It really is my calling and passion. I can't imagine doing anything else. I've tried, but it always comes back to this.
Well, it's true. Time passes one way or another. In 12 hours from now you might've just eaten a bag of chisps and watched 4 1/2 episodes of scary letsplays on youtube before passing out, or maybe instead you buckled down and you made a dedication to yourself to draw. I think that's pretty remarkable, don't you? Takes a whole lot of motivation, especially if you're just starting out as an artist.
In fact, I think the "beginner" artists are some of the most inspiring. For an advanced artist, things are breezy. But for newbies comics can be daunting. Coloring, lighting, shading, panel direction, it's a lot to handle. I appreciate the newbs tackling all of that. Because let's be honest, it's where every great artist ever started.
It's my source of happiness I guess. Also, stress reliever. The real world is just too exhausting for an introvert and a HSP like me. I never felt at home at anything besides drawing. But mostly though, I get commissions from deviantart so I think, that's why my enjoyment amplified because of the small rewards I get.
i do it because it's fun and it's great once the effort is put in and seeing your final peice is real rewarding
The more I ignore the rest of the world, the happier I am. To be an organic farmer somewhere without wifi...this may be my future.
I understand this and agree but if it was just this we wouldn't need to publish. When we publish our stories I'm afraid we are expecting something more than the self rewarding feeling of progress and creation. And if we dont get that kind of approval, then all this effort might be counter productive, specially for those who create out of sadness or as an escape.
I whine all through the rough sketches and lineart and coloring, but when I see the end result I get a big ol' addictive dump of self satisfaction that can carry me for a couple days. I keep doing it for that reward.
Knowing it's a comic and I'll share it with people who might or might not enjoy it too makes it feel a little more productive.
Well your original question was how can we deal with the fact that our work is not recognised for all the effort we put in it. You either continue doing it and enjoy the process and progress and try to become better in this (and hoping to get some following along the way), or stop drawing after finding out no one reads you.
If pleasure in just doing it was good enough for me, I probably won't make a comic at all - it is very hard and it was even harder for me to start it. I could draw flying heads my whole life, it would be much simpler, before drawing the comic I did draw for myself my whole life after all. But here I have this story (well, my husband has) I enjoy and I want other people to enjoy it. I want to make good comics and be like those famous comic makers I love. Because I do love to draw and it is one of the things I know how to do 
So you enjoy the process, because the process definitely won't be counterproductive. At least your art is becoming better, so you can drop this story and start something new.
I originally started drawing because I wanted pictures to go along with the stories I wrote. I kept drawing because it became an amazing outlet for me mentally and emotionally.
Sometimes it's hard making a story and not really getting any interaction. But I remind myself that if I didn't illustrate the ideas that are constantly going on in my head, I would probably go insane because there's no other way for me to tell the story. 
lol I also do enjoy the process of growth and seeing how far I've come over the last decade.
I have been drawing since I was a baby. So, I draw for myself so I have no problems sitting for hours drawing if I have the time (since I have fun when I do that) (:
Also I like challenges, comic, and stories.
So for me, making a comic is a big challenge that I have taken on myself 
Doing illustrations, I LOVE. I get to experiment, put in a LOT of effort or no effort at all, draw whatever I want. There's freedom.
As for drawing comics. I'm not sure I love it anymore. I recently finished a long-running comic. It took 5 years. While I'm proud I kept up with the thing and I like how the whole comic turned out overall, I often wonder where I could have been in my creative career had I not sunk in all that time.
Heck I could have written at least 3 novels during that whole time. Which is why I think I'll start migrating to novels more, and produce fewer comics. Age and health are getting to me, I don't have the energy for so many long-haul comics anymore.
I'm already pretty used to the whole "not that many people read my stuff" part of the OP, but I think that's mostly because the entire reason I started drawing a webcomic was for me. I was frustrated with my job and my attitude at work was starting to get reeeeeeeally shitty. Like, I was constantly grouchy, made my coworkers uncomfortable, that kind of thing. So when I was asking my friends on social media which comic I should just shut up and finally do (I'd been wanting to do one for years but never had the courage to just go for it), out of the options I gave them they picked NLPCo. So basically I drew it for myself and for my coworkers. I didn't have a story, I didn't have characters, I didn't really have anything other than "here's a pizzeria, here's the kind of frustrating shit that happens to the people who work in the pizzeria, if you're one of those types of customers and these jokes offend you then screw you, this comic isn't FOR you!" Essentially it was just a way for me to vent. I didn't really care if that many people read it because my goal wasn't to make something for everyone, it was to make myself an outlet. And I'm pretty sure that's why it's wallowing in relative obscurity. The art in the first couple dozen strips is sketchy and awful; the characters didn't even have NAMES for a while; there was no actual story, just a slice-of-life sort of joke-a-day thing; and the overall tone of the comic is just kind of mean and bitter (which, I reiterate, was the whole point) and that's why I don't get many subscribers.
But here's the weird thing: It worked for me.
After a while my general attitude at my day job improved. I no longer dreaded going to that stupid pizzeria because now it was fuel for my creative outlet. My girlfriend also finally asked me when I was going to, ya know, DO SOMETHING with the entire premise or if I was going to just keep being mean to customers in my imaginary wonderland where being horrible to people doesn't get you fired. So that's my new reason to draw this dumb thing. My focus shifted from venting to challenging myself to create a world that I find amusing, and it's one of the most satisfying things I'm doing with my life at the moment. Sure, it's not the comic I'd been hoping to do (I'll get to it after I'm done with Neon) but it's fun coming up with scenarios I can put these characters in while simultaneously making jokes about work that my friends and coworkers will still appreciate.
So if it ever gains a wider audience, fine, very cool. I'll be happy with that. But for now it's enough that it makes me happy. The art will get better. The story will progress. I've got some crazy ish coming up, and I'm excited to show it to people. That's why I draw.
I can feel that even though I haven't finished a big comic project, not loving it anymore and that age and health problems. Hoping for the best for your current works
You'll never know if you will be recognized or not. I make my comic because I love making comics- I love sharing my comics with my readers and hopefully through that, things can happen. I know it may take some time and I'm good with that- it could never happen, but if I didnt try as hard or didnt come out of the gate as I needed to then what's the point? Part of the process is enjoying the journey, not always looking to the reward...
