My work is plunging me into misery

[Kura]

@AngieVX That's not what dA said when I read the terms/info to blocking someone. It said it would restrict complete access to my content. Unless of course I read wrong because I do that too.

[AngieVX]

@kurapikasuki Nope, it's not like this. It allows anonymous access to people who are not even signed up. From DA FAQ: "Once a block is in place, the blocked deviant will not be able to interact with the blocker and their content in any way. The blocker will also not be able to interact in any way with the deviant they blocked". And by interacting they mean sending messages of any kind. You still can access the gallery of a person who blocked you.

[phen]

GIANT, VIVID FOAM FINGER AT THIS>>

when i lose a page because of a program crashing or pages get corrupted or something like that that causes me to lose my progress

I've only had Photoshop crash on me twice since getting a new laptop 3 years ago, but wowowow (emphasis on the 'ow'), it puts a noose around your neck when you've been working hours on something and neglected to save it just before a crash. That's the ultimate test of endurance, man! X]

[joannekwan]

I really want to get out of a collab I've been working on for 3 years. I'm the artist working for a writer. While I don't absolutely hate the story and all that, I feel I could do more with my art and earn more if I focus strictly on my webcomics. Seriously I've gotten more from ad revenue in a year than I've gotten paid for that project over 3 years! Right now I'm doing the project more out of obligation to a friend, because the writer is a nice guy and we like bouncing ideas off each other. But at times I really feel like getting myself fired from this project. goes to draw porn

[Kura]

@AngieVX Then I was misinformed as well as read wrong. As the person giving me the information from blocking said it was disallow them access, as well as when I read the conditions I considered 'reading / viewing' to be an 'interaction'.

Anyway far too late for that now.

[AngieVX]

@kurapikasuki Of course you'll be removed from his watch list but he will still be able to check your page manually if he's actually interested in your comic. Stay positive and creative!

[UzukiCheverie]

goes to draw porn

we should team up

/waggle waggle

@kurapikasuki: I think a lot of your rough luck with "fans" over the years somewhat stems from the fact that you established your fanbase at DeviantArt. Yes, the website works for what it does, but it's definitely been a slow decline into chaos over the past several years :/ ( I finally just went "fuck it" when they did that major overhaul with the logo and the CORE program and shit... next to the fact that I had ZERO success on DA, as most of the views were - and still are - going towards furry art, Sonic art, pony art, Sakimi-chan, and the like, plus the community was toxic, and I just didn't see the effort in posting to it anymore when I had more success on platforms like Tumblr, Tapastic, Instagram, etc.).

Along with that, it seems like you fell into the "sunk cost fallacy" trap - despite his clear abuse, he was still a fan of another comic you made, so you let it slide for as long as you could. Let's compare the webcomic community to, say, a cafe (and I know that most of our readers aren't paying to read our stuff, but bear with me here lol) - there's one abusive customer who's in every day, constantly belittling the staff as well as other customers, and just makes it an overall negative atmosphere for everyone in the cafe. But this guy comes in every day, spends up to $10 a day at the store on average.

Should his behavior be tolerated?

Absolutely not.

Even more so in the webcomic situation - he's not paying to read your work, and you don't have any actual, positive incentive to let him continue that kind of abusive behavior, so it's best just to cut ties right there and let him suffer the consequences. Letting him continue just means he knows he can get away with it - which would fuel the fire even more for when you do block him, as he would come back over and over again, knowing that you wouldn't be able to do anything (maybe even if you could), and even go so far as to bring other innocent bystanders into the mix (some not even related to you in the slightest).

I know it's in the past now so my advice doesn't mean much, but this goes for anyone who deals with abusive readers - they are not obligated to read your work if they are just going to trash you and everyone around you. Reading your work is a privilege, not a right - and if they abuse that, and if you have the power to block them/ban them/etc. then use that power to its potential and protect not only your own reputation and comic, but your community and their online safety as well.

[jonufele]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[Ringarune]

There are definitely days where I just don't feel passionate enough to work on my comic so I just take a rest then, but in general I don't have a problem with that. Sometimes it's slow when I'm working on a boring scene or frustrating when I can't get a drawing right though.

[UrMom]

Well, I want to dedicate most of my time to it, but I can't because I need money to survive, and the only job that hired me was one that keeps me away from home 11+ hours a day (sometimes weekends); and at the end of every work day I've so little energy that I usually sleep instead of draw. I feel like that if I had more time to spend on my comic, I could start making some kind of money, but at the same time I can't take that gamble because I've already lost that gamble several times before during some major financial cricis'. So I just sit and get frustrated at the fact that I'm slowly losing my artistic drive, my art is slowly deteriorating due to physical and mental exhaustion, and the direction I'm going with my life is so disappointing that I'd rather shoot myself in the foot and bleed to death.

That's it, there's literally nothing about actually working on my projects that makes me willingly miserable, it's the fact that I can't work on it.

[demthorshie]

I actually really enjoy working on my comic most days. The only thing about creating comics that grinds me gears is that it doesn't make me any money, which is perfectly fine to me. But some days, I wish I did make comics for a living because I want to dedicate most of my time to the comic but I can't because I have to waste most of my time working and making money. I work entirely from home so it is easier to work around my comic schedule and I do have just the right amount of time for that only. But as far as promotional work goes, I have no time in my schedule for that, and it irritates the crap out of me most days. :X

[Waterdrain]

Sometimes I do feel exhausted working on some of my comics but I think school is the one to blame for that because when I get home from a long busy day I normally can't find enough energy to work on anything but school stuff. But yeah, if your work is making you feel miserable then it's time to give your self a break let yourself look over what you all ready made. If you still want to be proactive then you could start on a new project, but it can't be a huge project otherwise it will be hard for you to return to your original project.

Yeah, sometimes I do work myself to the bone working on pages and other things like drawing buildings and background characters. I really love putting in a lot of details in to the pages I make but I try so hard not to do that because other wise it will take me nearly a month for me to be satisfied with it and I find that to be fairly time consuming. XV

[miseryhunting]

I'm so sorry you guys feel like this or people bring you down
I've always thought drawing should be something that brings me joy. I'm horrible with deadlines and they stress me a lot, taking lots of the pleasure with them, that's why I was adamant when I told my parents I don't want to do it professionally. For me, it was more important to preserve that.

I hope it all comes together for you.

[TACOBERTO]

I'm only half of a two man team writing this comic of mine. I created the entire story (lore, characters, etc etc) and do all of the writing and handle the comic as a whole while my buddy does the art. So what gets me stressed out and makes me miserable?

1. I have to rely on someone else to keep this comic going. Being unable to have full control of this project is a constant bother.

2. No matter how much time I put in to working on a script and get a page done I am never really proud of my work. I mean I enjoy it sometimes but no matter what I always feel that I've never done my best.

3. So I take all compliments with a grain of salt. They must be lying since I don't even particularly like what I'm doing sometimes so why would everyone else?

4. And a slew of outside factors influencing how I see my comic. Mostly real life stuff

[Shanny8]

I cant even complain much. Yeah drawing can be a drag some days, and I struggle with consistency at times, but what artist doesnt? There are days when I feel like art is becoming something that I loathe, but then I remember that A) this is a decision I chose, and I could end it anytime I want, B) I start to think of the end result- me selling my books at cons and being happy that I've gotten the opportunity to reach that goal, and C) that I could be WAAAY more miserable doing something else; I didnt do any art for a decade while raising my kid, and it made me really miserable(art is a stress outlet at times).

So when I do get down from doing my art, I try to re-iterate the reasons for me doing what I do. I also take small breaks to get away and come back refreshed.

At this point in my life, "f**k it " is always an option; nothing is set in stone.

[indagold]

Only time I felt like that was when I was 12 and my comics looked like shit and I cried in the corner staring at my deformed animu fanfics.

[NickRowler]

I did once feel like this...I was going through a hard time in life, (in a job I don't like, no friends, single, no plans for the future). I tried to draw my comic to escape from all of this and it was not helping. I was feeling anxious and stressed and I ended up just going on hiatus right in the middle of a chapter.

The hiatus lasted 6 month in which I slowly came to terms with myself. And within that time, I grew up as a person. (I notice many people my age are scared of growing up...or at least coming to terms that they are no longer a kid/teen).

Then, once I felt ready to get back to my comic, I did and I no longer felt the "misery" I felt before.

[shaneoid77]

I don't think I'd have got through most of what I've achieved recently without a shed load of anti-depressants

[LordVincent]

If making your comic is torture, you shouldn't be making it. Either you need a break right now, or you need to change something to make it exciting for you to work on, or you need to go do something else. Small times when you're not super excited to work is one thing, but not even wanting to leave bed for a longer time is bad.

I make 11 pages a week and I fucking love it lol

[VermillionWorks]

@kurapikasuki

Uggghh.

I know the damage has already been done, but if you haven't yet, I would just block him. Nevermind if this guy likes one of your comics and ends up no longer able to read it, you don't owe him anything and you owe him no explanations about what you update and when you update it. He has no right to harass you just because he stuck around.

Trying to be understanding is one thing, but some people just cannot be satisified, because they can just never be in the wrong or are just trolls that seek to make you miserable, pure and simple.

Sorry you have to deal with people like that. =(