What are some good tips to keep motivated? Do you have a routine or a process to maintain the habit of working on your project long term?

I know one good tip I've heard was to not talk about the project too much before its done, or you'll never do it or quit early.
some psychological jazz I try to apply to anything I do lately. :vanora_xd:

Anyway, lets talk self discipline as an artist!

@pachi:
Yeah! I was thinking of you since I remembered your comic.
I think I struggle to finish things because once my jobs or classes pull my attention, its so hard for me to regain my focus. This stops me from even starting anything. So I don't know that nice "complete" feeling ;v;''

That's a good concept to follow though. I had a comic strip job for 3 months that I had to set weekly quotas for. It was very small compared to what I'm wanting to do now though

@pachi:
Yeah I could imagine. Back when I was doing my comic strip, the contractor I had was so hard to get along with and demanded far more than he was paying for. But I wanted to continue anyway cause I didn't want another "failed project" on my hands. But having good friends to share it with at the time was extremely beneficial. I can happily say I never missed a deadline, and only stopped the project cause the contractor moved on to invest other projects instead.
I mean, I still have those friends, they're just caught up with their own jazz and don't have time to chat and share as much haha /adulting

@pachi:
omg, yeah that sounds like absolute hell! I probably wouldn't have kept up with my strips for a long time if he hadn't dropped the project early, cause he barely gave me time to work on them at all and I was going crazy ;; I was paid for 1 strip per week, but I was not paid for the required hours of unrelated activities the contractor had all of his associates do. Rather than having friends to hang out with, he'd force us all to go do things like play tennis, rock climb ect. They were fun but made our jobs harder lol cause we weren't at home. Working. And he'd throw a huge tantrum if someone said no. I was sick one day and told him I wouldn't dungeon in ffxiv with him for 348756238 hours (another unpaid requirement he forced on me). Kicked me out the group and dropped my strips a week or two later LOL

A planner is a great idea! I've been learning to do that lately with life in general. Sadly, my schedules are inconsistent week-to-week so its hard to stick with a routine. I'm sure a planner could help with that

@pachi:
Haha right? Hearing myself say it, it definitely sounds like a major issue XD
He was a huge child, but he also gave me some fun life experiences that I otherwise never would have had. Among other good deeds, so it was forgivable in the end.

Oooh yeah, that would be nice to look at! I'm curious.
I have a hard time organizing things, but once they ARE organized, it helps my brain so much haha

@pachi:
Ohh I'll see if this helps, thank you! I am always guilty of skipping many steps to these projects >>
I at least have an outline to start with right now haha but I wasn't planning to do real scripting. I just storyboard and go for it unless I feel stumped, then I'll script a little part. maybe I shouldn't do it this way

Do you tend to work chapter-by-chapter or do you script/storyboard the entire thing before completing any of it?

@pachi:
Oohhh makes sense. I've done that once with sketching exciting scene parts. I think it definitely keeps the inspiration flowing stronger that way. In fact, its those sketches that got me to dig up this story again and revamp it.

just talking about the processes is inspiring me <3 Maybe I'll just storyboard the first chapter. If its coherent enough as a quick sketch, might ask for voltra feedback before I dive in o/
but on the other hand, showing people might make me less likely to finish

@pachi:
Yesss <3 I have one comic I made it two chapters and it felt so good to do things like that. It's also where I drew one of my best hands to date

But with it being my first attempt at doing digital webcomics, I just went for a story plot without prior planning. No outline, no scripting and no storyboarding. I didn't understand how to do those things at the time so I tried NOT doing them, to then realize where they're really helpful. Idk my learning process is odd when I'm relying on myself :'D

I'll probably do pages. If I ever finished it, I'd like it to be in a format that I can easily print for myself. Like a trophy lol
Thats a good idea!

@pachi:
Haha yeah, I've got heavy fantasy stories, so I gotta plan things out. Got a whole world to build *A*

I used to have trouble with big canvases too. Idk, somehow I just suddenly got over that, and now I struggle to draw on small canvases. So printing things is usually pretty easy for me, size-wise. I've had a few prints done of artwork I have, but the only book-style thing I've had printed was a zine I contributed in. THAT really bumped my motivation to make my comics happen. Feeling a book in my hands and seeing my own work is oddly satisfying.

I've always said I can't die until I at least print one volume of a story <3

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@Jolly: oof same, i did sooo much worldbuilding and developing concepts and backstories for my characters too @u@ it was fun but now to put that all into motion.... why can't it draw itself 😂😂😂😂

i used to want to be pixel-perfect with all of my lines so i think that really held me back, but now if i draw something say on a 500x500 canvas i'm like bro that's tiiiiny haha

and i get it!!! it's such a good feeling to hold your own creation physically in your hands |D

pffft i planned out a few. shall i say, key points. very early on as well... though it'll take 4832940 chapters to get to them... screams