Do you refer to yourself as a writer or an artist first and foremost? Why?

[smokesalty]

I find this interesting since so many people who make comics are super into art and writing!

I have been both an artist and writer since I was a kid, but if someone were to ask me, I'd say I'm an artist. I think this is because I have a lot more art out than I do writing, and I can easily just show them my Instagram and there's tons of examples of my work. With writing, most of it is kept to myself until I decide to publish the finished thing (which takes ages) And most people can judge the quality of my art just by looking, while reading is a bit harder.

In reality, art and writing are both passions of mine, I need both of them! I would say I draw much more than I write (as is the way with comics )

[DualDragons]

Well in reality I write and do art, but I'd say I'm an artist since I do comics.
I would probably refer to writers as novelists to not cause confusion (because both novelists and comic makers write a story, assuming they both work on it alone so they are both a "writer" if that makes sense).

[faisalhussein394]

Can we not be both? We all have our own set of skills in our own hands when it comes to drawing arts that its style differs from others and we all have stories set in our minds to tell and share in our writing and drawings.

[igneriss]

Neither

If I have to choose one, it would be an artist. While I both draw and write, drawing is much more enjoyable to me and I happen to do it much more. Also, I think my drawing skills are on a higher level then my writing (but I mean writing stories/novels, not comic scripts). Writing is much harder to me, and I still have a lot to improve on

Still, for some reason, I don't think of myself as an artist. If I have to use that term I will (especially when introducing myself on my online profiles), but something in me wants to hide when I hear others refering to me as an artist. And I have no idea why- I already spend majority of my free time drawing and writing, I've done it as a job, I'm not afraid to show my creations to people I know or just met (...or stangers in a train). But somehow in my head it's 'no, I just happen to draw / write'.

I like 'storyteller' label more (though I also don't use it) Even when I draw, it's always with a story in mind, and I don't like my drawings that don't feel like a part of a story.

[powerplantanimations]

Writer. I can't draw for shiz. I've been thinking about doing classes, but I'm not sure if I want that lumped onto me now that the jobs I'm getting for writing is shooting through the roof.

Also exercise. I dunno if I'm able to exercise if I'm an artist since I'm already obsessive over my writing. It took me years to streamline my work flow.

[bulgariansumo]

Despite working on a novel, I'd describe myself as an artist first. I've been doing that for longer, even though I've tried my hand at storytelling for almost the same amount of time. If I'm known at all, it's probably for the fanart I did back in the day. I honestly feel kind of weird calling myself a writer.

[Caro]

The two are completely linked to me. I don’t draw without writing and I don’t write without drawing.

I’ve always linked drawing to storytelling even as a lil kid.

[AmazementComics]

I would have to agree with the rest. Because the two jobs are so intertwined to the point where you become both. By default.

I will say this though. I always considered myself an artist, because I learned to draw traditionally and digitally and am still learning to better my skills in said medium. As a writer, I pretty much just picked it up from what I learned by other writers at school, work, etc. At this point, I am pretty much self taught in both areas and to me, they're one in the same.

[sable40k]

It's weird; I've spent way more time doing paid writing over the years (nonfiction) than art. But it's art that I'm much more naturally motivated to pursue. There are also way more artists I see and want to emulate than writers.

It's not that I don't appreciate a good story. I want to make a good one, too! It's just that writing is a bit more like music: I'll love a really good song, but don't feel quite as much urge to make my own.

[arxianfall]

Neither. I dislike the labels of artist, writer or author. I do not consider myself one of those.
So if I would call myself something, the closest would be storyteller.

[IndigoShirtProd]

An artist, only because it's the skill that's been with me longer. I was severely pegged as the "art kid" when I was in elementary school but I really only got into writing in middle school. And I'll always say I'm a better illustrator than author.

[allenT]

Neither. I label myself just a creator in my pen name. Because as creator I like DIY, music/game making, drawing, photography, video etc, for the sake of exploration & fun. Making comic however is my most accumulated skill. I can safely label myself a comic "manga" creator.

[MTDG]

Artist or writer? Umm... I'd say "storyteller".

I've been drawing since I was a kid but around the same age I also loved writing stories at school and on the internet, plus some years ago I worked on some visual novels too which have drawings but are more text-based.

To sum it up, I love both activities but what satisfies me the most is drawing, therefore I usually identify myself as an artist if I have to pick.

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

I'd like to agree with several other opinions here, that I can't separate art from writing, and that both have always gone hand-in-hand for me (or at least drawing and making up stories-- I can't say I was really writing much when I was 4), and I would have a near-impossible time quitting either.

But I can't honestly say they carry equal weight in my sense of identity. And I didn't know that I valued one over the other (as far as which one I 'identify' with more) until I got a comment from a close family member that I was inexplicably really offended by: My dad, probably twenty years ago by now, once told me he always thought that my writing was better than my art, and that if I ever 'made it', it would probably be from something I wrote, rather than something I drew.

... And for some reason, I had never been so offended about something someone had said about my art. And I realized that if the statement had been reversed, and he'd thought my art was better than my writing? I don't think I'd have been offended by that at all.

So that kind of showed me that, at my core, I identify more as 'artist' than 'writer', even though I do both.

[TheLemmaLlama]

Ah, I think I'm the opposite! If someone considered the best part of my work (once it's finished, at least) to be the art, I can definitely see myself feeling offended, but not if they considered the best part to be the writing :'D So I guess I'm more of a writer? I guess I do consider my art as more of a means to an end, while the stories I craft are the ends themselves ...

But pragmatically, I'm more comfortable literally referring to myself as an artist in actual conversation, basically solely due to the verifiability issue:

I can easily just show them my Instagram and there's tons of examples of my work. With writing, most of it is kept to myself until I decide to publish the finished thing (which takes ages) And most people can judge the quality of my art just by looking, while reading is a bit harder.

(well my art is mostly in places that's not instagram, but the general gist still applies XD)

So yeah, idk. Depends on if this is a question of identity or actual terms I use in conversation

[Lensing]

I´m a creator and every creator is a story teller.
When I team up with someone I would pencil and ink and have some influence
on the story because that´s the 3 things I enjoy most

[MeltingCORE]

I call myself an artist/writer in my bios since I'm an artist writing an illustrated novel. So both, equally!

[UrMom]

I just call myself a creator. It would be disrespectful to the community to call myself a writer since I such at it, and it's weird to call myself an artist since I'm not one of those either. I mean, I've been drawing since forever, but it's this thing I do for myself that I don't try to make a living off of. It would feel rude to call myself one when there are thousands of artists who take the craft so seriously. (This is a mindset I only apply to myself btw. Other artists/writers can call themselves anything they want, no judgement.)

[Noorie]

I see myself more as a writer and often say that I write comics, because I started drawing comics, because it was faster to write down a story (in a sketch). I also concentrate on storytelling, but art for me is good enough if it's understandable what's going on

[Swamp]

Art has always been an extension of my writing for me. My brain is stories 24/7, and is my career field. Art is a way to explore and communicate those stories for me. I love drawing, but if I could never draw again, I'd manage. If I couldn't write, I'd wither like every plant I've ever cared for.