Personal Project Progress

[sankseas]

Between the monthly challenges, fanzines, and new jobs I got these past few months ... I'd forgotten about my personal projects.

[Art]

Did some big commissions towards the end here, joined a few fanzines (Steven Universe, RPG Horror, and Undertale ... still waiting on the She-ra one,) but I haven't actually drawn anything since October. It's killing me :'D

Got two illustration series, two comics, and all the little drawings I really want to knock out!! The problem isn't motivation - I'm plenty excited to work on them - it's time. Thinking of trying a new way of inking, seeing if it speeds up the process ...

[Writing]

After that unofficial NaNo, my writing habits are doing much better than my drawing habits! Nothing awe-inspiring, but I am back in the groove of writing every day or so. Forgot how much I loved it ...

I'm gonna try a few tips on how to type that first draft faster!! All but one of my projects is outlined & started on drafting :)

[Fun]

I'm ... bad at scheduling breaks. It's something I've been working on for years now. Workaholic :') I enjoy my new job & commissions are always nice, but I really need to rework my new schedule for some fun stuff.

Working on my reading list, watching list, playing list ... it's a lot!! Currently reading East by Edith Pattou, want to finish watching She-ra, and there's some indie rpgs I've got bookmarked for later. Doesn't help that I want to re-read Cucumber Quest all of a sudden ...
 

Do you have any personal projects you're working on? I love hearing about other's projects - I get so much more done when I've got friends to bounce excitement off of. What works for you? I'm a list-maker! I've got lists of my lists to keep me on track lol. Any fun plans for the end of this year? I'm gonna try to knock out those currently-doing things!

(Keep forgetting to mention, if you ever want to check out my pro art blog for all these projects I vague about, message me!)

Comments

[altilis]

I'm not anywhere close to writing every day, either for my work or for recreation, though I used to have the habit and was probably better for it. I started writing that Ben & Luke fic TODAY, though, whic is as good a start as any!

What tends to work the best for me is to 1) bounce off the wildest ideas with my friends to get some hype and then 2) find the music for the mood I want to invoke. Sometimes the music can take more time than necessary, but it usually gets me a better fic.

[sankseas]

I figure, even if I only get one sentence down a day, that's one sentence more than none :'D

Congrats on starting that Ben & Luke fic!! Have fun with it!!!

Thanks for reminding me about music! It really does help me get in the zone, but I forget it 80% of the time lol. I might have to sit down & make some playlists.

[riocu]

"I haven't actually drawn anything since October." ugh me too. i'm having such a hard time atm just picking up a pencil. i'm all ears for what you're doing to get back into the groove haha

oooh i saw you mention your original comic projects in your other posts! that's so cool! super excited to hear about your progress since you hear so little about all that hard work that happens behind the scenes!
i promised myself to get this first chapter draft done this year, fingers crossed :'D

"I get so much more done when I've got friends to bounce excitement off of." yeeeeheheheeees, it's so much easier when you have some faith that at least one person will read it :')

[sankseas]

Mostly keeping my sketchbook close & doodling quick stuff every day or so. Getting ideas down, and all that! Trying to rearrange my schedule, too :'D

I'm glad my comic talk is exciting!! Wish more creators would talk about process. It's so fascinating! My fav art books are the ones that include how the project changed over the years, with scripts & concepts.

Good luck with that first chapter!!! I believe in you!!!! If you ever need someone to talk to about it or other projects, I'm game!!

[riocu]

i used to do that, too, but then burnout and other stuff happened |D

ohmygod it so is! i recently talked about how it's kind of sad that you don't see a lot of variety of the process of making one! i never really ""could"" draw comics bc script writing and thumbnailing absolutely does not work for me
*eyes emoji* any recs?

dsahfs thank youuuuuuuu
;o; that would be so rad, actually

[sankseas]

I'm the kind where drawing everyday keeps me motivated, but I do have to take a day or two, sometimes.

Books - Rise of the Guardians (it's my fav! they go over every process & changes!!) Over the Garden Wall (that aesthetic!! They include their messy sketches, too!) & These are more How-Tos, but Marcos Mateu-Mestre's Framed Ink (beautiful examples!) & Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics helped me wrap my head around some of the process.

Artists - they're not frequent, unfortunately, but Leppu, Kadi Fedoruk, & Jake Wyatt have posted some process stuff before!

No worries, I'd be super excited for reading or talking about projects :)

[riocu]

i'm also someone who has to draw daily (i get rusty really quickly), so it's great to hear that from someone else!

oh my, i love the fact that i own half of these books already haha (rotg and framed ink) but i must admit i've always been very… intimidated? by scott mccloud's how to comic books. as much as i'm always looking for theory to base my knowledge on, i feel like the more i hear about how comics are made, the more courage i lose to actually start ^^;

oh man! i've been following jake wyatt on twitter forever! i loved the perspective tutorial he posted on tumblr! gotta check out the other artists, too. thank you!

[sankseas]

You've got good taste in books, lol.

I had to read McCloud's book for school. Was a bit intimidating, I'll admit, but it still helps me with my paneling. I read it in small steps - like, reading about word balloon placements, then another day read about panel sizes, etc. - if that helps? If I knew any other comic how-to books, I'd rec them X'D

Nice! Sometimes I just stare at Wyatt's Necropolis comic. It's so pretty!!

& No problem :)

[riocu]

*fingerguns*

oooh i see. and oh boy, paneling/layout is exactly my weakpoint. i'll try checking it out again, so thanks for the rec!

IT IS. i mean his colours and composition are *chefkiss emoji* but then i always stare at his line quality like. how do you make a pencil do that

[sankseas]

*high fives 'cause it's my weak point too!!* :'D

Right?! Love pencil textures ... just not sure how to get them right.