Taking a moment to breath (neverending work)

[shazzbaa]

A lot of times I've had to remind myself that stopping and doing dumb stuff every now and again is just as important as eating and sleeping. If you say "well too bad I don't have time to sleep" then eventually your body will disagree and you'll crash, and I believe the same thing happens if you don't rest mentally, too. You crash and wonder why you spent all day playing Don't Starve or why you can only make yourself draw dumb fanart. It's because you're exhausted.

And I think the analogy holds up a little further -- if you sleep the day away over and over again, that's a problem that you have to fix. There's a balance between "never sleep" and "sleep too much" that you have to strike. And ESPECIALLY when you work for yourself, you have to strike that same balance between "never play" and "play too much." A lot of people have huge guilt over this and I think it's important to break through that!!

Is it possible that I have so many thoughts on my mind that makes me feel so busy?

This might be something you already know, but I had someone point it out to me and it helped a lot -- making a to-do list can help with this! I have a problem where keeping EVERYTHING THAT I NEED TO DO ON MY MIND will stress me out and overwhelm me, whereas writing it all down allows me to let go of those thoughts and not keep cycling through "okay I gotta do this and then I gotta do this and then tomorrow I need to make sure I finish this," and it's surprising how much difference it makes when I write those things down!

[zerofruits]

Yeah, 8 hours work is a lot of torture, especially when you think that you could spend these 8 hours drawing on your webcomic or just...improving your skills in general D: But i'm not going to complain here - I'm grateful for having a good office job and steady income - though it really eats up a lot of "drawing time" ^^'

Haha but don't feel guilty. Nothing to be guilty about! And if you really do, just tell yourself, that gaming and enjoying your time is just another way of working on your webcomic - finding inspiration, recharging energy, finding new ideas etc - There really isn't such thing as non-productive

[AffectedMind]

And I think the analogy holds up a little further -- if you sleep the day away over and over again, that's a problem that you have to fix. There's a balance between "never sleep" and "sleep too much" that you have to strike. And ESPECIALLY when you work for yourself, you have to strike that same balance between "never play" and "play too much." A lot of people have huge guilt over this and I think it's important to break through that!!

I never put webcomics over sleep. When I'm tired I can't draw anything so I go to bed like a good little girl. I don't oversleep day either, so it's pretty balanced in my case ^^

This might be something you already know, but I had someone point it out to me and it helped a lot -- making a to-do list

makes notes

But i'm not going to complain here - I'm grateful for having a good office job and steady income - though it really eats up a lot of "drawing time" ^^'

Well of course, who would quit their job just for the sake of webcomics, especially if you have nice, steady income. I would be more than happy to have webcomics as my job, but none will throw money at you just because you draw comics xD Unless you have a publisher, but I wouldn't really want to. I prefer to be independent artist because no deadlines are chasing you. You try to hold up to the schedule, but then only person that can scold you when you are late is you or maybe your fans xD

[allenthomas]

I honest feel the exact same way as AffectedMind. I always feel like I'm endlessly working. My friends and family also don't really understand and view what I do as a small hobby. Occasionally when I take breaks during the day, it is usually something FAR removed from my comic like playing a videogame, watching a movie, surfing the web, hell sometimes I'll just sit outside just to get some fresh air. I think as webcomic creators we live very different lives that not alot of people can relate to, especially when you explain that you're not getting paid for it.

[shazzbaa]

I never put webcomics over sleep. When I'm tired I can't draw anything so I go to bed like a good little girl.

Hahaha, this is good! ;u; But my point with the sleep comment is that I kinda carry over this attitude to mental rest as well. When you sleep, you (hopefully) don't feel guilty for sleeping -- you know that you need to do it to recharge, and that going to bed is the right thing to do. So when you mentally rest, by playing games or drawing something fun that's not for work or spending time with friends, don't feel guilty about that either! It's like sleep -- you need it to recharge!

And if you really do, just tell yourself, that gaming and enjoying your time is just another way of working on your webcomic - finding inspiration, recharging energy, finding new ideas etc - There really isn't such thing as non-productive

Oh man, this is a really good point too!! I remember some of the coolest advice I got from one of the comic pros who came to talk to us in college -- "If you're not living your life, doing things other than drawing, then you'll find that when you sit down to draw.... you won't have much to say."

[demthorshie]

OMG, all the time, that is my life! I feel overwhelmed pretty much all day, every day, but when I finally do get a break, I feel like i'm forgetting something in my life! I kind of feel like i'm wasting time if i'm not constantly using my hands to create something. I think all creative individuals can relate to this feeling.

[Mharz]

We all have to take a break somehow. Even if we're doing is our own webcomics. Escpecially when I feel stressed, I take some time off drawing, log out of social media and either I'm gonna binge play games, watch anime, read comics or just lie down. It helps keep the brain from going insane.

Though I'm pretty guilty of procrastinating. Which is a hard habit to break.

[AnnaLandin]

Yes. All the time.

I'm a bit of a workaholic - if there's any spare time in my schedule, I feel the urge to fill it with something - and just like you, I easily get stuck in thinking that any time spent doing something fun (watching movies, playing video games, etc.) is time I could have spent drawing. I feel guilty about having fun.

Which is NOT a healthy behaviour. One of my goals this year is to work on NOT feeling guilty about doing things for fun. It's okay to take breaks. It's okay to spend a couple of hours doing something silly. It's actually a good thing to do, since working all the time means you risk burning yourself out completely.

I'm starting by scheduling a day once a week when I do something fun. When I have to step away from drawing and do something that doesn't involve pens, paper or cintiq. Then I'm going to build from there.

[Pandastrophic]

I think burning out is one of the worst things that could happen, it happened to me in one of my previous comics and I've been doing my best so that it doesn't happen to me again. It's very hard to balace working on your comic, university/work/responsibilities and the time you spend doing something fun or resting.

I tend to work better with a schedule so I tried to balance everything out that way, when I'm working on illustrations or drawing other fun things I tend to not feel guilty because I was doing it in the time I scheduled. I also have a day scheduled, which is our family day, where I won't be working on the comic at all.

At the start it was hard to keep up the everything and it toke a while to get used to, I update a lot of content weekly and so I have to draw and color up to 15 panels per week. I was afraid of falling behind or burning out from working constantly eveen though I really enjoy working on the comic and so I decided that after every 3 weeks of updates I take a 1 week break, whether I need it or not where I don't work on the comic and focus of other things, it's like a monthly break which I found was very helpful and readers got used to it pretty quickly.

[scythe]

You get to be a man of a certain age and start to realise just how quickly life goes by, and how you never know what you're gonna get, so if you're anything like me, and you have some things you want to achieve before shuffling off this mortal coil, you either get busy living, or get busy dying. Plenty of time for sleeping when you dead, but along the way, never forget a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. Have yourself a healfy helpin everyday!

[Stellamari]

Yes, I am in the health industry and it really hit me everytime I see people with diseases or injuries that somehow happen for no reason at all that life is not eternal.

[jmhenry]

Have you ever feel like you are trapped in neverending work?

Definitely, especially now that I've made the switch to full color pages. Doing that while trying to update at the same frequency you used to when doing B/W, I found I didn't have a whole lot of time for anything extra, so I wind up having to miss out on doing holiday pages, bonus chapters and all that fun stuff(as well as gaming less... I miss my free time u_u). It's also why I plan some time off between chapters, else I'd go insane...

[dylangandune]

i know the feeling...
i work 10 hr days at the day job (which i did some comics about http://tapastic.com/episode/256938 )
and when i am home...i have to take care of a 4 year old daughter and take a 9 year old son to and from school...there really isn't much time for drawling without giving up sleep time....

it's tough, but it's for comics...

[jmhenry]

If you say "well too bad I don't have time to sleep" then eventually your body will disagree and you'll crash, and I believe the same thing happens if you don't rest mentally, too.

Learned that the hard way recently. I spent my week off after Christmas working on pages because the buffer ran low and I kinda... needed too, but as soon as break was over and I was back to the usual, I could barely get anything done. Spent most of last week just drawing for fun and playing games cause I was weirdly too tired to focus on the usual.

[AffectedMind]

it's tough, but it's for comics...

But remember you need to rest someday too! At least you have steady income and I bet your kids are wonderful

Definitely, especially now that I've made the switch to full color pages. Doing that while trying to update at the same frequency you used to when doing B/W, I found I didn't have a whole lot of time for anything extra, so I wind up having to miss out on doing holiday pages, bonus chapters and all that fun stuff(as well as gaming less... I miss my free time u_u).

I know that feeling. I already have problems updating more frequently with black and white pages. I can't update more than twice a month and some readers are even forgeting some plot points and characters x_x Wish I could update once a week but I don't have any buffer for my Patrons that are promised to see some pages earlier.

[LordVincent]

looks back and forth in a paranoid manner

W-well... I LIKE having neverending work. It's to the point now that I just can't be entertained by plain watching a movie or playing videogames. Drawing while listening to a movie or a letsplay works! I need stuff to do with my hands. But it could be because I have ADHD and I've been off the meds for several years now (meds made me depressed and unmotivated)

This results in me having to watch myself in the OPPOSITE manner. I need to MAKE SURE that I get off my ass and go for walks regularily, or check something on the computer to give my wrist a little break. I would DIE if I were to get a wrist injury and couldn't draw for months. I think my followers would die a little too.... from one update a day to none ever for months xD

[zerofruits]

Wow, that sounds tough! But kudos for not giving up on drawing comics! But please don't overwork yourself...

[DeadAccount]

i have no confidence in patreon being able to pay for my rent or even groceries, so it's comic work on top of a full-time games industry job for me :'I Sometimes I wonder how much longer I can manage. We're lucky to have supportive readers who come on my streams, comment and occasionally buy our things, but yeah. Some weeks are pretty rough.

[HNLEE]

Omg yes you people feel me. It's gotten to the point where I gotta work on Sundays. Man I really just wanna oversleep for once. O|<
I wanna take a break but I feel restless if I haven't finished something...but enough complaining, I should really get working

[Doubtcent]

Of course. The art world is mostly hard work and little to no payoff. Especially in the webcomic industry.

I personally do this on the side, as a hobby, but I'm starting to create a lot more than I ever did a year ago to the point of exhaustion. But in many ways, it's a good exhaustion. Before comics I wasn't really doing anything. Just videogames and youtube. But now, I'm doing something with my life that makes it interesting. It's hard work for sure, but I'm not ashamed of it nor will I want to go back. I can easily drop this whole schtick and focus on getting a better job or finding a better outlet.
But for some reason, art is what makes it all the more worth it. Creating something worth my time and effort means I have something to do with my time off. I rather be a creator than a consumer.

And what's even more satisfying is when a page or episode is done. I can sit back and say, "Wow. I can't believe I can do that."

I actually get anxious if I don't create something every day. If I can at least get a sketch in I feel like I've done something worth my time. Videogames are just to ease the tension often brought from creating. But I just love being in a creating mode, having an idea and acting upon it. It gives me purpose. It means that I'm not just wasting my time all the time like I used to.

In fact, I rather be swamped in art and creating rather than not at all. I used to not have anything to do or anything really required of me, but now I never want to go back to that.