How satisfied are you with your art/writing? How are you actively trying to improve?

[vitamindy]

That's perfectly valid. We do our best with what we have, and it's prefectly fine to be satisfied with one's work. I wish you the best and hope that you'll be able to continue.

[thoughtharbor]

Tequila Tea Party sounds awesome!

My partner and I have both been working on our art skills since November '16. We draw analog for at least one hour per day (it was 2-3 before we started doing digital as well) using online reference sites like:

www.quickposes.com
http://reference.sketchdaily.net
http://www.senshistock.com/sketch/#

We also watch youtube tutorials from amazing teachers like Proko, Drawing with Jazza, Javi Can Draw, Danica Sills, Lavendertowne, Ahmed Aldoori, and so many more.

Also watching interviews with artists and animators like HuHa! Heroes of Animation with Bing for inspiration keeps us motivated.

[vitamindy]

Thanks for the recommendation! I will definitely check it out. I personally would like to do video tutorials too, someday, but I don't know when I'm going to be able to find the time to do the necessary research and preparations.

[vitamindy]

I use those sites too! I need to do more analog work myself. I love digital mediums, but it's still very different when you're drawing on real paper with real pencils great recommendations, I shall check them out

[AnnaLandin]

I'm proud of what I do, and am most days able to recognise that hey, I'm pretty good at this stuff! without it feeling like I'm bragging or being arrogant. I do, however, realise I still have tons to learn, and definitely have weak spots in my art skills. The same goes for writing skills.

As for improvement.... I wish I had more time to do it, but I practise! I set myself challenges, and try to complete them. I do lifedrawing when I can, and use reference photos for complicated stuff. I try to analyze images, pick them apart and figure out why they work - or why they won't.

Of course, doing a long form comic also means I have to figure this stuff out on a regular basis. I set this chapter in a bamboo forest - time to figure out how bamboo forests look! And this chapter is set in a city full of festival crowds - better sort out how to draw crowd-scenes!

It's the same with writing. I read a lot. I reads tons of comics, tons of books, articles, heck, even poetry - and I try to figure out why the stuff I enjoy works, and why the stuff I don't enjoy falls flat. Once I've figured out what makes other people's stories tick, I try to apply that to my own work. And practise a lot. Writing an ongoing long form comic teaches me one set of skills, while writing a shorter oneshot teaches me another, and so on.

[punkarsenic]

i think im always a bit dissatisfied with my art and writing. art especially. im constantly changing and improving, and cant catch some mistakes until i dont look at it for weeks - which leads to struggling to reread my comic without picking it apart.

currently im just improving by looking at cinematography and comic composition from examples, and studying people. writing wise its hard to tell how im improving (it falls mostly into panel placing; im pretty pleased with the writing itself i guess)

but my future lecturer on comics did recommend me some books im gonna get:
- scott mccloud: understanding comics
- ditto, making comics
- ditto, reinventing comics
- will eisner, comics & sequential art
- ditto, graphic storytelling & visual narrative

[jurinova]

I am one of those people who is never satisfied with anything I do but I'm slowly trying to improve both my skills and my self-esteem. I tend to only look at all the things I could do better, which is great for improving but not good for self-confidence.

Unfortunately I don't have the time and energy to work on my drawing and writing skills as much as I'd like at the moment but just doing my comic does help. I get to draw things I don't normally draw and thus push my limits to learn new things. I often intentionally try to include things that are difficult for me, so that I am forced to go outside my comfort zone. It's there that I learn the most and also get to feel somewhat accomplished.

However I try my best to learn not just by doing but also by observing. I look at the world around and study the colours and the way light works. I love walking because that's when I can study my environment slowly and maybe see things in a new light. When I watch movies I look at all the visual elements that tell the story, the composition and the camera angles and all that. Same goes for all other media I consume. I enjoy it but I also try to learn from it.

[vitamindy]

I have Scott McCloud's books and I can double the recommendation.

[vitamindy]

I also have trouble with confidence and self-esteem on the regular. I find that it helps to talk to like-minded people and having a support group, but also staying healthy in general helps a big deal. I don't know how many artists make it a point to exercise regularly and eat good, healthy food.

[beccaw15]

Good question!

I go through stages with my art, sometimes I'm satisfied with it and others I'm not. If I am dissatisfied though I tend to look back at older work to see how far I've come and try to identify why at that moment I'm not happy with it.

I've noticed that I make a bit of progression over time with just the sheer volume of comic work I'm doing. But I tend to try and work on what I see are my weakest areas- for example at the moment it's environment work, I don't feel I put enough effort in so I've started focusing on that. I also think my basics are starting to slip a bit so I intend on doing a couple anatomy studies a day next week as warmups just as refresher. Just little things like that every now and again seem to help me and if I'm really stuck I tend to resort to watching other artists work- youtube is a godsend sometimes XD.

As for writing I don't focus on it probably as much as I should and as such feel a bit more shaky about it it. Though I did a ton of research when I was actively writing my scripts. I am currently trying to work on my dialogue as I think it's a bit flat sometimes. Reading comics and novels always helps improve but I find TV, games and films to be an good source of inspiration and help too. I tend to pick apart any of these things and think about what they did right and what I liked and then what I thought didn't work and what could've been done to fix it.

[jurinova]

I agree that having support is such a great help. Even small words of encouragement or having a chat with a friend can do wonders for self-esteem. Healthy lifestyle does help, too. Especially since artists have to sit down a lot, so exercise can not only boost energy levels but also prevent problems like back pains.

[vitamindy]

I feel a little lucky that I live with an editor, so I have someone I can bounce my writing off of before anything is published. I think that writing is a little trickier to see real progress in, because it's also a matter of hit or miss with the audience. Another question I wanted to ask that I didn't get to include because I asked two already was "what is more important in your comic for you? Art or story/writing?" Probably good for another topic, but it's somewhat related to this thread in a sense that people are likely to try to actively improve in the area they feel is more important to the work.

[beccaw15]

Ah that is most definitely helpful!

I would agree, though I can look back on older scripts and pick up on things that I think were bad, who's to say someone else wouldn't have liked the scene? It feels almost like writing is more subjective than the art style to me, though in true both are probably equal in that respect.

It's another good question and would be an interesting topic :). Ironically I'm more willing to overlook the artwork if I think the story is good which is almost the opposite of where my focus is. Though perhaps it's because my script is pretty much set in stone now so I have more time to dedicate to my artwork.

[Devika]

Writing is... I don't know. I can write papers on Japanese economy or politics, no problem (well, relatively), but when it comes to writing stories I don't have much experience tbh. My script is reworked every other week when I get a new idea on how to improve it, and only recently have I begun to feel that I'm getting closer to the "heart" of the story. My approach might be a bit too stilted and close to writing papers though haha xD

As for art, I sometimes have a thing I'm okay with, but it's pretty rare that I feel that something's good. I always see tons of stuff that could be better, and when I actually am satisfied with something, I have that little voice telling me "it's no different from everything else you make... you just can't see the mistakes right now. But everyone else can."

I wish that voice would shut up.

As for improvement, I'm enrolled in Schoolism online classes, which I definitely can recommend.

[KSlinger]

To improve on my art I largely analyse the artists I love and try to understand the patterns in their work. Like sometimes my faces seem a bit off, or my colours seem flat, or my levels aren't so great, but by seriously analysing photographs/people/artistic renderings I learn to recognise where I'm coming up short and make an effort to change. I also keep a pile of inspirational material by my laptop and flick through it every now and then when my panels seem mundane or repetitive. It'seasy to fall into the habit of using the same headshots or angles in a long form comic but simply being aware of that is half the problem already dealt with. I know I have a lot of weaknesses and limitations but I'm so thrilled with how far I've come since I began this whole thing that I know those problems are small potatoes. One day they won't be limitations any more, just got to keep practising.

For writing I try to read, though not to too much because I know I'm very suseptible to embodying the latest thing I've played/read/watched and injecting it into the comic by accident. I've avoided playing the Witcher and watching certain films for this reason. I know I'd be waaay too into them.

I do improv writing where I can, roleplaying where I can, and generally do a lot of research day to day. I use dice to mix things up as well. It can be fun to throw a Hail Mary plot changer and see how things play out from there.

Dialogue is improved by playing it in loops in my head for days on end-- not sure I'm actively doing that though! It's quite passive. I just edit things as need be. Active listening is a huge thing for me too. Like actually playing close attention to the way people talk to each other. You can learn a lot about personalities and attitudes just by observing them in action. Work is a great place to do this. Try looking at your colleagues like characters and defining their quirks.

That's all I got, though. I know there's a lot more I can do but there just isn't enough time!

[vitamindy]

I hate that voice! I think that's a voice every artist has, really.

Oh, and Schoolism rocks!

[Devika]

Schoolism is great! I've learned so much there, right now I'm in composition class. I only miss getting feedback, but don't feel like paying for those classes... They're a tad expensive xD

[vitamindy]

Yeah! The costs we pay for self improvement! Hahaha, but seriously though, a good way to get good feedback on your work is by joining art groups if you have any in your local area. I don't know much about online groups, you have to get a group of people you trust and won't get butthurt at comments.

[AlkseeyaKC]

I'm not satisfied with mine. I want it to look better just not sure what direction to take. There are so many things and no time to really hard core work on them for me.

[hotsubsandwich]

I have always been pretty confident in my writing. I also have a friend who I call my "concept teammate" because she asks tons of questions about my story that I never would have thought of and has added a depth to my story just by having conversations about it.
My art is alright. I stopped drawing a ton since my freshman year of college so my skills have dwindled. I don't have a specific style so from panel to panel my style changes - my characters don't have consistent proportions either. I am working on it though. I figured that it would be best to get my webcomic posted story wise and maybe one day I'll go back and re-draw panels or whole pages if I'm not happy with them. I use a lot of pinterest pages for pose references and my concept teammate friend is always sending me video tutorials about animation, and concept art.