How do you keep from getting tired?!

[Herofeeder]

could be lack of iron in your blood..i eat meat once every 3 weeks ..give or take..i dilsike meat but i feel the lack of energy without the iron ..so you could lack iron in your diet too

[conbon100101]

Yeah I take iron. I for sure have low iron. Woo. I'm just always tired. I think it just my state of existence.
is secretly exhausted pigeon

[XzynderVexymous]

Maybe waking up early might help you. Along with working at night. But the most important thing to remember is to have a set time for yourself, I wish you well.

Earth's Immigrants | Tapas

[tuesdayisms]

Ehehe...I'm lucky if I work on a panel a day and I'm currently on summer vacation with my only obligation at the moment being an online college class.
Just remember that any progress is worth celebrating and that you're doing enough already by scheduling time for working on your web comic with a schedule like yours. I couldn't possibly imagine going to work, taking care of and spending time with a five-year-old child, taking care of basic needs, and still trying to do other things in between!
I don't really know you, but I'm still proud of you for taking charge and putting time into your comic despite having so little free time.

[Rhombik]

I find green tea works wonders. It gives you energy like coffee (so don't drink it just before bed) but doesn't have such a nasty comedown.

Also, magnesium supplements. Most people have a deficiency and it really helps your central nervous system.

[FlareyWorks]

Definitely stubbornly refuse to sleep until you pass out face first onto your computer #shittyadvice

I mean, I would never do that, I'm a true advocate of excellent sleeping patterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[conbon100101]

Haha yeah I try to get about 5 hours of sleep (ish) a night. But being insomniac makes that...not happen sometimes haha.
I seriously appreciate the kind words though. I guess I just wish I had more time in a day because I have three storylines that I have so much fun with and only having time to do a post a week (or two if I'm reeeeaaaally lucky) bums me out sometimes.
I'm just glad I've gotten faster! When I first started doing comics (2.5 almost 3 years ago now) it took me like...10-18 hours to do a page ;; now it only takes 3-6 So it makes up for me being tired and old! haha.

[conbon100101]

hahaha man I totally agree with this! There are days where I almost fall asleep drawing but it's one of my favorite things to do so I can't help it.
Thankfully, I do have a pretty regular (as regular as an insomniac can have anyway) sleep pattern. I usually go to bed around midnight - 1 am and get up about 7am (sleep in til 9 or 10 on weekends when I can)

[conbon100101]

I actually take magnesium because a doctor told me I needed to haha. And I do love green tea. Especially made with matcha (which is sorta cheating buuutt....)

[YangKoete]

It's a crazy series of;

1. Diet.
2. Tea (No Caffeine)
3. Competitiveness for getting better at drawing.
4. Rewards at the end of the day.
5. Habitica (Online schedule mixed with an MMO)

It's honestly quite crazy. I get 3 - 6 hours of sleep a night because of everything, but I feel great~

I have a job, art and general chores to do while also trying to keep my sanity up with the crazy neighbors.

[sandpaperdaisy]

I have two kids and a full-time art job, so BOY DO I FEEL YOU ALL.

So basically, what I do:

1) Huge Buffer. Immense. Gargantuan.
2) Breaks: do a chore, play a round of Katamari, episode of Jojo, whatever.
3) Go to bed by midnight no matter what.
4) Remember breakfast and I seem to do well with a B12 Vitamin when I'm really tired. I don't take them everyday.
5) Built-in times for the kids and for friends to visit.

6) Lastly, I take a very finite view of the time on this earth I will be able to make comics. I recognize that I've had phases throughout my life, and that one day I might not even be doing art because I will be in a totally new phase, having a new adventure. Thus, I consider all my unfinished comics to be my "Bucket List" of things I have to accomplish before I become that new person with a new mission.

[Jessisheron]

it sounds counter intuitive but regular exercise (even just a short walk) has helped me a lot with getting tired. been trying to put aside a half hour a day to do it. everything about my work improves when i'm healthier.

[zod]

Best to dedicate time for it so you dont do it late(even though it's hard to stick to such timetables!)

I try to use the weekend for comic work, weekdays for commission/contractual work. Though sometimes I use the weekend as a means to relax

[scarlet_wings_kaili]

Ironically, I think getting more sleep will help you out more.

I'm in art school right now, so while I don't have to deal with kids, there are many days where I'll only get less than 5 hours of sleep. And I'll have to say, I'm much less productive and draw shitter when I don't have sleep.
I've had a friend who pulled 3 all nighters in a row, and she started hallucinating. Seriously not healthy for you, so I do not recommend not getting enough sleep.
But I have a bad habit of doing it anyways D:

But in terms of tricks, it's going to be different for everyone. Coffee doesn't actually do much for me (although I pretend it does cause, ya'know, popular culture) so taking a shower when I get sleepy will wake me up because of the shock of the water. Taking 20 min naps in-between helps too.

Again, not something you'd want to do often. Alternately you could try to cram drawing whenever you can: like while taking the bus, while waiting at an office... etc.

[lilydusk]

I've been obsessed with finding ways to prevent tiredness and the responses here have been really helpful! I'm working on my diet, and I find that having a low-carb and low-sugar diet helps somewhat? Also, it's super important that I go to bed early-ish, like maybe 12.30am (even though I NEVER do that). When I turn in at 2am or later and get up at 7.30am for work, I can barely get through the day. Staying up late to work on my comics ends up being counterproductive when I can barely function the next day.

[modrawmanga]

Yah, supposedly healthy diet and plenty of rest does help with productivity. I also research into plenty of things like this in the past when I was insanely motivated to work on my comic.
I found that a break is important to recharge the excitement on the project. When I take a day or two off from it completely actually helps to see what should I do from a fresher, less tire eyes.

As others has said, health is most important, not worth risking to break it for anything else in life imho.

[lil-sea-salt]

I think maybe realizing that quality isn't having this perfect polished piece. if u have 2 hours try to finish something in 2 hours. i work 80 hour weeks and i always thought i was a novelist and i kept dying trying to make a 300 page novel. now i write what . . . a seven page story then publish it in 4 parts. i'm so much happier now. it takes me a month to finish those 7 pages, but that's fine. i have enough material now for a small novelette and i'm really excited about writing again.

i sketch on vacation, now that's turned into short illustrated children's stories. i used to plan huge ambitious projects, but now i just aim for smaller goals. idk @conbon100101 i hope that helps

[lilydusk]

I have actually experienced that - after spending many frustrating hours figuring things out, taking a break and seeing things with fresh eyes has helped get me unstuck. It's like suddenly a solution presents itself to me. Not all the time, but still pretty awesome, haha

[akemikae]

Caffeine naps are a great thing! Drink a decent amount of caffeine real fast, then lay your head down for a nap for 15 minutes. The rest allows the caffeine to flow through your body faster, and then you wake up feeling nice and refreshed for a pretty good amount of time! I do these all the time, and they're especially great when you don't want to utilize your time actually sleeping. haha.

[Aura-Redwood]