Back to the Grind

Hi, my name is Mike and I make comics.

Robyn added me to the list last week, but I haven't had time to introduce myself because I've been either making comics or eating turkey for the last week. Now that I'm back at work I have some more free time.

My name is Mike Tomasulo. I live in the Boston area, and I have a day job as a software engineer. My immediate comics goals are to produce some science fiction web comics. I'll get to the status of that later.

I figure a lot of us fall into one of two camps this week. Some people, like me, were able to use their vacation time to really get some comics done, and now have to make the effort to find time to work on it around their day job. Other people weren't able to get anything done over the holiday because of travel or guests or whatever, and now need to get back on the horse.

(Other groups of people include those who don't get time off for U.S. Thanksgiving and those who don't have day jobs.)

So, chime in with when you are going to work on your comics next, and if you got anything you want to crow about done over the Thanksgiving break!

I will start:

I'm definitely going to get at least an hour of work done tonight, and I have most of the evening to myself tomorrow, so that'll be a couple of more hours.

I was off from last Tuesday until yesterday, and I was able to get a really solid start on a web comic I'm working on. I scanned in thumbnails and did placeholder lettering for all 16 "pages". I tightend up pencils on about 6 pages, and did first pass at painted colors (in Corel Painter) for 3 pages. It's looking alright. I'm improving with every page, so I expect I'll go back and touch up the early pages once I've been through them once.

And you?

15 Minutes

I was getting really pissed off at myself for not working on my comic book, PHASE 7. I am only 10 pages away from having #006 totally done, yet I have basically stopped working on it. And it's been more than a YEAR since the last issue came out. Granted, my life is INSANELY busy right now. I'm living in NEW YORK, which is stressful and hard in its own way, plus I'm going to school full time (taking EIGHT classes at Pratt Intstitute this semester). That means I have A LOT of homework, plus I have a healthy stack of side projects and freelance work that I need to keep up on. (Also trying to budget some time for friends, etc. to stay SANE!)

So here is my new idea: I WILL work on my comic book a BARE MINIMUM of 15 minutes per day, EVERY DAY, NO MATTER WHAT, until it is done. I've been at it for about a week now and it has been going pretty well. Usually I have been doing it at the very end of my day, after I've brushed my teeth and right before I get into bed. Because really, what is 15 minutes? (Nothing!) There is no ammount of sleep I'm going to get that I wouldn't give up 15 minutes of it to work on my self-published comic book (read: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE RIGHT NOW). And twice this week, I got 4 hours and 45 minutes of sleep instead of 5 hours, and it was totally worth it. There is something to be said for just "checking in" with my story once every day, even if it's just to touch the page, tape it down, draw a figure, erase it and then draw it again. Every four nights is another hour of work done!

Anyways, I thought that might be helpful for some people who are SUPER BUSY like me, and are getting frustrated that they never work on their Comics. Taking a small step each day will get you there eventually!

I seek enlightenment........or at least some comments

Greetings,
So here's my situation. The 10/9 point cartoonist road to recovery has been absorbed, and is a starting point. My disorganized world is, slowly, being handled. With that, it brings working space & productivity. The reorganization has brought about a little problem........literally hundreds of idea notes & rough sketches. So what's the problem, "Where do I begin !!!"
I draw "gags", and peddle my own wares. Our recent move & the daughter's college tuition were easy to deal with compared to what I'm now facing. It's a classic case of "Sensory Overload." I would be interested to hear from any & all that may have been/or are in a similar position. I've been married, forever, with 3 daughters (13,15, 18), so I"m used to taking criticizms (it's pms everyday, of every week in our house, and I'm always wrong!) ). That passes for conversation to me. However, I would really appreciate a little insight. Thanks !!!