want to improve, but I don't hate my coloring like I used to.

[vapidink]

Yep, I enjoy it. Both writing and drawing have parts that can be tedious or frustrating, but to me that's one of the things that makes creating worth it. There's a sense of accomplishment that comes from working through a plot hole when writing or finishing a drawing in a new style or challenging pose. It's also nice to improve to a point where I can now share my ideas better, both with my writing and drawing.

[dan_thepainter]

It's a bit of a complex feeling for me, I guess. Making art comes with its hurdles, but a part of me likes overcoming the hard stuff when I get to a good end result I really like. I enjoy feeling like all my hard work paid off. When I was younger it was more like you said with it being easier because I was skipping the hard stuff. I notice the more I improve the harder art gets for me lol
I do art casually so maybe my attitude would be different if I were doing it professionally though.

[Lensing]

Thanks for all the replies. I thought about this a lot and it´s good read that some people struggle with
the same things like me, but also people struggling with different things.

I came to the conclusion or the comparison with 2 things that I´m doing regularly.
1) going on walks. I don´t want to do it, I feel better after I done it and I´m happy I did it.
2) playing shows as a musician. It´s 95% struggle. The rest is love, passion fun, success, money etc.
But the 5% is worth the struggle.

Luckily drawing comics is not 95% struggle for me, overall I really love it + I´m aware of the fact that
I coulld make my life a lot easier

[Krysteena]

I like it unless its is where I have to draw the same thing over and over like with my character sheets I am making them so I can go back and have quick easy pieces to play with on the comic but when it comes to going the same thing over and over I find it boring. I try to change it up when I really need to fix the itch and I draw something off the path then come back.

And when I get better with my art change my style or the characters style I really should fix all of them but this is a example.

Like pardon me but Holy crap I hate doing this SOOOO FREAKING MUCH.

-My daughter said I wish I had the dedication to characters sheets like you do....LOL I am nothing more then mindless zombie.

Old to new ---P.S. let me know if you can see the changes or not? (MAYBE I AM JUST CRAZY!)

[MattiesMoments]

OOOOOHHHH
This is SUCH a good topic!

I am an artist, photographer and writer myself and I also teach art and writing on outschool.
It's something that I know I struggle with and I see my students struggle with it sometimes.

It really depends. There are days that I am DRIVING the struggle bus and absolutely hate everything I write or draw. It just happens. I find that the more I force it to happen, the worse it gets. I try to balance it out, but I've been more in the writing mood lately than an art mood. Which, I really need to finish the art for my novel BUT I've been in an art funk lately. So I just keep writing and it'll pop back at some point.
I do continue to doodle, to try to keep some spark of my art alive, but it's been awhile since I finished the project.

I think that it's important for everyone to take a break every now and again that way they don't burn themselves out creatively. I tell my students this as well. There are just some days that it doesn't flow, and that's okay. You can always take a pause and come back to it later when you're in a better headspace.

Overall though, I do enjoy the process of art and writing when I'm in the right headspace.
I hope that kinda answered in a way that makes sense.
Mattie

[RED-VELVET-CUPCAKE]

Yes! I wouldn't draw at all if it wasn't fun. Sometimes I get discouraged when things don't turn out quite the way I hoped, but don't we all?
I suppose my most favorite part of the process is sketching.
I do find that comics are more tedious and require more effort, (not a bad thing, but I need to be in a specific mindset to finish them) which is why I mostly do single illustrations and doodles. And some days it depends on my mood. Sometimes I don't feel like coloring, so I'll make a bunch of sketches. Or I'll do lots of lineart one day, and add colors another time.
I only draw as a hobby too. I think if I did it as a job, I would start to hate it because of deadlines and being required to draw certain things.
I try to draw every day. Sometimes it doesn't work out because life gets in the way. Stresses can really ruin my desire to draw, but I have to accept that it's okay to take a break. I usually end up reading someone else's stories and looking at their art, and that inspires me.

[ori-taggart]

I remember going to a conference presented by a great haïtian writer, Dany Laferrière. Essentially, one of the biggest points he brought concerning this topic was that after about four hours of writing on the same day, the quality of his writing would decline. In retrospect, I think it's a matter of brain fatigue. When I spend so much of my time on one singular project, I can't help but feel that more and more slop is getting in the process.

But other then that, I enjoy the process at around the 60-80% range. It varries because for the story I'm currently writing, I already know everything. I know point A to Z. B to Y might change, but the major events have already been established. Sometimes I'm just so hyped about one event that I can loose myself in the writing process because my brain's like "YOU'RE FINALLY GONNA SHOW THAT SCENE TO THE WORLD! LET'S GOOOO!!!" only to end up in the aftermath where I'm like "aaaah now I gotta build up the next phase" and that can be draining.

[mayfieldmichael]

I absolutely enjoy the process. I get so excited while I’m writing or drawing something I created but I can also get extremely frustrated at myself when it doesn’t turn out the way I imagined.

I also am sometimes impatient with the process, wanting to skip ahead to the good parts which can cause poor performance lol

[Krysteena]

This subject gives me the courage to preserver and keep optimistic not to sound bad but seeing the struggle is real! keep following your dreams y'all.

[MelancholicOtaku]

Do I enjoy the process yes and no.

I love brainstorming and figuring out where the plot should go next, I love figuring out the world building and characters and their goals and interactions with each other and the world around them. However I also dislike this part too. What if one plot point I put in the story downplays everything else I written, what if I forget or repeat a world building aspect.

So do I enjoy the process I love it but also hate it too , it’s weird so whenever I get overwhelmed I take a break from writing.