Getting back to comics! Advice for a rusty artist?

[ZombieOwl]

Hello!
I used to be pretty active here and was posting a new strip every week, but then the year we all would like to forget happened, and I was too fatigued/depressed to write/draw.
I just came up with a narrative story that I'm really REALLY excited for and have planned everything out for the storyline.

I'm just a bit daunted in how I should get back into it. I guess I'm looking for advice, but also some encouragement as I've never tried a narrative like this, and I'm coming back from a LONG break

Have you ever taken a long break for personal/mental health? How did you get into the groove again? How do you keep yourself from feeling guilty you're not churning work out like you used to?

I'd love to hear from you all <3

[LunarScyphozoa]

Start just doodling things to get yourself used to drawing again, after a long break I find it helps

[delladz]

The most obvious advice is to just go for it!!! At the end of the day, your comic is for you and your own enjoyment so do what you want and have fun with it :)) You'll get back into the groove as time passes. And honestly, the best way to combat guilt is to realize that you are a multi-faceted person with an outside life and interests, not a robot programmed to churn out perfect content 24/7! Just gotta be understanding of yourself and also be kind to yourself!!

[ZombieOwl]

Thank you so much, I will go for it XDD

[Kaydreamer]

I've not been in the position of returning after a long break, but I started my first ever comic project this year, which is also a long, narrative-driven one, and I'll leave some advice from that perspective.

• Build a buffer before you start posting! Working at least a few episodes ahead of where you're releasing helps take a lot of pressure off you when your life gets busy.
• Narrative-driven comics benefit immensely from a regular, predictable posting schedule. Set a release schedule which you're confident you can keep up with. (I post bi-weekly, which is the same speed I can create at. If I need to re-build my buffer, I'll take a hiatus at the end of the chapter.)
• Read webcomics you find narratively and visually inspiring as you're creating yours. The vertical webcomic medium is truly coming into its own now, and there are so many beautiful, immersive things you can do to captivate your audience.

But honestly, just have fun with it! Tell the story you want to tell, and enjoy the process of telling it. Having an audience who come to care about your characters is the most incredible feeling, and it'll help fuel you as well.

[Rhonder]

Welcome back! I'm on break again currently, but I came off of one mid-2020 to work on a project for a little while so I have some recent experience!

I think the hardest thing for me was accountability and getting back into the habit of working on the comic. After having several months of no drawing responsibilities (draw as much or little as I want!), it was easy to just... shirk working on the comic, but then progress is slow and it feels somewhat unsatisfying. Getting back into a little bit of a weekly schedule was helpful in my case.

I ended up trying out art streaming around the same time too, which just added extra structure to my schedule- even on weeks when I didn't draw much outside of my streams, there would be at minimum 3 2-hour periods of time each week that I had set aside to work on the comic. Obviously streaming is a whole separate thing and not for everyone, but I enjoyed this experience a lot

Best of luck with the new series!

[ZombieOwl]

Thanks so much

[ZombieOwl]

I've been considering doing tiktok lives for working streams
I do think it would be a fun way to share the journey with others and hold myself accountable to stick to a schedule!

Thanks so much! ^_^

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

Full disclosure: Like @Kaydreamer, I just started my own comic in the past year, so I'm not coming off of a long break, and therefore I can't speak to that precise experience.

However, starting a long project for the first time and getting back into the saddle after being away for a long time share a common problem: it's easy to throw yourself into it too hard, bite off more than you can chew, and risk burnout when you've barely begun. I knew that risking burnout from working too hard for a long time was a problem I might run into, so one of the rules I set for myself early on was to only do what I could sustainably, comfortably do on a daily or weekly basis.

For me, that means I produce one page a week. It averages out to anywhere from 1-4 hours a day, depending on how much time and energy I have, and what stage of the process I'm in. If I need to, I can not work on that week's page at all for a day, as long as I can finish it by my deadline. I've been following this rhythm since October of last year, and so far, it's been sustainable. I'm not left aching or drained when I stop drawing for the day, just satisfied that I've done a meaningful amount of work. I have time to work a part time job, do chores, and relax. It's working for me. If it ever stops working for me, I'll reevaluate what's sustainable, and adjust from there.

Find what's sustainable for you. Get into a rhythm, make a routine. I didn't used to be the kind of person who drew nearly every day (even though that's VERY common advice), but now that I almost have to in order to get a page out per week... I find that I sort of MISS drawing on days where I don't. And drawing almost every day for almost 11 months now has had a very positive effect on my art, too.

Oh, and I second the point about buffers, too. That's free peace of mind. Give yourself that gift before you start posting.

[ZombieOwl]

it's easy to throw yourself into it too hard, bite off more than you can chew, and risk burnout when you've barely begun

Oh gosh, yea, it's really easy for me to do that, I'm glad you helped me remember! I will be more cognizant of that for sure

[ArthurAleksei]

Just start off drawing something fun. Enjoy the process. Look forward at what you can accomplish, not back at what you didn't.
I'm actually in the same boat as you right now, but these things help me.

[wispysing]

Coming from someone who has been in a very long art hiatus herself, I tend to watch tons of speedpaint or art videos in my spare time. It helps me get in the mood. For exercise, I tend to put some of my own spin in anatomy exercises, like drawing the figures as your characters or adding some additional action elements. It gets me fired up usually, because that way you also get to practice drawing your characters in a way..especially if they have some very specific or detail-heavy design.