Motivation: how do you keep it?

[Umber]

curious how other people keep motivation to maintain a consistent schedule, especially with comics.
after a few weeks of motivation it usually dies out for me, and when it comes back it's after either a long enough break or seeing or reading something that is really cool that inspires me to work on my project again, but what about you guys?

[maddmoniart]

I personally don't like thinking about the word "motivation"; it's more about a change in mindset. If I can get up and go to work every day, on time, then I should be able to do the same for myself. It's about learning how to be disciplined with yourself and with what you love.

[Kuma]

I'm a writer, not an artist. My day job also is about creative writing so I developed a habit... or a vice with writing.

[Lazy-Gamer]

Basically me being my own boss.

I work on several projects at a time though to keep myself from getting bored. It works for me, not sure how well it would work for others.

[TommyJShizuko]

I have given myself a page quota for the year of hand drawing 100 pages every year I'm 3 years strong on this. I story board the pages and go... So I don't know if that helps at all but quotas and deadlines help me get things done

[XiuLyn_12]

For me, since I just started my comic, so I can't say I've reached the best parts yet! I got motivated to work on those good parts as soon as possible!

I also feel motivated knowing my readers are curious about what's going to happen next.
And honestly, my main motivation would be because I'm a workaholic, LOL!

[Shanny8]

If I knew the secret to how to stay motivated I would've produced so much more than I have.

I think the thing that really wrecks my motivation is feeling like I'm creating in a vacuum- especially if I've created a number of pieces & havent seen any feedback. I know there's that thing where you shouldn't let other's critique or opinions on your work affect you, but also at the same time no creation beyond your initial first is you not reacting to feedback- unless you shield yourself off from said feedback.

[Scarlet_Cryptid]

For me, it has little to do with motivation (especially with less interaction on my posts these days). Keeping going consistently has been a case of:

1. Figuring out what level of production I can fit into my routine and maintain without burnout. For me, that's a page a week. Any more than that quality of art and/or life will suffer. This is also how often I post. A page a week. If you want to keep a consistent schedule, never post faster than you can produce, especially if you don't have a buffer.

2. Knowing what needs to be drawn next i.e. take 'inspiration' out of the equation. Have a script. Thumbnail out your page. Don't stare at a blank page and wonder wtf to do next.

3. Treating it like a job. Like @maddmoniart up there said, if I can make myself go to work, I can make myself sit down and draw, even if I'm not 'feeling' it. I do it anyway, because I have a deadline to keep (a page a week), and the consequences of getting behind suck.

Full disclosure: I'm neurotypical or something functionally very close to it. If you're one or more flavors of neurospicy, my methods may not work for you. Do what works for you.

As far as what keeps me WANTING to keep making my comic?

I promised myself I would, and I would feel like a quitter and a liar if I stopped because I was bored/interesting in something else.

[kyupol]

I don't know... sometimes it feels like I do this stuff for the same reason a cat meows or a dog barks. Just is.

[Rai_Muffin]

Burnie Burns, writer of Red vs Blue, once said something to the effect of, "I don't believe in motivation. You have to cultivate discipline."
I found the best way is with the "Don't break the chain app". Every day, do a little work.
It could be entire pages or some script writing, but just so you can say, "I didn't break the chain."
As someone with motivation problems myself it's definitely helped my focus.

[KevinReijnders]

Motivation is overrated and a fickle partner. Discipline however, that is key to finishing any kind of project and work.

[TheBlacKat333]

I make a ton of buffer pages, so that when I feel like taking a break, I have plenty to post

[thepenmonster]

Let's look at it then....

1. Comics is a visual medium that requires the skills of a half dozen people but usually done by a single person.

2. Outside of geek circles no one gives a shit about the medium. They want to see the anime or movie adaptation.

3. Those who do care don't care about the work that goes into it, they only care their daily distraction. They won't blink when things go full A.I.

4. The only way to get your work seen is to use highly exploitative publishers or even more exploitative hosting platform like Tapas.

5. And even if you get a way to share your work the the odds it'll get to an appreciative audience are slim to none. Not just because of some shit algorithm, but because there's a hundred people also doing your clever idea.

6. You still have to treat your unpaid job as if you're making rent off of it because the parasocial illusion is dispersed and the audience moves on to someone who isn't such a bummer about their free entertainment.

AND THEN!

Somehow we all have the audacity to kick ourselves in the ass about lacking the proper motivation and discipline to hunch over the wacom tablet for eight hours a day?

Care about it when there's a reason to care.

[kyupol]

Stratosphere IQ post...

[Leyelle]

1. divide your time between projects so that while you're procrastinating on one you can work on another
2. keep absorbing the sort of content you like and reading/watching new things, the more that inspires you the more motivation you'll have
3. but really, if it's your passion, I think motivation can only ever die out for so long, it'll come back, so sometimes it's better not to force it if you're not feeling motivated. just do as much as you can when you are.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Somehow we all have the audacity to kick ourselves in the ass about lacking the proper motivation and discipline to hunch over the wacom tablet for eight hours a day?

Care about it when there's a reason to care.

I kinda have to agree with ^this, despite the cynical reasoning. ^^; But on the other hand, even doing a comic for funzies is still hard work, and it can be tough to find the motivation even if you aren't pushing yourself to meet a schedule.

I'm not, and yet I still feel frustrated with myself when I simply "forget" to update my current comic project for months on end. I am one of the people who are waiting to see it, the most important one, and I want to get it done for my sake, too.

With that being said, my best pieces of advice are as follows:

1. Make the work fun!
Experiment with your favorite parts of the process, whether that's sketching, line art, or coloring, and make each panel into something you really want to draw. If it's not, rework the formatting until it is.
I know this isn't possible for everyone, but for me, actually drawing a comic is often the point where I do 'final edits', as I approach each line in the script and ask myself, "is this something I want to draw? If not, how can I change it without disturbing the narrative? Or conversely, how can I change the mood/intent of the scene so that it becomes something I want to draw?"

2. Reward yourself
When my executive dysfunction is really being stubborn, sometimes I force myself to sketch panels in between matches of Splatoon. ^^ And before long, I'm drawing them of my own volition, and spending more time on the comic and less time on the game. Sometimes you just have to ease yourself into the task until a natural flow state can take over. And if it doesn't, at least you got something done that day. =T

3. Do THIS on purpose:

seeing or reading something that is really cool that inspires me to work on my project again

If you're like me, you know what these things are. ^^ Or at the very least, you know what genre or type of story reminds you the most of what you're working on, and makes you feel like you need to get back to it. Use that to your advantage, and spend your free time on the kind of media that will inspire and motivate you when it's time to get back to work.

Conversely, avoid media that will specifically inspire you to do something else. For example, pretty much every music playlist I've saved/created has a personal project attached to it in my mind, and I know the last thing I need is to listen to something that makes me nostalgic for Project A that's never gotten past the design phase, when I really need to work on Project B that hasn't been updated in 6 months despite being 2 short chapters away from completion.

...Although sometimes I end up giving in to temptation and working on Project A anyway, and that's honestly fine too. ^^; Sometimes it helps to just get passionate and motivated about something, and that energy will bleed into whatever you decide to do the rest of the week. My worst habit is spending days scrolling Twitter/Tumblr/YouTube and not drawing ANYTHING, so any artwork that I can get excited to do is a net benefit for me.

[Shanny8]

Discipline however, that is key to finishing any kind of project and work.

Somewhat true, but nowdays for me when a lot of the creator/artist landscape is shit and bleak af, discipline is not enough...I need motivation, or I'm just going through the motions, churning out stuff that I don't know how I feel about.

[llobucervallince]

I guess I do it by separating the comic process in different stages: Sketch, Line Art, Line Shading, Flat Color, Render and Translating.
I focus to complete at least one of these each day, given how I have a few episodes on WIP and in a different stage, if I just don't feel like doing one I was supposed to do that day, I'll just do the other.
Although I have about four episodes that I just have to translate to upload. which will basically add a month to the qeue.
I also try to use the weekends to avoid to do the comic, so I can focus on improving character design, writing, or animation.

[KevinReijnders]

Well then it depends on the reason you are making something. If you are actually aiming to complete a work or are trying to get better at the craft, then discipline is the key. Motivation be damned, you do little bits at predetermined times until it's done.

But if you are doing it purely for fun and expression, then yeah, motivation is all that drives you, an forcing a feeling through disciplined action won't do you any good.

On a whole I you'll find you'll need both. For me personally, motivation is the spark that starts the engine, but discipline is what takes it home. I can't start without motivation and I can't finish without discipline.

That's why I stressed discipline in this thread, since it asked how to keep motivation. The truth is, you'll lose motivation (you'll get it back too!) and makes it unreliable for bigger long term projects and goals. But through discipline you can form habits and have it pick up the slack of motivation.

[Shanny8]

On a whole I you'll find you'll need both. For me personally, motivation is the spark that starts the engine, but discipline is what takes it home. I can't start without motivation and I can't finish without discipline.

This. I can agree with.