Discipline
This episode is not for the faint of heart. We’re talking to the creators that have decided they want to make a webcomic at all costs and are ready to put in the work! Webcomics require so many hats and unless you’re part of a team, you’re wearing all of them. Discipline is what will help you stay organized, push through the less enjoyable parts of webcomicking and ultimately help you bring your idea to fruition.
----
Episode Release Date: July 24, 2024
Episode Credits:
Kristen Lee (@feathernotes) - she/they, ghostjunksickness.com lunarblight.com
Christina Major (@delphina2k) - she/her, sombulus.com
Megan Davison (@star-berrymint) - she/her, sorceryshenanigans.com
Miranda Schwemmer (@mirandacakesart) - she/her, mirandacakes.art
----
And the bonus content you didn't know you needed: Blender Sheep by Krispy
The Intro "DO IT (feat. Shia LaBeouf)", and the Outro "It's Good To See You Again!!", both by Adrianwave, have been used and modified in good faith under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Licensed. Edits include: Fade IN/OUT, and a repeat added to the beginning of "It's Good To See You Again!!". For more information on this creative commons use, please reference https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.
Episode Promo
Shout out to the amazing pose reference team at Adorkastock.com! They are running the AdorkaStock & Friends Group Poses for Artists campaign over on Backerkit, to make some absolutely epic-looking group shots! Get JUST the right pose for your illustrations, webcomics, or just study and level up your drawing skills!
Transcription
This transcript is auto generated by our recording software.00:10.59
Miranda
Hello and welcome to Screen Tones, where we talk anything and everything webcomics! Today we're going to talk about building discipline and routine into your webcomic making process to make reliable and steady progress in your projects. I'm Miranda, I use she/her pronouns and I make the webcomic Into The Swell.
00:27.79
Krispy
And I am Krispy, I use she/they pronouns, and I make the webcomics Ghost Junk Sickness and Lunar Blight.
00:34.27
Delphina
And I'm Delphina, I use she/her pronouns, and I make the webcomic Sombulus.
00:42.79
Megan
I'm Megan, I use she/her pronouns, and I make the webcomic Sorcery Shenanigans.
00:47.00
Miranda
So now before we begin this episode is not for the faint of heart today we are talking to the creators that have decided they want to make a web comic at all costs rain or shine snow or hail and you are ready to put in the work. Webcomics require so many hats and unless you're part of a team. You're wearing all of them from editing to writing to drawing your hat stack is very high and discipline is what will help help you stay organized. Push through those less enjoyable parts of web comicking and ultimately help you bring your idea to fruition. So let's dive in and hear from our hosts I will start off with ah how would you describe your own routines for comic making and what tools do you use to keep yourself on track. And we'll toss it over to crispy to start.
01:39.82
Krispy
Heck yes, um I'm all over this like a hound on Porch Chop This is definitely ah, an episode that I've been absolutely rearing um to make because.
01:53.52
Krispy
Um, being part of the webcomic community like it's all over the place like you know you're going to have a lot of excitement you're going to have a lot of doubt you're going to have a lot of mixed feelings in this salad of comics that it is um and you know you do need tools and you do need. Methods to get to these points and to actually create the darn thing and like Miranda said there is a lot of hats involved. Um now I'm definitely lucky in that I have access to working.
02:15.27
Miranda
Love.
02:25.91
Krispy
A little bit of a team I work with space to create both ghost junk sickness and lunar blight. But I still need tools for myself. Um to create that stuff and make sure that I'm on time being in a team really helps because you know if I screw up that's going to hurt somebody else too. Um, so I definitely have to be on top of that. But you know even with my own work as far as illustrations commissions. Whatever work client stuff goes I Still need a routine I Still need my tools. Um and so to help with that.
02:43.48
Miranda
Um, level.
02:58.97
Krispy
Um, I've actually dedicated days during the week to do that and it's kind of like making a routine of like a 9 to 5 whatever works for you. Um, late risers early risers. Whatever but like setting a schedule for the week that you're always going to be sticking to and as far as comics.
03:08.78
Miranda
Um.
03:17.95
Krispy
Concern that is my week My week is dedicated to comics. So you know Monday to Friday is like I have to get comic work done when it's on my plate and so you do your work in the day and then. You know? Ah, if you have time in the evening I would be like okay, 2 to 3 hours is dedicated to comic work in the evenings and stuff like that or if you have you know a kind of a different scheduled day job or if this is your day job. That's the ah the thing that's always difficult to kind of figuring out is where it.
03:54.60
Miranda
Ah.
03:55.20
Krispy
Places ah during the day when you have full-time work when you have part-time work when you have freelance work when you have work all over the place on top of that because we've described in episodes before that web comics aren't the most profitable thing in the world. Um, and not a lot of people. Yeah.
04:10.89
Miranda
Sadly.
04:12.70
Krispy
Not a lot of people have them as their full-time jobs. But regardless I Still think you know having that that discipline. Ah, ah, routine in the day to be like okay what time of the day is is it. It's this time of the day I work best when it's in the evening. Um, and so I'm always going to dedicate that to inking um or or whatever comic work I have to get done and and for me, that's what it works like I'll get um day work done during the day when I can be a little bit more active in spaces and um have a little bit more distractions I'll Say. Ah, but in the evenings is like okay this is comic work Time. You know the weekend or weekdays in the evenings. That's when the comic work gets done and I'm not going to get distracted by other things. So I'll throw up a video that you know is.
05:05.41
Krispy
Ah, sea creatures facts of the ocean I don't know ah get some yes ah throw those up, um, learn along and you know I get to get in the head space because I think that's really important as keeping yourself in the head space.
05:09.71
Miranda
And um, yes, your video essays.
05:25.10
Krispy
Um, so I use that and I like to go into the screentones discord they have a forum that is for video essays and they keep it populated and it's quite active. So I'm just like thank you community. Um, this helps with my workdays. Um, so I do that and then on top of that. Ah. Behind me at all times I have a whiteboard with my list of stuff that I need to do that week and I like having that stuff concrete and like in my face concrete in a way where it's just like it's existing in the physical world because me myself I find when I make a list like digitally. Um, I'm just like bye I can't see it therefore it does not exist if I don't open the folder. Ah so having it on the whiteboard and big blue letters is just like ah today you're recording at Eight Zero P M est I'm just like yep, that's happening today and it's a reminder.
06:05.38
Miranda
Are yeah ah I get that.
06:22.31
Krispy
Ah, to to put in my space. But yeah, those are those are the tools and my routines that I I kind of stick to um, keeping with a nice week weekly schedule of you know evenings our web comics. Um and the board and the back of my head to scream at me.
06:39.92
Miranda
Literally and figuratively I guess I know um yeah, those are some really good tools I Love the whiteboard idea we have a whiteboard here that we use for things like to do list and stuff and there is something to say.
06:40.74
Krispy
I.
06:57.43
Miranda
About like having it in that physical form and in such a big form because like Post-it notes are great but they're so small and having this like giant whiteboard and very easy to read letters usually depending on your handwriting it's it's.
07:04.48
Krispy
And.
07:11.99
Krispy
There.
07:15.72
Miranda
Makes for really great reminders. What about you delphi? Um how how would you describe your own routines and what tools do you have? Yeah I mean all the cool all the cool kids do so.
07:25.81
Delphina
I like oh now I feel like I got to have a whiteboard all the cool kids do I do have a whiteboard somewhere I just don't don't have a great space for it in this particular apartment that I'm in but um, but yeah, um. Just in general I script a scene at a time and I have the goal of 8 pages a month I don't really work to weeks I I work to the month um so I do feel like there's days or weeks where I have more energy for pencil to the paper like. Inking or coloring and then others where I have the brain space for for paneling. Um, and usually I try to pay attention to when that is because for crispy you're saying like in the evening for me. It is the morning like first thing when I get up. That's when I always have the most energy for getting my my writing and my like brain stuff done. Um, but yeah, ah you know I have my goal 8 pages a month and as long as it masks out to what I want for the month. It's okay for me. Um I do think there's a lot of. Power in writing that goal down. Um ah and making sure at the end of the month you know if I didn't meet it like really try to be honest with where that time went if I didn't because life happens. It's true. There's there's things that can.
08:57.58
Delphina
Push my schedule around but I know I have a schedule that works at the end of the day I can always come back to that. Um, because I've done it for so long and I think that's kind of the key to just keep yourself on track is that you have that routine. That you know always works and so if you go on vacation or if you take a week off you can come back to it and like I know what I need to do a lot of times when you're starting out. You don't know what you need to do and that's why it's like even more important to try to keep onto the schedule. On your first things just because you're learning how you work? Um, so I think that's that's really important. Um I hear you on the digital stuff like I've tried apps and I tried digital calendars and I eventually fall off of them because they they disappear from my brain as soon as like.
09:38.90
Miranda
Ah.
09:53.34
Delphina
Tab closes or my my browser crashes or whatever. Um, but I like to buy a spiral bound planner every year and write what I did like scribbling a little little list in each calendar box um to just reflect on what I did for the day. And something about that process helps me focus on what I haven't done yet. Um, and where all those other tasks are are going to go in the upcoming days. Um am I ahead a schedule that's great. Am I going to have to hustle to meet the end of the month if I've got. Some other obligation coming up because I'm going to a birthday party like where am I going to borrow that time where am I going to shift it around and that kind of helps me make sure that I get everything that I need for the month done um tools like I love.
10:41.40
Miranda
Oh.
10:47.31
Delphina
Love video essays I love actual play podcasts. Um, and I also have some music playlists it it really depends on what I'm in the mood for like there's some days where like I I go like a couple months without listening to my podcasts and then I catch up all at once and and those are pretty projective. Times. But I can't it. Yeah it it always depends it depends on what I'm doing but um, just knowing that all of those tools are in my arsenal when I'm I'm ready to go like those are those are really powerful and. Like I'm glad I've come across them over the years
11:26.70
Miranda
Yeah, ah well I think you definitely have an advantage of having had so much time to find what works for you. So you know how to stick with it I too like buying spiral bound.
11:35.30
Delphina
M.
11:40.17
Miranda
Planners at the beginning of the year I have a whole drawer of them that never get used I should probably try out your method because it actually sounds sustainable for me. Ah.
11:51.61
Delphina
Well, what's a pain in the butt now is that they make them for like schools. So like they start in the summer they end in the summer instead of like January through through December I'm like I'm not in school anymore I don't care about this stuff are but um, yeah, it it kind of helps.
11:57.70
Miranda
Oh yeah.
12:03.43
Miranda
Um, yeah.
12:09.23
Delphina
Um, and and just having that there I I don't make them fancy I'm not a fancy bullet journalist whatever I just scribble I and yeah it but it just kind of helps me to see like wow. There are. 3 things that I wrote that I did on Monday and then I didn't do anything else for the rest of the week but like actually those 3 things were pretty time consuming and pretty energy consumptive. So I'm okay because I'm looking at at the rest of what I need to do and.
12:33.27
Miranda
Um.
12:43.94
Miranda
Yeah.
12:44.34
Delphina
It's not actually that much. So um, so as long as I meet my monthly goal and I could look at it at the end of the month and say yeah I did what I said I was going to do that's fine.
12:53.70
Miranda
Yeah, that's really good and your your method. Obviously you've tried and tested it but it also seems like a great way to help you find what works for you If you're keeping track of what you get done. Maybe when you get done with it.
13:09.59
Delphina
Who.
13:12.42
Miranda
And ah help you kind of evaluate whether you're a morning worker or an evening worker or whatever is working for you so those are some great great tools Megan what about you and your routines and tools.
13:32.17
Megan
So all right I'm going to come in here and I'm going to agree with a little bit of what was said and I'm going to be the one to give you ah I guess the some of the things ah like Delphina said I'm not a fancy bullet journal person. Hello hi I own a hoba nietzsche and I decorated myself. It's a very specific brand of planner. Um I'm a planner girly now. Ah I I plan my week out. It helps me um, not only just for my comic. But.
13:50.17
Delphina
I I don't know what that is I.
13:52.34
Miranda
No, nor do I.
14:08.54
Megan
Any of my artwork ah figure out what I want to do in a day. Um, like Delphina says it kind of helps keep you on track because you know what you've done and so you can ah kind of see if you have a month by month kind of overall goal what pieces and. Parts you have done of the bigger goal at certain points of the month I'm my typical ah process at least for my comics once I'm in the midst of making them is that my script has to be at least a chapter of head of what I am currently. Drawing pagewise. Ah I thumbnail a little bit differently than I used to maybe a couple years ago um it my thumbnail file looks more like ah individual storyboard pieces I find. Ah. It just gives me a little box to kind of play in and play with breaking out of the box and so I find that my panels are a little more varied and using that I kind of sit myself down to do thumbnails and I essentially make 3 layers. Worth of thumbnails and then all my pages are ah done in batches because I've found that that also really helps for me and a batch for me since I upload a page a week is 4 pages and that's a month. Um I just find that it's.
15:41.16
Miranda
Okay, okay.
15:46.83
Megan
It's kind of easy way to goalpost what I'm working on and see a trackable kind of path behind you of what you've been doing and where you're going um and then ah I do.
15:57.27
Miranda
Um.
16:04.34
Megan
A little bit of online ah stuff more recently just to sort of see more of what I have on my plate. What what comic wise am I expecting of myself. What other art projects have I put myself On. What other you know, non-art projects have I put myself on just to kind of keep myself accountable for everything I do find most calendar stuff does tend to get ignored if it's digital.
16:37.57
Miranda
Oh.
16:39.85
Megan
Only good thing it does for me is just reminders for like repeatable tasks but that that but not like comic wise for some reason if I put a comic thing on the calendar I'm not going to look at it and I'm not going to remember so the physical. Yeah, the physical planner definitely helps.
16:43.61
Miranda
Yeah.
16:49.74
Miranda
The calendar knows.
16:58.92
Megan
And then ah what I would also recommend for your routine is if you are able to sort of work ahead. Not necessarily in the same way I do but if you can have a backlog as long you know, barring. Any. Huge life changes or you know life problems that come Up. You should always bake in a break where you are not working on something that should.
17:23.79
Miranda
Burn.
17:31.91
Miranda
I have.
17:34.77
Megan
Be part of your routine just to give yourself a break. Ah you know just to relax or focus on other art projects. Maybe that are less kind of time consuming but are still just as fun for you I Just think it's important and I've found otherwise.
17:49.67
Miranda
Yeah.
17:54.56
Megan
Ah I will just work and work and work and work and I will work myself into burnout. No.
17:57.20
Miranda
Which we don't want that we want to avoid burnout, but those are some really good ideas and tools and I love how different everyone handles things like we have the. Super fancy I don't know what kind of planner but there's apparently a really fancy planner brand megan to the whiteboard to a standard planner I think it goes to show that there's a lot of options. There is no one size fits all. You do need to find what works for you. But there are a lot of ways to do that. Um I know for me I I wish I could build a buffer more reliably. But I tend to ah, kind of my my goal is to just create a page a week for every. Page I'm posting. So if I'm posting once a week I'm making a page a week so I'm at least ah breaking even um, but I like Megan said um I like to let myself kind of have some leeway. On days that I don't designate to comics so that if I am not in the mood to comic I don't have to comic that day because I have my designated comic day later that week. Um I find if I try to force myself when I'm not in the mood I'm not very efficient and it just.
19:28.10
Miranda
Tends to not be my not be the work I'm most proud of so I like to work when I'm feeling those comic vibes and feeling those comic juices Flowing. Um. But let's let's talk to our next question of how does discipline play into your process when you've decided that you want to see a project through to the end and ah, how do you know when to take a break or to push through when you meet a challenge back to you crispy. Let's.
19:59.45
Krispy
I Yummy Um I always think about this one intensely because you know there's like constant conversation. You'll see about you know, really wanting to make a web comic but getting very.
20:01.10
Miranda
Yummy thoughts.
20:16.99
Krispy
Scared and I mean understandably so afraid of the amount of work that goes into it. But like if you want a web comic you want a comic at all, you got to be the one to do it. Um, and you got to. You know you have to dedicate that time to do it like it's not going to get done.
20:30.61
Miranda
Ah.
20:36.75
Krispy
Um, when you take too many breaks or you're just kind of like I think I prefer to play games today instead or I'm going to draw butts instead. Ah the comic will with it'll come some other time. Um, if there are points that you do have to be like ok.
20:41.64
Miranda
Yeah, yeah.
20:47.83
Miranda
Yeah.
20:56.12
Krispy
Um I have to get through this and I think a good discipline comes from making a habit out any of these things. Um and making that space kind of when you enter it, You're like okay I'm in the Comic zone. One of the things that I always do to kind of like make sure I don't get distracted. With my work and its worktime is that I refuse to put any kind of like video games on my work computer and sometimes it's like people are like oh it'd be really fun to play like games on steam and I'm like that's great, but the moment I start to download these things on my computer I'm like Goodbye. Ah, any kind of like um progress with my projects because if I see that icon I will click on it and um, it's interesting because yeah, um.
21:34.44
Miranda
It's.
21:43.29
Miranda
It's a slippery slope.
21:47.57
Krispy
We've talked about that with Cheska in our guest episode where it's like when the apps are kind of there. You're going to get distracted by them and like click on them and check them and there are things that like block them to make sure that that's not happening. Um, but you know building a routine to help with that discipline and be like okay like.
21:54.76
Miranda
Yeah, yeah.
22:07.00
Krispy
I Know that this is going to be this time and when I have to actually sit down and work through it and I know that there is a siren call of like ah but I'm I'm so bored I don't want to do this part but it's like well. You can't keep putting it off. It's not fair to future yourself um to keep doing this and to prolong it and to like you know if it is boring if it is something that feels unfulfilling. Maybe it's time to reflect like maybe the process part is something I'm not jiving with does it need to exist.
22:28.56
Miranda
More yeah.
22:42.63
Krispy
Do I need to do thumbnails this certain way or can I make it more exciting and engaging can I make you know things more enticing to kind of get into um is something that's is good to consider and I think you know.
22:49.14
Miranda
Ah.
23:00.69
Krispy
Resonate a lot with delphina because we both have very long. We very long web comics. Um, um, and we've been working on them for over ten years um and so we found.
23:05.28
Delphina
Long web comic archive high 5
23:20.32
Krispy
What works we found you know getting Xyz done and I like that Meg talked about you know, not getting into pages until it was ah scripted at ah at least a chapter ahead like that's good and that's good to have as a discipline to be like we're not getting to go and. And and get distracted unless we have these things done and you do have to be a little hard on yourself not in a going to punish myself way. Um, but the thing is is if you want these things to be done you you do have to stick to them. You do have to be like well I know everybody's having fun. At the pizza party dinosaur slope awesome jumping jamboree but I won't have to just skip out on that because I goofed up and I'm not you know I'm not doing my script like I said I should um and I know it will sound like oh it's such a slog and it's just a hobby. Um.
24:13.39
Miranda
Um.
24:18.90
Krispy
Yes, but I feel like we also have to put work into that for it to happen too and like I create this stuff because I love comics and I like the process of it because I think you have to like the process. Um, so it took a while to figure out what worked it took. Ah, while to discover that process and to make a discipline or to to discipline myself to to you know, get into the habit of creating and and that's just it. Um I will say um, our breaks ah because I work on it with ah.
24:48.27
Miranda
Um.
24:57.26
Krispy
Sister we do take breaks between each chapter. Um, right now we're trying to finish the rest of ghost junk. So. It's a little like woo we're going in the fast lane. Um, but our regular schedule and this will come back on normal after we've finished ghost junk off. Um, but after we finish a chapter so we'll push through we'll do the stages of scripting thumbnailing drawing inking toning lettering and go back and forth with that. But we'll finish it finish the chapter say it's 40 to 60 pages and then we'll have like maybe a couple months off from creating the buffer is there. It's huge. It's made and that gives us a lot of time to just work on other projects revitalize and then it's like okay the month of no comic is done and now we have to get back into. Rebuilding the buffer and that's how we work we work in giant bulk and we can do that just because there's 2 of us. Um, but we do it in a huge chapter bulk. We do that and then it it gives us time to take a break because like Meg said ah establishing a break is very necessary for.
26:11.65
Miranda
I yeah, that's really great. Um I can't I can't even fathom what it would be like having a month long buffer like or a month's worth of work as a but and anyway.
26:12.30
Krispy
Burned out. But yeah, does me.
26:21.98
Krispy
A.
26:28.14
Miranda
It's very impressive but you're so right that like it is a hobby for most of us. But there's no web comic fairy That's just going to come wave a wand and do all your inks for you if that's what you don't like like you you have to do all of the parts.
26:38.67
Krispy
Yeah.
26:44.45
Miranda
If If you've made it this far and you're making a web Comic. You did it because you had some inkling of what goes into web comicking and you you have to do it. No One else is going to do it for you or I mean you can always try to find a team and. Like balance it out if that's if like you really really? don't want to do something but um, you you do have to just suck it up sometime if you want it to be created. Um, even if the only things you're getting is from yourself. What about you del.
27:07.28
Krispy
Never.
27:14.70
Krispy
Yeah. Yeah.
27:22.77
Miranda
Selfie. Ah.
27:26.42
Delphina
I I mean hold on because I'm still trying to find that web Comic fairy I Want to talk to her. Um.
27:33.36
Miranda
I have her hostage. Um, yeah, we we've been. We've been doing some planning but I'll send her your way I'll send her your away when I'm done and.
27:34.10
Delphina
Oh no.
27:35.81
Krispy
Never ah.
27:35.99
Megan
No, no fair hey you got to share share the web Comic theory.
27:42.44
Delphina
Oh okay, well um I do have a confession to make because swing cripy was talking about having the video game there taunting you to click the icon like that was a big thing for me. Um. I when before I started zombulous I had a really big competitor for my time and that was world of Warcraft I was I was love of 40 I was in a ratiding guil with my troll shaman.
28:06.91
Krispy
Dun Dun du.
28:07.65
Miranda
I Then don't want to turn them. Um.
28:13.80
Delphina
And there were several nights a week where I had this schedule to play the game with my rating guild and like um Mmos are Fun. You can make a lot of friends but they can also take up so much energy which is what I was finding in my life. Um, so I sort of made the call to stop that So I could reclaim that energy that was. Was a really important step to me because like as much as you schedule as much as you plan you do have to make sure you have the energy to go through with what you want to or else you are gonna lead to burnout so you know just kind of making that call for what. Was in my life that was important to me and comics were important to me so more important to than the video games. But anyway, um, and I also feel like we're we're we're gonna have another episode about Burnout Um, and when it's bad to like push through it. Um, but you.
29:01.40
Miranda
Um.
29:10.36
Miranda
Ah, nice.
29:12.50
Delphina
Don't push through when your conditions are wearing you down, but you also don't quit. Um you sit down and you figure out how to change your conditions to something that helps you continue sustainably because I I don't know like i. If I don't get things done if I'm stressed out and I just like full stop I have a lot of guilt when I'm not moving forward taking a break and never touching my comic doesn't help with the fact that I still feel behind and I still feel like I'm not making progress. So I do need at least a. Plan in place even if I'm just taking you know a week to just play video games or whatever I need to know that I'm coming back from that week and this is what I'm doing or um, one thing that I do every year is at the end of the chapter I take a you know a month off. Um, and usually that hits around December I try to make it work around December because everybody's busy with holiday stuff anyway. So they're not as likely to care and everybody kind of understands when you say hey you know I I have other obligations during the. The holiday month. So I'm gonna take this time off. But I don't take it off I build my buffer I I work on my script I do I do everything I can to prepare myself so that the next year is.
30:43.82
Delphina
I'm starting off on the right foot and I don't feel like I'm behind So that's that's kind of my attitude toward it. Um, and I'm also going to say that when you start a comic. There are some things to figure out but it's really.
30:46.72
Miranda
No.
31:00.17
Delphina
Exciting because you're putting your characters on the board. You're establishing your setting. You're doing a lot of things for the first time and you kind of have this honeymoon period? Um, but when I hit the middle of the comic I had everything established and had to answer a lot of what next questions.
31:10.53
Miranda
Ah, hi.
31:18.71
Delphina
And those were hard and I was I wanted to seek out distractions because it was so hard and that's where having that experience and having it be second nature to work on this stuff was great because. That's what discipline is for me just training your body like exercise. So you're not huffing and puffing when the hill gets steeper so that can come from a like a a few different ways. You know if you have a behemoth of a comic like me and you're you're working on it for 14 years
31:42.68
Miranda
We we? yeah.
31:52.98
Delphina
Yeah, you're going to have time along the way to learn your process but you can also do smaller projects. You can kind of get a sense of how you work from those 2 and there's a lot of different ways that you can approach it to get to this understanding of yourself and your energy and. Builds those muscles up build that stamina up. That's what discipline is for me.
32:17.82
Miranda
Um, that's really good. What about you meg.
32:25.36
Megan
Ah so ah, part of it is kind of like everybody saying if it's your first comic. It's a lot of learning you're gonna figure out how.
32:41.58
Megan
You work on and how you know your comic works as well. Sometimes you know processes are different comic by comic and you know you're just going to at first you're going to have to kind of be gentle with yourself. But you can't be too gentle because you're trolering to develop a little bit of discipline trying to you know teach yourself the like we've said the difference between if you just need a little bit of a break. Ah, or. If. It's maybe I need a little bit longer of a break I didn't notice I was in burnout you know, or ah, it's really nothing and I just need to push through and for me, that's why I bake in ah breaks into my comic making schedule because. It's a lot easier for me and I ain't saying it's perfect. It's just a lot easier for me to see the difference more often than not as to which one that is if I need a break. It's usually because I've been working on. Either scripting or ah thumbnailing for a while and I'm I'm just kind of stuck you know your tires are kind of spinning in the mud. Not really going anywhere and so you nothing nothing kind of sticks around and so I just have to have to leave it alone.
34:16.15
Megan
For a couple of days and as long as that's all it is I come back in a couple of days start working on whatever it was again. Ah and sometimes that little bit of a break kind of gives you a new look at what you're working on and is just enough for you to. Kind of figure out. Whatever problem you had or come with a new a new way to change it so that it does start working for you. Ah because like I I have to keep saying I am very vibes based ah when I when I work on art.
34:42.80
Miranda
Ah.
34:53.29
Megan
And so if something isn't working I'm not vibing with it and so I just have to change the vibes until they they feel right? Um, and then for me when I need to push through. Ah, it's a lot different. It's more like ah sometimes you sit down to work on something. And for whatever reason you just have the thought of I don't really want to work on this I Just really don't want to and if it's the first time I'm sitting down and that's the thought I'm getting sometimes I might swap to a different part of the process. Or you just have to look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you're being a big baby and work on it anyway.
35:36.21
Miranda
And so have the whiteboard behind you the mirror in front of you.
35:38.31
Megan
Yeah, yes, the whiteboard with your with your path to comics behind you mirror in the front so you can look at yourself and go hey brain you're being a big baby today. You're making things harder than we need it to be.
35:42.90
Krispy
Yes, ah.
35:58.40
Megan
This is fine. There's nothing wrong. We can do this.
36:00.17
Miranda
And and conveniently you would also see the whiteboard in the mirror as you're talking to yourself and therefore remind yourself and put yourself in a like a cycle of like yes this is my plan I forgot about it because it was in the back of my head anyway literally.
36:08.41
Megan
In here.
36:14.42
Megan
Literally I.
36:19.10
Miranda
And figuratively. Those are some really good things. Um, and I like what you said about skipping to a different part of the process because yes there are a ton of hats in web comics and that has its pain points but it's also a great thing because if you're like if you're dying because you're. Thumbnailing and you're just you you can't do any more thumbnails you have so many other parts of the process. You can jump to you can script. You can ink you can color I know for me I feel a lot of different moods and kind of vibes based on like oh i. I'm feeling really creative today I think I could do some really good work scripting. Um, it's still comic work. It still counts and you're still moving forward with your story. Um, but you're not doing whatever it was that you were sick of so ah, taking a break. Doesn't always mean stopping completely. Um, you can take a break of like take a break from ah 1 part of the process to another. Um I I think that's one of the best things about web comics is there's a lot to it. Also one of the worst things but every everything's a double edge sword. Um, and I I think it's ah it ah Del Delphi mentioned and when you take your break at the end of a chapter. Um, you're not stopping your.
37:51.78
Miranda
Ah, just kind of working in the background building up your buffer writing like scripting and you're still working on your Comic. You're just not posting it actively and I think that's another huge thing that um can be kind of defined as a break. Um. You can sorry my dog is the she just shook her ears. It's hard. Um, yeah through threw me off little bits. Um, but ah, you can take a is I.
38:16.80
Krispy
So Slap Soft Sla left slap.
38:29.20
Miranda
Ah, the okay editors just like take out that little chunk right? there? Um, but you can you can pause your posting schedule and give yourself time to catch up because sometimes the pressure of actively posting. Um. It. It can get a little overwhelming if you don't have a buffer if you didn't plan ahead and you're kind of winging it a little too much. Um, so don't be afraid to like post less frequently or adjust your ah frequency or even just take a hiatus. And ah, do those behind the scenes things so you can catch up and kind of more thoroughly plan and feel better about what you're working on. Um I like don't be afraid to take a break but don't like. You definitely need to gauge kind of where you're at when you decide to do that and give yourself a talking to Megan style if you're our just being a baby about it.
39:31.55
Megan
Me.
39:34.73
Miranda
Um, and that kind of brings us to what is your advice to someone who can't seem to stick to a project and wants to try to form a more disciplined approach for whatever they're working on. We'll start with you krispy.
39:47.97
Krispy
That That's a big question. Ah.
39:48.64
Miranda
And lots of layers for your onions.
39:52.59
Krispy
Ah, ah, um, so I think the number 1 thing that I want to say about this question is we're going to bring that mirror back? Um, and really reflect on what your goals are for the entire thing like. Is the web comic for you is the web comic because your friends are doing web comics is the web comics because you want to get rich vest like that's ah, that's really silly. Um, but you know really reflect on what why are we here. Like what? what's going on. Why are we making a web comic and I find that like I like to do that. Um and bug my friends a lot when I'm just like having thoughts about web comics. What are they? what is the porpoise of them. Why am I doing this at all. Um. And I think like having conversations whether they go like you know to a positive angle or or like a more like you know, humbling negative one? Um I know at the end of the day after each of those conversations it always circles back to well because I am I'm just. Possessed with the need to make comics I make comics because that is what I need to do. It's just something that drives me something that always um has just made me go forward with these decisions I've done comics.
41:28.50
Krispy
Like ever since I could attempt to draw them on my crappy little lined paper. Um and I just I've just always been driven by the medium in the way that they have been told and my advice definitely comes down for or comes down to to. Really understanding what the purpose is and if it's something that you really really want to do. It is something that possesses you I think that you know figuring out and and laying each of the pieces down with. Ah, your process because it will change I know people who have different types of process. Um like ways in that they figured out how to do the comic and it's always It's always interesting and it's it's different. Um. With the seps that they choose you don't have to do ah inking dear god do not do inking if you hate it I see so many people say how much they hate inking and I'm just like ah guys you don't have to do it. You could find another way. To make this comic happen and to make it work. My first comics were pencil so they happened um you can find a different medium that means you know workshop take some time to be like okay I hate inks like how are we going to push through this or I hate thumbnailing. How are we going to push through that.
42:45.41
Miranda
So.
42:59.73
Krispy
And you know really pinpoint those things that make you not want to engage with it. But if it's if it's an overall thing if it is someone who cannot stick to a project because the idea of the project is just is is huge but you still really want to that's. That's a big evaluation for the self. That's a big ask for yourself if you don't want to stick to something like that. So I think that there's going to be a lot of you know introspection. There's going to be a lot of self reflectionction that you're going to have to do.
43:32.14
Miranda
You know him.
43:37.29
Krispy
To Either see if you can make it work discipline and ah routine and you know drop some things that are you know quote unquote distracting. Maybe it is time that if you really wanted a web comic. Maybe it's time to just you know. Put Wow on hold for a little moment and just be like okay I need to on sub because I want this to happen and you know you will have to sacrifice some things to get this done because it is a lot of work and I want to take this moment to really appreciate. The amount of work that people put into web comics there something that is free to read most a majority of the pieces are and there is so much stuff so much thought love and time that goes into it. So It's a big ask for you.
44:15.63
Miranda
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
44:32.62
Krispy
Um, to go into it and I think that you really have to be prepared for that. The disappointment comes with it too If you can't you know make it work. Um, but it's a huge ah undertaking. So my advice is to just really figure out if this is what you want.
44:47.90
Miranda
Um, and.
44:51.97
Krispy
And if it is well come join our Discord server. Yeah, ah, prepare thats because it yes, it's it's a lot of work but you know people are willing to help. There's a lot of resources out there.
44:54.34
Miranda
Here are your hats. But. Join the Discord we have hats.
45:09.30
Miranda
Oh yeah, how many I love? Yeah yes, we have a discord which most of you set should know if you don't we do now you know but I.
45:11.16
Krispy
And people who want to help I Hope so come join us.
45:23.50
Krispy
If.
45:28.71
Miranda
You're you're right in that there there are so many web comics out there and like because of that there's so many resources for making web comics like I Love Love Love watching and like little little insights into creators processes. Because I love to see how differently everyone does I Love to see the different stages of the art. Um, how the scripting happens and it fascinates me and I Love.. It's a great source of ideas and um communities like that like the screentones Discord and just. Web Comic Web comics in general like there's so many different ways to do it. No one does the the same way and it's like an infinite pool of ideas If you're feeling like your approach is not working for you. Um, and I I Definitely think you.
46:22.68
Krispy
Ah.
46:25.76
Miranda
You need to make sure that your project is is the project that you're passionate about and you love um because that's going to keep you going? Um, when the going gets tough.
46:39.12
Krispy
Ah.
46:39.42
Miranda
Um, what about you Delphi What are um what is what are your advice tidbits.
46:46.30
Delphina
Oh gosh I feel this so hard about the like the preconceived notions of what professional what tools professional compmakers have to use what process they have to use like um and especially you know as Baby Delphi who had a limited internet. Like experience compared to what the internet is today. There weren't like Youtube process things that I could watch other people so like I just kind of had to think like do I need a special inking pen. Do I need the specific like deleter template from Japan if I want to do manga or. Oh no I don't know how to use this thing does that mean I have to struggle with it forever and the answer is no. The answer is let it go listen to other creators process and see what works for your style listen to yourself. There's no wrong way to make comics unless you are literally murdering people and using their blood as your ink like that is not otherwise the the like you could do whatever you want to? um and listening to yourself about what that process looks like for you is. Super important. Um, and I think another thing that really helps me when I was first starting out before I started sombulous. Um I did a couple of years of nano mongo on live journal which was this yearly.
47:58.83
Miranda
Ah.
48:15.46
Delphina
Nanoremo style challenge to do 30 comic pages and in thirty days and that was a great way to find a routine that did not work for sustainable long-term webcomic creation that was way too much I didn't get very far in whatever I was doing and.
48:25.97
Miranda
Jesus.
48:34.49
Delphina
Um, and like it was just one month out of the entire year. So I wasn't forming the habit as a new comic maker maker I was just stressing myself out for the month um but it did give me some starts of comics that I could build on and that eventually became. My comic sombulus and I think that's the value of an activity like that. That's the end goal of an and activity like that getting rid of the blank page and giving yourself a draft of something to clean up. Um, that can be really helpful to establish that momentum. And make sure that like you have something to work with. You're not just starting from zero because it's hard to like just say well okay tomorrow is the day where I am going to draw a page a week and I I better come up with my idea and I better. Do it and this is this is my resolve. That's a way to set yourself up for failure. Um, so just make sure that you're you do a little bit of preparing like not don't over prepare don't like sit in. Um.
49:37.16
Miranda
Um.
49:47.70
Delphina
You're planning Jail for 4 years trying to to plan out every little thing like eventually you do have to get started. Um, but I personally with my style I feel like that activity of getting rid of my blank page was. Something that helped me and might help you um and again looking for other places where your energy is going I mentioned Wow that was a big thing for me. Um, but there are also just genuinely times in my life where things are upside down like if. Family work. Whatever Um, and I I really truly don't have the energy to give to comics and those times feel different to me than times when I'm just avoiding the story because I'm at ah at a part that's difficult for me. Um, so. Learning more about yourself and learning when to recognize that is extremely Helpful. Um, learning how to you know, finish a project and and know your energy levels Um, can only help you like just figure out like okay. I'm I'm doing my normal thing and it normally works and it it's it. It always works. But this time it's not working this this month. It's not and so that's my cue to say hey there's something else going on in my life and I'm going to be.
51:17.44
Delphina
I I am going to forgive myself for that. But I know that that that's almost kind of comforting to me because I know when that thing is over um I'm going to come back from that period of my life with a good start because I had those good habits because I already had. Ah, system that worked for me and I know I can get it to work again and after years and years of doing this. You come to understand yourself in that Way. So That's ah, just it's something to look forward to I think it's It's really awesome to like just look back on. A lot of things that you've done and said hey you know I got a lot of things done I really found a process that worked for me and I'm super proud of myself for that. So um, so that's one of the things just like give that to yourself give yourself that chance to to really. Make something that you've always wanted to make.
52:14.70
Miranda
I take chances get messy. Um and planning jail is real. It is across the street from reboot hell um, and sometimes the only way out of it. Is you just have to put something on paper. Or tablet. Whatever your medium is um, it's it's not going to start itself and I love that you pointed out Nano Mango Mongo I don't know. Ah.
52:42.62
Delphina
And we never figured out the pronunciation.
52:48.41
Miranda
Um, but like that being um, a tool to kind of just force you to get stuff out into the world. Um, because I feel like that's one of the hardest parts of starting a comic sometimes is just starting it like you can have all these ideas you can have a script. Formed. You can have an outline but until you actually start it and get that momentum going. It's like it's just an idea so you need to put the effort in and the discipline and to bring it to life I know Meg is just like. Chomping at the bit for this question so Meg give us your thoughts go.
53:28.57
Megan
Okay, ah I have to give a couple disclaimers now. Ah one I'm probably going to repeat some things that we've already said and I apologize but this is my soapbox that I wrote out yesterday night so you're gonna have to listen to me say it not really, you could quit the. You could close the podcast or skip ahead if you wanted to but please please please listen to my soapbox and 2 I'm probably going to sound a lot meaner than I usually do and I'm not really going to apologize for that I'm not really sorry this is this is this is tough. This is.
53:47.80
Miranda
No yep, you're stuck.
53:48.10
Delphina
Nope, you're here you have to stay I.
53:58.47
Krispy
You Hell yeah corruption Ark bo.
54:04.27
Megan
Dose of tough love for you. It's not I'm not telling you these somewhat mean things because I want you to fail and I think you suck it's because I want you to make your comic and I want you to enjoy it and I want I want you to figure out whether or not that works for you. And you gonna have to hear some tough things from me. So I'm going to jump into it. We've probably harped on it many a episode and I know we've done it this episode comic making is hard. It's a lot of hats don't underestimate it and I'm going to repeat it do not. Underestimate how much energy and time and effort making a comic makes it's it's it is not always a walk in the park. Some things will be. You will have those walk in the park moments. Um, but they will not always be there. There will be points where you need a break. Ah, and that's normal and if you really want to tell your little story with your wonderful characters and your great plot. Then you're going to have to push through it. You're going to have to figure out. Um, what is and isn't working for you. In your process. You're going to have to see what about it. Do you not like doing can you change it so you do like it if not, you're just going to have to accept that. That's a part of the process. That's a hat you have to wear you don't enjoy doing. You're going to have to put that hat on.
55:37.98
Megan
And it's not going to be fun, but it's part of your process if you can't get rid of it. You aren't going to love every part of making your comic. So sometimes that that's just how it is and you're gonna have to be okay with it. Um, but if it's something story based. Or a decision. Maybe you've made about a character. Maybe you can change it. Maybe there's something different that you could make it to where it would be more enjoyable for you. But if you change different things about your comic or your process. Um. And nothing seems to make you like the process of making your comic or that story in particular anymore than you did before then you need to go back to the drawing board and come up with another idea. Maybe just put that on the back burner for you know. 105 years from now when you finish the next comic idea or and this is probably going to sound really mean you just like the idea of making a comic. And and sometimes as we've said it's hard to fit comic making into your life and you're gonna have to scramble your current schedule around to figure out where you can place it. What.
57:02.40
Megan
What Dave the week works for you what time of the day works for you or maybe like delphina you need to cut out wow or another video game. You spend a lot of time on to kind of reclaim that time for something new. Um. An idea I had last night while I was writing all of this is maybe you need to take a moment if you're a very visual person like myself and write it down on a piece of paper and sort it into 3 different categories sorted into fun comic and. Need to do need to do just as like Aarons chores you know apartment upkeep stuff like that stuff that isn't comic related but it's important you know, getting that stuff done means that. You know you don't live in a pig sty and you're taking care of yourself. It helps you with your comic process. It's just not immediate and then you got to take a look at your list and maybe the fun stuff. You're doing is a lot more than your comic work stuff and so you're gonna have to start. Tossing some things out of your fun stuff or maybe whatever day you're sort of basing these columns off of your needed your necessary things to do column outweighs both of those and.
58:37.83
Megan
Not bad. Those are things you got to get done. There's really so you know only so much you can do about that. But maybe that day is not good for trying to work on your comic. You know, maybe you've got a lot of reoccurring tasks on say wednesdays.
58:48.74
Miranda
The.
58:57.62
Megan
And trying to fit in comic work on that day just means that you feel really stretched thin really stressed out and you don't get a lot done instead. What I like to do and I'm starting to realize I think I do this in my head in the background. With my day job I don't really have time or a lot of it on my day job days to do comic work outside of my my day job and so I don't tend to. Write down in my planner. You know? oh we're gonna thumbnail on Monday after we get home at six thirty p m p sd I because I realize I'm gonna be exhausted I'm gonna be tired and that may not be possible and maybe. Some days. You do randomly have time for that and it's like a little extra like congrats you got a little extra time spent on your comic this week but don't make it an expectation. Ah you know your expectation for the work you get done. As we've said should be sustainable. You shouldn't be asking too much of yourself in the comic making process because it's already so much. Don't don't make it harder than it needs to be on yourself and like we've said you obviously won't learn this right off of that comic making process.
01:00:23.55
Miranda
And for sure.
01:00:34.66
Megan
Is a very long time. The whole thing process and the comic itself is a learning process both about the comic and yourself a good start is to make sure you have those reasonable expectations so you can develop your discipline you know. You shouldn't set them so low that they're easily obtainable and you get things done really fast. But you're kind of slow on the output but they should it should stretch you a little bit so that you can kind of see how much you can get done. And learn whether or not, you're asking too much of yourself and maybe just maybe when you come up with those base expectations and you might want to might want some people to kind of throw a at and ask hey do you think I might be asking. Too much of myself I want to double check make sure that I'm not asking too much. You could always hop in our Discord lunch nige wink wink ask some nice helpful, friendly folks if ah, what you're expecting from yourself is a little too much. You know. And then like I've said it's a it's a process from there on you'll just kind of remove expectations or atom as you're growing.
01:02:00.81
Miranda
Most definitely I I'm so I'm getting a theme that I didn't anticipate from this episode of ah like learning about yourself. Um and kind of a lot of the introspection that comes with being a webcomic creator and I.
01:02:17.56
Megan
Um, and.
01:02:17.88
Miranda
I Knew that was the thing but it it keeps coming up in everyone's ah answers and it's It's been really interesting to hear how much you need to know about yourself to understand your process of making web comics. So It's I I think that's really interesting. Um, I'm going to pausesit here and see if there's any fine. All right? We've had such good conversation about discipline and it's it's kind of a heavy topic. Um, as far as our episodes go. Um, do you guys have any final thoughts you want to share with our listeners ah about discipline and how it applies to web comics.
01:03:03.80
Krispy
All right? So part 2 not joking. But so um I think like you know at the end of the day with all of this kind of there are some hard pills to swallow. Ah you know Meg said kind of like the um. I want I want to call it the unspeakable truth with a lot of like creative endeavors. It's not just a web comic thing but like the idea of having ah this endeavor done but being scared of the amount of work I get that oh my god every time I'm just like I want to.
01:03:39.75
Krispy
I want to learn blender so I can make 3 d models I always say that but I never dedicate the time to learn blender and to understand it so I can make those 3 d models. Ah, but that's that's the thing and the webcomic ah medium is the same thing. It's just.
01:03:47.34
Miranda
And.
01:03:47.68
Megan
Ah ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ha.
01:03:59.30
Krispy
Really like the idea of web comics and you know you got to choose if you're going to get into that driver's seat to start making them and you know as you start the engines and what Nott and start that stuff you're going to realize is this for me and. I admit I opened blender I didn't know what the heck was going on I looked at tutorials I was like yep, ah I'll I'll ah I'll work on getting someone else to do that's for ah yeah.
01:04:24.20
Miranda
I.
01:04:33.20
Miranda
Ah, least you're honest with yourself and you tried.
01:04:37.69
Krispy
That's the thing I was I tried I was honest I found it wasn't for me. Um, but by Gosh did I try and you think that's important for web comics. You know you could try. You could see if it's for you if it is and you really want it to work like hey baby This is the.
01:04:42.55
Delphina
You But you also didn't go.
01:04:57.26
Krispy
Episode for it.
01:04:58.36
Delphina
But you also didn't go to the blender like gift shop and buy the hat and buy the I'm a blender like t-shirt like that's that's the thing too like you can't like it I.
01:05:06.86
Krispy
Um.
01:05:13.84
Krispy
Resistance.
01:05:15.99
Delphina
I Feel like some people do like the idea of it. But um, but when you put in the work. That's a little different and and yeah, it's it's worth doing So um, it if you want the comic make the comic.
01:05:29.25
Miranda
Yes, make the comic. It's not going to make itself but make sure it's something that you want because at the end of the day you're the one that has to make it and if if you don't love it.
01:05:29.89
Krispy
Ah.
01:05:46.55
Miranda
It's probably not going to happen. Um, with that I are are we going to wrap up. Okay, ah right? Um, so that is a.
01:05:54.57
Krispy
You bet.
01:05:55.73
Megan
Yeah, we are good to go.
01:06:05.00
Miranda
Barbecue Chicken wrap that sounds really good right now. Um, and we are disciplined and we that my gosh Wow I have everything I I did good on the intro and everything else the lead out is not.
01:06:08.50
Megan
Mm tasty.
01:06:16.33
Krispy
A.
01:06:21.89
Megan
He.
01:06:24.28
Miranda
And take 2 and that is a barbecue chicken wrap. Thank you so much for listening I've been your host Miranda and you can check out my work at mirandacakes dot art.
01:06:36.21
Krispy
And I'm crispy. You can check my work at ghostshunksius.com and lunarbate.com
01:06:42.65
Delphina
And I've been Delphina you can check out my comic sombulus at Sombulus dot Com and.
01:06:51.37
Megan
We've probably made this drug before but I'm going to do it again. I am have been and will be Megan and you can find my work at sorceryshenanigans.com
01:07:00.41
Krispy
Now you know what's something I Really want to do is when this episode goes up I need to show my sheep that I made in blender.
01:07:03.19
Miranda
That's.
01:07:08.25
Megan
Yes, you should I have half a donut. Yeah I have.
01:07:08.68
Delphina
Oh I've seen so many donuts come out of that. Yeah.
01:07:08.83
Miranda
Oh scarest.
01:07:13.91
Krispy
I didn't.