Writers who are also artists

[yaziroburrows]

Hey everyone!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the intersection of writing and visual art. As someone who loves storytelling and also creates visual art, I find myself constantly shifting between the two—sometimes blending them, sometimes keeping them separate. It made me wonder:

• How do other writer-artists manage both disciplines?

• Do you find one influences the other in your creative process?

• Are there times when you lean more into one side than the other?

• Have you ever combined them in a project (like graphic novels, illustrated stories, visual poetry, etc.)?

I currently don't like doing both for a story, and while I do tend to draw or sketch my characters, sometimes making full illustrations, I'm not really motivated to try and make my novels into comics. I just like to doodle my silly little guys sometimes, although I LOVE recieving art of my written characters.

I’d love to hear your experiences, your process, and maybe even see some examples if you’re open to sharing!

[Kyanbu]

I tend to lean on both. Whenever I'm drawing, I usually think of a story for that scene or illust. And when I'm drawing characters and creatures, I start brain storming about who and what they are. They're history, personality, ect.

That eventually lead to me wanting to make games/comics. Based on some of those ideas.

[ThunderChicken]

Both of my current stories on Tapas are illustrated novels (Usually an image for each episode). Eventually I want to do Wild Nights, Hot and Crazy Days as a comic, though, because that's actually what it started out as in 1992.

Here's an example (screenshot of the latest chapter of Defining Daecon, since I don't want to spam up your thread with links):

[Leyelle]

How do other writer-artists manage both disciplines?

I write more than I draw, but since I like making art of my characters for promotion purposes that helps me keep practicing my art. I also like making comics, so that helps me practice my art more as well, though as of yet, I only make money off of writing.

Do you find one influences the other in your creative process?

for sure. when I make a character design I can't draw I realize how many more things I need to learn. different struggles I go with as a writer also influence some of my art. I have a comic called mental soup where I write about things that upset me, and things like a lack of representation in the media are recurring themes.

Are there times when you lean more into one side than the other?

I always lean more heavily toward writing atm

Have you ever combined them in a project (like graphic novels, illustrated stories, visual poetry, etc.)?

like I said, I make comics XD.

These are mental soup drawings

[kyupol]

I'm more of a writer than artist. Only learned to draw for the sole purpose of learning how to illustrate my imagination. I'm not the type of person who draws random unrelated doodles for fun.

[bulgariansumo]

Do you find one influences the other in your creative process?

I find that I don't go into much detail about what characters look like unless I've drawn out a design for them.

Are there times when you lean more into one side than the other?

Sometimes I'll spend weeks writing, other times I'll spend weeks drawing. I rarely feel like I'm not leaning into one or the other.

Have you ever combined them in a project (like graphic novels, illustrated stories, visual poetry, etc.)?

Yeah, I write an illustrated novel. I wasn't really planning on doing that at first (which is why there's still a few chapters that don't have art yet), but I also like doodling my silly little guys and thought it'd be fun to include some of those pictures in the story itself. Then it grew to trying to make sure every chapter had at least one illustration.

Originally, my story was going to be a comic, but I couldn't really keep up with that. I'm really happy with the amount of story I can tell in a novel. The more I think about it, the less I'm sure longform comics are the right medium for the stories I want to tell.

Really, I'd love to make them animated, but I'm also the type of person that likes to do everything by myself if I can help it, and that's just not feasible with animation. When I set out to make comics, I was just settling, which is probably not how you should approach comics or any medium.

And sure, I started writing to settle for not being able to churn out comics, but I've come to appreciate it more as its own thing. Writing makes it a lot easier to show what's going on inside the characters' heads (if anything at all.) The illustrations are just a bonus.

[moontokkym]

I've always done both, mostly because growing up in a foreign country not knowing the language at first meant I couldn't really communicate the way I wanted, so doing both was my way of coping with that. I've also always been a "try everything artsy" person so I've also tried dancing, singing, sewing, cosplay, porcelain painting and some others, and they've all kind of mingled.

In my case currently, writing always comes first. I'll have a scene in my head and I'll have it visually play out and I'll rewind and start again if it doesn't flow or go where I need it to, and then I'll write a draft of what happened to work on later. Some scenes are easier to visually plot out than others, some will be like a radio show where I just have voices and foley.

All of my current personal projects have both an art and writing element. One is my comic on tapas called Petrichor which is full colour because it needs to be lol

And my other one is LGBTQ+ Romantasy that i'm currently writing in novel form but may convert to a comic format at some point as it's a shorter project and I've already kind of started the adaptation process, oops, but either way I've been illustrating it for years as it evolved and now I'm pretty happy with how the illustrations and the story's turning out.

[jwabeasley]

I always tell myself 'I'm just going to write it this time' and it always winds up in comic form. I just have a highly visual imagination! One day I'll be able to at least write a light novel instead of a comic but so far it's always become pure comic.

In addition to doing comics, I also do a lot of DMing, and it has a bit less effort to plot as comics, but I still wind up drawing everyone's characters, major NPCs, major locations, and so forth.

I can't really help it - I always imagine things as clear images first. Scenes, characters, locations all play out like a movie in my head.

[simplykit]

I'm primarily an artist who tries to write stuff lolz

How do other writer-artists manage both disciplines?

I do it cause i have no choice, aint got no money to hire a writer bruh

Do you find one influences the other in your creative process?

I prefer drawing but i kinda liking writing stuff too

Are there times when you lean more into one side than the other?

sometimes yes but since im doing a comic i have to balance them

Have you ever combined them in a project (like graphic novels, illustrated stories, visual poetry, etc.)?

yez, my comicsss and my my yearly "simply kit draws your OC's" segment gag. I write poetry that hits the TAPAS FAMs heart strings to lure them into participating, then i use mah drawin skillz to deliver what i promized

[Oriflamme]

For me the drawing depends on what I’m working on. Different approaches work differently for different projects. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.I currently have three active creative projects, and each has a different approach.

The first one is a worldbuilding project that is drawing driven. It’s about an alternate history setting with high fantasy and dieselpunk/atompunk/cassette futurism. Everything about this world is the result of what I wanted to draw: airships, jets, mechs, army wizards, tanks, magical girls, boats, necromancers, or aliens. I think of a cool concept, say dragon rider with a stinger anti-air missile and then I draw it, and maybe write a small caption to give a greater glimpse into the universe. Writing is an after thought because I don’t really have a story to tell(well not any good story), just a bunch of neat ideas.

I’m also writing this web novel, this is writing driven. I have this story to tell whether I draw the characters or not is not going to affect the narrative. I did do a few illustrations but they are after thoughts, because this project is not about the visuals. It is about this coming of age story and themes like the inherent failures of fascism, and I don’t think I could convey all of that through drawings

Finally, there is my comic, where the drawings are part of writing. I do write scripts, but they are mostly guidelines for when I draw. The dialog is often in constant flux as I slowly finish the drawing, each guiding and influencing the other. Sometimes, I realise that I can’t draw something or it would be too much extra work, so the writing creates a path for me to avoid it. Other times, I don’t have to write a word because an image is worth a thousand words. The two are intertwined because from the outset I wanted to create a comic. Doing it as a novel would not work because I have a vision, and just exploring the world through drawing would be boring because the story was part of the idea.

[vapidink]

How do other writer-artists manage both disciplines?

I'm primarily a writer, so that's what I spend most of my time doing. When I can, I work on illustrations, covers, etc. Usually, if I'm stuck on a part of the story, I'll take some time off from writing and work on art. It helps me clear my mind and gets me thinking about who the characters are and where I want the story to go.

Do you find one influences the other in your creative process?

I'm definitely influenced by the character art I make. One of the first things I do when I start a new story is some concept art. It helps me visualize the characters and story more easily.

Are there times when you lean more into one side than the other?

For the most part, I write more than I draw unless I'm doing promo art or starting a new story and need a cover.

Have you ever combined them in a project (like graphic novels, illustrated stories, visual poetry, etc.)?

I have an illustrated novel that's currently on hiatus. Every chapter has an illustration that ties into it. I'm hoping to be able to get back to it at some point.

I also made a short comic a while back, mostly as a challenge for myself. It was part of a contest I knew I wouldn't win, but the time constraints and the prompt helped me stay on track and finish it.

I've also made all the covers of my stories and some character concept art.

Honestly, if I had the time and skills I'd love to make a comic out of one of my books, but there's a lot of stories I want to tell and doing it through novels is a lot faster.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

1. No discipline, I am lazy.
2. They influence each other in a way. I draw characters based on their written descriptions, while I write a scene based on storyboard/comic sketch I made.
3. I lean more into drawing, I write just for efficiency and I am simply not skilled enough to make a proper comic. Please not that my writing isn't that good but it's kind of easier to fix.
4. See point number one. It is an interesting thought, but it requires effort. Moreover, my art is still growing and there's some insecurity with posting it alongside my writing and make it "official." I tried to put some illustrations, but as time passed, I realised how ungly they are and how my skill was lacking, so I deleted them in embarrassment.

I do draw concepts and character art, but I only share them with groups of artist friends and acquaintances, not within the series.

The real upside? I make my own cover

[justincarbunkle]

For my comic, I consider the writing more important than the visuals. The visuals take a lot more time to produce, and while I do try to make my panels look nice, I consider the writing the core foundation. Bad writing bothers me far more than a bad visual.

My comic also has a pretty simple art style. This is so I can produce 6-10 pages a week consistently, and also because my drawing skills aren’t strong enough for me to create something that can stand on visuals alone. I don’t think my comic looks bad, but the visual art is not the main selling point.

I do edit a lot of the dialogue during the storyboarding phase, and during my final read through after all the drawings are finalized. How a shot’s composed or how a character's expression looks can encourage me to make a line shorter/longer.

[yaziroburrows]

Honestly, I think it's cool how many of you use art to inform your writing and the two are so intertwined!

I guess in my mind they are just two different things. I write for my game projects, but I would never turn it into a novel and I draw my novel characters, but I would never make a comic about them.

[remiquise]

I do (and have) spent most my life drawing, writing has always been a secondary thing... Which is quite frustrating because I tend to think my writing is better writing than my drawings are drawing, if that makes sense.

As for your questions:

• How do I manage both? I don't manage them. I can go weeks without writing, I don't typically go weeks without drawing though. They're both hobbies so I just do them as I see fit. I will admit, though, writing does feel like more of a chore.

• Drawing influences my writing a lot. I need to doodle the characters and some scenes to really get the juices flowing for novel plotting. And, in turn, sometimes scenes I write inspire some artwork. But I do not need writing to make my artwork.

• In my day to day life I lean on drawing more. I've always enjoyed it more and find I can do it while listening to podcasts or music while writing I need quiet.

• I have combined them, I do comics. The issue with that is my art style doesn't feed into my writing style well at all. Besides, dialogue is never a big part of my writing which is basically the only writing involved within the comic itself.

Backgrounds are something I lack at soooo bad, so it's far easier for my to paint an environment with words opposed to comics.

Like this:

is way better than anything I do for my comic (different locations but I think this makes my point);

And the subject matter of what I write and draw are very different in general. My comics are a real mixed bag. Some of light, some are heavy, some a decent mix. My darker comics just don't look right, imo, but that's just the type of stories I feel most comfortable writing so I have done a few ('Tales of an Executioner' on Webtoons, "Robotic Twins: Hansel and Gretel" on Webtoon and Tapas). But I've also done a heartwarming romance (I hated it, it was my most popular though. My drawing style lent well to it.), and a lighthearted fantasy story ('Rune's Grand Adventure' on Tapas and Webtoons). The other ones ('The Lies of a Heartbreaker' and my current comic 'The Alp's Assassin' both on Webtoons and Tapas) are the mixed ones. Super serious plots and moments with a lot of levity to soften how jarring my artwork and stories are clash.

Where as my writing is always pretty moody and serious, even in the swashbuckler I'm doing. A lot of the (panned) scenes are pretty dark because that's what my writing style lends to best. I'd give an example, but all my best written darker scenes are huge spoilers (I mean, the snippet I posted also is from a chapter that hasn't been released yet but it doesn't contain spoilers sooo). The only one I can think of that is current out is all about a dude planning on SA'ing the leading lady which is a bit heavy to just throw wildly into the forums for all to see at random (I know you've read it though, if the one reading this comment is the topic's creator).
But needless to say, that stuff does NOT suit this adorable ass drawing style, no matter how many times I try to force it with my stupid horror comics, so adding any visuals to my novels would likely do more harm than good:

So, the only artwork I attach to the novels themselves (within the works, I'll still post doodles of the characters and whatever elsewhere) are the title pages. And, if I'm being frank, I hate doing that. I'm just too proud and poor to get them elsewhere.

This has been a total ramble, I apologize. I'm not even sure if any of it made sense. I know I said I feel I'm a better writer than artist, but like, streams of contentiousnesses are like, soooo different!

[TnrOfficial]

I can definitely say that some of my early writing was pretty bad, even though I can say that I'm a good artist I definitely wasn't that good at creating a story.

As my main story progressed though and as I started getting older, reading other stories and finding what made those stories so special my writing became a lot better and when it came to writing scripts for chapters, creating characters and writing those emotions.. they're now a lot more better written which helps me capture that scene perfectly.. so I can definitely say it's a balance when it comes to writing and drawing for me.

[gigadrillsnake]

I've been drawing since I was little and I'd always make little stories for my drawings. As I grew up I started to like writing more and more. It gives me a chance to go deeper with my ideas and then I use my art to bring life to those ideas. The two go hand in hand for me as a comic creator.
As for your questions:
1: I draw more and when I write anything other than comics it's usually short stories or tiny little thoughts. But I love both.
2: I usually draw ideas I have for stories. And when I draw something unrelated to one of my stories it might spark a new one and sometimes it just works its way into a pre-existing idea. When making comics, I think the story should always come first so writing takes priority there.
3: As I said: writing takes priority in my comics but sometimes I won't physically write much and just get to drawing what's in my head (Probably not smart). And bad art can ruin a comic reading experience so I do spend a lot of effort on drawing.
4: yes

[CarltonIsaac]

Been a writer and illustrator since the 1990s, as a hobbyist and as a professional.

Here on Tapas since 2019 -

Read DELPHINE and ZIGADIAS | Tapas Web Community

Read DESTINY BECKONS | Tapas Web Community

Read The Queen is... A Villainess | Tapas Web Community

Read TWO PRINCES | Tapas Web Community

Read BETWIXT HAMMER AND ANVIL | Tapas Web Community

[ThunderChicken]

I may have mentioned this before, but every time I see “Two Princes” the Spin Doctors start playing in my head, where they may remain for hours. My internal DJ is an asshole…

And then after writing this I noticed “Betwixt the hammer and anvil”, which started the Judas Priest song “Between the Hammer and the Anvil” playing in my mind, so all is right again