When everything you draw doesn't feel right

[azureXtwilight]

What do you do when you feel like your art is going backwards? Do you take a break, or do something else... or put on a hiatus?

Moving has been a very tiring process, so is working as a doc, and I also need to adapt to a new work environment so I think I am exhausted, but... I don't know. Girl's gonna need to keep updating regularly, right? But none of the recent pages I've been producing seems right, and I don't have the energy left to fix them... so... I think I need someone to give me a push, i guess.

Anyway, what would you do in this situation?

[Aspie_Gamer]

I keep on drawing. Sometimes I'm like "Uggh...this looks like crap!" then a while later I'll come back to it and wrap up the page I'm working on.

[rmdooley]

That sentiment is all too familiar. No matter how hard you try, the image in your head is just not making it on the paper

When slumps inevitably occur, getting creative input can help fire up the drive to return to making creative output. Listening to a song that inspires me, reading a book, or watching a movie that motivates the creative juices has helped.

And if comic block continues, picking up a new comic series and reading through can be useful. Seeing how someone else drew a scene, executed a tough bit of dialogue can provide the 'AHA!' moment that I didn't know I was looking for and get me back to the drawing board with renewed enthusiasm. When feeling creatively dead, exploring and finding inspiration in what someone else brought to life can be that needed breath of fresh air.

Hope it all works out, and best of luck! You got this!

[Down_the_Rabbithole]

Hoo-boy! That sounds like a bad-art week!

I'd recommend putting your comic on a temporary hiatus for about a week. Don't stop drawing in that week though. Whenever things got this way for me, I was always on the cusp of some artistic breakthrough. You can watch tutorials, do some life drawing, do whatever it takes for you to feel like you're back in control of your art. When you come out, you'll be impressed with what you're doing and then you continue your comic from wherever your art hiccuped.

[lizm]

I just keep going unless I know that only a break can fix the problem.

For instance, art block isn't enough to stop me from working anymore; I'll feel somewhat self-conscious about it and despise certain pages or panels but I also feel like in most cases the only one who really notices a difference is the artist themselves. I've seen many updates from artists I follow that seemed perfectly fine where I wouldn't have guessed that the author was feeling particularly worn out if they hadn't mentioned it themselves. In any case, if it's just about "not looking or feeling right" I personally find it significantly easier to continue working and risk a few less than ideal panels than getting back into the working groove after taking a break for a week or two or even a month.

I did take a break a while back when things just kept piling up and it was a matter of taking some time off or getting utterly destroyed in the process of drawing more pages. Between another diagnosis of a chronic illness, lacking money to even buy food, as well as exams and assignments wearing me out, I knew I would have ultimately done damage to my comic by continuing it in that condition.

In the end I think it's all about what works best for you, personally--sometimes it's about being stubborn and pushing your way through, other times some time off is the best choice. When in doubt, I just go take a long walk and listen to music to think about where my comic is taking me so I can come to a conclusion...which is "keep going" 99% of the time for me haha.

[tayo_rafferty]

This happens to me all too often but that is because my expectations always exceed my ability. This leaves me open to disappointment. I would take a break from whatever is stressing you and/or making you feel inadequate as an artist. If it really matters to you then you will find a reason to return to it.

[indagold]

go back and work on it again after taking a break or working on something else. Seems to work for me.

[hushicho]

A lot of it depends on certain things. If you're trying to get yourself to the point where you don't strictly feel you need inspiration to create, sometimes you have to just keep creating and doing your best. It's very easy, in creative work, to put creating off until you feel more like it...and to end up doing that indefinitely and never creating anything. It's a bad habit to get into.

But likewise, it's a bad habit to force yourself when you really don't feel it. If you're in danger of burning yourself out, don't do it! Burnout is one of the worst things a creator can experience, and it's bad whether you're intending to do a professional approach or just doing it for fun. Don't force yourself when it's really uncomfortable.

That said, I also advise against falling into the trap of "fixing" things too much. It's easy to be tempted to go back and "fix" a page, and by the time you're done, you've noticed something else that doesn't live up to your current standards. Then, by the time you're done with that, your style has developed enough that you need to adjust something else...and so on, ad infinitum. It's an endless cycle. Be careful it doesn't catch you in it!

Last but certainly not least of all, real life considerations have to take precedence before anything else. If you've been going through real life stress, you need to take time for your own health. If you push yourself to work (and art is a lot of work), you can compromise your health seriously. Take time that you need for yourself, and be careful not to push yourself too hard. You are important!

[AnnaLandin]

If you are exhausted and low on energy, take a break.

Seriously.

No one is standing over you with a club demanding you make a certain deadline with your webcomic; you do this because you want to, and your health is always more important than your comic. I cannot stress this enough. And yes, mental exhaustion counts, even if you feel physically well.

However, this:

What do you do when you feel like your art is going backwards?

... can be a sign that you are about to 'level up', in terms of artistic skill. I've often found that I am most frustrated/unhappy with my art right before something finally clicks and I learn to do something new, or put some polish on an existing skill. It's like your brain can now see the mistakes you're making, and that's the first step to overcoming them.

Don't be discouraged just because it isn't coming out right. Keep at it, and I promise you'll get through it. It might take time, but it'll happen. <3

[dojo]

Everyone else's advice is really good so I'm not going to focus on taking breaks and not forcing drawing when it doesnt want to happen and instead talk about if it's a particular illustration or panel or whatever that's the source of your problems (because for me a lot of the time I feel like I'm doing terribly and all my art is THE WORST is simply because a particular drawing or page or illustration isn't feeling that great to me.

When this happens, what I've been doing that I'm finding is working wonders, is I try and find a way to change the angle of the scene or find a way to make whatever is giving me the most trouble, easier. I know there's a lot of people out there constantly yelling to constantly push yourself and to not avoid drawing something challenging because it's a challenge, but there is NO shame in restructuring a scene to make it a little easier on yourself if it's giving you a lot of trouble. I try to find something that still looks interesting (if not more interesting than the original layout) that is more within my comfort zone if I need a break from challenging myself. As long as it's not a dramatic change that calls attention to what you're avoiding, it's okay to do every now and then if you need a break.
Before I started doing this I was constantly feeling bad about drawings I was working on. My mindset is now more "how can I make this panel enjoyable to work on" rather than "how can I make this panel more skilled looking". I find I get better, stronger, results that way, because my focus is on enjoying myself, and it really can show in someone's work if they're just forcing it or if they're genuinely liking what they're doing.

[NanettesClouds]

When I'm going through an art block.
Say I'm really uncomfortable with how my linework looks, I'll usually do one of three things:
1) Take a break (Everyone else has done a good job and I think this might be what you need the most.)
2) Push through the art-block by really focusing on improving my linework, I'm talking pages and pages of really focused study.
3) Try working on something completely different, like maybe practice painting for awhile, or maybe try some really weird experimental style.

I usually pick the third option, I've found that whenever it is I go back to the thing I was having artblock over after practicing something completely different, I have some new sort of perspective and that will usually solve the problem I was having.

I mean you're having trouble with your comic that updates regularly though, so it's probably not a great idea to drastically experiment with its style. But maybe in your personal sketchbook start experimenting with weird things and maybe it will solve some issues that you're having with your comic.

But yeah man, take a short break first, it sounds like you're seriously overloaded right now.

[NickRowler]

I get that from time to time. I can get really antsy which makes it impossible to draw.
The best thing I can say is to take a break, and a hiatus if it is really bad.

I also notice it helps to break pages up into parts. Usually when I am antsy and I really need to get stuff done, I will only draw the easy parts of the page or spend the day only doing shading. It's almost impossible for me to sketch when I am in this mood, so I avoid doing sketches.

Doing some arm weight exercises with small hand weights can actually help and sometimes even taking time to stretch. It is also common in winter for people to be depressed due to less vitamin D from the sun, so maybe take a vitamin D tablet a day or eat/drink a food which has vitamin D. If you are a vegetarian or if you eat only a little bit of meat, you might feel sluggish due to low iron. Having a well rounded diet is also helpful, make sure you eat protein instead of relying solely on sugar or caffeine for energy. Not getting enough sleep can also effect you.

Oh, another thing...if you are hungry and haven't eaten anything for hours, do not just drink or eat something that is high in sugar. It might give you temporary energy however it is followed with crashing hard. If you are having a soda or something, eat other non-sugary foods with it, like a sandwich.

[teddy]

When my art doesn't "feel right", I just take a break. Could be as short as a day, could be as long as two years. I've been in both situations. But what's important is that no matter how long it takes for you to "recover", you have to continue drawing at some point.

[punkarsenic]

take a break, definitely. in that break probably draw for fun more - draw things you see, especially people. sketching people in public places like buses is great bc you have to be quick so you drop the perfectionism. copying another artists style that you admire can help too. generally, but not always, feeling like that is a symptom that youre ready to progress in your art, so i do things that will help me do that.