How long are you willing to work on a single project?

[smokesalty]

Feel free to answer below without reading the rest as I'm just gonna ramble here!

This topic became something I thought about since recently I've been watching videos on the production of 'The Overcoat'- an unfinished Russian animated film that has been worked on for over 40 years (ongoing.) Now I've gone down a bit of a rabbit hole of animated films that took decades to create, and I'm just thinking to myself: LORD. I could never put myself through that.

And a recurring seen with these projects is that the creators are absolute perfectionists, and will redo things over and over until they see it as perfect. They have a vision they're unwilling to take shortcuts for. An interesting video that drew me into the topic was Lars Martinson's video on how it took him 13 years to complete his comic:

This really got me thinking about my own projects and how long I'd be willing to work on them. I think on how sometimes I have the urge to go back and redo pages, and how pushing through despite imperfections is for the benefit of my projects, especially since little things like janky pages will be looked past in a couple seconds.

I have this long epic fantasy story that I've had since I was thirteen, and honestly if I didn't put it on the backburner I feel like perfectionism would have eaten away at me and ended with me having a project that takes years and years and no satisfaction. Thing is with that project, I'm willing to spend years and years and years on it when I make it my main project someday. It's a story that I really want to tell, very likely because of my nostalgia and connection to the characters. Now, I'm alright with it not being the "most amazing thing ever" as my thirteen year old self thought. Hell, people may think my other projects are better, and even if they are, I don't mind. It's a project I want to see become the epic fantasy I've had in my head, and I'm okay with it taking a while.

For The Commune, I don't even know how long I'd end up spending on this project. My current estimate is 7-8 years if I don't have any assistance. Could possibly be longer. And this still sounds pretty daunting for me, especially since this comic was meant to be a short story that expanded into a much longer one. Thing is, I am willing to work on the story for that long because it means a lot to me, and having the story written out, I know it's interesting and satisfying, at least to me. I know I'm working towards something good that I and my readers will finish and go "ah. This years long project was worth all the investment."

I'm willing to take shortcuts, and allow for imperfections because I never want to be stuck in that loop of redoing when there's so much of the story to tell. Because, in the end, people read comics for a good story and characters, not to gawk at little mistakes in panels. I do not want to spend decades on this project.

So my answer to my own question with these considerations is: I want to spend as long as I need, in a way takes shortcuts and allows for efficient creation but to a quality I'm satisfied with. This will vary from project to project, but I want to feel what I've created is really worth all the time and love I've put into it.

(but like 20+ years on one project sounds absolutely crazy for me!)

[gene99ec]

I would say an entire lifetime which may sound incredibly crazy but I've been doing this for quite sometime now and out of everything else I've done and accomplished in my life this is where I take the upmost pride in. This went from a hobby I liked to something I loved. I've been at this since I was 7 and don't plan on stopping anytime soon!

[Lensing]

I have seen that video a couple of times, it´s an interesting example.

I believe in deadlines.
You need deadlines for every production, you set the deadline yourself or a publisher
or other team members set deadlines. Or it is bound to a date like a big comic convention,
then you know you need a certain time to print the comic etc.
I produced a lot of records and I played bass on a lot of albums, we always had deadlines.
In most cases it´s better to have time pressure, all musical projects with no time pressure
,that I took part in, failed or sucked in the end

I do the same with comics, deadlines all over the place. When you wonder why you can´t
get pages done it is maybe because you don´t have a deadline. Having no deadline can lead
to overthinking and overthinking can lead to not creating

And to anser the question, how long I´m willing to work on a single project:
One comic book per year (64 pages)
One musical album every year
3 music singles every year

[VersusVII]

My idea is to work on my project whenever I have time untill it's finished. I don't have an idea on how long it will take.

The problem of those project is that the are perfectionists and won't give up untill everithing is alright, taking waaaay too long.
I want to publish the best drawing I can for my manga without missing too much deadlines or risking an hiatus again. Maybe in future if I do a printed version I can polish some drawing I left behind in the hurry.

[Spectorium_1]

Really until I lose interest if its a personal one, or until completion if it's a more formal/paid I'm a whimsical Asian.

[Freemints30]

Eeeeeeeeeehh, it depends. I can get attached to characters to the point I can use them continuously for years and years.

But a long form project.... I envy those who have the focus for it.

I say like 5 years at max for me to stay engaged to one project. Usually I work fast so alot of content but 20 years is... alot

[TheLemmaLlama]

I want to spend as long as I need, in a way takes shortcuts and allows for efficient creation but to a quality I'm satisfied with. This will vary from project to project, but I want to feel what I've created is really worth all the time and love I've put into it.

Same, basically Though if I do end up taking decades, it would not be because of perfectionism (ambition of quality), but rather ambition of scale, or not being focused on one project at a time, or changing my mind about the contents of my story because I've changed as a person and have new values and want my work to reflect that

I can totally see myself taking 20+ years to finish a project, because rather than being like 'finish project A in 10 years and finish project B in the 10 years after that', I'll probably be like 'spend the next 20 years skipping around between project A and project B, and end up finishing them both around the same time' :'D

But yeah, I'm not like the guy in that video who makes their work super detailed and that being the reason I'm taking so long. My artstyle is rough AF and speedmaxxed XD

Really until I lose interest if its a personal one, or until completion if it's a more formal/paid I'm a whimsical Asian.

I will probably refuse to commit to a formal/paid project that's expected to take more than 3 years (and doesn't let me drop out if I'm tired of it (given sufficient notice ofc :P))

[VibrantFox]

My sense of time is already pretty borked for a number reasons but honestly however long it takes, whatever that may mean

I've carried a passion for story telling for a long time and tho I've (luckily) abandoned a good chunk of my not so good perfectionist tendencies I'm still determined to, as you explained, produce my stories in a way that's efficient but also doesn't sacrifice quality

Like I've spent years on projects just obsessing over small details in planning stages and then at another point got caught in a starting over loop but luckily those weren't story focused project and if anything could best be described as a part of my early experimental phase but now that I've got relatively clearer goals in mind and a more solid idea of what stories I want to tell and how I want to tell them along with most of their major plot points it's easier to get the ball rolling on other things like scripting and thumbnails and stuff

Overall tho given the number of projects I have in mind and the scale of some of em I wouldn't be surprised if I was working on things for 10 to 20+ years but I also don't think I'd mind coz I'd probably be bouncing around from one to the other as motivation/inspiration ebbs and flows and i just enjoy it overall and i mean yeah burnout and art block and creativity deserts happen but i think even in those moments i could still find reason to keep at it

[ayankidwai9]

I'd say until i'm satisfied with my story and think that it has reached a good conclusion

[OohitsEli]

I literally do not care if I like the project enough for example, my current one has been almost a decade in development, and I don't think it'll be completed in the next 1-2 years, and I don't mind. So personally I'm willing to work for any amount of time LMAO doesn't matter if it's decades or not

[LostKelp]

I'll work on it until it's done but I won't take on a project I don't think I can complete within the time I know I have available. STS is structured for me to be able to finish it in 2 years, which is the time I have before going to uni. I have finished 3 chapters in 6 months, I have 12 chapters planned. If I stay consistent I should be able to finish the main project and I have some ideas for post story specials that I may or may not get around to depending on how life is going.

I don't think there's anything wrong with taking your time with a story but we're mortal, life gets in the way. If you have lots of stories you want to tell, don't get too precious, it's ok to cut the beach episode, not every comic needs one.

[Caro]

I give most of my projects about a year or two. The longest I’ve given anything was two years.

Part of it is because when I first started I was throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall and trying to fail quickly over and over again until something stuck. When it became a full time thing I was just trying to diversify my income sources and for a lot of indie creators a long-form series is a harder sell than a standalone graphic novel.

But ultimately a big reason is just my short attention span. I like writing but I have a lotta things I want to explore that I just couldn’t in a single work.

[adkahdj]

I never go back to something I once thought of as done. I just tell myself "at some point in my life, I thought this was really good so there is no need to change it".

If you think of One Piece for instance. For better or worse, they keep releasing new volumes and that's how the whole project evolves. They can't make the one already published better.

[BitterOath]

Honestly, I don't know the answer to this. Until just a few years ago, I didn't have the time to commit to a long project, so this is a new journey I'm going on.
That said, I have learned that having a big project means I don't run out of ideas on what to draw or work on, and it has helped me improve and reassess what my goals are as an artist. But knowing it's going to take me 10+ years to see this current project through to the end? Phew. I have no idea what I'll be thinking in five years haha.

I think the best I can do in the meantime is try making space for smaller projects, so that I can get the dopamine hit of finishing something.
(I also think there is nothing wrong with a big story as your first webcomic project, and I mostly say that cause everyone I've talked to that's starting with a big story did not intend for it to get so big :''D So I think you need to just start something so you can learn how to write/make comics, and streamline the process for future projects.)

[boniae]

I've been working on my comic continuously for 8 years. I haven't really redone very much of it, aside from the first chapter in order to get it into a print format. It's probably just taken me so long because when it's finished it'll be around 600 pages, and I also have juggled a few other projects over the years so I haven't been able to focus on just one thing (due to ADHD). I actually really don't mind working so long on one comic though, I really love my characters and I'm actually going to be a little depressed when the comic does finish. I've come to the realization that even if something does take you a really long time to finish, I probably shouldn't feel regretful about doing something that enriches my life. It's a learning experience, a small source of income (not a whole lot) but moreover an art and comfort. I can understand why some people wouldn't want to take so long on a project though, it can be torturous. I just wish my hands could draw faster! I'm almost done with my comic now, so I think the longest I could go on is about 10 or so years.

[system]

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