Why do you keep going?

[monotone_ink]

The setting is this:

Let us assume that in your lifetime, your work will never be critically acclaimed. Perhaps only a select few will read your works and enjoy them, but beyond that, you will only ever be acknowledged far after your death.

Now you stand before a heavenly judge, and the judge questions you: "Knowing all that, why did you continue working on it?"

[DualDragons]

Meh, I'll be a normie working in office all my life and talk about soccer and stuff in the weekends otherwise. It's more of a hobby to keep myself busy.

[SurvivALIST]

SurvivALIST: I died just to give myself another world to live in and that is my novel RUWS. Please give me a second chance of living a new life in the world of my novel literally. It was hard work creating it.

[Azifri]

Like @DualDragons said, I also have a non art related job, and have kinda assumed that my artsy stuff will never be anything else than amateur/hobbyist level :') I mean, it would be nice if I could make even a partial source of income from my comics and writing but it sadly seems quite unlikely to happen. I continue working on my comics because I l like my stories and I love drawing. Nothing too deep XD

[mannygart]

This made me tear up, man. I think the biggest reason I keep chugging away is for the sake of my characters. I strive to make them "real" in a tangible way the same way they're "real" to me in my head. I've also made so many deep and genuine friendships with other creators along the way, and it touches my heart to hear them and even just readers talk and muse about the characters and call them by name as if we were talking about a mutual friend. It's awesome to think we as creators can bring life into being in a small way!

[DanielRKM]

Wait, I’m going to get acknowledged after my death?! This scenario is not half bad.

But seriously, I do it because I need to do this. It starts as a compulsion that has to be expunged. Something that will ruin my day or my mood until I get it out. Sometimes it’s about making the story I always wanted to read (either for the kid in me or for current me). There’s magic in doing that. To reach into yourself and find the thing you always needed? With all its imperfections and peccadilloes (peccadilloes is a fancy way of saying it’s punk rock, by the way). To be able to listen to your characters and delight in the things they say? That’s magic. Being able to pull a laugh out of yourself from some place deep down inside? That’s magic. To give yourself the chance to exercise empathy? To learn and grow in your craft? To have a record of the artist you were versus the artist you are now? For the chance to make a connection with someone because they dig the world inside your head and heart? It’s completely worth it.

And on the flip side, it also gives me the chance to make myself vulnerable. To feel all of the joy, pain, and all of my insecurities. To break myself down and learn how to pick myself back up again. To grow as a person and learn not to put all of my hopes and dreams into what others think about me. To not put all of my self-worth into the kind of art I’m able to make at this moment either. Because putting my art out there is hard and I had no idea the rollercoaster of emotions I’d feel along the way. But when I pay attention to my feelings of rejection/hopelessness, and validate them for a moment, I can then find a way to put myself back together and be stronger for it.

I do this because I love it.

[Eiranyx]

Simple: The world is already mundane enough, why would I contribute something normal in an already mundane world? --- I don't care if It won't be critically acclaimed, I do this to keep myself 'sane' in this already ordinary world with the same routine, and I will only live once at least I was able to live a not-so-ordinary life by being brave enough to create something in this lifetime.
and if these select few were able to take a glimpse into the world that I created in my work then at least I was able to get them see that there are some things beyond this mundane world that can only be seen through different creations.

[ninjashira]

Oh I'm pretty sure I'll never be critically acclaimed or anything like that, but that's not why I draw comics. I don't do it for the attention or the money or anything. I draw comics because I have a million stories bottled up inside me, and because I've been drawing since before I could walk. I love stories and I love art and I love telling stories with my art! Even if nobody ever read my webcomic again, I would still finish it, because my soul needs to finish it.

[MeltingCORE]

I write and paint... because it makes my brain feel good. When I word it that way, it sounds silly. But that's the core reason I keep going. These characters and this world bring me so much joy. Why would I stop just because I'm not Stephen King famous? That would be absurd and a heartbreaking waste of something that has been my imagination's company for so long. And my intention has never been making this into a career anyways. (I am working towards a career that will also bring me happiness but not destroy my love for creating. I personally feel like if this was my job, I would end up hating my work because it would be about putting food on the table and constant stress. Massive kudos to professionals in the industry who work through that and get their work published!)

[Legendofgenii]

I’m dead!? Damn it! I wasn’t even halfway through.

[SurvivALIST]

Namely, your unfinished business in life

[Fun-SizeMojo]

Drawing and making comics is a great stress relief from normal life and makes me feel happier and accomplished just to have created something. Plus, if even one person enjoyed reading it, that's even better!

[Kaydreamer]

"Because I loved doing it. And those who read it, loved it too, however few in number."

[Tailzkip]

I'm 100 chapters in....It won't beat me now. Also I vowed to finish at least one series before I bite the dust and third... I really love working on it lol.

[DiegoPalacios]

"well......was just having fun dude".........

(still would love the success to be able to make a living of it)

[jcmraz]

I already assume all of that about mine. I stopped before because of it. I came back because it's an addiction

[ar-ninetysix]

your honor, i'm a bit of a masochist

pls step on me

[Lirina]

I mainly write for myself so that in a few years I can come back and read something good. If others enjoy my work that's just a bonus

[GGOkumura]

To let my ideas out and try to at least be commited to finishing something in my life. With just a few people who get entertained by my work is fine.

[noenoh]

Sir, if you check my CV added to the case documents, you will note your Boss made me for this and also added "haughty, petty and resilient af" as side note. Now, can I go in? I would like to rest horizontally for a bit before going to some clouds I saw to the north for add some colors to them. thnks