Minna provided a long Disqus post on p. 312 about webcomics creation. I'm putting it here for now, but am open to suggestions to put it somewhere else.
TheNextMangaKing I know this comment might never be seen, but your productivity is simply INCREDIBLE. Before I looked at how long it took you to complete a Redtail's Dream, I thought such speed and upkeep was impossible. But, as evidenced here, it is CLEARLY not.
Do you have any tips on how I can keep up speed and quality of my own work without burning myself out? Or do you have a previous blog post concerning this? Your colors are breathtaking, and the work in general is consistently amazing.
minnasundberg Ah, I guess that would be a good blog post topic, I have a lot of little tips and tricks in my pocket by now. But here's some general advice I could share for now:
1. Start slow and try to get more efficient in increments; starting off with a too pressing goal off the bat is an easy ticket to burnout.
When I started aRTD my goal was to draw one page every week, and even that felt like a huge hurdle. But by the time the first chapter was done and I decided to start putting it online I had become accustomed enough to drawing it that I was able to do 3 pages a week, easily.
After about a year the way I drew the pages was such a tightly practiced and planned routine that I was able to move to the daily updates.
2. Get rid of that voice that tells you that each page has to be better than the last one or you're a failure of an artist who isn't progressing at all. Just try your best and once a page or panel is finished just call it done even if you're disappointed in it, and try your best again with the next one.
(When looking for whether you've progressed or not compare your current pages to works that are at least a few months-a year old, otherwise you'll get constantly depressed from not seeing any improvement.)
3. Don't wait for inspiration to work, and don't go to bed early just because you're "not feeling it". I know that pages that I draw when I'm feeling kinda depressed will be worse than if I were enthusiastic about what I'm drawing, but a mediocre depression-day-page is better than no page because of depression, and I know I'll feel even more depressed and stressed out if I fall behind my drawing schedule.
I don't go to bed angry and I don't go to bed without finishing that day's work, even if it means I go to bed well after the sun is up.
(Uhhh, yeah, I could write like five blog posts on the subject. I've spent a whooole lot of time trying to figure out how to develop my drawing speed while also keeping it from becoming something I resent doing every day. So far so good, i suppose.
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