Having attempted to run at least 2, and now getting back to keeping up with a third comic series, here's a small collection of things I find particularly helpful, useful, and should really stick to more often myself. C:

1. Do not wait for inspiration*

Chase it with all ressources you have available - dragon, unicorn or racing car!

So you just started your comic series, and you're pumped, churning out ten new pieces over the course of a few days, and you totally want to, no, have to post them all at once.

The adrenaline rush of a new project stops, and so does your inspiration.

"Dang, this was so much easier before", you may tell yourself, "I guess I'll just have to wait for the inspiration to come back!"

Don't. Do That.

Seriously. It won't come back from waiting. Can't draw a straight line? Plot out the next story arch. Stuck with plotting? Draw the characters, memorize their characteristics so you won't have to check your reference sheets every other panel. Practise consistency, map out some later dialogue. Rotate and reassemble sprites in a way you've never done before. Anything.

Just don't sit around and sulk about not being inspired.

How can you have the time for that? Simple, you

2. Get a fixed schedule

One advantage of a proper schedule is that it's only fair for your readers. They have something to look forward to, a new part of the story every monday, or every second week, or whatever works for you. And no, "Every time I get inspired" is not something anyone can work with.

The second advantage is that, with the right time management you can get around temporary episodes of "nothing works at all". And no, 'right time management' does not mean 'do nothing for 13 days then panick on the 14th'. Use your time wisely. Sometimes you don't get the right poses or dialogue nailed down at the first try. Which is also why

3. Sometimes you have to try more than once

Sometimes the dialogue does not work, or the images don't go along with the text, or your panels just look like a collection of random drawings put next to each other. It just does not feel right. If that happens, don't be afraid to re-draw things. It often works better than trying to tweak the existing page until it's kinda-but-not-quite there.

Really, don't worry. It happens. And most of the time you should be able to spot it in the sketching/draft phase already. It does not mean your entire plot is wrong, or that the story is bad, it just means that this series of images does not work with these words. When in doubt, have someone proofread the comics or discuss the story with them.

Preliminary sketches of certain scenes may also be of help, as could a fully-blown storyboard in scribbled form.

4. Research and Reference

This applies to all kinds of comics - sprite comics, hand-drawn, photo comics or what-have-you. For all of these you should know at least the very basics of storytelling. Read some books on the subject or look up information online. Practise plotting, analyze fiction or movies and TV shows, keep an eye out for visual clues in foreshadowing. Observe the way scenes are laid out, camera angles and the likes.

Create some references for your characters, noting down appearance, personality traits and their way of talking. Same for places, maybe even a map if that helps with keeping track of things.

As for drawing facial expressions - I always have a small mirror lying around on my desk. Not because I'm vain, it's what I refer to as the "grimacing mirror", and it's exactly that. If you're not comfortable with pulling faces at a mirror, search for images online or ask friends or family to act scenes out. Studying reference really helps with making things more convincing.

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*actually this is true for any creative hobby/calling, whether it's drawing or writing or sewing Bionicle plushies. Waiting does not help. Doing something does. :]

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Yeah. Wrote this up randomly but I figured I might as well put it in here. :3