How you avoid feeling envy/jealous to other creators?

[Rhonder]

I have yet to feel too much jealousy of the things listed in the OP because the goals of the comics that I've been working on over the last year don't lend themselves that well to jealousy. My main comic here on tapas I started mostly as an exercise to dip my toes in and explore the world of webcomics (so i legit had super low expectations), one was a just-for-fun collab project, and the last was a shortie made for print.

Not that I don't feel any jealousy, but like @AmysGames said it's less about popularity/numbers and more about like... it's hard to look at people's art that's really good and not wish you were already there without all the hard work lol.

In general tho like if one is feeling jealous over numbers I think they should evaluate what their goals and motivations are and act accordingly. If you're chasing those numbers and your current comic isn't getting there it may be time to try something new until they get there. Or if you're pursuing a passion project that you're really committed to sometimes it's necessary to accept that it won't get that popular if it doesn't seem to be taking off (or at the very least will be a slooooooooow grind).

So like yeah, since my goals haven't been getting popular yet that hasn't bothered me much. I'm just working on the comics i want to without staying too much. In a year or two I might try for that and will have to reevaluate my opinion then

[joannekwan]

Oh yeah, envy is like my number one sin.
It is SUPER hard not to give into those feelings and wallow in self-pity.

BUT I do as @JackOfArtAndProse said. I avoid looking at popular work (aside from the ones I do follow and actually like, but that's few and far between).
And if they do pop up on my dash across various social media (like Webtoons damn facebook ads now) I simply roll my eyes and quickly scroll away. I then try and refocus on my own work and the people who appreciate it.

[marvelescent]

I'd say look deeper at their circumstances. That's what I do. Did they make a previous comic, therefore already had fans to transfer to the new one. Do they have a following elsewhere? Are they professionals, like straight up ones. What kind of advertisements do they get? They may have had a slower start as well but after their first advertisement in the site, it started to finally gain. Do they have a while bunch of social media to connect with readers, like discord, and is what their offering there and on patreon actually kinda legit and you can learn from. Some do NSFW, some tutorials. What genres are they? Genres like romance and drama get way more traffic, and so probably way more subscribers. Did they start or post during some kind of competition or commercial when more people were heading to underground comics? Also how often do they upload and at what time, it may be working well that way. But just look deeper before you go straight to, their art is better, their story is better.

[OttoGruenwald]

Jealousy is an involuntary emotion. It's like anger or sadness. You don't avoid it, you manage it.

[ben]

I definitely have those moments where I’m like “what the heck am I doing” when I compare myself to people in my peer group. Like because they’re doing so well I don’t belong in the comics community or something.

I just try to remind myself that they’re working just as hard as I am everyday and I start getting excited for em cus I hope it’ll pay off for me in the same ways. Kinda use em as an example of hope instead of a threat to my career.

[tchotchkeco]

Well in that case its obvious that those artist are established and earned their right to get those subs/likes/comments. I understand getting envious of how quick it seems they get their support but we don't see the hard work because they built themselves on other platforms. Good for them and if they found success with that. If you want to get there too than look at what they are doing to get the support and learn from them. Never try to think of these people as competition because doing so will only hurts yourself if you are trying to get to where they are. If anything work on a separate platform like twitter. The art community is so nice there and the advice is abundant and you can make many friends in the process.
- Seline

[AniStaciaArt]

I just remember that we actually aren't competitors. This isn't the pineapple on pizza debate. People can like your comic AND their comic. And lots of other comics too!

If I do get jealous I try to interact with my comic's fans more. It reminds me that even if I don't have many fans they do really like what I do!

But don't listen to my bad advice. I like to cheerlead for other artists and I am staunchly on Team Pineapple.

[claiborneart]

For me, I feel like there's two kinds of envy: envy of other's skills, and envy of their popularity and success.

The first one inspires me to practice, study their work for why I like it and what I can steal and tack onto my style/workflow, while the second one is usually just a self-destructive spiral without any benefit. I try to focus on the gains I've made personally, in the last months or years, to pull myself away from it.

[spicy_sweets]

I uh
I don't feel envious tbh. I don't feel envy seeing authors succeed―I'm just proud or happy for them. For the most part I'm indifferent because I don't see them as competition. It's wasted negative energy that won't do me any good. If I see an author has 1k subs? Awesome! Good for them. 🤷

[Felia]

Jealousy is a normal feeling. But look at it from a different perspective: how did they manage to do that? What made them successful? The story, the art, the characters, the creator's interaction/responsiveness/communication?

However, I agree with @snailienz. It's good if competition keeps you motivated, but don't see every artist as an unhealthy competitor. Maybe you're working your ass off on your comic. Have you ever thought that they probably do, too?

It is fine to look up to senior artists. Their work can be your inspiration. But for artists that are more on your level... Try to be open-minded. We should support and appreciate each other! Ask them questions. Comment on their stuff. I don't think we'll get far without networking in the industry.

Everyone's journey is different and I think it's always good to have a positive outlook on life.

[akiocha]

ah that's a bit sad. I'm always really happy for people who have managed to get a contract with a company like tapas or webtoons. They've reached their goal/dream why should I be angry or shun them because of that?

[akiocha]

I agree with what everyone has said and i'll add that I'm my experience, as someone who has achieved pretty significant success on webtoons, that the feeling never fades. it's human nature. you always want more. At the first it's 1k followers, then it's 20k then it's 100k then it's getting first spot on discover, getting a contract with webtoons etc etc. I find that it's a bit of a spiral and when that happens I take a little bit time off from drawing (maybe a day) and just go do some other things. It's impossible to stop it and I think it's a good motivator in a way, but at the end of the day I just use that negative energy and channel it into making myself better.

Additionally, I never ever take it out on the artist. it's one thing to be jealous or envious, but I would never blame an artist for my own feelings of inadequacy. For example, I have many friends who are featured, yet i'm not. do I feel bad? sometimes. Does that make me angry at my friends? never. Because I personally know how shitty it feels when someone talks down about your achievements.

I hope that helps!

[LT1986]

I always compare my web comic results to others to find different ways to improve.

I just don't ruminate about negative feelings I have about some web comics that I personally don't think are good getting more success than my web comic. As soon as the feelings arrive, I just start putting in more work to improve and understand that SOMETIMES, not all the time, cheating, luck, and trends trump hard work and superior talent.

I don't even get upset at all when I think the web comic is better. If I like the web comic, I support it.

[rmdooley]

Another person's success does not impede my own

[Zaboem]

It helps to have a single and specific goal for each project and focus on that goal. My goal in Alien Fiction was to create some fresh Creative Commons content that other authors would be able to utilize. The subscriber count is irrelevant to that.

[Darkstrong]

Unlike what many wrote here, you are competitors with all the other writers out there. There is only so much work a person can see, and so much works a platform can promote. So, you are all competing for the same resources. It doesn't mean that you cannot be friendly competitors But don't avoid comparing your's to other comics. Get jealous, get angry, join the dark side, and pour all that "Unlimited poweeeeer"© into making your work better.

[LT1986]

This is a great message. Thank you for posting this.

[dawgofdawgness]

Oof I'm a huge victim to this when it comes to webcomics in particular. I don't really care if it's Instagram or Deviantart or anything like that because if you have pretty enough art (well at least, art that's either very instagram-y or "tastefully unique") people will most likely flock towards your account and follow you. Webcomics is different for me cause it has multiple layers to it and you can get pretty insecure over different things when you see that other people have thousands more subscribers than you.

I guess it's more disappointing to believe that you're not a competent storyteller than to believe that you're not a good artist. Art is something you can practice until you get right but storytelling is something that (at least I believe) you gotta have a knack for.

[punkarsenic]

while this is abt youtube, i think its relevant to webcomics as well

i used to struggle a lot with jealousy, and it still gets me sometimes, but i find the solution is just...... reaaaaaaally not giving a shit. i struggle more with jealousy in my poetry career, despite putting it on the shelf i still feel BAD! when other poets get opportunities, bc im convinced i should be doing those things that i dont want to do - but thats bc of some shitty mentoring i got.

in comics i have a lot less to do with the ~community or ~industry and a lot more to do with just doing my own thing, so its a lot easier to just enjoy the process. though sometimes i see bad comics with thousands of subs and i do get pangs of... confusion

[snailienz]

So I keep seeing people argue about whether we are competition or not and the truth of the matter is...in terms of for jobs and for money...sure we are.

But we aren't "Comptetitors" like say...USCellular and Tmobile...or Walmart and Kroger. We're not that kind of competition at all. We don't have to glare over our shoulders at eachother and shun those that are successful. In fact, doing so is harmful to you in the long run.

Rather, see it moreso as being friendly competition for a school fundraiser, or the kinda competition that you have with coworkers in an office setting. You're not going to be knocked out of anything by their success!

Plus, being kind to those who have what you want FOR YOUR FUTURE is called networking. You want relationships with artists doing better than you. Genuine ones, not "PLEASE SUPPORT MEE" ones. Because, wow, they can help you if they actually know who you are and like you.

Edit: Also, comments on these big name comics that show you are a genuine and cool person are free advertising. Literally your art is always there for other readers to see you don't have to link anything. Think about it. You're passing up a way to network AND get eyes on yourself out of some strange moral code that doesn't matter.