To get to the point, I’m currently working on a manga and I’ve just come to a grinding halt and can’t really find the motivation to continue the project…I feel like I work on the story constantly progressing in my head and jot down notes but when it comes to thinking of how to bring my vision into the world, nothing feels adequate or satisfying. I’ve gone over it a bunch of times since the beginning: should I make it a manga? An animation? Should I just submit it to some studio to probably never see the light of day, and if it should; then not see a dime? Should I commission help? I’m too poor for that so, can’t do that. so I’ve just been hand drawing crappy panels in a basic storyboard-esque manner just to get the point across. Now, I’ve been out of touch with drawing for a long long time and idc what anyone says; it does NOT come to you like riding a bike. I’d almost be happier with stick figures at this point… Usually when all of that starts going through my head I tell myself “look at how one punch man originally started” and it gets me through a page or two, but the past few days I just can’t find any real motivation to pick up my book and pencil….I wish better luck to others working on things right now.
anyway thanks for taking the time to read my ridiculousness.
I’m a writer rather than an artist, but I think I experience some similar frustration when I’m working on stories of my own. I know how I want the story to go in my head, but when I put pen to paper it comes out wrong somehow, or just not quite how I imagined it, and I end up scrapping it and starting over a million times.
I don’t know how feasible this advice is for art, but I can share a lesson I’ve learned the hard way: Just put something on the paper. That’s all you need to do. Even if you hate it, at least it’s something. Once you’ve got something, you can work with it, mold it into the shape you want it to be, or at least something close. The temptation to edit your work as you create it is powerful, but it must be avoided at all costs. Perfection is the enemy of progress.
Like I said, I’m not sure how well that advice transfers over to drawing/visual art (or maybe I just completely misunderstood the issue in the first place, lol), but I hope that helped somehow 🙂
Thank you! This did actually help a lot. I think its my brain getting a case of the ick when the physical representation doesn’t match my mental image. Later I’m going to try to work on it a bit and I’ll just keep making sure to say “you’ve at least got something and something is progress.”
You should consider starting on smaller projects so you can get comfortable with the space and understand exactly what you want for the main project you’re passionate about. Starting by making really small projects is what indie game devs usually do and you could do it by starting with a really small manga and then maybe a really small indie animation
