So, how hard is it making comics?

For me it's not easy but I wouldn't say it's the hardest thing I've done, depending on the detail I'm putting into the comic. If I'm doing a simpler one...then it's full on easy (but no one reads those obviously). If I'm trying to stretch myself and learn new techniques and really try new things, then it does stretch my abilities. But comparing it to other art jobs I've had, it's not really a "job" persay, I don't have a patreon going, no one's business relies on me getting the art done in time. No client is going to call my phone and chew me out if they don't like my work and then threaten to fire my ass. So...it's difficult, but it just doesn't have that stress that I get from other art.

But I'll echo what other people say and add that it is very discouraging compared to other online art. If I post a picture, I can move on if it doesn't do well. I'll draw another picture tomorrow or next week. A comic though is such a commitment, that if it doesn't get off the ground, it's like "Well this is my life now." A lot of social media isn't really built around advertising comics as they are about advertising short one shot illustrations and short one-liner comics.

I find making comics pretty intuitive, I often come up with stories and I enjoy writing them as well as drawing them. Sure sometimes some pages are harder to draw than others, and sometimes I get tired of a page and decide to come back to it later or I decide to give it 40% instead of 70% of my skill/time. But overall I find the whole process enjoyable, and, as I said, intuitive. I can make multiple pages on one day.

Mechanically, I still find comics challenging, but that they get easier over time. I feel way more comfortable making comics today than I did 1, 2 or even more years ago. And the challenge that's present is one that I enjoy, it's part of what makes comics fun for me.

But "time" is the hardest thing that I struggle with regarding comics currently. Producing content at a reasonable pace is haaaaaard and I really need to get a grip on how to alleviate that sooner than later. The project that I'm working on currently is a vertical comic with panels averaging around 20-25 an update. Sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more. They've presently been taking me about a month to finish which I feel like is too slow but whatever, I'm planning to launch and do monthly releases even though that's horrid for visibility on these platforms

But what's been stressing me out the most lately is: I was finishing up my 6th episode of buffer at the start of December and was thinking about launching but thought "my episode 1 isn't as good as it could be. I'm going to insert a new introductory episode ahead of it & then launch". I just finished that episode last week, after 2 months of work. 27 panels Sure, it's a little longer than the average, and sure a week or two in there were lost in part due to the winter holidays but damn, taking double the time to complete this episode was a big hit to my morale lmao Like now I'm wondering if I'll even be able to maintain monthly releases and that's a scary thought xD

So it's definitely something that requires a lot of time and effort and mental energy, but I personally don't find it hard. I will certainly spend hours and hours and hours writing a script and doing layout thumbnails and drawing and coloring my pages, but I never find myself thinking that it's particularly difficult. I really enjoy doing comics, and it's what I do for fun to wind down and relax. And for the most part, visual storytelling tends to come easily to me.

But it's different for everyone, for sure! And I totally respect that different parts of the process come naturally to some people, and are more difficult for others.

Hard. Since there are so many comics out there, it's easy to feel like everyone else must be having an easy time. But then again, there are a lot of people that do hiatuses/quit, so I realize it is hard. Yet I do it anyway, because the end result is worth it.

its very hard. so hard i have RSI now
and sometimes sleepless night.

To a degree? Definitely putting it all together—writing, sketching, lining, coloring each page for an update and doing it almost every week—is a lot. It can be a grind. But I think I’ve tailored my comic making process to where everything I mentioned is quite enjoyable for me, or at least somewhat mindless

Making a comic is the hardest thing I've ever done artistically, for sure. But I also find the challenge extremely invigorating. Each page is like a puzzle which needs solving. Where do I position elements for maximum impact? Where do I fit the text? How do I jig the composition to have the eye flow to the right panels in the right order? Which moments in the timeline of a scene need to be drawn, and how long do I linger on each to get the pacing right? Then I have to, you know, draw the thing. And my comic is full of stuff I've always found challenging to draw. I like to draw organic shapes, forests, flowers, plants... so naturally, I set my comic in space. On spaceships.

I also tweak and change the script as I create the pages, usually just to add in extra humorous bits of dialogue. But I'll be honest, I find writing pretty easy. Especially comic script.

I'm still in the very early stages of learning How To Comic, but I think it's the perfect artistic niche for me, since I enjoy illustration and the addition of sequential and storytelling elements only makes it more fun.

So yeah, comics are hecka hard, but if you're a person who loves storytelling and sequential art, and who finds a good challenge invigorating, they're so satisfying!

Used to be extremely taxing. So much so that I've rebooted every comic of mine at least two or three times already. Still hard art-wise, but mostly had to do with what to include or exclude when it came to the story and how to make a smooth transition from chapter to chapter without deviating from the main storyline. With every idea that popped into my head or bit of inspiration that I felt from any analysis videos on art or when I read a certain comic or manga, I had immediately regretted what I had already drawn out and began to see where I could have fleshed out my characters' personalities and put them in situations that could have tied them to the overall story.

It's hard for me when I was starting because I don't really have an experience making a webtoon. Also the fact everything has to be done by myself, the script, the editing, the concept, the character designs, the building designs for that particular world, the items, furniture etc. -- and to think that i have to conceptualize everything within half a month (because originally, it's a contest entry with a set deadline before I published it here ^^) ---it's stressful I know.
But then I thought: Yes it's hard because nothing is easy when you're making something in the first place, especially if it is something you think of something great. But For me, rather than saying it's hard, I would rather say it's challenging. It's challenging because it test me to go out of my comfort zone and past to the limit that I unknowingly set myself in and I have this urge to break it down.
whenever I was about to give up, I would look back at the first few pages and tell myself --- you've come this far, it's a waste of your own effort if you give up now. If I can make something out of the efforts I've already spend even if the 'fruit' it bears is small, or no fruit at all I will most likely still choose go on, because I may not get that result I'm expecting, but I at least managed to get a lot of experience out of it and because at least I tried rather that not trying at all.
Yes I didn't win that contest, but at least I get to publish it on my own and see my comic grow slowly. I was able to use it as a ' grindstone' to do better so that I know the things I still need to work on and because of that, every time I finish a page I feel much more satisfied and ready to do better than the last ^^

I have struggled with it on the past, but I think the thing that’s helping me not to face the blocks this time is the fact that I started out making it with the mindset that I just need to accept that my skill level is where it is right now. I might improve by making the comic, and I probably won’t improve as fast if I’m not making it. There will be things that don’t sound the way I want them to sound or look the way I want the, to look, but they will look and sound the way that I’m able to make them right now. That really helped me not to struggle as much or second guess every decision that I make.

But to answer your specific question, my goal is to do a page a day, when I’m working on my comic (I take breaks of a week or two inbetween making chapters). Some days I make more than one, some days I don’t make any. And I only do one writing session to write each chapter, but then if things need to be cut or swapped round or extended a bit as I’m making the pages I do that. But I really don’t change that much because my goal is to make everything as quickly as possible.

It also really helped that I decided to make a square format page for this comic rather than a traditional format. I find it way easier to break down the beats that way!

Pretty hard...
Drawing comics is an ungrateful craft, you work yourself off for a long time to post something that'll take 5 min or less to read. If you are a freelance artist, like most people on Tapas, you need to do every step yourself, from the script to the lettering and finding a balance to work on it all can be very taxing and demotivating pretty quickly, BUT when you post and see your story taking shape before you, it makes everything worth it, because it's your story and only you can make it.

I started drawing a page per day then, over time (2-3 years) I was able to draw 3-4 pages a day with easy, but yeah...time it's the key word here.

I honestly don't know, it's hard but also kinda fun? I find certain aspects of it hard and other aspects I love and look forward to working on so I don't find them hard. I find writing difficult in general, I also find it difficult when I make edits last minute and add like 6 new panels to an episode that I thought was completed, adding text to a 30+ panel comic is always super boring...
But I always look forward to the drawing and colouring part of the comic, I've been struggling a lot with making illustrations, I used to make like 4 or 5 finished illustrations unrelated to my comic but I've been in such a horrible art slump for the past 2 years and the comic has really kept me drawing because its the only think I look forward to working on anymore. Seeing the episode completed and uploaded is really satisfying to me too.

I agree that it's fun-hard... most of the time. I enjoy problem solving and learning new things, and the amount of time I'm required to spend drawing each day just to finish the week's comic has led to rapid improvements... But with that said, there are still a lot of panels I'm not happy with, which is discouraging, as is the fact that my skills have already advanced beyond what is currently published, which makes me feel weird about trying to get new subscribers. And my neck hurts all the time... which is pretty normal for me but drawing for hours every day reeeeally doesn't help.

It's also unfortunate that my current release schedule doesn't leave me any time for art that isn't for my comic... and it's gonna be like a year before I finish this thing, assuming I can keep up the current pace, which I know I can't.

So yeah, it's hard. Mostly quite enjoyable, but definitely hard.

For me, the hardest thing about making comics is making and following a schedule. Like I could draw all day long, but actually, planning page, making layouts, creating story and dialogue, choosing fonts, making pallets... all things that must be considered when making comics, and planning when to work on those has been the most challenging thing for me (outside of drawing landscapes, wow that one takes 5-ever for me once I have to create them). Though getting a schedule together and making it routine defiantly helps me a ton. I still hit blocks of course, but the more I make this comic, the more I get accustomed to what I can do to solve the problems I run into. I love making it though and know that the struggles are making me better as an artist and storyteller, even when I don't feel as confident about something I made in particular.

I'm at a really difficult point in my story. What I really want to do is work on the next arc of the comic where all sorts of cool stuff happens. Right now, the first arc is still setting up the scene/tone of the comic and introducing one of the main characters. I feel like it's been dragging on forever, but that's because it takes forever for me to actually draw the updates. It probably takes like 15 minutes to read LMAO

I kind of hate how quickly it takes to consume the stuff that takes me forever to draw.