I cant make 2 pages in a row without getting demotivated

nekoendy 2018-09-15 09:11:53 UTC #8

Smaller goals, let me see.
My comic has 5 followers, I usually advertise it on twitter, reddit, facebook, topwebcomics, thewebcomiclist.
My next goal is: have 6 followers!!! I wonder when that will happen, also the other five need to remain or the goal will get screwed
This week I updated my comic 3 times, got no new followers, I wonder how many weeks more to reach the goal...

Wumbl 2018-09-15 09:27:13 UTC #9

From what I can see your art is quite appealing and your characters are interesting. Maybe better forum advertising would help with that - work on getting potential readers interested. If you can come up with a way to bring readers in in your promo posts you might get there a little quicker.
Some people include images in their promo posts to preview the art style, some include a bit of exciting text that grabs the potential reader's attention. Do what feels right for you and focus on getting the word out confidently.

nekoendy 2018-09-15 09:55:31 UTC #10

Sorry, I can't agree with you, a comic that is posted on social media and doesn't get a single like can't be that appealing
My comics are worse than stick man in terms of appealing

Wumbl 2018-09-15 09:59:54 UTC #11

With that kind of attitude nobody will be enticed to read it - you've gotta be your own hype man. Be proud of things you create because YOU made that. That work is all you. If you don't have any confidence in it then you can't expect readers to either.
Maybe it's more to do with learning to love your work, for you.

nekoendy 2018-09-15 12:02:04 UTC #12

Well, when you do comics for so many years and nobody cares, reality strikes

Wumbl 2018-09-15 12:32:18 UTC #13

Well maybe you shouldn't do comics then. You don't have to do it.
If you don't believe it's a valuable way to spend time and it doesn't make you happy then why do it?
Comics are a low reward and high effort hobby to get into. If you're not willing to put in 110% and you don't love it then don't force yourself.

Whether or not people care does matter obviously, but unless you give them a reason to they just won't. That's how it works. You can have a fairly average art skill and still get ahead so long as you promote correctly. If you know your target audience and your work is truly passionate for you then you'll find an audience. It doesn't have to be a big one. If getting a big audience is what you care about, tailor your work to a larger audience like romance or drama.

Do what feels right. If you're going to approach it with that attitude then you're not going to be motivated. Motivation starts with yourself. I've spent quite some time on comics too. I've put in all the work and promotion I possibly could and I've racked up a nice readership. It's not huge but I cherish it. There's no "reality" stopping you, if you're stopping yourself by focusing so hard on numbers.

Jenny-Toons 2018-09-15 15:18:15 UTC #14

Yeah...it really doesn't sound like you enjoy making comics.

It sounds more like you're in this for popularity/possible income and are focusing way too much on the numbers.

And honestly, that type of thinking, coupled with your attitude towards the results, is adding to your demotivation.

Like, ask yourself this:

"Why did I start comics?"

Did you start this because you like telling stories or did you start this because you wanted to be well-known?

Better yet -- lemme elaborate.

Do you include yourself with other creators? Do you help others also doing comics, promote other people without trying to get something in return, or just talked with others?

When you post online, is it solely about your comic and just updates?

Memai 2018-09-15 15:50:04 UTC #15

Agreeing with @wumblebumarts and @Jenny-Toons : if you yourself don't have anything nice or exciting to say about the work that you do, other folks won't either. Saying "oh my work isn't very appealing" gives off the impression that, "Well, if they think it's no good, then it really mustn't be." You'd be surprised at how much people can pick up and perceive just from the way you talk about yourself or your work! Be positive, if not about yourself, then at least for your work! Surely you must enjoy some aspect of it if you keep working on it.

"People won't know your work is there if they don't know it's there." Do you promote it? Draw art of the characters for events like Inktober or Artfight? Do you 'talk shop' with other comic creators? Do you attend events or conventions to try and network?

SleepingPoppy 2018-09-15 18:14:47 UTC #16

Your comic summery is vague and while it does suggest an interesting world it does nothing to sell any kind of plot.
Your thumbnail is a soft grey, and while appealing at a larger size, the amount of scene you're fitting into such a small space all in a low contrast grey and white creates a visually dull thumbnail
Your first upload is a bit long- you might retain more readers if you broke that into two or three parts.
Technically you've only appeared in the Fresh section 5 times, which is actually very little time to achieve much growth

That's a whole bunch of stuff you could make efforts to improve so you have a better chance of attracting readers, none of which is about the actual quality of your comic. I find the self defeating attitude really sad, honestly. I think the pity party is actively preventing you from seeing you could improve your situation with a better presentation.

Way to disregard the 55 people following your comics.

Milhamah 2018-09-15 19:17:25 UTC #17

Sometimes people ask me how I stay motivated as an artist, especially when I'm just starting out and trying to get my work seen.

Here's my advice: Pursue whatever motivates you to plan and research. That's where your passion is.

Jenny-Toons 2018-09-15 19:26:07 UTC #18

Yeah, that's another thing I noticed -- you still have 55 people who are looking at your comics. It may not be 55 per comic, but to feel like no one is reading your stuff or that no one cares is a bit much to say.

I don't know what your idea of "having a lot of watchers" looks to you, but having 55 in total is nothing to sneeze at. I definitely think this is something to be proud of because you have that many people who are interested in your work. Even if some of those watchers are the same people looking at all three of your comics, you still have the same people who are interested.

I'm not saying "be grateful" because A) that's rude and B) like most of us, we all strive to improve and gain more. But to say you've gained nothing or to say no one cares isn't all that accurate either.

Can't just focus on the negative. There has to have been some positive to come out of your journey, and this is one of those moments.

nekoendy 2018-09-19 12:19:30 UTC #19

If you look closely, you'll notice the majority of those 55 followers are on a collaboration comic I host under my account made by more than 15 authors.

I've been updating regularly for about 3 weeks, 3 pages a week, changed my comic thumbnail. Still no new followers...

Your first upload is a bit long- you might retain more readers if you broke that into two or three parts.

Honestly, the followers I have now, came from my forum posts, I don't think I'll ever get followers by being on the "fresh" section, once my comic was there for 3 hours and nothing happened

I do get a lot of views on the comic website though, so people are reading my comic, they just do not interact with it.

I started this comic because I wanted to create a comic on the subject I like and I didn't find anyone else doing it (either pros or amateurs).
Maybe one of the reasons nobody is willing to draw such comics is that each page takes a whole day to produce and the details to draw are endless...

Bleh, guess in the end I'll keep the comic to myself

Jenny-Toons 2018-09-19 12:30:11 UTC #20

Yeah -- for this comic, you've been updating for 3 weeks.

3 weeks is not enough to just call it quits. I know you've been at the comic game for a while, but this new project of yours has been out for not even a month. I dunno...even if you've grown impatient, you're still expecting so much so soon.

So even the gag comic that gives you 28 followers is a collaboration? If we're going to count numbers in all of this, you still have a majority that follow you for your work (regardless of the level of it -- be it quick sketch or elaborate).

Just...in the grand scheme of things, you do gotta do this for yourself. If no one else is reading it, at least YOU have to enjoy what you do to keep going so YOU can read it.

Wumbl 2018-09-19 12:54:10 UTC #21

If I'm being 100% honest expecting a fanfare in your first few weeks is the least realistic expectation you have.

People aren't going to be as intrigued to sub if you only have a handful of pages. They're more likely to be interested once the story really gets rolling. You have to be patient.

If making your comic isn't enough to satisfy you and you feel that you need people to look at it and sub then you're just never going to be happy with it. You have to be able to feel good about creating what you're creating. You should be your own biggest cheerleader because you can't expect strangers on the internet to be that.

It took me a whole chapter before I got any major traffic coming in. Once you've got a few scenes done that will bring an audience in you can expect more attention but less than 20 pages just doesn't bring enough intrigue for some readers.

Draconic 2018-09-19 13:35:47 UTC #22

You should focus on your "Why so serious?" series. I feel like reading my past comics, I like it!

There's the big difference from "create for myself" and "create for reader". It's hard to do both and you have to learn it from practicing.

Memai 2018-09-21 02:38:03 UTC #23

I'm not really sure what you want us to say. Every advice that's been given (and they're great advice) has been beaten down or dismissed.

Do you want us to give you permission to stop working on your comic? It really sounds like you don't enjoy working on this anymore.

nekoendy 2018-09-21 12:07:51 UTC #24

Thank you for the feedback, I already made my resolve, appreciated.

SleepingPoppy 2018-09-21 15:43:16 UTC #26

Hey, it's totally your choice. Sometimes the weight of wondering if people are reading, subbing, liking, is more a cause of anxiety and doubt than a boost. I absolutely think there's potential there, but I also get that it can become more upsetting than exciting if things are going slowly or feel stagnant.

Maybe taking some time to work on it just for yourself will be more motivating and get you hyped in the future and you'll return. I think you have to do you, in the end, but I hope you keep making art and comics. You can always try again. ️

nekoendy 2018-10-15 12:43:25 UTC #27

Now, my comic logo is bit more...eye catching, if you know what I mean

LT1986 2018-10-19 02:45:42 UTC #28

I feel demotivated sometimes, too. I know the cliche' about if you do something that you love, you won't get tired of it. I think a little bit differently from this cliche'. I work on something until I feel pain (demotivation). In exercising, whether it is running or weight lifting, I have to get tired to get a full workout. This makes me stop the specific type of workout and start back to doing the specific type of workout hours or days later. That is how growth is achieved.

I view writing and drawing the same way. I write and draw, until I don't want to do it anymore (get demotivated). Once I take a good break, I come back refreshed. Advancements in my artwork and writing skills come from when I spend a lot of time at them. This temporarily tires me out artistically, until I take a break to recover.

During my job as a maintenance technician, the same rules apply. The longer I work on something, especially if I don't know much about it, the better I become at fixing it or having knowledge about it. The aftermath usually is a mental fatigue that is fixed with rest. After the rest, I can usually work on the previous task again without the same level of mental strain (demotivation).