What do you think when you reread your comic/novel?

[AniStaciaArt]

I'm not saying it wasn't really stupid of me to do. I was going to just make my comic book format into scroll format. But I was all "Oh, a new panel here and there to explain the story better won't hurt." Little did I know the pandora's box that would open. I'm now redoing whole pages. BUT I really like how it looks now in comparison!

These two are the same page, but I'm much more proud to show off the second one. So yeah, it's stupid to redraw it. Don't do it. But I'm glad I did. lol

[charliesackett]

Me too. I lost all the joy in the process, and then I just stopped doing anything altogether.

[charliesackett]

I've had moments like that too. I looked over some of my really, really old writing recently and I was pleasantly surprised at how funny I was. Then the existential dread crept in when I realized I'm not as funny now. XD

[charliesackett]

I'm not saying you shouldn't! If it makes you happy go for it, and there definitely is improvement in your art! ^^
I'm saying for me personally I'll never actually be happy with my work, so if I start letting myself redo things I'll be redrawing the same comic again every year or so until I die. XD

[spadesart]

i have trouble reading my own writing tbh, either because im insecure or it seems predictable to me because i wrote it. revising the first chapter of my novel was extremely painful, at the time i hadnt written anything in story format in like.... 3-4 years? so i was super rusty. i had to rewrite all of chapter 1 and most of chapter 2. ive gotten back into the swing of it as i get closer to the end of my first draft, though! i wrote a short story and i'm currently revising it and i havent been making a lot of changes to it.

ive become kinda disconnected from the early chapters of spire tbh. maybe its because theyre three years old but it doesnt feel like it was made by me? chapter 1 up to the later half of chapter 2 feel a lot less personal than the more recent pages.

[adrienclifton]

I see all of the places where I rushed, and that I may want to fix in the future, but i also see that I've really come a long way! It's better than I often let myself believe, and I'm getting better as I go.

It also reminds me that wow, time flies.

[Kelheor]

"I am so glad I've started drawing it!"

But really. Making comics was a dream for many years, but I just never could do it. Then we finally made a one shot, but it was kinda made into the void too.

But then we started Hexameron and now I look at it and I am proud! Even if I think it could be better here and there, and I am definitely still just a beginner comic artist, I've already made so much things I never thought I could achieve.
I have an actual story going, I am not half bad in storytelling and my art finally have some actual style. Looking at the first pages is just a push to become even better.

[charliesackett]

I just thought about it for years too. I was so scared of not being good enough to start. Then I read this comic 'Girly' by Josh Lesnick, which started in a very simple anime style and developed into an amazing looking comic. It made me realize that it's okay to just start and learn as you go.

[Rhonder]

I have a love/hate relationship with it xD On one hand, looking back through all of the pages that I've made to date makes me feel really good about both how far I've come and just like... actually putting effort into a project. Prior to this comic I was the type that spent yearssss "planning" my last comic, but never actually got any of the pages drawn. It's doubly so since I've been doing traditional inking for this one-shot, so as time goes on my stack of completed linework grows thicker and thicker~

And on the other hand, there's a lot I'm discontent with too haha. Like... all of the rushed pages and things that I've let slide on the quest of "finished not perfect", the several gaps/leaps of logic in the plot, etc... shudder. That's why I wrote it to be kind of short though~ I'm like 9 months in but nearing the end. Def ready to finish, reflect on what I've learned, take a break, then hop into the next project

[JRHoch]

The difference is shocking! Smart move. (I'm redoing some pages of my other comic Cucumber Salad, and I do think it makes a difference. People don't give things a chance if the art is raw.)

[tchotchkeco]

I normally don't read my webcomic. However a few days ago I brought myself to do and I was surprise my how happy I was with it. I thought I was going to be picking at all the flaws but I shocked myself by actually having a good time looking it over. It was honestly really nice.

[AniStaciaArt]

Thanks! I heard having good art at the beginning is more important than having good art later. People get hooked on the art first and then the story.

[JRHoch]

I have a comic on Webtoons and after 3 weeks with raw art, I had 2 subs. Pulled it, put in a story with revised art and had 14 subs in 24 hours. Yes, good art at the beginning is more important.

[winterpenwell]

Everything is generally the way I remember it, because I'll have read it a thousand times in the editing process. In recent years, I'm much more satisfied when I look back. Even if the quality could be improved, there's always a gem to be found somewhere that makes the story worth it. But I do have (WTF) moments when I'll wonder how I came up with something or get kind of disturbed by how twisted some ideas were.

[JRHoch]

I find if I look at my work in the morning I like it better than at night!

[MaggieW]

I'm always happy to look back to the first pages, because it makes me feel that I've improved (both in art and storytelling) over the past two years. There are some parts where I'm not happy about the art or about the pacing of the story, but I'd promised myself I'd never go back to fix or redo anything until I finish the story xD and because of that I managed to get this far. Otherwise I'd be re-drawing the whole thing every year x)

[demthorshie]

For once, I actually haven't cringed while going back and rereading my current comic. Also, I get to see how much I've improved on my art since the beginning.

[charliesackett]

That's exactly why I haven't redone any of mine either

[NickRowler]

I notice a lot of corners I cut in my earlier pages and it sort of annoys me however, I do also caught myself laughing at my old stuff, which I guess is weird.

[erma]

I tend to have mixed feelings about it. I'm really proud of myself for getting a comic going, the progression of the art as the story goes on, and I love my characters! On the flip side (hehe), my comic is very flawed and sometimes there's pages that are hard to look at. I made the mistake of not having the whole story written before posting that first page. There's plot holes, the pacing could be better, and every so often there's things that make me go "WHYYYY?" Flaws and all, I enjoy working on it, and I know where I want to go with it. At least with this being my first comic, I'll know what mistakes to avoid next time around!