As an aside, I donât think itâs expected (or should be expected) of relatives to ask about helping you in your business.
Anyway. Iâm gonna give it straight to you bud,
Comic drawing is fun, for most of us, itâs a hobby, we do it because we enjoy it. Art is, in general, is. The point where it becomes work is when youâre being paid for it.
If youâre being paid for your comic work- awesome! Thatâs your job, tell them, âI make X a month drawing, Iâm gonna put my time into it so I can earn my keep.â
If you donât make any/enough money off comics/art a month... Then youâre just putting a lot of time into a hobby. Doesnât matter how much youâre concentrating on it, doesnât matter how much youâre not doing other things, youâre not getting any return other than your enjoyment and your finished works. If a teacher doesnât get paid for his work teaching that just makes him a voleunteer, making teaching a hobby. A profession = something youâre paid to do.
If you want to put all that time into a hobby, thatâs fine too? But that probbaly means youâre âleechingâ off someone, and itâs expected in a society where most people work for their living âleechesâ are treated kind of badly. (Hey, Iâm currently a leech too!)
Consider looking into ways to get money from art quickly (comics is an incredibly slow and sometimes just impossible turnout. Commissions tend to be way quicker and more accessible, and thereâs all sorts of work in between to get money from art), that way youâre improving your skills & still doing creative work while actually getting paid for it.
If youâre not skilled enough to get paid work from art, most people get a 9-5 and do half a day work half a day art.
Sorry to be so harsh, but your relatives may have a point.