Dec 2019
18 / 25
Dec 2019
Dec 2019
DokiDokiTsuna
Dec '19
  1. Stop looking at the older pages (seriously)
  2. If I can't stop looking, just ignore the art and read them (my writing usually stands the test of time better than my artwork)
  3. If I have to look at the art and can't just ignore it, then I'm probably referencing for later pages of the comic, so I become motivated to do better work on those and eventually make the good-looking pages outnumber the garbage ones. ^^;
irene_addler
Dec '19

I'm there right now, mindlessly hating and picking my work apart, and being really discouraged and wondering whether I should even keep drawing it. So I'm trying to find my inspiration to continue anyways. I'll be eagerly reading everyone else's replies too

kaetana
Dec '19
  • I look at nice things others have said about my work, or for newer art I show it to a supportive friend that will be able to draw my attention to the positive aspects that I might not be noticing in my discouraged state
  • I take a break and come back to it another day - if I've been staring at a piece for too long the problems can feel so obvious and overwhelming, but if I come back a day later with fresh eyes I often discover it doesn't look that bad after all
  • I look at this, and remind myself that everything probably looks bad to me right now because my ability to see has increased, and that usually means soon my creating ability will be leveling up as well! :slight_smile:
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AmazementComicsThe Best Fruit Smoothies
Dec '19
1

I understand you may feel your work is inferior to others, but personally, no matter how bad your art and storytelling is, the best thing to do is to keep going with its story. If you don't see yourself improving anytime soon, what you can do is keep using the same formula because there is a small group of people who are bound to like it (I don't care what anyone says). Take the mistakes you made in one series to better improve the quality for a future series. In due time, you'll start to realize that your skills have taken shape and you'll knock your next series out of the park. Cheers.

AVXP
Dec '19

It means you are in editor mode and STUDYING your comic, not reading it for enjoyment.
You should then be taking notes on what and where to improve your stuff(s).

Once you've done that, your old work is simply a reminder of where you used to be.
And there's reason to celebrate what you were able to do well - so early on or with little experience.

It sounds like some of those 'flaws' might still be around and it's weighing down on you. I suggest facing them and fixing them. And last, the best option is probably to churn out more better work so that the weak(er) stuff is a smaller portion of your stuff(s).

If you lose your first three fights, people will think you won't ever be a good fighter.
Win your next six and you're on a streak and people think about your brighter future, not the slower start.
Win the next bunch and people will say the first three fights didn't count.

JRHoch
Dec '19

Never look back; never sleep with your best friend's wife. Simple rules to live by.

elyss
Dec '19

I took art classes that focused on my flaw. For me, it was bodies and anatomy. Now I'm confident enough to ignore the small things because the overall is much better.

Karmillina
Dec '19

Mope for a bit and then look for a way to fix it. Your honor depends on it XD

zoehh
Dec '19

Try to fix it. If all else fails, I just shut down my laptop and turn to my comfort food :joy:

KoreanTacos
Dec '19

Ignore it and move on, most times unless blatant are only noticed by myself or so insignificant that it isnt worth redoing everything just to fix it.

PaulieBlade
Dec '19

If it's already made public, then I leave it as it is and try not to do the same mistake in the future. If I had to correct every flaw I made, then I guess I would never go like past the fifth page.

Shanny8
Dec '19
1

For the most part, if you're looking at your art you should be able to see not only some flaws, but some good stuff that you have learned; if you're not seeing that then A) you're ignoring the positive only focusing on the negative, B) you may not be asking the right questions OR doing the right research to make sure you are picking up positive pointers to transfer into your work...there also indicators such as patience & discipline. Your work- as well as your work process isnt going to change overnight or within a short period of time.

Not to say my work is flawless- I have flaws like everyone; my only difference is I try to work to make the next panel/next page/next issue better than the previous. I dont have the time to dwell on the flaws- I can do that once the chapter is done and I'm taking a break until I begin work on the next one. Making a comic is a process, and the goal is to finish it; it doesnt have to be perfect...but you do have to have a work ethic to try to get through flaws and improve with each new phase of creation. The conditions or situation arent always gonna be picture perfect.

Resilo
Dec '19

remember there will never be a point where you look at your work and think everything is perfect because art is a constant journey and perfection is impossible

remember
that you will never be able to draw like any of the artists you admire because you are not them you don't have there hands or brain. you can however constantly improve your self and create a result entirely unique and better because you made it.

Hodge
Dec '19

"oh well, onto the next"

My work has so many flaws and i can fall pretty badly for the perfectionist mentality so its nice to just have forced time limits that make me just publish even if its rough or not my best. If I don't like it, just try to do better the next drawing or painting.

Rhonder
Dec '19

I can't answer completely on-topic because I don't believe there's ever been a time where I've seen only flaws in something I've drawn, but generally speaking: when I'm looking back at my work, especially recent work, and keep noticing the same issues surfacing over and over again, I try my best to keep a mental list of the things that are going wrong, and really try to tackle those areas hard.

For example, one area that I've been trying to tackle throughout my current comic is how to render backgrounds better: I've had an issue for a long time where my backgrounds have looked pretty mediocre because even though the basics of perspective were being applied and there were some elements sprinkled throughout (buildings/trees/etc.) there were still lots of large areas of flat color and just tons of empty space in general which looks... not great, usually. So I started really trying to "level up" my backgrounds by making a conscious effort to add a lot more detail and texture into flesh them out better. And the improvements are noticeable. Granted it wasn't over night, but standing here a year later there's so so much progress between pages 60~70 vs. 1~10. And still tons of flaws, yeah, but baby steps.

Similarly when the current season ends on page 70 I'm planning to take a lengthy break to work on a few other big issues that I've noticed started popping up recently- there's a lot of little things about how my faces and anatomy in general have been turning out that's bugging me, so I'm hoping to rectify those at least a little bit before departing on season 2 lol.

LCT_m_a_d
Dec '19

I usually go on a deep study session the next day, where I just stop doing and start learning stuff. The untapped potential of stuff I haven't used is actually a really good distraction for me.

JRHoch
Dec '19

It depends on the work I'm looking at. Sometimes I'm like, "Bitch, you good."

Other times I'm like, "Why didn't you notice that and that and that and that BEFORE you sent it out into the world."

Kiweevil
Dec '19

I go back and fix all the flaws. Is it time-consuming? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. Worth it? Probably not.

When I'm feeling discouraged, I go an read comics that show a remarkable amount of progress between the first and most recent pages. My favorite example of this is TwoKinds by Thomas Fischbach (Probably better known as "Markiplier's Brother") because his first pages looked like everyone's first awkward posts to deviantART. After a few years, the lighting, linework, character designs, dialogue, and anatomy greatly improved.

I want to be like that in a few years. Able to look back and say, "Wow, that was shit! But now it's lit"

monotone_ink
Dec '19

I iron out the things I can fix within 10 minutes--the things that take longer, I keep in mind for the next page.