I finished the script but now I lack motivation for doing the art work

[dbeirigo]

I keep feeling it's too much work and it's not being fun at all I'm really strugling to figure out the art I'm not liking what I'm doing and I have to force my self to draw and I have no moticvation to move foward with the art, I'm only on the sketch stages but I keep redoing it, what should I do?

[RedLenai]

If its too much work, then take a break.

You are not being paid, you're not pressured by a big crowd to deliver anything.

Ask yourself what are you not liking of what you're doing, maybe read something, watch something to either get ideas or get inspired, then try alternatives to obtain an outcome you may like.
What you need to do, and a lot of artists need to do to, is to accept that sometimes, you have to give up and work with what's there already, you don't like it, ok, maybe along the road you'll find what it is that's making you not like something and then change it.

Comics are more consistency, patience and perseverance than actual passion. Passion only gives you the motivation to start, the other three are required to keep the compromise with yourself.

Most of the time I don't like what I sketched, either I fix it while inking or coloring, where is the stage closer to the finishing touches which allows me to actually see the shape of what's going on. If I still end up not liking it, ok, maybe next page or next chapter will be liked more, maybe it'll be a few chapters ahead, the goal is to tell a story to take these world and characters out of our head to give space to other things. It won't be perfect, but it'll be out.

[Lensing]

Turn your working process around

Forget the story that you were writing.
Sketch fun stuff without thinking about a story, funny poses, facial expressions,
whatever you would really love to draw.

Then try to make a story out of the sketches. Add more sketches to make it work.
Then finish a script. Only draw stuff that you enjoy drawing.

This worked for me and it made me win a comic contest in germany and a lot of
other cool things that followed after the contest.

Don´t listen to the people who tell you that there is only one way to make comics or
that you have to plan everything. Have maximum fun when you create, it will lead
to good results

[thepenmonster]

Comics are hard work. They're boring work. They are mostly thankless work. And 99.999999999% of the time they're unpaid work.

I know the expectation is that you put in the workload of a professional with a team of assistants until you actually become one. This expectation is held by the publishers, platforms and the audience. This is some fucking late stage capitalism societal brain cancer and I can't wait for the attitude to die out. But until that glorious day...

If you want to slave for a pittance, do so. You might be one of the lucky ones.

Otherwise create for yourself at a pace you can handle. The odds are good you'll be the only one who cares about what you create so create with yourself in mind.

[SoftWonderBun]

Just curious, how much drawing experience do you have?

It doesn't mean you can't make a comic if the answer is 'not much' but you are going to be fighting a harder battle if that is the answer. If that is the case, take your time and work as you have the energy to do so. It takes a long time to build up the patience and tolerance for drawing.

[Katzalcoatl]

Seeing how many times I have seen you remake your comic or an episode I would say you have fallen in the classical conundrum of wanting to make an episode perfect but not really advancing.

It is ok to want to create a higher quality for your work but remember to not get stuck remaking a single episode over and over and over again. If you do your brain will short circuit and you won't enjoy the process any longer. Just finish the story for what it is. A story. Each chapter you will improve without needed to remake each and every one.

Once you finish your story compare your first episode with your last and see your progress. If you do want to improve the art I suggest you do it once you finish the story. Kind of how nintendo has done remakes of Resident Evil 4.

Point being don't get stuck in remaking a single episode even if you want to improve your art and deliver your best work. Set a limit of corrections you will make this will save your mind without taking the joy of writing a story.

[Lensing]

I think it´s harder when you are not a kid anymore and that has to do with the quest for
perfectionism. This means it can be harder for some people with drawing experience.

My brother and me used to draw 10 comic pages every day when we were kids with no drawing skills.
We didn´t (over)think. We didn´t think about anything, we didn´t know what a sketch was or a script, we
just drew and laughed

[dbeirigo]

I draw since I was a kid that doesn't mean I'm good, I still strugle at drawing hands and proportions and anatomy, but I really used to like drawing I would draw all the time, I was one of those kids that only drew on school instead of actually studying, but drawing stop being fun once I started trying to be good at it, because I ask too much of me I wanna progress fast and it's exhausting

[SoftWonderBun]

I always keep the mindset of fall back on skill when the fun wanes. Passion comes and goes and will only get you so far but skill will keep you going. That is why I asked because it's always going to be an uphill battle if the project means something to you or you have a perfectionism habit. The skill building will decide if you are pushing a bolder or carrying a rock, I find.

[SoftWonderBun]

Sounds like you've gotten to the point we all do where the fun of it is not enough anymore. That's totally normal and I reccomend more focused studies along with drawing things you like. Up to you obviously, but giving your brain something to work towards in the form of teaching yourself specific skills or anatomy may help with some of that frustration. Just take your time and know the skills will come if you work at it.

[DanielRKM]

Oh man, that statement is magical.
I forgot what it was like to draw without a care for perfectionism (do it for the joy and laughter of it). That's something I need to get back to.

[Lensing]

Would it help you to work on one episode with someone else?

[Lensing]

This is a somehow fitting quote from Stephen Silver

[ShidoDraws]

I think what it may boil down to is what genre your story is. Whatever you want to tell the genre actually matters more than you think. That's why I can never make a straight up romance or drama story. My brain thinks it boring or too slice of life-e.

Ask yourself if this story is what you actually want to tell people about. Can you relate to these characters? Are you proud of your main characters? Their backgrounds, their design, their dialogues? If you do not agree with any of those perhaps maybe think about scrapping this story and move on to another. Just because you can't finish one story you don't particularly feel motivated to illustrate doesn't mean you won't have motivation to make a new story.

When you do write a different story you'll feel like you want to bounce between stories. Something I learn is motivation isn't just getting inspiration from others, it's also you taking a break from a specific thing you've been doing for a long time. Don't just watch things to write or draw, do it for fun, give your brain some junk food too every now and again. We can't always be thinking critically all the time, it's what makes us exhausted of motivation in the first place.