2024 was the last year of my MFA, where I decided to illustrate a graphic novel. I needed to develop a workflow that was efficient and effective to manage the workload with my thesis show deadline. The time slots I had available were early in the mornings, evenings, and most weekends. I worked on one to three pages a day seven days a week, with a goal of illustrating over 200 pages for my MFA thesis show. This daily drawing practise was very motivating because the progress was clear, and I felt extremely focused. I did a 30-day watercolour challenge in the spring of 2021 and felt a similar feeling of gratification when working on something every single day. What these experiences have in common is a system where work is put in daily, with an end goal in mind. I realized that I could produce a lot of work, with minimal time when I am consistent. Since my MFA, my drawing practise has significantly decreased. The driving feeling of working hard on something every day slowed down, and I was exhausted.
In a way I was expecting this feeling, but I didn’t find a proactive way to avoid it. Although the progress during my MFA was great, sustaining the workload of the last few months before my thesis show was unstainable long-term. My challenge since then has been: How do I keep my graphic novel practise going, but in a more reasonable and sustainable way? I found this to be a challenge because the time blocks I have available are limited, and I am often unfocused when I am in them. It’s hard to stay excited about something when the progress is so slow, as it seems it will never get done. I then thought of it in another way. Recently, I realized I spend about $100 dollars a month on a coffee every day. A $1.50 coffee twice a day seems so insignificant, but by the end of the month, it turns out to be more than it seems. I then thought to myself, I could do something interesting with that $100. I can take a sewing class, buy a nice pair of shoes and just make my coffee at home. A habit of making coffee every evening needed to be established, but once I got used to it, it wasn’t a thought anymore. I think my art practise will also work in a similar way. Daily, it won’t seem like much, but by the end of the month, I’ll have something. I want to use this blog as a way to document my progress on drawing a little bit of comics every day. Let’s see how this goes!
Resources I found inspiring:
1) Creative Pepe Talk with Sophie Yanow : https://www.creativepeptalk.com/501-how-to-create-gentle-habits-with-sophie-yanow/
2)The 12 Commandments of Making Comics with Jake Parker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QevYxOC7TYs
