When you improve but feel like you regress

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

Changed the subject title since it was too specific.

So I have two comics A and B. A is the comic I currently devote myself to, B is the comic I did mainly in sophomore year of high school. A is more story driven than other things I've tried, B was gag a day and humor based. For A, I've been working harder on trying to follow the rules of human anatomy, as well as trying to vary perspectives and POV's. For B I didn't give a damn, just laid out some really minimalistic bodies, and pretty much every person's face is showin in 3/4 view, or full profile.

To make a long story short, I was looking through B the other day and it seemed like I've regressed- I feel like I used to be able to convey emotion better in the olden golden days, whereas now it seems like I'm putting in more effort but not producing the intended feelings as well in the end results.

I mean, I enjoy the challenge of making my current comic, but it seems like it's all for naught. I guess what I'm asking is if anyone else here has experienced the same problems with their work, where maybe you made stylistic changes or rearranged where you were directing your efforts and it seems as if you're taking one step forward and two steps back? And how long did it take you to catch up and surpass where you were before?

[NeuroticThunder]

Kinda sorta. Sometimes when I'm working on a comic, I'll wonder if I'm getting any better at all, if not worse.

[McDuffies]

You're just trying more ambitious, more difficult stuff than you did before, so results may less often turn out the way you imagine, but it's all in line of duty.

[Lianweijun086]

Actually, this is EXACTLY how I feel. All the time. As I keep drawing, I feel like I should be experimenting with more artistic stuff. POV, angles, ambient effects, panel shapes and sizes, etc. The problem is, when I try, it always seems to turn up really crappy. And it actually discourages me a bit from continuing on, because, as you said, it feels all for naught. But then you have to realize, if you never let yourself fall down, you'll have perfect skin. Wait... that's not how it goes... If you never let yourself fall down, you'll never learn to get up? Something like that. McDuffy is totally right. You're trying rougher, tougher stuff, so naturally you'll stumble a little at first. Once you get it down though, it gets permanently added to your repertoire and you're comics will be better for it. Just keep at it!

[VeryCuddlyCornpone]

Aye, points taken, from all.

Ironically enough last night I sat down to finish sketching a page I was working on and it came out rather splendid. So I guess it's just part of the Cycle o' Gradual Improvement. A breakthrough, a few weeks of stagnation, a decline, then another breakthrough. Go Fight Win!

[Phalanx]

A breakthrough, a few weeks of stagnation, a decline, then another breakthrough. Go Fight Win!

Sometimes you need to back a few paces to take a running leap!

[Samuli]

Also, as everything else, artistic ability seems to flow unsteadily so sometimes you're on fire and sometimes… not so much. The latter phases are infuriating but they come with the territory.

[Jameslong]

the key is don't get down on yourself. I did, and then 10 years went by while I didn't even touch a pencil. If you're like most artists I know, you're your own toughest critic. That's good, though, because it means you've got standards. Just be patient, over the long haul, it'll get easier and easier until one day you surprise yourself. In a good way

Here are a few tips that help me:

1. put the pencil down and pick up a comic. Your mind absorbs what it sees, whether you realize it or not. The more you see, the larger your palette becomes. That being said, sometimes it's good to not only read a comic, but also study it. Which leads me to...

2. don't be afraid to trace. some of the most important lessons I learned came from tracing. especially musculature and female anatomy (and i still have a lot to learn about both, let me tell ya).

We all have tough times, but if you're able to stay in a progressive mindset, it won't last 10 years (the way it did for me).

[Varethane]

Most of my best work, I did while not really thinking about it-- I would start a doodle on some crummy sheet of paper that I'd found covered in dust at the bottom of my closet, or covered in marker ink smudges from between two pages of my sketchbook, or something... and it would get bigger and bigger and consume the page and suddenly I would have a full-fledged illustration on my hands. And it would be better than the work I've made when I sit down and actually try to produce something of quality (for example... my comic!). Because it was loose, and it was inspired; I hadn't tried to control where I was going with it.

It takes a lot of practice to be able to mimic inspiration... and even then, the results will never be quite the same. Really what counts is continuing to practice, no matter how bad you think you are-- the more you draw, the more you work out what you did right in the last picture and what you did wrong, until slowly the former begins to outweigh the latter more often than the other way around.

[Romantika]

It's okay. Ever since I've entered my sixth year of drawing, I've felt that way too.

A suggestion-- use references! <3