Dear Comics

[dreamling]

Dear comics,
Please, oh, please tell me that I will get faster at making you. I want to make many more pages of you, and have so many stories waiting in the wings, and I just feel so darn slow. Please tell me that it will get easier, as I get better.

-me

Dear everyone else,
I plan to finish Tabloid Roulette this year. That' s 15 pages, plus some covers. I'd also like to do another 4 page story of Green Tavern tales this year, but TR is the focus.

I don't know how you pros get so many done!

Comments

[maciek-smuga.livejournal.com]

rumor has it that it's Kim's turn to show up at Art Night tonight, so she'll need to provide you motivation - I plan to work on my pages at home while Eli sleeps.

As for some ideas on how to get comics done faster:
1) don't worry so much about how things look. SERIOUSLY! If you're ok with how a pencilled figure looks, move on! better yet, ink it right there and then. I often start inking one panel on a page before I'm finished with pencils for another, just so I'm not tempted to go back and dink with it.
2) Use reference aggresively! You've got a great little camera, so if you need a pose, put Kim or Pete or whoever you have at hand in said position and snap away! Not only does the end result look better than if you guessed how the pose should look, but you'll end up finishing it much faster to boot.
3) be in the habit having a pencil (or pen) in hand at all times when arting: even if a pose isn't working out, or you're having problems with a panel, you can let your brain settle by doodling in some background stuff (I dunno, boxes for a warehouse, trees for a park, whatever).
4) meditation. Seriously. If you find yourself being distracted and unable to think about how to put together a panel or something (like that NEVER happens to me... heh) just close your eyes, become silent, and try to visualize it well in your mind's eye. With as many details as you can fit in. Then, when you have the image well-defined, sketch as much as you can on paper right then and there.
5) If you're unable to draw the next bit no matter what (and the above aren't working), consider posting a fun entry on the StudioAntiThesis.com forums :)

cheers and good arting!
-maciek