Jam Session! Motivation
How do you stay motivated making comics? It's a hard question, so today we're going to jam about it and see what answers we can find!
Everyone is motivated by different things, so it's impossible to give a one size fits all recipe for motivation. But where we all agree is that to make comics, you need to actually start making them. Creating pages can help you improve your art, help you figure out your story, aesthetics, vibes and more. When you have pages available, you can share them and get others involved and caring about your story and maybe that external motivation is what works for you. This isn't an episode about how to start a webcomic. This is for the people that WANT to make a comic, ARE making a comic, and just need that extra push to keep putting that effort forward. We can't make you want to make comics, but we can share what we do to keep making comics when our motivation takes days, weeks, months or more off.
Listen to this episode here:
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Promo Info
Check out Star's new plushie of Castoff Comic character Arianna!----
Episode Release Date: August 13, 2025
Episode Credits:
Christina Major (Delphina) - she/her, sombulus.com
Kristen Lee (Krispy) - she/they, https://ghostjunksickness.com https://www.lunarblight.com
Star Prichard - she/her, https://thestarfishface.com/ https://castoff-comic.com/
----
The Intro "DO IT (feat. Shia LaBeouf)", and the Outro "It's Good To See You Again!!", both by Adrianwave, have been used and modified in good faith under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Licensed. Edits include: Fade IN/OUT, and a repeat added to the beginning of "It's Good To See You Again!!". For more information on this creative commons use, please reference https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.
Transcription
This transcript is auto generated by our recording software.00:01.50
Krispy
Hello and welcome to Screen Tones, where we talk anything and everything webcomics. I'm Krispy. I use pronouns. She, I use pronouns. I use
00:10.87
Star
I use the pronouns.
00:13.00
Delphina
What order are we in?
00:13.42
Krispy
pronouns.
00:14.00
Delphina
We didn't establish that.
00:15.16
Krispy
Oh, shit.
00:15.25
Star
My professional noun for chaos!
00:16.02
Screen Tones
Okay. Oh, no.
00:18.22
Star
Leave all this in, editors!
00:22.84
Krispy
I think it will be Delphie and then Star. That's how you appear underneath me. Underneath me. Okay, okay.
00:29.06
Star
Beneath you.
00:29.76
Krispy
I'm redoing it.
00:30.10
Delphina
goodness
00:30.45
Krispy
Oh my god, that's hot.
00:31.79
Star
so leave it in.
00:33.64
Krispy
oh Hello, and welcome to Screen Tones, where we talk anything and everything webcomics. I'm Krispy, I use she/they pronouns, and I make the webcomics Ghost Junk Sickness and Lunar Blight.
00:44.99
Delphina
And I'm Delphina. I use she/her pronouns, and I make the webcomics Sombulus.
00:50.42
Star
And I'm Star, I use she/her pronouns, and I make the comic Castoff.
00:55.16
Krispy
Okie Smokey. So a little jam session today with a question that we've all gotten a few times in our little Ask Box and Tumblr or in the community of Screen Tones. How to stay motivated making comics?
01:08.52
Krispy
That is an extremely interesting question. A hard question. A cool question yeah to kind of ah ask and, I don't know, answer. It's going to be, it's going to interesting. Yeah.
01:20.26
Delphina
A loaded question because it all depends on who's asking like um i think the thing for me is have you drawn any completed comic pages yet because a lot of people are asking this and they haven't done any kind of, anything besides you know they're getting ready they're trying to make everything perfect before they stop you start things and like
01:29.46
Krispy
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
01:42.46
Delphina
In that case, like, no, you don't have to be drawing like 24 seven. If you don't feel like you're as motivated as a professional, that's okay.
01:52.98
Delphina
But the thing that matters is that you are making pages. Like if you're just talking about making pages and you've never had the motivation to like start making the pages, you need to stop talking about your comic and just do it.
02:08.06
Krispy
Yep.
02:10.98
Star
I had a similar question ah posed to me recently. It was about YouTube, but I think the exact same thing applies to webcomics. And I mean, any creative endeavor really is...I know at the very least what happened for me is that I spent several years like developing Castoff.
02:30.65
Star
I spent several years thinking about this story.
02:33.92
Star
And I mean, I did the exact same thing with my YouTube. I spent several years thinking, 'I think I'd like to make a YouTube channel. That seems like it would be fun'. And at some point, there is a nexus point where you get so sick that
02:50.56
Krispy
Yep.
02:51.12
Star
of talking about it.
02:52.51
Krispy
yeah
02:52.68
Delphina
Yes.
02:53.37
Star
And you're realizing like, I look like a freaking poser because I'm just talking about the thing and I'm not doing it.
03:02.85
Star
And so I know for me, that point came a couple of years into both of those endeavors where I'm just like, I just got to sit down and do the thing. And when that point comes for everyone, I think will be a little bit different.
03:17.33
Star
Sometimes you kind of have to coerce yourself a little bit more. Sometimes it comes a little bit more naturally. I wonder how much of it is based in fear of doing a bad job.
03:30.21
Star
I know it's something that a lot of people have also asked me about. What do you guys have thoughts on that?
03:35.88
Krispy
Well, you know, it's interesting about the fear thing, too. So, like, I find that, like, when you're doing a story and it's in your head, it's locked in your head, it's in prison island, your blorbos are in jail, your head jail, and you wish to release them upon the masses.
03:51.60
Star
unleash them.
03:53.38
Krispy
To enjoy the thing, the scene in your head, the thing that makes you hashtag emotional about them. Like, that's the thing that you want. That's the connection. And I think that there's a lot of fear of people um who want that connection, um the emotion that they evoke from their jail blorbos in their head to, like, you know, readers or whatever people listening or or whatever engaging with the works.
04:16.85
Krispy
And they want that same emotional attachment. And like, that's a huge kind of hurdle. That's a huge like topic about like, you know, that kind of payoff and that attachment and the emotions that all kind of involve. But I think that like, that's a huge part when people start talking about, well, I want to make a story. And like, but you know how like,
04:36.91
Krispy
when people are like, oh yeah, I have a story in my head and it's like really, really cool. And then they tell you like the tragic backstory first or like some really, and yeah, like the most intense part.
04:43.40
Star
Mm-hmm.
04:43.56
Star
Mm-hmm.
04:46.33
Krispy
And you're like, that's cool. But like, I, like I have no attachment to that. And, and they want, they want to get to that part, but they're afraid of the buildup towards it because there's a lot of work.
04:57.30
Krispy
It is a lot of work to make audiences care enough to, you know, cry about a Blurbo that they don't really know or anything like that.
05:05.58
Krispy
So, Maybe that's that's where I'm thinking the fear angle kind of comes from. And of course, you know, you were talking about perfection. um They're hoping that their art is the most amazing and stuff. But unfortunately, um truth bomb here.
05:19.63
Krispy
Your art is going to change. You're going to change the person.
05:21.73
Delphina
Yes.
05:22.89
Krispy
ah It is a minimum of like five to ten years to get like a lot of that first kind of arc even out in a lot of web comics, too. It takes a lot of time. It takes a lot of time.
05:34.30
Star
I just realized that I am in a call with, I think both of y'all have been doing comics longer than me.
05:34.55
Delphina
Yeah.
05:41.15
Star
Webcomics at the very least, because like, I'm over here sitting like, yeah I just had cast off's 10th anniversary. And I'm like, wow, yeah, that's like, everyone's like, oh my God, 10 years, that's crazy.
05:48.61
Delphina
Yeah.
05:53.72
Star
And I'm like sitting here on an episode with like, how long have y'all been? How long have y'all been?
06:00.12
Delphina
Yeah.
06:00.30
Krispy
Yep.
06:00.42
Star
ah um How did I become the baby in this room? What the heck?
06:05.05
Delphina
It's okay. But it's true. The only way to learn to make better comics is to start making comics and not stop. So like, no, you don't have to, like you can still make something great, even if you don't make like a whole bunch of pages.
06:20.72
Delphina
However, you're gonna get better the more that you do.
06:24.66
Krispy
yeah
06:25.15
Delphina
So it just serves you so much better to just start the thing, start making pages.
06:25.22
Star
Mm-hmm.
06:32.14
Delphina
You're always going to look back on your first pages and find ways to grow and improve or whatever. But like at the end of the day, perfect is the enemy of done like you need to get it done.
06:41.93
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
06:42.12
Star
Yeah.
06:43.06
Delphina
You need to get it in front of people. You need to get it in front of your peers to see if the reaction that you're having in your head is the same as what they're having. And like maybe there's some mismatches because there's a lot of stuff that lives in your head that you're never going to like figure out until it becomes something that other people can't experience.
07:03.38
Delphina
So, um so yeah, it's just, that's part of it. I remember when I was first starting out too, I had my ideas. I was going to start my comic. I was going to start my comic and I would read a lot of comics that I didn't like.
07:18.51
Delphina
And I would say that comic is better than my comic because that comic exists and my comic does not.
07:26.46
Krispy
Oh my God.
07:27.41
Delphina
And it was mean, it was tough love, but it worked for me because I'm just like, no, I don't have a better idea. I don't have a better comic than this person. Even though this comic is, just totally driving me up the wall because it's, it's inconsistent in a lot of ways that I don't like.
07:45.43
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
07:45.48
Delphina
This is still better because it exists.
07:47.54
Krispy
Yeah.
07:49.01
Delphina
And that's what like eventually kind of spited me into starting like, okay, I got to get these pages out.
07:49.33
Krispy
Yep.
07:54.97
Delphina
I got to show that what I have in my head is really, really cool.
08:00.04
Krispy
Yeah, like putting the proof in the pudding.
08:02.26
Krispy
There it is. There it is.
08:05.47
Star
yeah
08:05.56
Krispy
There it Well, you know, webcomics.
08:07.28
Delphina
Are you okay? Yeah.
08:09.69
Krispy
it is oh
08:11.20
Delphina
Rufus in the pudding, it's true.
08:12.27
Star
it
08:12.30
Krispy
yeah
08:12.56
Delphina
Yeah.
08:12.76
Krispy
it is put your money where your mouth is
08:13.35
Star
You turned into... you You turned into a creature there for a moment.
08:14.76
Krispy
it is
08:16.23
Delphina
but your
08:19.07
Krispy
no web comics ah
08:22.42
Star
I'm not... Hmm. Okay.
08:25.74
Delphina
But I do think there's also like a part of like, you've done a couple pages. Okay, you have started actually, but then you get through the honeymoon phase, right?
08:30.80
Krispy
who
08:34.14
Krispy
yes
08:34.29
Delphina
You get through the first part of the comic. And then that's when the motivation goes away.
08:39.47
Krispy
You know i'm gonna i'm gonna drop a hot take here on screen tones podcast um oh yeah oh yeah
08:42.57
Star
oh
08:45.24
Star
I'm ready to catch it. I've got my little catcher's mitt and everything. I'm ready.
08:48.59
Krispy
So we love webcomics, like a lot. We love comics. ah That's why we can't stop talking about them. ah There's nothing that frustrates me more than people who say, well, my project was supposed to be this, but my fallback is I'm going to make it a comic. And I'm just like, yeah, right?
09:07.24
Krispy
Right? Right?
09:07.93
Star
I don't want to catch the take. I'm taking the glove off. I'm putting it on the ground. I'm walking away.
09:13.74
Delphina
The take just went straight into the ground.
09:16.26
Star
Straight into the freaking dirt. I don't want to catch it.
09:21.03
Krispy
And it's just i see this conversation pop up when we talk about motivation when people are like, "Well how do i stay motivated?" and I'm just like "Do you want to do a comic though?" so when i see people being like "well it was originally.... i really wanted to make an indie game but that's a lot of work so gonna do a comic" and I'm like "A comic's NOT a lot of work?"
09:36.78
Star
A comic is so much work! Honestly, there's points where, like, a game, like a visual novel, would be so much easier because you only have to draw the character so many times!
09:44.18
Krispy
who
09:47.06
Krispy
Yeah. Yeah. Like, it's just... I've definitely...
09:49.69
Star
Stupid!
09:52.52
Krispy
i
09:54.00
Star
Pardon my French, you dumb son of a bitch! You think that drawing a thousand pages of a comic is easier than making a freaking game where you draw the sprites once and then you never have to draw them again?
10:07.41
Star
You fool!
10:08.78
Delphina
Oh, we have released the beast. Oh my goodness.
10:12.89
Star
I'm the creature now! I'm angry! I'm frothing at the mouth! I have rabies! I'm gonna bite you!
10:19.22
Krispy
Well, that's the thing. Like, this is why that hot take, it frustrates me. Well, no, it is a good hot take. Like, this whole thing frustrates me when we talk about motivation, when we talk about people who want to do web comics and stuff like that. I'm just like, comics are not inferior to your, you know, your idea. that You're not going to get an easier pass on this. It takes a lot of work. And like, this is the thing that when we get these questions in the community and stuff like that, just, how do I keep doing my comic?
10:46.59
Krispy
And, you know, I don't mean to sound like a hard ass here, but I'm just going to have to. Is that like, do you want to do the comic? Like, how much do you want to do comics?
10:54.88
Star
Yeah. Yeah.
10:57.06
Krispy
Like, what are the goals of you doing these things? And, you know, I've said this before in Screen Tones episodes, but i'm going to say now. So Ghost Junk Sickness is a 10-year project. We finished last year. It was 10 years last year.
11:11.38
Krispy
And the whole comic is finished. So it's not finished on the website yet as we're recording this. But the whole thing is done. It's all printed in seven volumes. And my goal for that comic has always been I want to print these books and put it on my bookshelf.
11:26.45
Krispy
And that has driven us to complete the comic and that feels great and it feels complete and I feel satisfied. And I think like you really need that goal to sit in the back of your head. What is the point of this project? What am I working towards?
11:42.23
Krispy
And you know, another thing that I'm going to say is going to be a little bit of hot take is that I don't think it's good to connect it to something very nebulous. Like, well, I just want a lot of readers. And it's like,
11:54.87
Krispy
Well, you can't control that, though. Like, you know, I can control finishing a project and putting it on my shelf. I can control that. That's something I can work towards. It's much more tangible and it keeps me motivated when we finished.
12:10.41
Krispy
I can't remember. I think it was the first 32 pages. So originally Ghost Young Sickness was part of a thesis project we had to do at the end of college. Whatever. Big, big lore dump. But um when we first printed the 32 pages and then concept art in the back and a little like blurb book like holy heck that still felt so good I was like oh okay this is this is what I'm working towards and maybe like you can slowly breadcrumb feed yourself that some of that goal little bit of catnip don't know the stuff that you're going for and like small increments but like you know wanting more readers um and stuff like that that's kind of nebulous out of your control like that's that's hard and your motivation therefore will take a hit if you're comparing like numbers on like something like webtoons tapas where you're like oh well now my subscribers went down and that means my goal is poo and it you know what mean like that's tricky to me
13:03.79
Delphina
Yeah.
13:04.22
Star
Yeah. I mean, I know, like, similar to you, like, I do want Castoff, like, printed and on my shelf, but that was all... Like, I always intended on it being a web comic, and I'm like, I just want to put this in other people's eyeballs.
13:14.86
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
13:17.94
Star
And I remember... This is still a thing for me, but it's kind of become something I've relied on less as the comics readership has grown.
13:28.90
Star
But I remember in the very early days of Castoff, like the first two or three years that I was working on it when I didn't really have that many readers, it was just, it was extremely niche. I cared about the opinions of like,
13:47.01
Star
a small, very selective group of friends that were vocal about enjoying the comic and like two of my online readers.
13:50.19
Krispy
Oh no.
13:55.80
Star
And as long as they liked it, I was good.
13:59.54
Krispy
ah
13:59.63
Star
And I'm like, I just want to put it like, I care about the opinions and like reactions of these specific people who I love dearly.
14:07.81
Krispy
Okay, yeah.
14:09.34
Star
um Anybody else? I don't give shit.
14:11.70
Krispy
Yeah.
14:12.80
Star
And so like it, it reminded me so much. And it's like, I still do this. Like, this is still a thing, but it was far more of a motivation source when I was younger.
14:24.27
Star
is that I want to draw stuff and then I want to be able to show it to other people. And the joy of being able to show it to other people is like such a motivator for me.
14:29.49
Krispy
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
14:35.43
Star
Because I remember when I was like a little baby, I was in like middle of high school, I would bring my sketchbooks around and I would draw a little comics. Like a friend of mine would say something stupid earlier that day and I would find it very funny.
14:46.91
Star
So I would make a little comic strip about it. And then I would spend the next like the rest of the day, like showing it to all my friends and be like, Hey, look at this thing that our friend said I made it into a comic and they would all laugh. And the joy and motivation I got from that was unlike any other.
15:03.35
Star
And I'm like, I think I'm going to do this for the rest of my life, actually. and so now I do webcomics. But it's literally that. It's like, oh, so much of the motivation comes from making a cool thing, but also getting to share the cool thing and seeing people's reactions.
15:17.85
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
15:20.61
Star
And so, like I said, I had a small handful of, like, close friends who enjoyed the comic and were excited to see new pages. And, like, two or three people who were, like, very vocal about liking it online. I'm like, as long as these people are still enjoying it, I'm good. It's like, screw all these other people. Thank you for reading my comic. But I'm, like, if...
15:39.70
Delphina
Oh my gosh.
15:40.10
Star
If I, for some reason, lost all my readers and, like, I was getting no comments on the comic anymore, I was getting no feedback, I knew, I know I could still fall back onto, well, as long as this, like, small handful of people are reading it, I'm still going to keep making it because I, like, share, I like making a thing and I like sharing it with these people.
15:40.94
Krispy
ah
16:00.51
Star
And that has been, like, a huge driving force for basically everything I do these days, but cast off also, 100%.
16:09.74
Krispy
and you said that you love those people too like you have a good connection with them and you know that they mean something to you so like that totally yeah that makes sense that totally makes sense
16:13.13
Star
Oh, yeah.
16:17.34
Star
Yeah. Yeah. It's like my best friend, a former college roommate, um she's always been extremely supportive and very vocal about everything I do.
16:27.88
Star
And she's like, well, you know, I'm Castoff's biggest fan, right?
16:30.77
Star
And so I'm like, yes, yes, you are. Here's pages.
16:36.12
Star
I have a um I have a secret channel on the cast off Discord that's called Spoiler Squad, which is like my moderators and a handful of my IRL friends. And basically, as soon as I finish pages, I drop the link or I drop the pictures in the Spoiler Squad channel and just like seeing the little heart reactions pop up. And I'm like, yay, my friend's like my thing.
16:59.73
Delphina
Yeah. But having those people...
17:01.38
Star
Those little heart emoticons mean so much to me.
17:04.26
Delphina
Yeah.
17:04.51
Krispy
yes
17:05.71
Delphina
But I mean, and there is a distinction to like, it's not just like random people on Tumblr or whatever.
17:11.23
Delphina
It's not really a numbers game necessarily. It's people who are invested in you and want to see you succeed. I think that makes all the difference.
17:21.37
Delphina
And I do want to talk about the role of organization in motivation because I feel like if I'm not organized and I don't know what I'm doing, my motivation goes away like that.
17:24.86
Krispy
yes
17:33.97
Krispy
Yes.
17:34.05
Star
Oh, 100%.
17:34.29
Delphina
Like I can't figure out what I'm doing and that's not a fun feeling.
17:35.14
Krispy
Oh gosh, yeah.
17:38.97
Delphina
So ah you know what? Playing video games sounds more fun to me than drawing a comic right now because I don't know how to do the next part of the scene or the next thing.
17:48.43
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
17:48.46
Delphina
And so I feel like getting your pattern is like getting a rhythm for yourself so that like I know that I sit down and I draw at this time. I know that I can get a page done in a week.
18:03.57
Delphina
It doesn't have to be great or it doesn't have to be good, but I know I have the pattern there. that will get me from like no page to finished page.
18:13.75
Krispy
Yeah.
18:13.96
Delphina
And that is something that you can rely on when you get to a less fun part, when you get to something that's confusing or you need to be experimenting with because you don't quite know how to do it.
18:24.77
Delphina
That's going to carry you through a lot of the slower parts, I think.
18:30.83
Krispy
Yeah.
18:30.91
Star
Mm-hmm.
18:31.68
Krispy
Yeah. And I've seen a lot of people just sit there in frustration and then they just give up being like, well, it's too hard to do this part. And like we've said a bunch of times, even in this episode, comics are a lot of work. So figuring out your process is such a huge part of like actually continuing to go and enjoy ah making the comic because I truly believe you have to actually enjoy the process if you're going to do something. And webcomics are mostly free. A majority of people make them.
19:00.57
Krispy
in their spare time um and, you know, share it with the world and stuff like that. And that doesn't come out of thin air that comes with a lot of work and study and and whatnot to, you know, bring it all to life.
19:14.43
Krispy
um So kind of, segmenting it or, you know, playing around with different kinds of aspects of it. Like, you know, when we started Ghost Jenks Sickness, um before I used to be really into inking, which is kind of funny.
19:29.00
Krispy
um ah We used to do this thing where Space and I would see how we would tackle the pages. So um because we're both doing the exact same amount of work where it's not an artist/writer duo. We both do the writing. We both do the drawing and stuff.
19:46.08
Krispy
ah It used to be i would draw i think it was like 15 pages and then she would ink those 15 pages and then she would draw the 15 pages and that I would ink them. And then we were just trying to figure it out. Anyway, long story short, I freaking hated drawing the pages because I was so slow and she hated the inking because she hate like she was also so slow in the inking so figuring out like what parts that we like um really helped and the other thing that I will say for folks because you know we have the advantage of you know being a team but folks doing things by themselves, please do not feel like you have to do a part of the comic that you absolutely hate. Like I see people who
20:27.32
Krispy
say how much they hate inking. I'm like, you don't have to ink it. Nobody says you have to ink it. You can paint it. You can leave the sketch lines. Just you can make it work to how you like to do your art and stuff like that. Like you do not have to ink your freaking comic. If that is like ah like a killer for you and it makes you just absolutely hate the process, take it out.
20:48.47
Krispy
Take it out.
20:49.98
Delphina
Yeah, there's a lot of ways.
20:50.15
Star
hundred percent
20:51.36
Delphina
Like if you're creative in your problem solving skills, like you can do a lot of stuff that like there's no one way to do it. And I feel like that got me caught up a lot to just like, am I using the right pen?
21:05.71
Delphina
Am I using the right process?
21:05.99
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
21:07.23
Delphina
Like real comic professionals use tracing paper. This is back before digital stuff. So like I have to have all the correct tools and sometimes like that's really not necessary.
21:20.28
Delphina
um and might bite you in the butt if you're like, oh, well, I want to go to print now. it's like, well, this doesn't work for print because X, Y, Z. um But I feel like the more important hurdle to jump is being able to make the comic because if you don't ever make the comic because you don't know how, then like,
21:36.45
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
21:42.67
Delphina
There's nothing to fix. There's nothing to correct later. You can always go back and you can always correct things if you need to. We have a very flexible medium in that if you want to change a page or if you think of something better later, you can just upload a new file and it's there forever and you didn't have to reprint anything and you didn't have to do anything.
22:03.09
Delphina
So take advantage of that. Make sure that you're making pages, don't get caught up on being perfect or doing things the one way that works um and know that you can always go back.
22:18.28
Star
Yeah.
22:19.42
Krispy
Yeah, I like that. I like that. Also, like, don't getting, don't getting, don't getting, don't get hang up. What the heck?
22:27.80
Delphina
Are you telling me to hang up the call?
22:28.00
Krispy
Gosh. Hello. Hi. ah
22:31.92
Delphina
No.
22:33.02
Krispy
All right, we're done.
22:33.87
Delphina
no
22:34.01
Star
Krispy doesn't want to talk about comics anymore.
22:36.53
Krispy
I was going to say, don't get hung up on frigging for perfection. um Because like I see people thinking that every page needs to be a masterpiece. And I'm like, oh, for the love of Bess, it does not.
22:46.31
Star
No.
22:48.88
Star
Nope.
22:49.06
Krispy
It does not. People go through comics so fast. Like, paneling, composition, pacing, it it's going to make a good ride, a good... nice easy fun read uh so think about those things. But like having every panel every page look like a masterpiece like you know you don't gotta, unless that's like the thing the shtick is that it's like this is just comic the overly detailed and i'm just known for the overly detailed. Sure chase your bliss um but you don't gotta to do that
23:20.76
Star
Yeah, no, absolutely not. um I definitely, I've heard this around and it is something I repeat to people is like, when you're making a comic page, put a good, solid 50% of your effort into every page.
23:40.37
Star
Don't go higher than that. I know it's tempting to make like every single page perfect. You don't have to. You really don't have to. Do you know the number of people I get who tell me that they binge read 10 years of my life in three hours?
23:58.49
Krispy
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
24:02.45
Delphina
Oh, I have to laugh because I'm going to cry.
24:02.84
Star
They're not...
24:06.07
Krispy
yeah
24:06.22
Star
I get those comments so often and I'm like, thank you for reading. Read it again, but slower maybe. Look at the pictures I drew. Aren't they so pretty?
24:20.31
Star
You wouldn't know because you read it so fast. Yeah. But see, that's the thing. You have to assume that everyone who's reading your comic, not everyone, but a good like 80% of people who are reading your comic, they are not going to look at a panel of your comic for longer than six seconds.
24:38.57
Krispy
yeah yep yep yep
24:39.78
Delphina
Yeah.
24:40.47
Star
You really have to just... tone it down and it's going to suck and you're going to want to fight that instinct so much at first.
24:46.38
Krispy
mm-hmm I yeah
24:53.47
Star
I feel like a wonderful skill that I think honestly every artist should learn, but especially webcomic artists is the value of knowing when something is good and enough.
25:05.07
Krispy
Yes. Yes. Oh my gosh.
25:07.64
Delphina
yeah
25:08.10
Star
Just being like, it's acceptable. Hit post.
25:12.20
Krispy
And I think that like that also helps kill motivation when you're stuck doing something like that.
25:12.22
Delphina
Yeah.
25:18.10
Star
Yeah.
25:18.23
Krispy
And you can see that they're frustrated trying to figure out the pose of an arm. And I'm just like, you know that most people just don't think about that as long as it's clear. It doesn't have to be like one to one. Oh, my goodness. That has to work on all angles and stuff like that. And like, it's cool. We have.
25:35.71
Krispy
um A lot of software that helps us with like importing 3D models and whatnot. But like, also, that's a lot of time on just a person opening a door. Like, you know, holy heck.
25:48.12
Delphina
Is your comic about people opening the door? Is that like a pivotal part?
25:50.75
Krispy
Yeah.
25:52.24
Delphina
Like, I don't think so.
25:52.77
Star
Mm-hmm.
25:54.88
Krispy
We don't know.
25:55.29
Star
Because if it's not important, then just crop that freaking doorknob out. You don't have to show the exact angle of the hand.
26:01.56
Krispy
Yeah, yeah, you could take shortcuts, you could do that as long as it's legible, and you're getting what you're you want to do across like, you know, it's visual medium. But it doesn't have to be this masterpiece and being like, well, when I share this on social media, I want to get like, you know, a lot of likes and I'm like, is it about that?
26:20.51
Star
Yeah, I thought I just had it. I wonder if people who are not used to making comics and are maybe more used to doing illustrations, they're seeing illustrations and the point is to be beautiful, to be visually stimulating, to be pretty.
26:35.47
Krispy
Yeah.
26:39.77
Star
Comics can be about that. But I think what's more important in comics is communication.
26:46.37
Krispy
Yes.
26:47.07
Delphina
Yes.
26:47.25
Star
Like, what are you trying to get across with each panel?
26:47.37
Krispy
Yep.
26:50.49
Star
And as long as your panels are communicating the information that they need to be communicating, that is far more important than, like, making sure that every single hair on your character's head is beautifully rendered.
27:03.43
Krispy
Yeah, like hot take. I can get burned at the stake for this one. I don't mind. It's on the floor.
27:08.67
Star
um I'm ready. I'm ready.
27:11.21
Krispy
Oh my god.
27:11.27
Delphina
You said that last time, Star.
27:11.61
Star
I've got that spicy hot take from last time, and yeah yeah, I'm going to use it as the ignition. I'm going to throw it at your pile of sticks that you've assembled and tied yourself to. I've got the fight. You've laid down the fire starter, and I'm ready.
27:30.00
Krispy
Okay, okay.
27:30.24
Delphina
Oh my God.
27:31.00
Krispy
Well, um just because you could draw doesn't mean that you're a comic artist. I'm just, yeah. I'm just, you know, that's just kind of it.
27:39.91
Star
mic drop
27:42.45
Krispy
Like, there is so many layers that go into it. And I hope that when people listen to this episode, they're like, well, I'm completely unmotivated to start comics. Like, that's not what we're saying at all. um But there is a big...
27:54.59
Krispy
there's a big piece of caution. I want folks to, I guess, understand ah when going into this and that I see it's such a killer when people are like, well, how do I stay motivated? I didn't realize it was so much work.
28:09.64
Krispy
And it's just like, Because it is. And you can't work around that, unfortunately. If you want something that's cohesive, ah engaging, and a comic that you love, because I hope that you're studying comics. You better be reading comics, I swear to gosh.
28:24.41
Star
Mm-hmm.
28:24.81
Krispy
um You know, there is a lot of work to do and just because you can draw doesn't mean that you're automatically a comic artist. You've got to start thinking about, you know, a composition of an entire ah page of panels. And, you know, ah you also have to write, you also have to do, you know, ah different types of um layouts. and know what mean? Like, there's so much involved in how this goes together. So,
28:51.31
Krispy
I think overwhelming ah is probably something that, you know, really kills people's motivation because it is. It's so overwhelming. But with like Delphie saying that, you know, getting a grip on or getting a handle, not getting a grip, getting a cry forget i handle,
29:07.92
Star
Get with it, nerds.
29:09.93
Delphina
Wow.
29:12.57
Krispy
Getting a handle your process.
29:12.76
Star
We're just firing at everybody today. We're all catching strays.
29:16.18
Krispy
oh Yeah, some something's in the water. I don't know. um
29:20.87
Star
Is it your hot takes?
29:21.89
Krispy
I think so. but so
29:25.19
Star
That's where we put them to put the fire out.
29:27.31
Krispy
It's so hot in here. I need my fan. But I think like understanding your process and getting a handle of like, OK, what can I... what makes this enjoyable? How do I do this?
29:38.78
Krispy
And having a plan, being organized, like Delphie was saying, like that's such a big part. So one thing that I've seen in the community that I absolutely love, I think this is great ah to help with folks motivations is that they make like this like spreadsheet.
29:52.34
Krispy
And then they do parts of the comic in these little segments. And they're like, okay, this is my script. I've written my script. And then I thumbnail it. And then I draw it. And then ink it and or whatever. I put all the steps in there.
30:06.05
Krispy
And then they get to check things off. And my god, a list that you can check off is the most exciting thing.
30:15.61
Star
Nerd alert! No, I'm kidding.
30:17.20
Delphina
Oh my gosh.
30:17.45
Star
I do the exact same thing.
30:20.12
Krispy
And that helps with motivation, I think.
30:20.16
Delphina
Yeah.
30:21.98
Krispy
Like, when we were trying to finish the rest of Ghost Young Sickness, when we hit um the last 100 pages, I put, ah you know, 1 to 99 on a whiteboard, and every time we would finish it, I was like, marking that off.
30:36.32
Krispy
It felt so good.
30:38.54
Star
Yeah, there is a certain amount of serotonin in crossing things off of a checklist. Changing that little spreadsheet icon from red to green is just like, oh, oh.
30:49.21
Delphina
Yeah. And I feel like there's an aspect to where like, you have done a lot of comics, you know how it works, maybe you've got the routine down. But like, life happens to people and that can also sap your motivation.
30:59.59
Krispy
Yes.
31:02.35
Delphina
And sometimes you just have a lot on your plate. And you're still trying to power through, still trying to get the project done. um But like you need to take a break. Sometimes you need to take some rests and um and deal with other things and getting back into the flow, getting back on the horse um is a challenge. Motivation wise, I've felt it. And um and so having those little rewards for yourself, like the checklist or stickers or little treats or or whatever you want to do so that you can look back and say, I am making progress.
31:37.80
Delphina
I can visibly see I'm making progress.
31:37.88
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
31:39.92
Delphina
Or even you know just the little spoiler section of your Discord where you drop things. And you can see the backlog of like, yeah, I actually did finish 10 pages two weeks ago. It was two weeks ago. And I don't remember that now because a million things exploded in my life in the last two weeks.
31:56.92
Delphina
But remember that time that can happen again. That's going to happen again. Keeping things visible for yourself, printing out your pages or or whatever um can help you um appreciate the progress you've already made so that you can continue to have the motivation to get to the end.
32:18.34
Krispy
Yeah, I think that's that's it though, is that recognizing the work that you've done really helps with like all of the energy and time that you've put into something like this because we're not going to stop saying that webcomics ah are not a lot of work because they are. They're so much work. So you should give yourself kudos for finishing pages and stuff like that and sharing it with your besties and um just getting really excited about the stuff that you've done.
32:47.36
Star
Speaking of, I think this is a good segue to the elephant in the room that we started talking about before we hit record and then we were like, we should save it for the podcast, actually.
32:51.83
Krispy
Oh my god.
32:57.71
Krispy
who who
32:59.36
Star
I think we're all in agreement that if you're going to be spending years and years on this webcomic, you do got to be at least a little bit obsessed with it.
33:07.43
Krispy
Yeah.
33:08.08
Star
yeah
33:09.01
Krispy
Yeah.
33:09.70
Star
You do got to be at least a little bit obsessed with your little guys.
33:12.87
Krispy
Yes. Yep. You absolutely do. Oh my god.
33:17.41
Star
See, I feel like this is something that you see when you can suss out, I'm gonna be kind and call them corporate comic bros,
33:29.89
Krispy
Oh my god.
33:30.22
Delphina
ah
33:30.76
Star
where I feel like Delphie, I'm shaking your hand.
33:34.06
Star
I feel like we've, you know, had a couple of examples of these guys in the Spider Forest applications.
33:38.94
Krispy
oh my god.
33:39.15
Star
um And the way that you can tell immediately that people are just making comics because they want money and fame and the status of making comics and the vibes are so bad every single time.
33:47.57
Krispy
oh okay
33:49.43
Delphina
Why? ah oh don't do it.
33:56.38
Star
And it's so easy to tell.
34:00.58
Krispy
Oh, man. Yeah. I guess the motivation is Mr. Krabs voice. Money.
34:07.32
Star
yeah Ah, money. Hello, I like money.
34:10.56
Delphina
But is it now? Yeah. I mean, I guess I do. Like, you can go to conventions for that if you just want to make a comic and sell a book and make money.
34:20.90
Delphina
Like, why are you doing a webcomic, though? Like, I feel like there's an aspect of community and an aspect of sharing that people just sometimes don't want to do. And that confuses the heck out of me.
34:32.64
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
34:34.94
Krispy
Oh, I know them.
34:36.58
Star
Mm-hmm.
34:36.54
Delphina
Yeah.
34:37.38
Krispy
Yar, be knowing them.
34:40.56
Star
I just, I get war flashbacks sometimes to, like, comics that you've stumbled upon for one reason or another, and it's just like, oh, you don't actually care.
34:51.82
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
34:52.86
Star
You just, you just want the money that you think is going to come from this.
34:53.06
Krispy
Mm-hmm.
34:57.11
Star
This is, like, I, I'm kind of tempted to look into, like, a handful of the people that I'm talking about, because what do you want to bet their AI bros now? What do you want to bet?
35:07.67
Star
What do you want to bet that if I go look at their pages now, they've shifted over to using AI because they're democratizing art.
35:09.13
Krispy
Ooooooh! Ooooooh! Ooooooh!
35:15.82
Star
And they're like, this was the only thing stopping us from making it big in the comics industry.
35:16.38
Delphina
Weird.
35:21.40
Star
And now it's not holding us back because we could have an AI do it all for us. is
35:27.37
Delphina
Oh, I'm not taking that to Vegas. Nope.
35:29.86
Star
Nope. Okay.
35:33.69
Krispy
ah
35:33.84
Star
We can put that in the pit with Krispy's hot takes from early.
35:37.03
Krispy
Oh my god. Yeah, we're burying that. Oh god.
35:39.70
Star
Just drop it like it's hot and walk away.
35:41.80
Krispy
god.
35:42.52
Star
be like, oh, I don't like these people.
35:42.83
Delphina
ah like
35:44.08
Star
you stinky.
35:45.46
Krispy
o
35:45.83
Delphina
I mean, but is that motivating for them? Are they getting the money and the recognition?
35:50.23
Star
I don't think it is, and that's why they all suck.
35:52.65
Krispy
oh Well, you know, I think it'll come back to like what's the work that you did. I think that we're going to go into a whole new episode. This is going to have to be another jam episode. um ah ah And we should jam about it after.
36:05.40
Krispy
um But i'll just i'll put ah I'll put a bow on this. is that You know what? I think... ah ah About our previous topic. Or not topics. ah Pieces on motivation. Is that you know you look back and you're like. Okay I did that work.
36:17.71
Krispy
ah But did you really do that work when you used AI? No you didn't.
36:21.02
Star
Nope. Nope.
36:21.97
Krispy
You stole it.
36:22.20
Star
Nope.
36:22.37
Krispy
There's no work there. You stole.
36:24.74
Star
Yeah, no.
36:25.43
Krispy
So.
36:25.95
Star
Definitely a topic for another episode, but I kind of went on a little tangent, but I guess the point I was trying to make is like, you underestimate the power that having a silly little Blorbo can do for you.
36:36.11
Krispy
Mmhmm.
36:39.70
Krispy
Yeah.
36:40.38
Delphina
Just bring this silly little Blurbo into your life.
36:40.51
Star
And I feel like, yeah...
36:43.12
Delphina
It's going to heal you on an emotional level.
36:43.24
Krispy
Yes.
36:46.19
Krispy
Yes.
36:46.35
Star
It will take a little guy and put them in a situation and then make a comic about it.
36:49.53
Krispy
Yes.
36:51.86
Star
So you can show other people the situations that you put your little guy in.
36:54.97
Krispy
from
36:56.30
Star
And then they'll send you emails. Like, why did you put this guy in such a situation? I am sad now. And then you can be like, good, filter your tears into this mug of readers tears that I have so I can drink it and use it to sustain myself, please.
37:05.69
Delphina
oh my goodness.
37:07.93
Star
And thank you.
37:08.94
Krispy
Exactly. And make a nice cup of tea with it.
37:12.06
Star
yeah Very salty. Yeah.
37:15.36
Krispy
Salty.
37:15.51
Star
Refuel those electrolytes.
37:18.97
Delphina
All right.
37:22.74
Krispy
You know, as far as motivation, as far as sticking with your webcomic, you know, I think it's just important to get those goals. It is important to reflect on the work that you've done and, you know, really ah drive yourself with like, you know, what is the purpose of this? What do I want in the end? And, you know, work towards that. And it doesn't have to be fast. It doesn't have to be instant and stuff like that. It is a process.
37:47.08
Krispy
um But, you know, I think that it's just important o figure out what you want and enjoy the process while you do it. Get organized, like Delphie said. Get those little um besties and and show your pages to them. And, you know, there's just, there's just different avenues to, to keep yourself in the game.
38:06.99
Krispy
um But don't tie it down to things that you can't control too. I know that it's easy to get demotivated when you play the numbers game. um We have an episode on that and screen tones about that if you want to take a listen.
38:19.60
Krispy
um But yeah, you just don't put yourself, like don't put so much pressure on you to be a perfect, you know, ah comic artist in this world of a billion comics there's so many comics out there you got to do it for you too at the end of the day i think um but with that i think that this has been a scorching uh chicken salad caesar rap i yeah i've been your host crispy in this jam session with my buds uh and you could read my webcomics at ghostjunksickness.com and lunarblight.com
38:43.34
Delphina
Oh my goodness.
38:53.49
Delphina
And I have been Delphina, and you can read my webcomic, Sombulus, at Sombulus.com.
38:59.67
Star
And I've been Star the whole time, and you can read my comics at castoff-comic.com.
39:05.65
Krispy
Wahoo! Go get some comics! Go make them!
39:08.73
Star
Go turn your fan back on, Krispy.
39:10.01
Krispy
Oh yeah, it's so hot.