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Apr 2019

Maybe tell them the truth, which is, if I remember well, that you CAN draw more conventionally, but that is not the point of this specific comic, which is more about non-conventional and interactive storytelling (I suppose?) than about art? It's NOT a easy comic to describe! :sweat_smile:

(Now I go to work, everyone feel free to shout at me if you see me here haha)

Oh man, I feel EXACTLY the same. Just as if it was me writing these words.

And since I'm struggling with the same problems I'll just stick to this thread for more positive ideas.

You're not alone.

hey buddy, cheer up , ive felt this too when making my manga or just drawing stuff :confused:

but i hope you dont give up, your ideas are cool, so hang in there bro :+1:

Im starting to find that that what I wanted to make isn't where I was being led. So I resisted, and as a result not only was I fighting my growth, but also expectations that didn't serve me or others properly. Sometimes, your unshakable weakness is opportunity for your greatest strengths to manifest.

For what its worth your writing is very impressive.

Hey man, the fact that you have decided to go down the comic route (which is a very difficult task requiring lots of time and passion) is already amazing. Don't compare yourself to others - everyone learns at their own rate, and that's fine. Knowing that you can constantly improve your own work is what makes a good artist :grinning:

Definitely feel this way at times... I just keep on going knowing that one day it'll get easier (some things already have), and I hope then one day I'll just be able to do the type of art I see in my head.

Maybe my opinion won't be needed or appreciated here, but I feel like I should say something as one of your readers. No, I won't share sappy "Be the best of" or "Keep working until you make it" kind of lecture because I'm not the best one to tell it.

I think we share sentiment of hiring another artist; unless they're someone we know and/or involved in the development, I fear things won't be portrayed as it is in our vision. Also a part of my selfishness wants my own work to be mine and only mine, you can't call it yours if you share it with someone.

What defines "Better" is different from person to person, it's about the taste. I honestly can't concur how someone can choose a popular romance cookie-cutter webcomic over a meticulously crafted story by a smaller creator. The proof you have active subscribers and got fanart means your work is anticipated and appreciated, there are people who like it, there's a market for it.

Just because a work is popular and widely liked, it doesn't always mean it is good; most of population just happen to know and like it.

I personally follow your work because it takes a simply weird idea, but still have substance that I don't get lost in it. It's something weird that you don't know why you're attracted to it. While it's true that the interaction is a bit stiff and there are still many available improvement for the art, note that it's still the beginning that even you will improve later on without you realize.

I am just going to say, that your drawing is so much better then mine =) And it is really cool, that you are able to both write and draw your comic, it will probably take me at least a year to get to your level. On the other hand, if you are struggling with getting better, maybe it is time to iterate. Wrap up your current story; take everything you have learned and start something new. It is often very hard to improve, when you are burdened by something that is already done: style, flow, plot. Maybe if you will start something else, you will be able to see just how much you have improved, and in turn have another leap in quality.

Makes me sad to read that you are struggling. What I see in your comic is sincerity without filters. You have a story you are passionate about and I think that you are telling it pretty well. I quit reading so many professional-looking comics because they seem like copies of other stories that have been done before so many times. Heavenly art doesn't equate to good entertainment.
Your comic is fearless and I respect the fact that you are doing what you want despite not being what mainstream or mass readers are looking for.

I get the struggle of not being able to show the world you have in your head accurately when you have to draw the pages. I can't make action scenes, they look always look stiff and I have to redraw things a lot. But it is easy to forget that some other artists have been practicing for years, and professional comics/manga/TV shows often have a team devoted to make the project. If the main artists are not good at drawing backgrounds the editor brings someone who can take the chore, or if a panel is looking messy the editor can help the artists to fix it. Here in freelance comics, we are learning on our own.

Making comics is literally a job that we are learning in our free time, so it is also a matter of being patient and work to develop the skills you need. Maybe it will never look "perfect" but I hope you can reach a point in which you are happy with the results.

Yes, this is true...

It's good that you mentioned this. One of my major worries is that readers will be lost and will not understand what's going on because of my lack of ability to express things. Nevertheless, due your comments I see that you not just understand key things clearly, but even notice some subtle hints (which I didn't think will be noticed from the first reading). It's really important for me. I think every author would be happy to have such an insightful reader.
But what about less patient and thoughtful people? I'm afraid that they will be disoriented from the very beginning and will not bother to read more to sort things out. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I don't think you can please all kind of readers. Also no matter how much a thing is liked and popular, there must be people who dislike it for various reasons. :sweat:

I was on the same dilemma with my old work; some readers regard my work was hard to understand, yet there are some who read far and appreciated it. While I'm keeping myself open for the former one, I focus to work for the latter one.

To be entirely honest, I've actually started to think about all of this after these threads:

Because literally everyone else here did battle scenes and character sheets better than me. :persevere:

Probably I really should stop to compare myself to others or concentrate on things, which I can do better. :thinking:
Thanks everyone for responses, anyway :hugging:

My advice would be to look at anime, manga or comics in general that do action scenes and see how they compose the shot to sell the action. At the end of the day you can polish a scene however you like until you think its perfect but if you strive for perfection too much you can get lost in doubt and never be satisfied.

Art grows the more you repeat and improvise as well as experiment thats the beauty of it.

I used to compare myself to others and it got me down about my own art (specially on the first version). I turn that around by instead analyzing and admiring the art and trying to piece how it was done. At least for battle what I did is re-draw some action scene from comic (just sketches as a learn how). I know there is this fear of redrawing some establish art, but it is great practice (no tracing though). I seen your comic and you have a more american comic approach so I would suggest checking out action scene from those to learn :smiley:

Also I actually compare my current art with my old stuff instead of comparing it to other peoples art...it helps my motivation seeing MY improvement done instead of comparing myself to other great artist that also took years to developed there style and talent :smiley: I just admired them and try learning a bit from them (seeing streams of them working helps a lot!)

;;-;; Don't worry you're not alone on this, dude. I have felt the same way in the past years until now when someone does faster and even better art than I am. I spend the time comparing myself when all that time you can do is to reflect and keep working hard on it no matter what.

People even drove me away from an art community because of doing ugly art. But what we can do now is just practice, practice, exercise yourself and find more reasons and things for your work that could attract people on your content and at the same time loving it yourself. Find the things that you think you are the weakest on and keep exercising it. I am not the best at giving advices xd but still look at the reason you're still here. Be proud of what you have accomplish so far and only things you could do for now is just keep getting better. It's really good that you are interacting with people here and venting out what you feel.

We believe in you and you have my full support dude. c: Just keep up the good work ^^

Also just wanna share this channel which covers almost every aspect about doing webcomics and problems comic creators encounter

Yeye TiredProgrammer, the best way to see how much you've improved (and you WILL have, unless you are those people that just give up and lose passion, which you certainly aren't) with your art is by straight-up redrawing old pieces.

If you're scared that your redraw will somehow end up worse than the original you did, say, one or two years ago (speaking from experience lmao), I recommend adding something to the piece. Say, for example, it used to be a sketch, maybe now you can line and colour it / render it as well this time, or perhaps add another character / element.

Dude I can relate to that sentiment completely. Every where I look every one is doing what Im doing better than me. Thou I do not care that I'm not popular it is some time disheartening when see others work.

However Just stop comparing how poorly you do compare to someone else and start comparing what you know your doing better than any one else.
1) you have genuine fan art which many other works online can only dream of.
2) your passion lead you to stick to your project for over a year. Waaaaaay better than most other web comics I have seen that are just abandon after a few updates.
3) Your art even thou it not my cup of tea is still a whole lot better than others who have attempted what you are doing. I can see it improving tremendously within a year of practice.

You are so much better than you think. Your 100+ viewers can see that even if you don't. Have confidence and see not how worse you do than others but how much better you do than others.
Hope that helps.

I can very much relate to the feeling of inadequacy, especially when comparing myself to others. What helps me get through these slumps is to concentrate on the things, I can be proud of. And you have something there to be proud of! Your comic has reached an audience (150 subs? holy sh....I'm jealous!). So even if your artwork is not up to your standarts yet, a lot of people see the potential you have and are interested in what your story offers. That is something not many people can say about themselves. You also got fanart, which is a clear sign that your character designs are interesting and cool.

So.... just build on that. Others have already said it: You'll get better with practice. Try to remember that you do have a solid foundation and give it time. Try to change your perspective and focus on your own accomplishments instead of the success of others. You should still strive for improvement, but this change of perspective can offer a more healthy way to deal with your own goals. Not "Everyone is better than me and I'm no good", but "I've already come so far, now off to getting even better!"

And if you see someone doing better than you: try to learn from them. They have started with stiff action sequences once as well, so they know how to get better at it ^^