This is a huge tip! I had a graphic design instructor that made you write our all the keyboard shortcuts if you were late, or missed a deadline. If you want to learn them, write them down. It works. I can use keyboard shortcuts blindfolded. You'll find ones you never knew about. (Like using the alt key as a quick copy/paste in the adobe suite.) Great tip.
I feel like it's really important to take your time when you're just starting out. Don't feel the pressure to match up to professionals who have everything figured out in terms of writing formulas they follow if they create multiple series, to specific rendering methods, chosen textures, a refined art style and years worth of studies under their belt. It's going to be really difficult to get there if you're spending all your time rushing out panels rather than just taking some time to experiment with different ideas, and seek out meaningful critique from various writing and illustration communities.
Overall, my list of what I think;
I agree, it's important to be realistic in your expectations. Though even when I was rushing I was experimenting a lot, it was the most productive experience I had with regards to learning about digital art. I also had a 30 chapter webtoon under my belt, which is kinda nice. Just wish I didn't stress myself out about it so much haha, though maybe there's something to be said for taking it seriously if you do plan to become a professional (which was/is my intention).
I'm not a featured artist or anything....(sigh...) but I do update my comic weekly (though I have taken a few 2-week hiatuses every couple of months). I basically just work a lot on it. I draw fast and know anatomy because I went to art school, but it is a full time thing. On Monday-Wednesday I pretty much draw all day to get chapters up once a week. It's a dedication that you have to push aside a lot of time for.
But the biggest factor to featured artist posting weekly, I would imagine because I don't know for sure) is that they're pulled from Discover, which means that a decent chunk of their story was already written and drawn. They usually do some redraws and re-writes when they switch from Discover to Featured, but a lot of the leg work for the early chapters is finished. And there's always a 2 month gap or so between them getting pulled from Discover and posting in Featured, so i'm sure they're building up a good backlog of chapters during that time so that they never fall behind.
If you're a slow drawer but wanna post weekly. Take some time off, but you comic on hiatus, and just get a chapter or two ahead during that time and then work out a schedule so that you're always a least a week ahead of yourself.
It also helps to make sure you have some buffer beforehand.
Maybe you have this before you even post, or maybe you have it when you go on a break. But it never hurts to have some pages already done.
A lot of professionals will do this before they even post, so some pages you see might've been done days or weeks, maybw a month in advance when they were less overwhelmed.
Along with copy/paste and short cut software, buffering can definitely help.
"work smarter, not harder"
Thank you all for your posts. I've read them all finally (yay for a good read).
Sadly though I ain't feeling very confident now with these replies. 'Git good' isn't something I feel I can do before that contest ends. I can't afford to go to school anymore for any classes...I'm barely making enough money to survive as is, and soon I might not be making any money at all...(which in turn might kill my comic as well...)
I kinda already DO the batchwork...but it takes me like ALL DAY to sketch out a mere 15-16 panels...just to SKETCH mind you. Not line. To make 35 plus, I'd need at least another day or two out of the week just to draw them out. And we've not even gotten to the next stages of linework and color, backgrounds, dialogue...I already feel like I've taken shortcuts too. I know the keyboard/tablet shortcuts, I know how to copy and paste similar poses and just change the expressions...but it seems like I just am not good enough or fast enough...
I do a buffer of about 4 pages, but a buffer will mean little to nothing in the long run if I can't produce pages faster than I upload them (I know I could take hiatuses, but my comic had to take two large ones already...one recently even due to a data crash that actually made me lose several of the completed pages. I hate hiatus. I hate stalling my story). As much as I would love to work on my comic full-time, I can't...Saturday and Sunday is when I work my REAL job...the one that I wish I could replace with doing my comic full-time. But I can't work on my comic full-time unless I'm getting paid enough for it...but I guess I can't get paid for it because I can't dedicate enough time to it? Well I guess I'm in a loophole then...
It's sounding like everything is closing up around me and not letting me ever consider my comic to be good enough for a full-time paid series. Maybe I should not bother with the contest...I was hoping it could be the jumpstart I needed to being able to quit my weekend job and go full-time should my comic win...but now it sounds like I'm just not good enough for it...
Here´s a few things I make use of. I usually produce 20 - 30 full colour panels a week, while working full time Mo - Friday and going out on the weekends.
If Backgrounds take you a long time, use a blurred up or edited sketchup model. Check the providers profile first, but as long as you edit the background, you should be safe to use it.
make simpler sketches. Things (especially the sketch) don´t have to look perfect - most readers won´t realize as long as it looks kind off pretty, they´ll just keep reading.
If you say, it takes you a whole day (if I worked on my comic a whole day, it would be 10 - 15 hours;) to just sketch 15 panels - I can only think that you must be way to perfectionistic with your drawings. Try to let go a little...
And lastly, please don´t beat yourself up over the contest. There is a lot of people contending, it´s highly unlikely you will win just for that. Make sure you have enough money, take care of Real life problems; there will ALWAYS be another contest around the corner.
I feel like you're right about featured artists, though I remember the creator of Unordinary admitting in an interview earlier this year that she does not have a buffer of completed chapters. She only has the story planned out, but she's drawing week by week to get the chapters done. Now this is just her, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's like this for other other featured creators.
Yeah, I'm sure there are plenty who don't have a buffer. I suppose there's really only two ways to update weekly. Work on it all week, every day, or have a buffer.
As I mentioned I update weekly, and I definitely don't have a buffer at all. Which means I work on my stuff all week to get it done in time. But if you're a featured artist, especially for Unordinary who probably gets a paid very well because her comic is extremely popular, that's essentially her full-time job, so she can justify working on it every day.
If you're not featured/not getting paid and you wanna update weekly it's just really figuring out how much time you wanna invest in it. I'm currently unemployed and looking for work, which means I, unfortunately, have tons of time to invest in a comic I'm not getting paid for -_-
Thank you for the tips. Lately I have been going a bit less 'detailed' with my backgrounds (because admittedly, I suck at them), but sometimes I can't have that luxury since my comic has moments where they go to exotic and key locations...the world can tell a story of it's own with it's appearance. So..I can't always ignore it. I'm not sure what you mean by blurred up sketchup models.
I'll keep the small things focus in mind. I've not really tried doing that too much.
Okay, when I said 'whole' day, I meant a typical workday, which is 8 hours. And even that might be stretching it. but that's JUST for the sketches of like 15 panels. I wasn't trying to stress myself by overworking myself...I'm not a machine...I love my project but overworking myself on it will make me hate it...I don't want that.
I still think that I'm just not skilled enough...I'm not scared about the contest, nor am I scared of winning or not winning it. It's what the webtoon editors or higher ups EXPECT of me if I get there...THAT scares me...because I feel I'm not 'good enough' yet for their standards if they are going to be expecting me to make 35-60 panel episodes in a week...
I can totally relate because I started out like this. I have a very heavy detail focus and I don't think I'll ever really forsake that for time constraints, rather just learn to work faster overall. I was trying to do full colour page comics once a week with no buffer. I could do it but man it was really stressful. Given all that though that sorta work does really push you far, it definitely gave me a huge leap in skill. 
Once you become a featured artist you grow extra sets of arms. It can put a lot of strain on the back but your productivity goes through the roof and it makes it super easy to be Durga for any costume party
At least that's what I've heard....
Lot's and lots of buffer. Basically writing, scripting, drawing, and editing their comics in advance, especially with the amount of panels and space they use. It's a lot more if they color their works, believe me.
i'd imagine they built up quite the buffer beforehand. and this also might be their full-time job?
(although i worry about their health (._.;;; i hope they're resting well!)
also might i add:
don't be afraid to use available tools, like the 3D models in CSP to help you get that pose, angle, or zoomed-in hand just right. saves you a lot of time and grief.
do not stress about every single panel. your readers pay more attention to that cool thing that happened than that one lousy panel you did. they're very forgiving!
like everyone said: work in batches! sketch a bunch in one setting, now ink them, now color them...etc. helps you stay in the groove.
they mostly like have no other job and do this full time. Also could have a bunch of already done work ready to post on specific dates or even have a partner.
Some of them are just really hardworking people. Some of the top featured artists on LW are solo artists and university students.
The artists I know often don't get enough sleep and draw non-stop. If they can, they'd draw more than 8 hours daily.
Many of them often got sick or/and damage their health. Assistants is an option. Making comic weekly is a hard job.
I only just saw this post as it was linked in another post I was reading. Don't beat yourself up @Ulta everyone works and learns at a different pace, I am sure you will get to a place where you are able to pump out panels faster!
I know the webtoons contest is now over and I feel your pain! I work full time and had to completely sacrifice all my personal time to get out the required panels on time. One thing I did right off the bat was examine my strengths and weaknesses. I know that I am perfectionist - especially when it comes to detailing and line work, so I chose a style that was very simplistic, so I wouldn't be stuck toiling for hours on meticulous details. I went in with the full intentions of having a buffer week or two and that was just completely thrown out the window! A combination of poor time management and multiple big life changes threw everything into chaos.
Maybe one thing you should look at is why your sketches are taking so long? Do you thumbnail first? Are you putting too much details in the sketches? Are you getting distracted? ( I often have netflix running in the background which sometimes means I end up watching more than drawing ).
Either way I think you are doing great! People underestimate just how much work goes into putting out weekly comics, so don't belittle what you have already managed to accomplish!
To achieve this while not damaging your health
1-Make your art simple very simple
2-Choose parts of your character design that is necessary
3-Find some art shortcuts
This is probably late.
I'm currently working on a comic. I can draw 9 panels a day but they're uncolored. That's only when I work the whole day tho. I tried joining the short story contest but I didn't make because I started super late. Like June 19 is when I started working on episode 1, I managed to put out 3 episodes and then came the deadline. If you think about it, 3 episodes with 30+ panels each in 10 days. That's a lot. But it was only possible when I dedicated all my time only on my comic. there are times when I can finish 3-5 panels, fully colored depending on how much I focus and not get distracted. Basically, they're able to do it because it's their main job and have assistants as well. They dedicate all their time on their comics.
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