How do u deal with the trips?
How do u deal with the trips?
Honestly I haven't been comicking, (or is it cartooning?), long. Yet twice now I've been stuck unable to draw,( for a week each time), because of things outside my control. Each time it happens I feel this sudden weight on my shoulders like I'm letting people down. I know this is because I have a very small fan base, (if you could call it that), and that not being able to entertain them makes me nervous. I know I should have some kind of buffer and a true proffessional would have one. I've tried this but usually the best I've done is being one day ahead of myself. I guess my question is How do you guys deal with coming back after being unable to post? Do you offer incentives, like raw sketches you've done in the off time? Or do you guys just carry on as normal like nothing changed?
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Orinocou
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Re: How do u deal with the trips?
Uh, well, for me, I would just carry on like nothing happened. It's kind of a red-flag when you check out a new webcomic (new to you, that is) and see that the updates section is filled with excuses and apologies, and the archives are filled with sketches that take too long to flip through.
If you can predict your extended hiatuses, it is good to inform your readers of this, no matter how small the fanbase is. But, the way I see it, it's better to just update when you have actual pages, not to apologize for the lack thereof.
That's my take on it.
If you can predict your extended hiatuses, it is good to inform your readers of this, no matter how small the fanbase is. But, the way I see it, it's better to just update when you have actual pages, not to apologize for the lack thereof.
That's my take on it.
Re: How do u deal with the trips?
Typically I always keep a sketch pad with me. From there I've developed a whole organized briefcase to bring to work and on trips containing 2 sketchpads, along with my black and gray pens and brushes as well as a box of pencils. Essentially the bulk of my grayscale art supplies. My coloring supplies stay home though, since I like to work in gray mostly anyway.
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RobertBlake
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Re: How do u deal with the trips?
This is basically what I do, too. Always always ALWAYS take a sketchbook with you wherever you go.VinnieD wrote:Typically I always keep a sketch pad with me. From there I've developed a whole organized briefcase to bring to work and on trips containing 2 sketchpads, along with my black and gray pens and brushes as well as a box of pencils. Essentially the bulk of my grayscale art supplies. My coloring supplies stay home though, since I like to work in gray mostly anyway.
Re: How do u deal with the trips?
Oh I always have a sketch book but by draw I meant drawing and posting my comic. It's become a bit of a nuerotic thing with me. Though both times I couldn't post a comic I quickly just grabbed a random sketch that was handy scanned it and gave my apologies for having to be away for the week. I just wondered if I should bother showing people sketches or things I did during that off time.
Re: How do u deal with the trips?
If you miss an update, no big deal, really. People will figure it out easily enough. If you miss several updates, though, it's probably best you post some kind of explanation so your readers have an idea when they should check back again.
Re: How do u deal with the trips?
In the case that you know you're going away make use of the automated update system and build up a buffer that will last the duration of your trip. If you can't draw that many comics in time, you can make a call for guest art, though if you make trips often, it's better to use a buffer, as you don't want too much of your archive to be guest strips.
Alternately failing both of those just make a news post if you have a blog or rant section to explain that you'll be gone for a few days. The way comics can just be suddenly abandoned with no warning tends to make we artists paranoid that one missed update will lead our readers to think the comic is abandoned and that they'll stop checking, but that isn't the case. A heads up in case of away time will let them know when to check back.
I wouldn't ever use the word "hiatus" though. It's practically just a nice word for abandoned these days. Rather a scheduled gap in updates with a clear return date is better.
Alternately failing both of those just make a news post if you have a blog or rant section to explain that you'll be gone for a few days. The way comics can just be suddenly abandoned with no warning tends to make we artists paranoid that one missed update will lead our readers to think the comic is abandoned and that they'll stop checking, but that isn't the case. A heads up in case of away time will let them know when to check back.
I wouldn't ever use the word "hiatus" though. It's practically just a nice word for abandoned these days. Rather a scheduled gap in updates with a clear return date is better.
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Pimpette
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Re: How do u deal with the trips?
Whenever I decide to post guest strips/art/whatever, I'll have them upload like a regular comic.
And then later on when I start updating again, I remove all the extra hiatus-art from the archives. This way there was something for people to look at while I was away... but now the archives are clean and people reading from the beginning don't have to wade through all sorts of unrelated artwork and scribbles.
I hiatus a lot.
And then later on when I start updating again, I remove all the extra hiatus-art from the archives. This way there was something for people to look at while I was away... but now the archives are clean and people reading from the beginning don't have to wade through all sorts of unrelated artwork and scribbles.
I hiatus a lot.
