Should I put my comic on hold for a while?

[mayday]

So I'm working on my first comic currently, and I've finished about 20 pages (I have like 10 penciled that are waiting to be inked, colored, and lettered). Recently though, I'm realizing that my story isn't as fleshed out as I want it to be, and I don't know if my art is at a point where people would even want to read it.

It's important to note that I'm really young. I've got a lot of stuff going on with school as it is, and I only have about 2 hours to work on art daily at the most. Doing a full page takes a long time for me, like around the 4 hour mark, so I don't know if I even have enough time to update as much as I'd like to. I was hoping to start releasing it in November with a 30 page buffer, but now I'm really not sure.

TL;DR: Should I work more on fleshing out my story/improving my art and wait until things are less hectic to keep working on my comic or just keep going on what I have?

[mayday]

Fuck it. No. I said I was going to do this, so I will.

CRUSADE coming this November. Get hyped.

[shazzbaa]

I said I was going to do this, so I will.

It sounds like you're off to an awesome start, so best of luck! ;u; And remember that this isn't a do-or-die thing -- if you start your comic, and after 10 pages you realise "rats, I started too soon and things have gotten hectic and I need a few weeks to get these next pages ready," that's okay to do! If you've gathered some followers by that point you can tell them "I need a little extra time on these next pages because school happened, but I'll be back at [this date]!" most readers will be totally understanding -- life and school comes first! And if you wanted to update frequently but find you have to update a little slower, that's okay too -- I think all of us wish we could update more often than we do. ;u;

Just do what you're able to do comfortably and make the comic that you want to make!!

[Michelle]

If I can make a suggestion, you should have more confidence about your work! No one is going to want to look at your comic if you you're describing it as shitty garbage. "Hey guys, take time out of your day to look at my terrible comic" is hardly enticing to anyone.

I know it can be hard to be confident about your own stuff, and no one wants to come off as egotistical. But putting your work down doesn't do yourself any favours, and it's not likely to gain you many readers.

[mayday]

@Michelle Yeah, I agree. Usually I try not to put my work down, but since this topic isn't exactly an advertisement for my comic, I'm not too worried about making sure I portray it in a super positive light. Though I guess even talking about it negatively now could lead to some not even bothering to look at it in the future, so I'm probably gonna edit the post. I appreciate the advice!

[6ooey]

I was in the same position when I attempted to start several comics during high school. With only 20 pages in I ended up scrapping it. Now that I'm more confident with my art/writing and with a little more free time, I ended up revamping that series into what I'm currently working on.

But since you have a buffer to go with, you should keep going! You can always go back and revamp some pages if it's best fit in the future. It never hurts to even take time to work on a page if life just catches up to ya.

[AtaraxiaStudios]

@mayday

Comrade! My team was once in a situation like yours. We had a story, and we had it released, but we've noticed a lot of mistakes. I, being the writer, also wanted to make sure I knew the direction of the story.

What I have learned from my experience is that on the LONG run, it's better to put your work on hold for a while. ESPECIALLY if you haven't released yet

On the long run, you will save more time if you put off your release to flesh out the story.

To answer your question about waiting for a less hectic time. Don't do that. Many creators wait for the right time to start on their work, but the right time doesn't come often. Spend time on it regularly, if even for just a little. It's a habit more than a task.

Regardless of what you do, I look forward to seeing your comic.

Good luck!

• Varun

[apurviance]

I was going to list out all the pros and cons, but deleted all that for this:

Do your comic, publish those pages. BUT...

I suggest tweaking the rest of your story so that there's an end point not too far in the future. Then, when you reach this rest stop you can look back and decide what you want to do next based on what you've learned so far: continue the story, reboot it, or do some other cool idea you have.

Good luck!

[mayday]

Thank you, this is really good advice!

[mayday]

That makes sense. I have a point in the comic that end the first big arc, so I think that would work nicely as a rest stop. Thank you for the advice!

[mayday]

@6ooey Thank you for the advice! I've decided to keep going on my current project for the time being, and take breaks if I really need them.

@AtaraxiaStudios I think what I plan on doing is do all the pages I need to complete my buffer, as I have that part of the story down and work to flesh out the story during the period between now and my release, since I've got a very basic outline and several of my chapters planned. I believe the month should be enough, but if I can't figure out my direction by the time I plan on release I might push it back a few weeks to make sure I know what I'm doing before I do it.

[niinasalmelin]

Do you have storyboard of your comic or are you just going straight to the pages?
I found great help myself when I started to do these huge storyboards that have the whole 1st story arc in. They were really small overlays of the pages, but helped me to get down the length of the scene, chapter and the whole story. What happens and in which order. I had it all worked out when I started drawing those actual pages.

Now when you have once put the whole story down, it's easier to digest it while you make pages. I have changed countless things in my comic without hiatus or redoing anything already done, because I noticed these problems good time ahead.

Also you're right with building good buffer. That way, even if you need to take time to think some things through you don't have to make your readers wait. I have buffer for half a year so that always makes things easy and stressless. I hope there was something of value in this post for you, Good luck!