Do people out there working on their own comics projects do about a page a day? I have been hitting a page a day for about two weeks or so, and find it a very difficult pace to keep up with some times.... though some days I can get two pages done a day....
Anyhow, I don't have to rely on comics as my main source of income yet, so I am not really forced to do a page a day yet.... but I suppose I will be someday (which is why I am trying to hit a page a day now so I can build stamina).
I am wondering what other comic artists out there are doing....
Oh, I suppose I should mention that my current project is designed for print (though I am not adverse to making it digital if it becomes a better option to do so). Do people doing digital comics, be they web or CD comics, do a page a day?
vince
a page a day
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catgarza
- Mayor of Whimville
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page a day!?
i used to draw every single day. sometimes till dawn.
then i had to get a job.
now i'm lucky if i can post an online comic strip ontime once a week...
cayetano "cat" garza jr. 
cybercholo/webcomix "pioneer"/weirdo
cybercholo/webcomix "pioneer"/weirdo
Hi Vince,
I just started doing a page a day comic on my site about two weeks ago. I am working three weeks ahead so if I miss a day, no big deal. So far so good for me. I have enough stuff written in my head for about another month and my everyday life produces more strips. (I have to start writing my ideas down before I start forgetting them) However I am just drawing staight out in ink with no preliminary drawings or penciling. It makes working much much faster. I know your art, it is very good but time consuming. I stopped adding color to save time too. Cat's art would take me a month to do what he does a week.
My goal is just to pump stuff out and not care about the art. I kow I can do that well, I want to see if I can keep a daily schedule and write enough to keep it.
I just started doing a page a day comic on my site about two weeks ago. I am working three weeks ahead so if I miss a day, no big deal. So far so good for me. I have enough stuff written in my head for about another month and my everyday life produces more strips. (I have to start writing my ideas down before I start forgetting them) However I am just drawing staight out in ink with no preliminary drawings or penciling. It makes working much much faster. I know your art, it is very good but time consuming. I stopped adding color to save time too. Cat's art would take me a month to do what he does a week.
My goal is just to pump stuff out and not care about the art. I kow I can do that well, I want to see if I can keep a daily schedule and write enough to keep it.
Randy Carboni
www.mermbut.com
www.mermbut.com
Re: whoa...
I've seen a lot worse on the SMDB. You'd be amazed how far some people will go.catgarza wrote:i think i just made the world's first message board emoticon online comic! i think i'm gonna go draw now...
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catgarza
- Mayor of Whimville
- Posts: 171
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peace
nice 
three weeks ahead of myself. jesus. why didn't i think of that...
got back from the pancake house with some nice drawings for this next CUENTOS. it's a bit of an easter strip (even though it's coming out the day after).
posting gave me the motivation.
three weeks ahead of myself. jesus. why didn't i think of that...
got back from the pancake house with some nice drawings for this next CUENTOS. it's a bit of an easter strip (even though it's coming out the day after).
posting gave me the motivation.
cayetano "cat" garza jr.
cybercholo/webcomix "pioneer"/weirdo
cybercholo/webcomix "pioneer"/weirdo
Although it only takes me 2-3 hours to do a page of Makeshift Miracle, I've rarely had the time lately. Getting done my 3 per week has been crazy, but I always seem to just squeak through and get them finished.
I've got a new job and am moving across the country in the next 2-3 weeks. All the organization, arrangements and good-byes to my friends here have really eaten up my time.
BUT...
Once I'm settled, I should have more free time than ever. I should be able to get back on top of Makeshift and maybe even have time to create some other web comics to show other styles and shorter stories.
Which all bubbles down to... I should be able to do a page a day, but haven't been doing it lately.
<img src="http://miracle.keenspace.com/images/Banner.jpg">
I've got a new job and am moving across the country in the next 2-3 weeks. All the organization, arrangements and good-byes to my friends here have really eaten up my time.
BUT...
Once I'm settled, I should have more free time than ever. I should be able to get back on top of Makeshift and maybe even have time to create some other web comics to show other styles and shorter stories.
Which all bubbles down to... I should be able to do a page a day, but haven't been doing it lately.
<img src="http://miracle.keenspace.com/images/Banner.jpg">
-----------------------------------------------------------
Jim Zubkavich
http://miracle.keenspace.com
Jim Zubkavich
http://miracle.keenspace.com
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gazorenzoku
- Reinvents understanding
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I am working a whole year in advance, how about that? But, that doesn't let me be lazy. I'm on school break right now, so I do about a page a day, but I imagine that will drop when the semester picks back up...
Anyhow, I hope to complete a comic every 2 months. When I have 6 done, in about a year, I will start the printing process.
The reason I am doing this is that I just don't want to work under a deadline yet. I know I will some day, but I don't see any reason to start right now.
Which brings me to another point: is a page a day necessary? I suppose if you are relying on a monthly book for your cash, then it is. But other than that, is it a must? I think that it can be a good standard for those who are too picky with their art or too lazy to get motivated. I know that ever since I read Dave Sim's motivational material on self publishing, I really started churning out the pages in a good way, and now I have a small body of growing work that I am extremely proud of. I am improving a lot faster, too.
But, it seems that sometimes that "page a day" standard can get in the way. If it gets in the way of putting out a good page, then I say throw it out the window (once again, if you aren't relying on a monthly title for your income). If you have a choice of creating a damn good page that takes two to three days, and completing a mediocre page in one day, which would you choose?
There are some people who might believe that the mediocre page is the better way to go. I suppose, for one thing, getting it done will help you get on to the rest of your story (where you can make up for the shotty page, hopefully). Also, there is something to be said for getting a huge body of work out there to your fans.
What do you all think?
I decided not to do a page today. Instead, I spent my work time doing page sketches & layouts. I finished sketching and planing the story and art for about 10 pages today, and had a blast! It also put me up to page 20 on my first 32 page print comic, so now I only have 12 pages left to plan out. After I get those done, all I have to do is churn out a page or so a day and it should fly right by (I already have 13 finished pages). But if I had decided against taking the day off to do those fun page sketches and layouts, I would have spent all day churning out something horrible and dull, like I did last Friday (on Friday I reached a point in my story where I had no more little sketches already made, so I had to start creating new layouts. Instead of doing so, I just tried to do it all in my head and it didn't work well.....)
So for me, the goal of a page a day is flexible.
vince
Anyhow, I hope to complete a comic every 2 months. When I have 6 done, in about a year, I will start the printing process.
The reason I am doing this is that I just don't want to work under a deadline yet. I know I will some day, but I don't see any reason to start right now.
Which brings me to another point: is a page a day necessary? I suppose if you are relying on a monthly book for your cash, then it is. But other than that, is it a must? I think that it can be a good standard for those who are too picky with their art or too lazy to get motivated. I know that ever since I read Dave Sim's motivational material on self publishing, I really started churning out the pages in a good way, and now I have a small body of growing work that I am extremely proud of. I am improving a lot faster, too.
But, it seems that sometimes that "page a day" standard can get in the way. If it gets in the way of putting out a good page, then I say throw it out the window (once again, if you aren't relying on a monthly title for your income). If you have a choice of creating a damn good page that takes two to three days, and completing a mediocre page in one day, which would you choose?
There are some people who might believe that the mediocre page is the better way to go. I suppose, for one thing, getting it done will help you get on to the rest of your story (where you can make up for the shotty page, hopefully). Also, there is something to be said for getting a huge body of work out there to your fans.
What do you all think?
I decided not to do a page today. Instead, I spent my work time doing page sketches & layouts. I finished sketching and planing the story and art for about 10 pages today, and had a blast! It also put me up to page 20 on my first 32 page print comic, so now I only have 12 pages left to plan out. After I get those done, all I have to do is churn out a page or so a day and it should fly right by (I already have 13 finished pages). But if I had decided against taking the day off to do those fun page sketches and layouts, I would have spent all day churning out something horrible and dull, like I did last Friday (on Friday I reached a point in my story where I had no more little sketches already made, so I had to start creating new layouts. Instead of doing so, I just tried to do it all in my head and it didn't work well.....)
So for me, the goal of a page a day is flexible.
vince
Vince Coleman
<A HREF = "http://www.vince-coleman.com" target=_blank> www.vince-coleman.com
comics and stuff...</A>
<A HREF = "http://www.vince-coleman.com" target=_blank> www.vince-coleman.com
comics and stuff...</A>
Ding a page a day depends on what you are doing it for. If it is your job and have a deadline, you don't have much of a choice. If it is for your own site, then do what suits you best. What is your goal, what are you trying to accomplish. I would much rather see a quality page than a mediocre one. But a web audience prefers daily to weekly. I am doing a daily for personal reasons. To see if I could keep up with it and write and draw enough to do it. I am more interested in the writing part than the art part. When I was doing weekly updates I took more time on the art. And even then I didn?t do as well as I could because of time.
Anyway, this is all personal choice and what you are try to accomplish. Don?t be a slave to your readers. Work on a schedule that you are happy with and can keep.
Anyway, this is all personal choice and what you are try to accomplish. Don?t be a slave to your readers. Work on a schedule that you are happy with and can keep.
Randy Carboni
www.mermbut.com
www.mermbut.com
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The Borrower
- Forum Member
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I think working on stuff everyday will help you sharpen your skills and become more proficient.
Practice leads to more artistic facility and better expression of ideas.
How you practice is up to you. Vince, I think you have the right idea.
Personally, between school, work, editing, writing, and designing ... I'm pretty busy! I just do one thing at a time, and I focus on one or two major tasks a day. I schedule other tasks for other days ... usually creative stuff that is not paying the bills.
Luckily, time is made after the necessary things are done, and I'm able to express myself.
Practice leads to more artistic facility and better expression of ideas.
How you practice is up to you. Vince, I think you have the right idea.
Personally, between school, work, editing, writing, and designing ... I'm pretty busy! I just do one thing at a time, and I focus on one or two major tasks a day. I schedule other tasks for other days ... usually creative stuff that is not paying the bills.
Luckily, time is made after the necessary things are done, and I'm able to express myself.
www.dailyskew.com
The voice of reason in this age of chaos.
The voice of reason in this age of chaos.
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gazorenzoku
- Reinvents understanding
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standards...
rcar,
I definitely agree with that. I checked out what you have been doing recently on your site. I had a good laugh. It's great.
This whole discussion kind of reminds me of a conversation I was having with my wife tonight. For some time, I have been encouraging her to start drawing comics. She always wanted to draw comics as a kid, and did some comics and other art stuff up until highschool, but quit in college cause she thought that she wasn't good enough I guess... Anyhow, her realism has atrophied quite a bit, but in the mean time she somehow developed an interesting way of working with stick figures. They all have funny weird faces and the poses are just hilarious.
Anyhow, she was a little bit reluctant to put time into drawing comics cause she thought that they might not be good enough. It took me several days to figure out what I wanted to say, but finally I realized a big truth at the core of comics. Unlike fine arts, which is centuries full of academic standards, debates, revolutions, etc., a good comic is ANY comic where the reader gets to the end of the page and says, hey, I want to see that next page.... and so on and so on...
I know that this is a simple idea, but it took me a long time to realize it both as a reader and as a creator. I feel a lot more relaxed about drawing and selecting comics now, and look forward to seeing what kind of crazy stick figure comics my wife is going to draw next....
Anyhow, I just wanted to share that.... though it is extremely obvious... realizing it sure made comics a lot more fun for me all of a sudden.....
Maybe because I am a so-called academically trained "fine artist", I was always looking for some sort of academic standard or something when choosing comics to read...
I definitely agree with that. I checked out what you have been doing recently on your site. I had a good laugh. It's great.
This whole discussion kind of reminds me of a conversation I was having with my wife tonight. For some time, I have been encouraging her to start drawing comics. She always wanted to draw comics as a kid, and did some comics and other art stuff up until highschool, but quit in college cause she thought that she wasn't good enough I guess... Anyhow, her realism has atrophied quite a bit, but in the mean time she somehow developed an interesting way of working with stick figures. They all have funny weird faces and the poses are just hilarious.
Anyhow, she was a little bit reluctant to put time into drawing comics cause she thought that they might not be good enough. It took me several days to figure out what I wanted to say, but finally I realized a big truth at the core of comics. Unlike fine arts, which is centuries full of academic standards, debates, revolutions, etc., a good comic is ANY comic where the reader gets to the end of the page and says, hey, I want to see that next page.... and so on and so on...
I know that this is a simple idea, but it took me a long time to realize it both as a reader and as a creator. I feel a lot more relaxed about drawing and selecting comics now, and look forward to seeing what kind of crazy stick figure comics my wife is going to draw next....
Anyhow, I just wanted to share that.... though it is extremely obvious... realizing it sure made comics a lot more fun for me all of a sudden.....
Maybe because I am a so-called academically trained "fine artist", I was always looking for some sort of academic standard or something when choosing comics to read...
Vince Coleman
<A HREF = "http://www.vince-coleman.com" target=_blank> www.vince-coleman.com
comics and stuff...</A>
<A HREF = "http://www.vince-coleman.com" target=_blank> www.vince-coleman.com
comics and stuff...</A>