How Old is Too Old?

[ToxicRamen]

I know that most artists say that "it's never too old to start in animation/comics" but does anyone felt that if you don't start drawing comics/animation soon then you'll make it as a comic book artist/animator?

I'm 34 and still don't have an ongoing comic up & comic and I see other artists younger artist that have been working on their comics for years. Plus it doesn't help that I have parents who are getting on my case about not having my comics out.

[gempompadour]

It's never too late to start something! There are elderly people on youtube doing let's plays and all sorts of things! In this day and age 34 is nothing. If you really want to do comics then just do it! It's better to just go for it even if you fail than it is to feel regret for not even trying.

[Freemints30]

The creator of the manga series black jack wrote the manga after he retired from his job as a nurse(or doctor), in other words, thou starting early has an advantage it never really too late. I thought I started too late just because I thought if you don't start drawing by age of 14 you'll never get good.

Only age I consider too old is death.

[ar-ninetysix]

Death is not an age limit, that's cheating!

[Kat]

Yup, you're definitely too old. The only thing left for it is to spend the rest of your life in a dusty accounting office, writing ledgers with a feathery quill pen.

...

all right all right.
I actually totally feel that. I'm in my early 30s as well and JUST starting getting into comics this year.
I have regrets about not being cooler and doing it sooner, but also, life happens and that's pretty much okay. If you want to start now, then now is the perfect time. You're never too old to make cool stuff.

[GamerPrincessXI]

Too old would be 110. To me, doing what you love is all that matters.

[rajillustration]

I mean animation is different than comics--animation is like a whole can of worms. But, as far as webcomics go you can just do one whenever. Any age. Any education. May as well do it and see how it goes and what you can learn than spend the rest of your life regretting it.

[SleepingPoppy]

If you're physically capable of doing it, you're not too old. My mom is about to retire, and just beginning to work on writing and illustrating children's books. Why should her age stop her?

Comics take a long time, and they are hard work. But you could be twice your age and that still wouldn't be a reason not to try, if it was what you wanted to do.

Plus people do full careee changes at mid life, and stuff like that. You're not too old to get a new degree, skill, or change your life, at any point in time. all that matters is what's right for you. Age is not a factor.

[sakebento]

A lot of folks have already said there's basically no such thing as too old, but I would like to add there's also no such thing as "falling behind." It can feel like starting later means you have tons of work to do to "catch up," but no one's journey is the same, and you're going to find yourself in a bad place if you start comparing yourself to other people.

[nostalgicroxas]

Never a "too old". You just might have to work harder to "catch up" skillwise. Hayao Miyazaki and Stan Lee (before his death) are both 75+

[colinmooredraws]

I'm 35 and only 30 pages into a comic.

Don't let the much younger base on this particular site skew your view. You're never too old.

[Kura]

For some reason I though this thread would be about the age of your main character xD

But yeah, finding time to work and investing into doing it, improving and consistently working on it is more your obstacle than age is.

[Shanny8]

I'm in my mid 40's and I started working on my webcomic 3 yrs ago.

You're NEVER too old.

[lacoticus]

I started drawing when i was couple of months away from 26, not having drawn before(only in school art classes) currently couple of months away from 30. I mean it's a struggle, but if you feel this is something you were made for then the only choice is to do it.

[carloswebcomic]

Sorry, you're too old and the age police is coming around to your house and kneecap you.

You're going to get a lot of people telling you how it's never too late and all kind of encouraging shit, but allow me to point out a few things.
As long as you're not dead, there's no age limit to making comics. However, consider that you will likely get trounced by some 15 year old that will also get better a lot faster than you.
The older you get, the more time becomes a pressing concern. You may come to a point where you will compare yourself to others and notice how far behind you are, and you may despair at your inability to catch up because you just don't have the time. Also, you may lose touch with your audience. Your tastes will not be the same as the people reading your comic. You will not care for things they think are so hot and trendy right now.
It can be demoralising to see some kid kicking your arse and he will only get better while you have to spend enormous amounts of time and effort to move a millimetre forward.
However, if you can deal with, or even avoid, these problems, why not start your comic?
It could be far worse if you've never tried and spent the rest of your life wondering what could've been, specially when there's no entry fee.

[machimaquiaveli]

you should check this threat to see how many creators are in Tapas that are 30+

I know this place is a melting pot of creators and fans alike, from all different backgrounds. And it can sometimes feel a bit awkward when you see people announcing that they're like 16 and it makes you feel ancient. (No offense to young folks, you're still awesome for doing your thing) But I'd love to support people in my demographic! Introduce yourself. Share your work. Etc. I'm Colin. I'm a 35 year old transmasc person. I live near Portland, OR. I'm on my 3rd official webcomic (the firs…

Many people is going to tell you that the young is going to eat you and blablabla Don't listen to them, first, this is not a competition. you can be good and they can be good and we all can be happy to be creating things. And second, yes, young has it's advantages but age does it too. You had lot of things to offer, your experience, your style, no young can copy that because you have a background they don't.

So keep trying (that's the real important part) and wish you the best

[LCT_m_a_d]

I look at it from this perspective (loosely interpreted)

Possibility - which is a a basic binary logical matter of is it purely capable for anyone because of physical limitations.

Plausible - which is a statistical/reasoning matter such as there's no reason to believe it can/can't be done given your situation. So if you can find related circumstances, then yeah its plausible (if not advisable)

Practical - this is heavily a matter of afforability or ability to sacrifice other responsibilities. I argue most people struggle here. Investing in supplies, devoting time, making changes to your social life. I have a fulltime intensive career so I'm realizing its less practical to pursue art projects where uncertainty doubt and anxiety is exceptionally high while support is low (before entering my prime it was practical because it helped me prepare for my career, where now it negatively affects me)

Yes I know I over-think stuff but hopefully its useful

[MoonlitHues]

The following situation might be familiar to some of you.
And maybe you've already been through this process a few times, too... and it's easier said than done to get out of it

(still workin on it haha... ha... pls come hunt me down if I haven't published anything by January 2020)

But anyway!

Imagine yourself 10 years from now.
You never got started because you felt too old.
And NOW you realize that, hey, you weren't too old to get started.
You shake your first at your past self for not getting started those 10 years ago, imagining how far you could've come...

So now it's definitely too late to start... right?
And then another 5 years pass and you realize that darn it... in those 5 years you could've accomplished quite a bit.

Aaaand... so it goes.
Unless you just START, and you create something tangible.

Please take care of future you!
They say the things you regret the most are the things you never did, so...

It's the same with "waiting until you're good enough", really.
Dangerous thinking.

Don't do that.
Don't wait.

Do.

[project_anonymus]

It's the same idea that you've reached a magical age that bars you from going to school. It's never too late to take on a new skill set. In fact, it may be healthier for your brain to try to take on something new later in life. As an example, when my wife was in school, she was in a class dominated with 18-25 year olds. Except for Diane... Diane was in her 50's.

Follow Diane's lead. Follow your dreams and do what is right for you right now. Age is just a number.

[machimaquiaveli]

take care of the future you is the best way to summarize it