SMAAAASH!!

I realize nobody asked, but…

Are you a person who enjoys art and wants to get better at it? Then, 1. Have a webcomic. I can’t think of a good reason any artist who wants to improve shouldn’t. Even if it sucks. Even if nobody reads it. It’s never too early or late. It’s just a great way to get better, and a good way to track your improvement, especially if you…

2. Commit to an update schedule, stick to it. Again, even if nobody is going to complain that you missed it. The more times you successfully meet a deadline, the more it becomes a piece of cake. Discipline yields improvement. Like working out, or practicing any other skill. Punctuality and time management are also valuable traits you can pick up while doing this, so there’s nowhere to go but up!

3. Keep raising your standards. It doesn’t have to be all at once, really… But keep doing it. I can name dozens of habits I used to have that were pretty lame and I’ve advanced past and laugh at now, some things most people wouldn’t immediately notice or care about. I don’t mean I’ve overcome all lazy habits, of course, I must still have some and currently either think they’re acceptable or that I can get away with it, but each will probably meet a day I decide I’ll have no more of it. You don’t really know until that happens, and when it does, do something about it. If it stops happening for a while, it may be time to actively start looking for things to change about your art, perhaps. You don’t want it to stagnate.

4. Learn from the comics you like. Follow a few of ’em, identify what parts you love and hate about them. What is it about the art you do and don’t like? How about the jokes? Is there something about the pacing? The writing? The meta things? Take the aspects you like and use those, leave out the aspects you don’t like, fill in the gaps with your own experimentation. Even in your favorites, there has to be something you don’t like and find yourself thinking “if it were me, I wouldn’t have done that,” and that’s exactly the point. Everybody’s taste is different, and figuring out the specifics of your own and building off of it will make your comics unique. BUT…

5. …don’t blow off what everyone else thinks or only do what you think is the right way, because there is no single right way, and one’s taste evolves and is never absolute. Because of point 3: progress. You want to progress. You want to embrace progress and go on a date with progress and kiss progress on the mouth. Never ever lock into what you think are your ultimate ideals. Accept input from all sources. Doesn’t mean you absolutely must do what you’re told, but that you should at least think about it long enough to properly judge if it can help you advance.

…Yeah. I’m not really an expert but these are the things I’ve come to believe in and they seem to be working for me. That’s all!