Blundering My Way to Productivity

[Bustertheclown]

Recently, I decided to give up cartooning for other creative pastures. Of course, the second that decision was cemented in my mind, I was hit with epic fits of inspiration. While bored at work, I found myself doodling out page sequences, and conceptualizing enough material for at least six standard issues of a single title, something I hadn't been able to do in years. At the same time, I've been pondering the idea of a photo webcomic using toys, because I make dioramas out of the things all the time already.

Obviously, my idea of "give up" isn't exactly solid, or I'm just really bad at quitting a twenty-year-old habit. I guess it's more that I wanted to relegate it to the realm of "hobby" rather than "future enterprise."

Cut to two days ago, when I received a Last Chance e-mail for a table at the Spokane Comicon, a mere three weeks away. The sensible person in me would just have responded with a, "no thanks," but I'm not a sensible person. So, I bought the table space, and I'm now going to be sitting at the Spokane Comicon, a mere three weeks away. The thing is, I gave up cartooning for a reason. I haven't been seriously cartooning for months now. I petered out, and lost my focus. I have NO new material ready to publish for this thing! ZILCH!

You might be asking the computer screen at this point, "why the hell would Buster do such a thing, if he isn't prepared?" Well, that's where the magic happens. You see, I work well when I'm panicking. I made an itemized list of possibilities today, and I realized that, if I do things right, and get a little lucky, I might actually have as much as five different publications to set out come the con! FIVE! It's actually foreseeable to reach that number, if I draw myself into oblivion for a couple of weeks. What's more is that I honestly think that I'll be hitting near that goal. Three titles would make me happy, and I'm already a third of the way done compiling one of them. That's right; I'm already a third done with one of the books after two days. Not bad! The sick part is that this isn't the first time I've gone a bit nuts like this, all to fill table space at a con. Last time, a few years ago, I ended up organizing, compiling, and publishing two issues of an anthology with some friends for an appearance at the Emerald City Comic Con. It was a blast, and I think this time around will be just as scary and fun!

This got me to thinking, what kind of crazy stuff motivates you to work? For me, it seems that having an insane deadline is healthy for my creative energy. I'm an artistic adrenaline junkie. Hows about y'all? Any tricks that light the fires under your ass?

[KWill]

This got me to thinking, what kind of crazy stuff motivates you to work? For me, it seems that having an insane deadline is healthy for my creative energy. I'm an artistic adrenaline junkie. Hows about y'all? Any tricks that light the fires under your ass?

Listening to the "theme songs" I've assigned to my characters helps me write them. So does listening to a song and imagining montage featuring the characters that would fit the lyrics. Also, watching a movie or series or reading a book that shares a genre with the particular story I'm working on is a small source of inspiration as well.

[McDuffies]

It'll be interesting to see a photo comic mady by you.

I'm usually specially mothivated when I don't have time for comicking.

[Mon Ami]

I'm the same as you buster, I work against myself and the clock because I procrastinate a lot. I'm slowly getting better though because I've seen what I'm able to produce if I really put my all into something rather then putting my all into it 14 hours before it is due. Oh yeah, it happened. A three by four foot canvas with a realistic style and something I've never painted before: glass. It was my final painting project for Uni but I got a good mark so I'm relatively happy about it

[Boozeathon4billion]

I definitely work better under stress... even if it isn't a deadline, I just do everything more efficiently and usually much better when I have stuff hanging over my head. When it's school work, I comic more. When its work, I comic more. When its comicing... I game more. lol... its because of that tendency that all my comics are drawn and colored the night before (which usually spills into the morning of).

The other thing that motivates me is just having an idea I want to share. Something that makes me laugh or something that has made me laugh pushes me to do a comic about it in some way or another so that it can be shared. That always is a cool feeling, to know that you've shared something you enjoy with someone else... I guess thats what keeps me doing the comic when there isn't any stress overhead.

[Takuun]

I tend to sit around listening to music and something will click. At work while staring at the wall my mind will wander off into a world of unicorn bubble gum farts and deranged nazi squirrels I'll end up writing things down. When all that fails I just talk to my characters.

[Bustertheclown]

After a four-day weekend, most of which was spent camped out on the couch, with pen and paper in hand,I've managed to get about a quarter of the way to where I'd ideally like to be. I don't think I'll have everything I want for this con, but I know that at least I'll have something. Now, if I can just get something completely compiled, I'll feel a hell of a lot better.

[Pimpette]

Weirdly... the less I eat or sleep, the better I work.
I seem to do some of my best work when I'm hungry and haven't slept a lot - because it means I'm really wide awake.
I think it's time to pull a brief fast so I can get caught up on however many comics I've gotten myself into (not to mention the Buttercats cartoon, yeeks).

[DangerFace]

I often become most inspired when it is least feasible to act on the inspiration, namely at work. That's why I started bringing all my comicking stuff to work everyday, and I work on it on my lunches and breaks. I also keep a notepad on me to write down any good ideas that occur to me while I'm working. Most of them I realize are complete crap afterwards, but 'tis better to toss a bad idea than to forget a good one!

[Bustertheclown]

Well, I got excited enough to actually sign up for a CG account. So, for the first time in roughly three years, I'll be building a web presence. It kinda feels a little strange.

Weirdly... the less I eat or sleep, the better I work.
I seem to do some of my best work when I'm hungry and haven't slept a lot - because it means I'm really wide awake.
I think it's time to pull a brief fast so I can get caught up on however many comics I've gotten myself into (not to mention the Buttercats cartoon, yeeks).

Funny, I seem to eat less when I'm involved in working. I think that's more an effect than a cause for me, though.

I often become most inspired when it is least feasible to act on the inspiration, namely at work. That's why I started bringing all my comicking stuff to work everyday, and I work on it on my lunches and breaks. I also keep a notepad on me to write down any good ideas that occur to me while I'm working. Most of them I realize are complete crap afterwards, but 'tis better to toss a bad idea than to forget a good one!

I always have a sketchbook with me, which I draw in during breaks, and I even keep scratch paper with me at my station. I work in a factory type setting, and the work gets very repetitive. I find that doodling for a couple of minutes every once in awhile gets blood flowing to the brain, and helps keep me awake and productive.

[DangerFace]

I know what you mean. I had a factory job once, and the boredom/redundancy combo drove me crazy. I'd wind up singing entire Tenacious D and They Might Be Giants albums from memory just to pass the time. Luckily the machinery was loud enough that no one's ear-guts were stabbed by the horrible sound of my singing voice. Then I got an Mp3 player.

[Banov]

I find that doodling for a couple of minutes every once in awhile gets blood flowing to the brain, and helps keep me awake and productive.

That is essentially the cause for all the drawing I've done for the last few years since I stopped webcomicking. I had tried drawing seriously and with deadlines, but it didn't agree with me and I'm not that great an artist anyway.

I'm most motivated to draw during class. It helps me focus, and in cases where I'm not interested, mentally leave the room. I also sometimes end up doing it when on the phone, while writing a paper, programming a game, etc. for similar reasons. So for me it's more of a basic necessity than serious pursuit.

[Bustertheclown]

Whale, yesterday was the con. Three sleep-deprived weeks have yielded me the following:

-Two 20-page issues of my compilation comic, $2 Matinee. About 50% of each had completely unpublished content. The other 50% was sort of a "greatest hits" of comic strips and drawings I'd made over the years. I'm hoping to make $2 Matinee a printed staple, if not bi-monthly, then at least quarterly.

-The beginnings of TWO ongoing projects. Stuart Tickman made his debut in $2 Matinee issue two, and he will be getting his own 30 page first issue in July. Those Two will be making the leap from one-off strips to full-length comics in August, with the first issue, "Arsenic and Ol' Bernie."

-The manuscript for Chubby Bunny, A Storybook for the Cynical and Disenchanted.

-Most exciting of all (for me, anyway) the strong beginnings of Little Paper Guys, an idea I'd had a couple of years back about providing dirt cheap miniature markers for gaming needs. Within the next few months, I'll be creating hundreds of unique little miniatures (yesterday, I drew half a dozen swordsmen, and 24 different aliens!) all of which will be available for free download to anyone who wants them. I hope to have a cast of thousands within a year. The only cost to the consumer would be for printing, and paper clips to use as bases. I'm currently hammering out mechanics for a grid-battle game that people can play, using only a few sheets of paper, and a couple of six-sided dice. I have to admit, Little Paper Guys is too much fun for me!

-A new CG account, to re-establish my online presence, after three years away. (http://hastilyscribbled.comicgenesis.com by the way, although I just got FTP access to it yesterday, so nothing is there) It's exciting to re-enter the virtual talent show.

All in all, not to bad! Over twenty pages drawn, as well as a bunch of peripheral material, leading to two more printed comics and the makings of a Little Paper empire to my achievements list; I'd say it was a good showing, given the short time frame.

The con was fun, too. It was small, with only about thirty tables. They exceeded their last year's attendance, which is a great thing. I got to meet a couple of webcomic teams, too, and managed to make a couple of trades! I didn't sell much, but I didn't really expect to. My town is not terribly indie-oriented, and I don't expect a lot of people really knew what to make of me, and my black and white comics that were smaller than the standard size, featuring no superheroes, zombies, or elves. People who actually bothered to pick up and look at my comics did buy them, which I hope says something for the quality of my work. I was going more as a way to re-establish myself as a cartoonist, and give myself a little face-time in the local scene, and in that regard, I feel I was successful. There's another couple of conventions coming up over the course of the summer, and I'll be getting tables in those events, too.

So, that's it!