(This does not exist)

[JoshRaed]

[darthmongoose]

Seems like a sensible plan.

I don't have hard and fast rules, but I do think having a general mindset of "you don't get your dessert til you eat your veggies" is necessary for making comics. In comics terms, I consider "eating your veggies" as getting a page finished, or getting a chapter finished.

It's so easy to get addicted to the easy, immediate reaction you can get from posting WIPs, or talking about a thing you're planning to make, or doing cute little chibi omake, seasonal illos, cast AMAs... because all of these things are easier than making a page that takes like 6-12 hours and somebody reads in mere minutes (or even seconds). But the gruelling work of hours and hours accumulating pages is what's necessary to tell your story, and to get the thing you want; a comic that people read and react to, the experience to become a strong writer and artist whose work engages the audience and makes them want to discuss it and react to it.

So I never post extras unless I've completed a chapter (typically 20-40 pages), and I try to minimise posting of WIPs, or talking about the plot of anything I plan to make. I keep stuff secret if I can so that I'm motivated to finish it and to get the audience reaction to the finished thing.

[moontokkym]

I think they're a good set of rules to follow, especially seeing some of the main issues you've been having on the forum and many of the answers being basically "just write the thing, testing it out'll be better than any of our advice at this stage".

I don't really need those rules because I have the opposite problem where I'll disappear for days drawing and writing and forgetting to talk to friends, nevermind forums and stuff. Also social interaction is often scary and tiring to me, so I have to push myself to try and interact and promote.

[NickRowler]

There is nothing wrong with wanting to post in the forums. But if you feel like it is distracting you, you can take a break or make rules to limit yourself.

I think the thing that confuses me about your posts is that you constantly ask for help. There are people here who are willing to help and give amazing advice. But, sometimes it feels like you don’t really use it. I have seen several posts asking about art advice. I looked up your comic to see if you applied any of it to your work. But the stuff you posted for your series are the same WIPs you posted to the forums. That is why I asked on another topic if you had any new art, especially after you asked about skin color. But you just posted some unfinished lineart.

[JoshRaed]

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[RedLenai]

I believe those rules should be for yourself. Any other person has their own set of rules of conditions based on their own times and obligations, many are responsible and conscious enough to simply don't have a list of things to follow or keep in mind while being on the internet or doing other activities. Others sure, will put reminders, timers, programs or ad-ons to block activities for a certain period of time where they are supposed to do a specific thing. Or have their own rules as well.

I believe people have addressed already the time thing, figure out your own times for drawing or writing based on your own responsabilities, obligations, etc beside your rules.

The amount of drawings a person can do per week varies on their own abilities and muscle memory besides other things, like details and overall composition of a drawing. A reasonable goal for you would be to start something and finishing it, even if you have to work and pause every few days.

I've done 10 drawings in a day, and there has been weeks where I only dedicated an entire week for one or two pieces. To me 5 drawings or panels a day is my achievable goal, however, you're not me, you don't have the same experience or an established working process, so it would be smart to simply don't rely on what others think is acceptable. And simply focus on what you can do by trying.

Do one drawing start to finish, take breaks in between or whatever depending on your urgency for it to be finished, then, after you finish you calculate how much it took you, and then base your goal according to what is reasonably available for you to do.

[JoshRaed]

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[IndigoShirtProd]

Don't feel like you have to complete one full illustration everyday. Instead, go for just getting done some form of drawing per day even if it doesn't result in a finished piece. That could be working on a piece you've started, doing preproduction for your comic, or just doing studies. Focus less on getting a to a goal, at least for now, and try to just enjoy the journey.

[JoshRaed]

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[darthmongoose]

Also is there a way to cheat my way into being able to have a finished page of comic art in a week when I definitely couldn't properly draw that much the normal way? Like getting them in a state that is close to finished enough but not quite finished?

There isn't really a "cheat" for this where you can have a finished page without finishing a page.

There are ways to make a finished page faster that lots of people use, like copy-pasting panels, using 3D models for backgrounds, using a simple style with limited colour etc.

But you have to finish the drawings, and if you can't find a way to do that that works for you, you can't make a comic. If you keep not finishing the drawings, you're never going to get faster at finishing drawings. Comics aren't a good medium for everyone. If you don't actually enjoy sitting down and drawing for hours every day, and can't feel motivated to do it, you don't want to be a comic artist. Being attached to the idea of "being a comic artist" isn't enough. You either need to love drawing, so you'll just start doing it spontaneously for fun, and telling a story with pictures is just a natural evolution of that, OR you need to be so absolutely motivated to make a comic that even if everyone told you "you're crap, just give up!" you'd throw yourself into it and get the pages done anyway.

If you seriously can't feel motivated, no matter what you do, maybe try a different medium for your stories, like novels, or games?

[JoshRaed]

(I regret this already)

[darthmongoose]

The hard thing about making comics is it's lonely. You have to truly have a fire in your heart to keep making them, because odds are, early on, nobody will care about your comic but you, and nobody will motivate you but you. Hell, even if you've become a famous comic artist with a big following, there may be long stretches where you're working in secret under an NDA on pages you can't show anyone and that won't be in print for a year, and need to keep the motivation up as best you can.

You have to finish your pages. Nobody can do it but you, so if you want to finish those pages, you need to find whatever can make you do it. Motivational music, doing exercise before you start, drawing while watching something, or the opposite, removing all distractions, setting a schedule, anything that works for you is valid. Either get yourself hyped up and get the pages done towards your goal of having a comic done, or find a medium where doing it does give you that feeling of "hell yeah, I love doing this! I'd do this even if there was no audience! and nobody to motivate me!"

[moontokkym]

I mean if that schedule worked it worked, it's about the same as my schedule.

Currently Petrichor has 1 and a bit chapters out, the the first anniversary of the comic on Tapas is on the 20th of August. The main character's just met, the main plot has barely started and though I don't have chapter total until the end yet, I know where it goes and I know how it ends and there's at least 20+ chapters.

It's slow but it's the fastest rythm I can go, and time is going to pass regardless, I prefer having 52 pages out than no pages because I procrastinated or didn't want to start because "I'm not going fast enough".

So, where do you want to be in a year? Still at the start without anything to show for all your talking about your story, or "only a little bit done"? Because the comic with finished pages will always be more popular than questions, vents, and disorganised, badly-explained concepts in forums and on discord.

You said you would only post on forums for every 100 words or 1 finished drawing you've done. Stick to it.

[TheLemmaLlama]

Does anyone else have a thing like this, or something that serves the same purpose?

Sure do! Join me over at my forum addiction accountability thread XD

(Though I'm currently limiting my frequency rather than making it a function of how much I've worked on my comic ... I might start doing that as well, have a system where I can 'earn' comments I can make based on having finished a certain amount of work ... )

[morganicfoods]

My "cheat" is just that I know how to draw really quickly. I've committed a lot of things to muscle memory. I can usually draw 2 pages a week. They're quite long pages too, about 15 panels each (20-30 character drawings). I also don't care too much if something’s not 100% perfect. See my week's work yourself.

For practicing drawing faster, here's my advice. Draw something that you think looks really good. Take as much time on it perfecting it. Then once you're done that drawing, copy it as quickly as you can. Repeat until it's in your muscle memory.
Doing that many many times, especially for things you struggle with (like hands is a common one), can make you a more efficient artist.

[RedLenai]

Once again it is meaningless to give you advice, do you even do anything of the things people recommend you?
Do you really think something we recommend is going to insta-work for you in the first try?

There is no magic, no cheat, no secret. Learn that getting a skill is hard work and time, that means that you have to be patient and consistent.

A reasonable thing would be to be satisfied with answers to a certain point and start doing something and understand that what YOU consider is reasonable it is not for as long as you lack everything that you don't see others have and that is why they can achieve to do more than you.

I've already told you, be satisfied with finishing something even if it takes longer. Are you threatened? Are you going to explode in a million pieces if you don't meet your own deadlines? No, so no need to be unrealistic or rushing things over.
If you want to be faster then you at least have to start posting and replying less, and start drawing more, if you don't draw you won't improve.

I ask you again, do you really want to make a comic or write a novel? Do you even like to draw? Sounds like every thread and every reply you make is just an excuse to simply don't do it, and that you think that some answer will finally be the starting engine that would make you like these things enough to start doing something for real.

[NickRowler]

Is one drawing a day a reasonable goal for basically a beginner?

This is something you need to decide for yourself. We aren't your teacher, we aren't going to assign you homework.

I have met some professional artists who recommended doing reference drawings daily while also going to drawing sessions with models (both clothed and nude). But I know that might not really fit into everyone's schedule. For me personally, if I feel like I can draw, I draw. I have had times in my life where I could not do that. Sometimes drawing isn't always drawing a masterpiece, sometimes it's just doodling in a sketchbook.

When it comes to your drive to create, that can vastly differ from person to person. I remember when I got into Gravity Falls, I just wanted to draw Gravity Falls fanart. A lot of people use fandom as a drive to create. Inspiration can come from the most random places, and that is not really something people can just recommend.

[JoshRaed]

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[JoshRaed]

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[IndigoShirtProd]

You can't delete other people's posts, you can at most flag them.