• Basic Writing questions is not a crit forum. All crits belong in Share Your Work

I'm not sure if I want to be a graphic novel artist or a writer?

Status
Not open for further replies.

cornflake

practical experience, FTW
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 11, 2012
Messages
16,171
Reaction score
3,734
Well, what I'm saying is that considering my age and lack of inspiration from a variety of sources/practice in the craft of storytelling, I doubt that I can produce an interesting and compelling piece of work at THIS time.

I mean...I can't even craft a story without drawing too much influence from something. My first novel had scenes that were pretty much similar to those from the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series.

So...not to beat myself up, but how can a teenager craft a compelling piece of work? There ARE talented teenage writers at my age out in the world, but I don't think I'm one of them, tbh. It's why I'm envious of other teenagers that can do what /I/ do, but like a thousand times better.

No, I haven't. Thanks for the link. :)

Read more. That's how you get more inspiration and different ideas and learn about what's there.

Right. I just can't seem to come up with anything that isn't derivative from something that already exists.

I really want to have the protagonist of the story sacrifice all of his powers in order to save his best friend/love, and end up practically dead, but that's derivative from Hunter x Hunter. That's the issue.

In the second part of the series, though, the protagonist is basically back to normal and without his special abilities. So he's weak/nerfed. Pretty much derivative of Hunter X Hunter since this happened to that series' protagonist. :/

I was warned not to do the whole "race of aliens" thing because my influence from Hunter X Hunter is too strong, but...I really like the idea. Though, it sounds way too similar, imo.

I have no idea what Hunter X Hunter is. The first thing, with the hero sacrificing his powers to save someone is derivative - it's Superman 3, and a couple other things I can think off. I'd wager it's 100 other things too.

You sound like every idea you have is to basically rewrite this one er... thing... you liked. The problem is there's one thing. If you'd read sixty other things with similar themes, and fifty things with a different theme, you'd see how differently stuff can be done, and what you like and what you don't, the subtle ways writers make things their own and build worlds and etc., and that'd help you do it yourself.

If you've only ever heard one or two pieces of music, or seen one painting, and then tried to create art or music, it'd be those things over again. That's not a foundation.
 

thepicpic

May or may not be a potato.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 10, 2011
Messages
1,073
Reaction score
46
Location
The Infinity Forge.
Well, what I'm saying is that considering my age and lack of inspiration from a variety of sources/practice in the craft of storytelling, I doubt that I can produce an interesting and compelling piece of work at THIS time.

I mean...I can't even craft a story without drawing too much influence from something. My first novel had scenes that were pretty much similar to those from the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series.

So...not to beat myself up, but how can a teenager craft a compelling piece of work? There ARE talented teenage writers at my age out in the world, but I don't think I'm one of them, tbh. It's why I'm envious of other teenagers that can do what /I/ do, but like a thousand times better.

I'll let you in on a secret. You could reference entire plots of Ultimate Spider Man and I wouldn't have a clue. I've no idea what the Hunter x Hunter you mentioned is. It's a safe bet I'm not alone in my cluelessness. So take- err, 'borrow' ideas, if you like and want to use them. But then (and this is the really clever bit) twist them. Got a space ninja and don't understand why they bring a sword to a gun fight? Shoot them, a la Indiana Jones. Got a supervillain demanding the hero gives up his powers? Surprise, the hero was a con artist all along and didn't have any. (Actually, I might use that myself one day.)

Besides, ideas tend to mutate over time, unless you plan them out completely beforehand and refuse to deviate. One single line of dialogue can spawn entire new characters, interactions and plotlines. But none of this will happen if you don't write and let it. Age just doesn't come into it, as far as I'm concerned.
 

Yourg

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
426
Reaction score
9
Location
United States
Well, what I'm saying is that considering my age and lack of inspiration from a variety of sources/practice in the craft of storytelling, I doubt that I can produce an interesting and compelling piece of work at THIS time.

:)

This may be true. And that's okay. I would be inclined to say: congratulations on having that kind of self-awareness. That's probably an excellent foundation to become a better, more thoughtful writer and artist.

I don't doubt some teens can write well or create compelling stories. But I tend to suspect most writers benefit from aging and gaining more life experience. That doesn't mean you have to wait "until then," either. Life just happens. Of course you can also make things happen to some degree.

I'm glad you're going to college. That experience alone is likely to open and expand you mind to a great extent.

You'll grow. You're mind will grow. You'll think about more things and think about them more. Etc. It's the nature of things. Then, probably, story material and ideas will begin to take shape out of your interests and experiences.

It sounds like you and your parent(s), guardian(s), and guidance counselor will soon be figuring out what school you'll be going to and for what. Are you saying that it's between majoring in English or going for a BFA? Are you considering other careers, as well? In any case, if you major in one, it doesn't mean you can't also pursue the other...at least on your own.

I've heard the "jack of all trades, master of none" argument. And it has concerned me over the years too. I'm an old guy, and I still don't know the answer to that. But I tend to think that having multiple or lots of interests is pretty darn cool, too. You should probably not quit either, writing or drawing/illustration, for as long as each one is important and meaningful to you.

And of course, like others have already said, keep reading, writing, and working at your art.
 

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
What teens know about is being a teen, so maybe write about that.

I guess that's true.

I'll let you in on a secret. You could reference entire plots of Ultimate Spider Man and I wouldn't have a clue. I've no idea what the Hunter x Hunter you mentioned is. It's a safe bet I'm not alone in my cluelessness. So take- err, 'borrow' ideas, if you like and want to use them. But then (and this is the really clever bit) twist them. Got a space ninja and don't understand why they bring a sword to a gun fight? Shoot them, a la Indiana Jones. Got a supervillain demanding the hero gives up his powers? Surprise, the hero was a con artist all along and didn't have any. (Actually, I might use that myself one day.)

Besides, ideas tend to mutate over time, unless you plan them out completely beforehand and refuse to deviate. One single line of dialogue can spawn entire new characters, interactions and plotlines. But none of this will happen if you don't write and let it. Age just doesn't come into it, as far as I'm concerned.

Right! But the villain isn't demanding the protagonist to give up his powers. That's not what I meant. The protagonist's ability puts a massive strain on his body and has consequences whenever he uses a different "type" of fire. His anger and despair over the harsh reality that his best friend might actually be dead, and the fact that no matter how skilled he is at martial arts, he couldn't save her in the end is what brings him to make the ultimate sacrifice.

After the battle, he's basically a mass of skin, tissue, and blood. The fire he used is the strongest, but it basically puts the user into a death-like state.

Someone saves him, though, but not without a high cost. It's HOPEFULLY gonna be what the plot is about in the second part of the story. He's healed and all, but he's lost all the strength and talent that he had. He's essentially like a normal human now.


The aftermath of his fight with the major antagonist is meant to be thematic, I'm trying to bring a point to my readers, which is that no matter how godlike and powerful the "ultimate lifeform" is, they are still vulnerable to human evils like greed, lust, and anger, all of which the antagonist eventually grows and feels like a normal human being.

That's just a basic idea. The execution would be way harder to get right.


Sorry if this is too long... xD
 

Witch_turtle

hanging around for a spell
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 14, 2009
Messages
910
Reaction score
113
Location
North
Yeah, same here. Is it possible to pitch a series idea to a publisher of graphic novels, but with a manga style? It's my preferred style of art.

Also, if you don't mind, can I show you some of my art? :)

Graphic novels come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and art styles. I see no reason why anyone would reject your work just because you draw from a manga style. Honestly, the only way to find out is to work as hard as you can at producing stories and art until you start feeling good enough, then start selling, submitting, whatever.

Do you have an online page anywhere, like DeviantART?
 

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
Graphic novels come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, and art styles. I see no reason why anyone would reject your work just because you draw from a manga style. Honestly, the only way to find out is to work as hard as you can at producing stories and art until you start feeling good enough, then start selling, submitting, whatever.

Do you have an online page anywhere, like DeviantART?

I just am unsure if I'll even make it in this business, tbh. I've heard that graphic novel artists don't make a lot, hence the "starving artist" term. I still think I'm at a severe disadvantage by not being born in Japan.

I just want to be successful doing what I like to do...I gotta work hard enough.

Yeah, here's my DeviantART:
http://xdrillbreaker.deviantart.com/art/Wendy-Marvell-374203557
 

Helix

socially distancing
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
11,695
Reaction score
12,078
Location
Atherton Tablelands
Website
snailseyeview.medium.com
I just am unsure if I'll even make it in this business, tbh. I've heard that graphic novel artists don't make a lot, hence the "starving artist" term. I still think I'm at a severe disadvantage by not being born in Japan.

"Starving artist" is a generic term. It's not restricted to graphic artists!

I just want to be successful doing what I like to do...I gotta work hard enough.

Here's a quote from Tim Minchin:

People say, ‘Well how did you get your career?’ And my answer is, really, expect nothing, and work your fucking guts out.”
 

CheesecakeMe

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Messages
364
Reaction score
536
Location
Ontario
Am I the only other one who knows what Hunter X Hunter is...?
Well as someone who was in your exact position about a decade ago, and now works on Disney cartoons to pay the bills, if you put your mind to it and work hard, you can break into graphic novels and, yes, even make a living at it.
This guy is an absolute inspiration to anyone wanting to learn to draw. In the beginning the guy could barely draw a circle, and within a few years was painting portraits that wouldn't look out of place in a museum. My personal advice to you is if you want to get good, limit the anime/manga stuff to about 15% of your drawings, and really focus on life drawing, learning perspective, color theory, ect.
Also, of course, read widely. We all have that one story that's a huge inspiration to us, but be open to other stuff as well. Lots and lots and lots of other stuff.
 
Last edited:

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
Am I the only other one who knows what Hunter X Hunter is...?
Well as someone who was in your exact position about a decade ago, and now works on Disney cartoons to pay the bills, if you put your mind to it and work hard, you can break into graphic novels and, yes, even make a living at it.
This guy is an absolute inspiration to anyone wanting to learn to draw. In the beginning the guy could barely draw a circle, and within a few years was painting portraits that wouldn't look out of place in a museum. My personal advice to you is if you want to get good, limit the anime/manga stuff to about 15% of your drawings, and really focus on life drawing, learning perspective, color theory, ect.
Also, of course, read widely. We all have that one story that's a huge inspiration to us, but be open to other stuff as well. Lots and lots and lots of other stuff.


Wow, what's it like to work on cartoons? :eek:

Also, idk why, but life drawing doesn't sound too interesting. I realize that I need to practice that to get good enough to pursue my dream in art, but do you have any advice on practicing that stuff?

I figured practicing my characters in different poses would be good practice, but I'm open to any advice!
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
12,975
Reaction score
4,507
Location
USA
Website
brightdreamersbookreviews.blogspot.com
Also, idk why, but life drawing doesn't sound too interesting. I realize that I need to practice that to get good enough to pursue my dream in art, but do you have any advice on practicing that stuff?

I figured practicing my characters in different poses would be good practice, but I'm open to any advice!

Hate to break it to you, but you need to do life drawing/more than just anime/manga art if you want to make a go of it as an artist. That style incorporates lots of shortcuts - and if you just copy them, you're copying the shortcuts without understanding what's being cut and why it works. And you'll know something's wrong - the eyes look funny, or the arms aren't working right, or something's bugging you about that building or that dragon or the overall composition - but, without knowing the basics, you won't have a clue what to fix to make it better. You just know that when Artist X draws it, it looks great, but you try to draw the same lines the same way, and it doesn't. So you'll keep making the same mistakes, and getting frustrated about them, until you give up or build a defensive wall of "I don't need advice - it's my style!" that'll prevent any improvement from trickling in.

So, even if it's boring, you're going to have to do the groundwork - the anatomy, the perspective, the life drawing, etc. - to develop your overall skills before you can reliably "shortcut" it down to a stylized cartoon image. It's the grammar/plotting/etc. equivalent of art, the building blocks you'll need to understand the medium. Even if you're drawing imaginary things - castles and spacecraft and dragons - the more you know about reality, the more convincing those things will become in your art. I guarantee that those artists you admire all did the same groundwork before getting as good as they are today; it just looks easy because all you're seeing is the "after" phase.

If you want to start with your character, get yourself a book on basic anatomy. Loomis is considered the go-to guy on this (his books are being reprinted, and are in libraries), but there are numerous other art instruction books out there. Christopher Hart even has a very simplified anatomy book that's enough to get you started (not at art college level, but it might be less intimidating than Loomis or the other big names at this stage in the game.) Do a little work on that, then try drawing your character - maybe looking at a stock photo site for a pose reference, so you're not just drawing poses out of the possibly-skewed library in your head. And, again, hit ConceptArt.org. Starting a sketchbook there and getting feedback can really help.

And don't give up doing your own for-fun work while you're learning. (I made that mistake - spent so much time copying and studying that I forgot why I enjoyed drawing to begin with. Just now trying to get a little of that back, though writing's kinda dominating at the moment.)
 

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
Hate to break it to you, but you need to do life drawing/more than just anime/manga art if you want to make a go of it as an artist. That style incorporates lots of shortcuts - and if you just copy them, you're copying the shortcuts without understanding what's being cut and why it works. And you'll know something's wrong - the eyes look funny, or the arms aren't working right, or something's bugging you about that building or that dragon or the overall composition - but, without knowing the basics, you won't have a clue what to fix to make it better. You just know that when Artist X draws it, it looks great, but you try to draw the same lines the same way, and it doesn't. So you'll keep making the same mistakes, and getting frustrated about them, until you give up or build a defensive wall of "I don't need advice - it's my style!" that'll prevent any improvement from trickling in.

So, even if it's boring, you're going to have to do the groundwork - the anatomy, the perspective, the life drawing, etc. - to develop your overall skills before you can reliably "shortcut" it down to a stylized cartoon image. It's the grammar/plotting/etc. equivalent of art, the building blocks you'll need to understand the medium. Even if you're drawing imaginary things - castles and spacecraft and dragons - the more you know about reality, the more convincing those things will become in your art. I guarantee that those artists you admire all did the same groundwork before getting as good as they are today; it just looks easy because all you're seeing is the "after" phase.

If you want to start with your character, get yourself a book on basic anatomy. Loomis is considered the go-to guy on this (his books are being reprinted, and are in libraries), but there are numerous other art instruction books out there. Christopher Hart even has a very simplified anatomy book that's enough to get you started (not at art college level, but it might be less intimidating than Loomis or the other big names at this stage in the game.) Do a little work on that, then try drawing your character - maybe looking at a stock photo site for a pose reference, so you're not just drawing poses out of the possibly-skewed library in your head. And, again, hit ConceptArt.org. Starting a sketchbook there and getting feedback can really help.

And don't give up doing your own for-fun work while you're learning. (I made that mistake - spent so much time copying and studying that I forgot why I enjoyed drawing to begin with. Just now trying to get a little of that back, though writing's kinda dominating at the moment.)

Alright, so anatomy, got it. What does life drawing consist of?
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
12,975
Reaction score
4,507
Location
USA
Website
brightdreamersbookreviews.blogspot.com
Well, yeah, but drawing trees, people, fruit, etc.?

Yes.

It's about learning to record what you see, not what your brain's telling you you see. You'd think it would be easy, but if you've never done it before, you'd be surprised how much your brain's filling in when you move your pencil... and how tough it is to set all that aside, to see the shapes that are there, the actual proportions, the "positive" (what's there) and "negative" (what's not there) spaces and record them accurately, so your drawing looks like that bowl of fruit you're staring at and not a heap of mutant globules clinging to a lopsided plate. (If you've never tried life/realistic drawing, the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain might help; it discusses some of what's going in your head as you draw, plus it offers some exercises to help - if you've never done "negative space drawing" or "blind contour", it might be a good book to start with. You might also see if there are beginner art classes near you; sometimes, the personal touch really is needed, and a good instructor can help you focus on weak spots and suggest corrections.)

Life drawing is essential; it's teaching yourself to see things as they are. As you sketch from real life, and learn to watch, you're building up a mental vocabulary of images - not stock images, but real images. You're learning how light and shadows behave. You're learning how people move. You're learning how leaves bend and moss grows and roots snake through soil. So when you're alone in your studio, and you want to draw a wood-nymph perched on a fallen oak at daybreak, you can open up those mental files: oh, her legs will bend like this, she'll be balanced like that, the tree will cast a shadow this way, her hair will flow like that...
 

VeryBigBeard

Preparing for winter
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
2,449
Reaction score
1,505
The other advantage of branching out across disciplines is that it gives you a diverse toolset to draw from when you may have need.

I know little about the fundamentals of art and even less about anime/manga, but the same is true of writing, I suspect. I don't write in the horror genre, but I've read some and I know the basic tropes and structures well enough that I can leverage those to create effects in whatever genre I am writing.

(This is why I get so frustrated with writing instructors who teach classes and outlaw all genre writing or all literary writing. It's an artificial barrier, and we can use techniques from one to create effects in the other. /end rant)
 

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
Yes.

It's about learning to record what you see, not what your brain's telling you you see. You'd think it would be easy, but if you've never done it before, you'd be surprised how much your brain's filling in when you move your pencil... and how tough it is to set all that aside, to see the shapes that are there, the actual proportions, the "positive" (what's there) and "negative" (what's not there) spaces and record them accurately, so your drawing looks like that bowl of fruit you're staring at and not a heap of mutant globules clinging to a lopsided plate. (If you've never tried life/realistic drawing, the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain might help; it discusses some of what's going in your head as you draw, plus it offers some exercises to help - if you've never done "negative space drawing" or "blind contour", it might be a good book to start with. You might also see if there are beginner art classes near you; sometimes, the personal touch really is needed, and a good instructor can help you focus on weak spots and suggest corrections.)

Life drawing is essential; it's teaching yourself to see things as they are. As you sketch from real life, and learn to watch, you're building up a mental vocabulary of images - not stock images, but real images. You're learning how light and shadows behave. You're learning how people move. You're learning how leaves bend and moss grows and roots snake through soil. So when you're alone in your studio, and you want to draw a wood-nymph perched on a fallen oak at daybreak, you can open up those mental files: oh, her legs will bend like this, she'll be balanced like that, the tree will cast a shadow this way, her hair will flow like that...

Hmm, so I suppose studying drawing books won't work then? Man, I like sketching, but the boring parts are the life/realistic style. It kinda sucks that my interest is in drawing figures in the Japanese style, I kinda feel like that's cramping down on my growth on as an artist. :/

Also, it's a bit worrying that people in this graphic novel field don't make a lot of money from the looks of it. My other major of choice was gonna be computer science (which pays very well), and I could always just write on the side. Speaking of writing, holy crap, I haven't written anything in sooo long.
 

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
Update: I drew a chair that was in front of me, as well as a desk. I also drew my teacher...it's kinda hard to draw others because they may move out of that pose. It wasn't bad, to be honest.

Also, I came up with some ideas for the story I want to tell.
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
Hmm, so I suppose studying drawing books won't work then? Man, I like sketching, but the boring parts are the life/realistic style. It kinda sucks that my interest is in drawing figures in the Japanese style, I kinda feel like that's cramping down on my growth on as an artist. :/

Also, it's a bit worrying that people in this graphic novel field don't make a lot of money from the looks of it. My other major of choice was gonna be computer science (which pays very well), and I could always just write on the side. Speaking of writing, holy crap, I haven't written anything in sooo long.

Using books on drawing can help tremendously. Whatever your brain does, your hand need both technique and practice. Books on drawing can help with both. Every art class I had except one had us use such books.

You do need life drawing, but you don't have to be da Vinci. I've known some extremely talent artists who weren't very good at this or that type of life drawing. But there is no doubt that the better you are at life drawing, the better you'll probably be at everything.
 

xYinxx

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
388
Reaction score
12
Using books on drawing can help tremendously. Whatever your brain does, your hand need both technique and practice. Books on drawing can help with both. Every art class I had except one had us use such books.

You do need life drawing, but you don't have to be da Vinci. I've known some extremely talent artists who weren't very good at this or that type of life drawing. But there is no doubt that the better you are at life drawing, the better you'll probably be at everything.

I wanna learn how to draw animals and landscapes, too. I figure starting this now will get to me to a professional level in about 10+ years.

Another question about the storytelling/writing part of this:

How does one write godlike antagonists and write complex themes? I find that an interesting theme I've liked from a source is what it means to be human. Of course...I need to come up with something interesting and different, right?

I also find that, quite frankly, the way I write antagonists SUCKS. I just find it hard to write antagonists without them being like generic bad guys or whatever, I don't think I've ever written an interesting and complex antagonist. The protagonist from my first novel came out good (I heard that from another writer), but the antagonist wasn't really that great.
 
Last edited:

Taylor Harbin

Power to the pen!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 8, 2013
Messages
3,078
Reaction score
1,499
Location
Arkansas
I wanted to draw graphic novels when I was younger, but I had to give it up because of complications with my arthritis. I found writing as a substitute and fell in love. There are days when I wish I could take up a pen and make beautiful images, but the important thing is that you are passionate about art. Don't let the debate between one medium or the next distract you from the most important thing: you're doing this because you enjoy it!

Talk to those who've been around and get their advice, then go with what you really want.
 

Niccolo

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 19, 2012
Messages
513
Reaction score
49
I wanna learn how to draw animals and landscapes, too. I figure starting this now will get to me to a professional level in about 10+ years.

Another question about the storytelling/writing part of this:

How does one write godlike antagonists and write complex themes? I find that an interesting theme I've liked from a source is what it means to be human. Of course...I need to come up with something interesting and different, right?

I also find that, quite frankly, the way I write antagonists SUCKS. I just find it hard to write antagonists without them being like generic bad guys or whatever, I don't think I've ever written an interesting and complex antagonist. The protagonist from my first novel came out good (I heard that from another writer), but the antagonist wasn't really that great.

Read a lot. There's no getting around that. Manga, novels, everything. Antagonists are only bad from the protagonist's point of view. In their eyes, they're the hero. Rationalize what they're doing, give them a reason to be evil above just doing it for evil's sake. And read. Good luck.
 

Jamesaritchie

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Messages
27,863
Reaction score
2,311
How does one write godlike antagonists and write complex themes? I find that an interesting theme I've liked from a source is what it means to be human. Of course...I need to come up with something interesting and different, right?

I also find that, quite frankly, the way I write antagonists SUCKS. I just find it hard to write antagonists without them being like generic bad guys or whatever, I don't think I've ever written an interesting and complex antagonist. The protagonist from my first novel came out good (I heard that from another writer), but the antagonist wasn't really that great.

The answer to all such questions is read, read, read, and write, write, write.

As for antagonists, try not thinking of them as bad guys, but just real people who happen to be on the opposite side of an issue. As someone once said, "Even the devil thinks he's a good guy."
 

Fullon_v4.0

Shard Knight
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
507
Reaction score
16
Location
Mantlestown
Website
rtdriver90.tumblr.com
You and I have the same issue, my friend.

You see, the series I'm working on (in my sig) went from being a graphic novel, to a short novel, to one big novel, then to a series, then to a webcomic....and back to a written series!

There is no reason why you can't do both, and maybe even for a living once you gain some ground. My word to the wise though is that drawing is a HUGE amount of work; no matter how much you love it. For example, I had purchased a url and began designing a website for the webcomic version of my story but then realized I just didn't have the time to post comics weekly. I even got a tablet to speed the process up so I could skip the scanning involved in traditional comics. Granted it's different with being a graphic novel illustrator, you'll still need to deal with strict deadlines and hand cramps!

You don't need to put all of your eggs in one basket, so develop your styles as best you can. Keep a sketchbook and do a drawing a day, just as many writers suggest writing a page a day. You'll find out which avenue you want to pursue first.

Feel free to drop me a message any time! I love talking to author/illustrators!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.