Creative Burnout
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- Опубликовано: 5 дек 2022
- This video is about the burnout I experience after having been a fulltime artist for several years.
I went from part-time creator to a Webtoon Original Creator, producing 2 originals, running from one comic convention to sell my three original graphic novels, and winning an Ringo in the process...and I totally killed my creativity.
I just didn't want...maybe I still don't want to create anything because my insecurities really just took over. It wasn't even about creating, it was just about surviving the demons in my head.
I'm overall okay as a human being, so don't worry. Just my inside creative child is suffering a bit. My normal everyday goofy inner child is perfectly fine.
Hopefully this video will shed some light on what I experienced and learned.
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Thank you for this - I've been facing massive burnout for a few years (family and real life cramping on the creative energies), but it's so helpful to hear you talking about remembering why you want to do it in the first place. Yes we'd all want to make money off of what we can do creatively, but deep down I know I want to share my stories, and that is why I do art in the first place.
For me the reason for burnout is simple, but not easy to avoid. It’s like needing to reach the other side of a lake without a boat. Yes, you love to swim, but only when the water is warm and only when you feel like it. Now you have to do it even if it’s cold, and until you are on the other side. No matter how long it will take. For me as an creator this is death to my whole feeling around (in my case), making comics. Creating stories and see them come to life is magic moments for me. When I have to do it…dark clouds and evil beings sourround me and try to steal that magic. Being fortes to create is very difficult. You HAVE to enjoy the process, even if it’s trough lying to yourself. We DO love to create, and to always keep that thought on the top of your mind will be your light against the dark feelings and in the end, burnout. Thanks for what you do Walter! You are awesome even if you doubt yourself sometimes. Keep digging and you’ll find the gold! Don’t give up, remember why you do what you do.
Burnout is rough. About once a year I feel like quitting but I’m always able to talk myself through it.
It usually is coming from a frustration.
It’s wild hearing your journey and seeing similar to my own
Hey Walter. I found you through your Haxor comic on Webtoon. It's one of the few series I've read all the way through on the site. Your artwork might not be most polished draftsmanship in comics, but it does exactly what comic art is supposed to do. It pulls you into the story, creates a tone, ambiance, and overall vibration for what I'm supposed to feel. I'm emotionally connected to the art, and that's our job as cartoonists!
I started watching your videos when I first decided to pick up a pencil and start drawing (as opposed to just writing) and I recently just completed my first single issue with the writing, penciling, inking and lettering all done by yours truly. You've had a direct impact on my journey, and I'm happy to see you return to RUclips! Look forward to the rest of your content.
Be kind to yourself, and judge the process not the product. Much love fam!
Hey Walter! I just wanted to say that your videos, your comics and advices have become one of my biggest motivations to finally work on my own comic. Thank you for your passion, it really inspires me.
Your transparency is refreshing! I took a 10 month break from my comic 50% through the story, in the middle of a battle of all things, because I got so tired. I wanted to tell a story but couldn't keep up with the "dos and donts" for engaged viewers, popularity, etc, that are needed for webcomics. All drawing was relegated to my personal sketchbook for nearly a year. However, after a while I got the itch again. I had so many ideas inside that I couldn't take it anymore, so I decided to pick up the comic simply to prove to myself that I can finish an illustrated story. Even if no one comes back to read it, I can say I can tell a story in this medium and be ready for what will come during the next creative venture.
I definitely feel that up and down creativity and burnouts are really demotivating. I’m also in the middle of a similar career change to pursue art/comics full time instead of what I’d been going to school for, and the process is unstable but reminding myself this is something I’d rather do and actually want to work towards is what keeps me going, even if other stuff like numbers bring spots of disappointment, gotta keep the original goal in mind! Your videos have been so helpful, relatable, and easy to understand, and we fellow artists appreciate that. But a wise teacher once said, “if it was easy, anyone could do it” and I think it’s impressive to be able to do something you enjoy even thru the difficulties :)
ive been watching your videos for years, it might not be millions of people that watch your videos, but its still real people that you're inspiring and helping out in their comic journey! :) Take your time and rest up. In my eyes, if an artist tries to force success he ends up generating expectations, and expectations is the sole killer of joy.
I understand where you're coming from. I just recently posted my webtoon a week and a half ago hoping to generate a larger viewer base but the lack of traffic made me believe that I wasn't on that echelon of creators that had what it takes to make a living off their pride and joy. I've never made a penny off of my work no matter where I upload no likes and barely make it past 10 views. And If I'm being honest, I'm really not THAT bad. I've had many doubts and more losses than wins and didn't believe I wasn't good enough yet, I still find myself drawing after the dark times. Many artist says to be sucessful you can't care what people think and to a certain extent that's true. But I believe wholeheartedley that to be able to quit a 9 to 5 and work doing what you love, we have to take the audience into consideration in order for them to come back and enjoy your creation. As a content creator, there's a balance and It can be a very a thin tightrope to walk on.
Take as much time as you need and return with a burning desire to take the comic world by storm once more.
Thank you so much for your videos. I've been following you for a long time now and I appreciate your honesty.
I'm currently doing a 365 day art challenge because my art was so bad while I'm more in tune with storytelling. Lately, I'm pulling back with these challenges by not uploading finished pieces but just simple art. I was at the brink of burnout but I'm happy I caught myself before it got too deep.
I don't know where my art will take me. But doing art is the relaxing factor of my life. I like it to be that why, while I work a full time job
It makes me sad that you feel / felt that way. I genuinely love your art. You’re so inspiring to me. I never would have actually started making a comic and probably drawing again after a decade of not drawing if I hadn’t stumbled upon your videos. I hope you can get to a place where you recognize your own skill and knowledge. There are a lot of people rooting for you.
Sometimes I feel the same way.. and sometimes I feel that I am unable to draw anything, but I try not to let such thoughts control me. Well, thank you very much for sharing this with us. I will try to think positively just like you and try to benefit from your experience in this field.
I liked your positivity Mr. Walter🥺.. please keep going and smiling! I'm here & I'm gonna support you until the end! Fighting👏🏻🔥🔥
I've been bingeing your videos and I find them really helpful, as a person just beginning her first TRUE comic experience! I was always having ideas for comics as a kid and teen, but never did more than one page. So I've been learning a lot from you and other comic creators, so thank you!
Man, I love your art style. And the way you tell stories. 2023 is pure opportunity ✨️
BRO you are literally the only person on youtube giving good Webcomic advice. Your videos helped me and surely many other people through tuff times.
Appreciate those words, thank you.
This video really spoke to me because the monster is always full force within me; I'm not going to write a whole story here about it, lol...but I will say I'm trying to push those voices aside and remember why I wanted to make comics in the first place. I've always been a story teller first and artist second, so I'm more familiar with how to come up with the tale. I'm still trying to get my art to a place I like, but for me not anyone else.
What's also helping me is picking the right videos to watch for help; most art videos are about how one way is better than the one...how if you do this your art will be great and you'll get so many likes. I don't watch those anymore because they feed negativity into my mind and makes me feel like my art isn't good as it is; it goes back and forth because I still fall and listen to that voice, but try very hard to push it away.
I want to make stories and I want people to read them; that's my whole goal...what I really, really want to do 🙂
Wow, this actually had me crying.
Partially because it's terribly relatable, but also the idea that YOU'VE been dealing with this.
:(
I am so sorry you have a part of you that says that shit.
Impostor syndrome is some real ish.
Please know your art, and videos, and just who you are has been an incredibly huge & positive inspiration to many.
I would be too lost and confused to even think about attempting webcomics if it wasn't for your channel.
Who you are made your videos comfortable and not intimidating to watch despite your extensive knowledge,
you always approach and talk to your audience like a friendly person just offering a helpful hand, from a place
of understanding without a lot of judgement or prejudice. You never seemed to act like, I dunno. A scary teacher?
It's hard to explain haha. But I usually find myself intimidated a little bit by people I look up to.
And your channel doesn't do that at all which allows for easier learning, absorption of info, and comfortable practice.
I feel capable at making a comic, primarily, because of you.
That is confidence (and know how) I did not and would not have possessed had you not made awesome art/comics in the first place.
And I would not trust your advice if I didn't like what you yourself create.
I would not trust comic making advice of someone with a comic, story, or art, I didn't enjoy!
And that's a fact.
And your art style is iconic and ingrained in my brain forever. Ghost Bats was rad AF.
I am sorry it went so underrated. I really enjoyed it. Especially when you went into some
of the characters family backgrounds and stuff a bit.
It was unexpected but really genuine for what came off initially as super light hearted.
But was still a bunch of memorable wild fun, even if cut short.
A lot of things are great but just aren't well received until later.
That doesn't mean they were bad. Treasure Planet comes to mind.
I just cannot express my full gratitude that you pursued art and comics and shared it with us.
And that your skill DOES show in your art, it is so enjoyable to look at.
I wish it was without all the back to back overwork and other stuff that caused burnout however.
Wouldn't wish that on anyone,it's so easy to fall into, and when you're too busy, you don't think, and then before you know it you're kinda stuck.
But it doesn't have to stay that way.
SO glad you are pacing yourself now and allowing yourself time to figure out what YOU want,
whether that involves art or whatever else, you are a human being meant to enjoy life experiences, not a money making robot.
And I hope one day that the voice inside your head is able to treat you just as kindly as you treat everyone else.
Honestly, this might be something I needed to hear. The validation part is something many artists don't like to address because of course you should be doing art for the sake of the art and not for other people's approval, but at the same time getting other people to see your art and see it as worthy is something that most artists strive for, it's just a very human desire.
Recently I was doing a digital art piece in class and was really unsure about the color choices, so I took it to my teacher for advice. All he said was "This looks good, just keep going." *And he was right.* In this case, it really was all I had to do. I ended up adjusting some stuff later down the line, but in the end, this exercise was the most satisfied I had been with my colors in a long time.
You wouldn't do art just for validation, but my goodness, doesn't it help?
Thank you. And for the record Haxor and ghost bats is among my favorites! I haven't seen the rest of your work yet. Where ever you go next please know you're an inspiration.
Hi Walter, yes, we’re out here! :) Please keep going, your work and your channel is so helpful and enjoyable to listen to! At your own pace, of course 😊 Happy Wednesday, I’m off to do another day of overtime at work, and I love listening to these while I go about my day! 🌸
Ghost bats was SO awesome! loved every minute of it!
Hi, I watch your video a lot I have a playlist of it! You are awesome!
If I were to give advice 1) please make more videos on how you make a page or piece ( just running down your speed painting will do) Many young artists want to watch actual professionals work n soak up bits and pieces from it..
2) May be do Q/A more, trust me we hv question (u can answer repeat questions easily on q/a rather than make a whole video again.
3) change that black curtain behind you in the background, the whole back drop is devoid of light n gives off sad vibs as soon as we look at the video
Hope this helps 😆
Thank you for sharing, This is something I needed to hear. I view you as a mentor in my comic making journey and hearing you say that you have some of the same feeling I do makes it feel like something I can over come!
Thank you for sharing this. I really started getting into creating scrolling comics due to all the helpful tips and advice you have on your channel. Thank you!
Thank you so much, I’m sort of going through a very bad burnout, and your video made me rethink everything I hope I can get over it soon and again thank you and I love your channel it helped me a lot ❤
Joined your Patreon! Love your videos! You are always so informative and a delight to watch!
What a video, Walter. That was so raw and I could relate to so much. I hope these videos help you overcome these humps, because they are helping us 💙
Yeah same - haven’t worked on my comic in 2 months 😔. My story doesn’t deserve that at all and I want to get back to it! Thank you AS ALWAYS for your insight bro 😎
At the 0:25 second mark. I Love your video's. I have always considered you my teacher. I was sad that I missed your review patreon. I was signed up but my comic wasn't ready. to me, YOU are my teacher haha. You are my favorite person to come to for webtoon stuff. so, Thank you so much for everything.
I watch your videos mate, keep going, we all appreciate the hard work you put in.
I really felt that part on imposter syndrome... everyone has said "what an amazing artist you are!" since I was a kid. I knew it really meant "wow, you can draw better than me!" which wasn't a high bar, and it CLEARLY wasn't as good as the pros... I could see what was wrong, why can't they? unfortunately, it STILL sounds like that to my ears. my brain still hears a meaningless thing people say like "how about this weather?"
Thank you very much for sharing this experience and your views on this, I think I really needed to hear that.. 🥲
I did’nt realised you could have the same insecurities and worries if you finally got into the originals, but you made me realize that it’s only a much bigger weight and there’s more chance to get a burnout than having a few comics on Canvas..🥲
I used to upload 60+ panels a week, I was drawing ALL DAY, I had no life and when my expectations were at there highest, my suscribers number started to significantly decrease.📉
I still blame my art, i still think I should have done some things differently. But over all, I blame the fact that I put to much on my shoulders and and was ONLY looking at the results.
Today I upload only 10 panels a month and I try to don’t care about the numbers because I know that I could be loosing weeks of my life and working my head off for the income to be the same anyway.
So if my comics are destined to become popular, it will.
With or without me having to sacrifice my life over it 🥲
And Walter, I’m amazed that you could find your art not enough 🥲 it’s ALREADY beautiful. 💛
I love watching your videos 💛
Stay healthy, don’t force you into doing anything for anyone and follow your heart.🥲🌷
Straight up, I don’t care what happens, I’ll always be here to support you
I watch you videos like a hawk! With that said, prioritize your mental health. Your past videos are a great resource! Also, thanks for talking about this topic.
Your comics has a really unique art style and immersive story. Thanks for the great content!
That external motivation can be a real monster. I totally understand that. I'm glad to hear your experience. This isn't to say I'm glad you went through it, because it sucks, but it is nice to know that an awesome creator like you has grappled with similar challenges that I've also faced. Thanks for your videos, Walter. I love seeing your content.
Absolutely awesome video. Thank you.
Thank you for another great and informative video! If anything, you're a great teacher and you definitely know your stuff. I'm sure you can eventually overcome the challenges that come your way.
just finished. I always thought your art was amazing
Zamn, same experience here just not as far along... thanks for sharing it makes me realize maybe I'm not an imposter and not alone out here!
I've been in it! I haven't drawn in months. It all started for me when I started doing commissions. I always feel like I'm being used. So I thought I'll try something new. I'll make video games. That didn't work either
You are not alone, my friend
Keep your head up, you are doing Awesome
When we keep moving the goal posts, we're never going to feel that satisfaction of reaching a goal. It's okay to set goals like "increase my audience", "increase my art income", but its important to make it a measurable quantity and to celebrate reaching it, before making a new goal.
Thank you for this video, it came at a great time for me
Ghost Bats was a good story, i liked Haxor too, but GB was my favorite of yours
thank Walter talking about these important topic!
First of all, hi! 👋🏻 I watch your videos as soon as I get the notification! Secondly, this video is so timely. I’ve been feeling so much burn out this year. I was finally working really hard on my comic then developed tendinitis in my wrist and hand. I haven’t really drawn in 7-8 months. I’m finally in a place where the pain is just manageable enough to draw again, but I’m in that same questioning place.
Is my art even worth doing? Is my comic that I’ve been planning for 5 years even worth doing anymore? I feel like the passion I had is barely burning anymore. It’s been a really long year, and at the moment just don’t know how to get past it.
Anyway, thank you for this video! It gives me something to ruminate on that isn’t just negativity and burnout.
Can you do speedpaints and show us your process for doing flats and colors
Hi Walter thank you for spent your time teaching comics and webtoon. I’m a pro concept artist with passion in comics. I’m working on a new personal project of a comic novel. I have a doubt if doit in webcomic or for print. If i work in webtoon format is possible transform in a printed version before? Thank you
People do watch your videos, it's just that due to the high barrier of entry for a being a comic creator. Very few people are looking for lessons as a consequence. Lol! Great content though, really helpful!
Noot Noot
Originals program inevitably lead to burnout. That's just what that system is based on. It's unsustainable. The tempo it sets leaves you with no time to take a pause and reflect.
I've only discovered webtoons for less than a year and been researching it like crazy since, bc as a professional artist and storyteller it's a very fascinating thing to try. I don't think creators inside that system realize how bad they have it. That's what I have seen in my research again and again.
Like I don't know your financial situation but I'm pretty sure that if you've spent some time doing paid webtoon reviews it would be much better ROI than being part of that system, or anything, really. That's just slavery.
Oh yeah, for sure. The webtoon original schedule is intense. I think if I were to do it again (BIG IF), I would wait until an entire season was complete before launching. Then I'd be able to work on the next season without a deadline. The one thing to keep in mind with webtoon originals, at least as far as payment goes, Webtoon is paying the creator to create their own story. That's a pretty good deal for most creators despite the killer schedule. If it was completely freelance work for an IP the creator didn't own, it would be a horrible deal...not saying it couldn't still use some tweaking to take more of the creator's well being into consideration. As far as ROI, that's the thing with comics...and it's kinda sad, but really doing literally anything else besides comics will have a better ROI. Comics really are a passion for creators, which doesn't really lead to the best business decisions. AI art isn't going to help either.
Do u guys ever struggle with people misinterpreting your comic? It seriously bothers me and sends me into a downward spiral when they miss the point of something or call characters stupid when they havent considered all the clues. I have a hard time keeping this kinds of comments out of my brain, because I so badly just want to jump into the comments and spoonfeed them or tell them how theyre wrong (i try to be as clear as i can in storytelling because of this, but inevitably some people still misunderstand). It just takes one comment like this to send me into a creative downward spiral. I just hate working so hard to tell a story yet feeling like at the end of the day your audience isn’t even really hearing you or understanding you. Ive even seen some artists get comments that blow the story out of proportion and acting like it’s encouraging toxic behavior at the smallest detail. And no, Its not an issue with the comic’s clarity itself. I’m talking about readers hating on characters unnecessarily, usually because of ships, or readers not even knowing one of the main character’s names even though it has been said numerous times.
I know some readers are young and maybe some just simply arent that bright, and i know this happens with shows/movies all the time (for example I guarantee there are people who misunderstood AoT all the time). It’s just hard to battle the part of my brain that tells me that all confusion is a result of my failed storytelling.
It's great that you remember how young the audience on webtoon mostly is, many are literal kids and let's be honest it's not like the brightest people choose to spend their whole lives reading webtoons... Also you are again right there are ALWAYS people who misinterpret things, if you have ever watched reactors on YT watching shows or videos you would be amazed how most obvious things go over their head all the time.
You kind of have to accept that it's an inevitable part of being an author if you want to be one.
Hey thank you for sharing this video!! I just want to share you that there is always love, hope, forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Jesus. If you come to Him with a sincere and humble repented heart, He can save you and forgive you and give you abundance of joy, love and peace and eternal life. Believe in Jesus: He is The Son of God, He died for our sins and He rose from the dead, Believe in Jesus. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” -Romans 10:9
I LOVE YOU and I LOVE YOUR ART. Thank you for all you do.