At 9/13/23 07:14 PM, switzrr wrote:this tweet got over 150K likes
this person made a short film with dozens of millions of views
this person animated for a $100 million dollar film that raked in nearly $700 million
the following people have done work for professional anime studios:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

At 9/12/23 02:03 PM, vlsrb wrote:it's very rare that anyone produces something truly great in their youth

this tweet got over 150K likes
this person made a short film with dozens of millions of views
this person animated for a $100 million dollar film that raked in nearly $700 million
the following people have done work for professional anime studios:

At 9/13/23 11:14 PM, switzrr wrote:@OnixDark

Fun fact, I was actually the one who inspired the creation of CosmicRot's thread. I was told on the thread I made about my aphantasia to learn the "fundamentals", but you guys already heard me on how that's going; DrawABox hasn't helped, books haven't helped, even videos I tried watching today by Marco Bucci, ergo.josh, and SamDoesArts haven't helped.

In terms of "no such thing as 100% originality", I hear often that "using references isn't bad, if anything it's encouraged", and therefore I shouldn't feel bad about having to rely on reference images, but I dare someone to look me in the eyes and say with a straight face that Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (my favorite visual artist ever) used a reference when drawing this. What real-world subject could possibly be referenced to create something like that?

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

At 9/14/23 02:15 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

you know, its ok to realize something isnt working and admit failure. its how you grow and progress sometimes. If you see somebody doing something for years and its not working and its not making them happy, wouldnt you tell them to stop and do something else, approach it differently? I dont mean quitting art in your case but reapproaching it from a completely different direction. You're literally paying people to advertise your comic and its still not getting any traction, so... whats wrong with it? Have you asked people to critique it?

At 9/13/23 11:14 PM, switzrr wrote:@OnixDark

Fun fact, I was actually the one who inspired the creation of CosmicRot's thread. I was told on the thread I made about my aphantasia to learn the "fundamentals", but you guys already heard me on how that's going; DrawABox hasn't helped, books haven't helped, even videos I tried watching today by Marco Bucci, ergo.josh, and SamDoesArts haven't helped.

In terms of "no such thing as 100% originality", I hear often that "using references isn't bad, if anything it's encouraged", and therefore I shouldn't feel bad about having to rely on reference images, but I dare someone to look me in the eyes and say with a straight face that Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (my favorite visual artist ever) used a reference when drawing this. What real-world subject could possibly be referenced to create something like that?

At 9/14/23 11:40 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 02:15 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

you know, its ok to realize something isnt working and admit failure. its how you grow and progress sometimes. If you see somebody doing something for years and its not working and its not making them happy, wouldnt you tell them to stop and do something else, approach it differently? I dont mean quitting art in your case but reapproaching it from a completely different direction. You're literally paying people to advertise your comic and its still not getting any traction, so... whats wrong with it? Have you asked people to critique it?

I ask for comments all the time but everyone remains mum. The few comments I do see that show up seem to enjoy it, and the rating itself on the site is solid. It's not the fact that people hate it or dislike it. They just don't seem to know it exists no matter where I personally promote it.

At 9/14/23 03:52 PM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 11:40 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 02:15 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

you know, its ok to realize something isnt working and admit failure. its how you grow and progress sometimes. If you see somebody doing something for years and its not working and its not making them happy, wouldnt you tell them to stop and do something else, approach it differently? I dont mean quitting art in your case but reapproaching it from a completely different direction. You're literally paying people to advertise your comic and its still not getting any traction, so... whats wrong with it? Have you asked people to critique it?

I ask for comments all the time but everyone remains mum. The few comments I do see that show up seem to enjoy it, and the rating itself on the site is solid. It's not the fact that people hate it or dislike it. They just don't seem to know it exists no matter where I personally promote it.

Ah, but you avoided my question. Have you ever specifically asked people to critique it? Have you ever asked people how it could be better, if there are any issues with the writing or the story or (unlikely) the art itself. It's reading your story with a specific goal in mind, rather than just waiting for random people to say something. Have you ever taken the initiative to do that? because people arent going to do it by themselves. What they're going to do if there are issues is say nothing, because its the polite thing to do. Your friends are also unlikely to speak up about any issues out of fear of upsetting you, or because they just arent interested in seeing your work from a critical perspective.

At 9/14/23 05:57 PM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 03:52 PM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 11:40 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 02:15 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

you know, its ok to realize something isnt working and admit failure. its how you grow and progress sometimes. If you see somebody doing something for years and its not working and its not making them happy, wouldnt you tell them to stop and do something else, approach it differently? I dont mean quitting art in your case but reapproaching it from a completely different direction. You're literally paying people to advertise your comic and its still not getting any traction, so... whats wrong with it? Have you asked people to critique it?

I ask for comments all the time but everyone remains mum. The few comments I do see that show up seem to enjoy it, and the rating itself on the site is solid. It's not the fact that people hate it or dislike it. They just don't seem to know it exists no matter where I personally promote it.

Ah, but you avoided my question. Have you ever specifically asked people to critique it? Have you ever asked people how it could be better, if there are any issues with the writing or the story or (unlikely) the art itself. It's reading your story with a specific goal in mind, rather than just waiting for random people to say something. Have you ever taken the initiative to do that? because people arent going to do it by themselves. What they're going to do if there are issues is say nothing, because its the polite thing to do. Your friends are also unlikely to speak up about any issues out of fear of upsetting you, or because they just arent interested in seeing your work from a critical perspective.

Literally asked for it in several social media spaces. The only person who said a word was only about the font and art size being too small for mobile users, which I did adjust for later episodes.

At 9/14/23 06:05 PM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 05:57 PM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 03:52 PM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 11:40 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 02:15 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

you know, its ok to realize something isnt working and admit failure. its how you grow and progress sometimes. If you see somebody doing something for years and its not working and its not making them happy, wouldnt you tell them to stop and do something else, approach it differently? I dont mean quitting art in your case but reapproaching it from a completely different direction. You're literally paying people to advertise your comic and its still not getting any traction, so... whats wrong with it? Have you asked people to critique it?

I ask for comments all the time but everyone remains mum. The few comments I do see that show up seem to enjoy it, and the rating itself on the site is solid. It's not the fact that people hate it or dislike it. They just don't seem to know it exists no matter where I personally promote it.

Ah, but you avoided my question. Have you ever specifically asked people to critique it? Have you ever asked people how it could be better, if there are any issues with the writing or the story or (unlikely) the art itself. It's reading your story with a specific goal in mind, rather than just waiting for random people to say something. Have you ever taken the initiative to do that? because people arent going to do it by themselves. What they're going to do if there are issues is say nothing, because its the polite thing to do. Your friends are also unlikely to speak up about any issues out of fear of upsetting you, or because they just arent interested in seeing your work from a critical perspective.

Literally asked for it in several social media spaces. The only person who said a word was only about the font and art size being too small for mobile users, which I did adjust for later episodes.

Thats good feedback, but you need to be even more aggressive about getting critique and feedback. You're paying people to market for you so you're motivated but have you ever had a writer look at your work? Have you ever had an editor look at your work? Theres more you can do to improve your comic writing, then theres the whole art side of it.
I'm not saying you have to pay people, but asking specific people who specialize in certain things might help you refine your comic even more, its not the same thing as being generally open to critique or asking nobody in particular openly in a social media space but literally reaching out to (hopefully qualified) people to give you critique.

At 9/14/23 06:16 PM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 06:05 PM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 05:57 PM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 03:52 PM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 11:40 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/14/23 02:15 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/14/23 01:26 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I've been running a webcomic for three years now. Three years in, and it's hardly grown at all despite it regularly updating with only month or two month-long breaks in between. Even its current numbers are just a result of me outright paying a marketer to broadcast it to more people. Nothing about it on its own merits seems to be pushing people to actually spread the word about it existing. It just feels like the same small handful just show up every time I post a new page, and it's honestly starting to become discouraging. I want to keep the story going, but I also want to be acknowledged as having created something rather than it feeling like I hardly exist at all.

you know, its ok to realize something isnt working and admit failure. its how you grow and progress sometimes. If you see somebody doing something for years and its not working and its not making them happy, wouldnt you tell them to stop and do something else, approach it differently? I dont mean quitting art in your case but reapproaching it from a completely different direction. You're literally paying people to advertise your comic and its still not getting any traction, so... whats wrong with it? Have you asked people to critique it?

I ask for comments all the time but everyone remains mum. The few comments I do see that show up seem to enjoy it, and the rating itself on the site is solid. It's not the fact that people hate it or dislike it. They just don't seem to know it exists no matter where I personally promote it.

Ah, but you avoided my question. Have you ever specifically asked people to critique it? Have you ever asked people how it could be better, if there are any issues with the writing or the story or (unlikely) the art itself. It's reading your story with a specific goal in mind, rather than just waiting for random people to say something. Have you ever taken the initiative to do that? because people arent going to do it by themselves. What they're going to do if there are issues is say nothing, because its the polite thing to do. Your friends are also unlikely to speak up about any issues out of fear of upsetting you, or because they just arent interested in seeing your work from a critical perspective.

Literally asked for it in several social media spaces. The only person who said a word was only about the font and art size being too small for mobile users, which I did adjust for later episodes.

Thats good feedback, but you need to be even more aggressive about getting critique and feedback. You're paying people to market for you so you're motivated but have you ever had a writer look at your work? Have you ever had an editor look at your work? Theres more you can do to improve your comic writing, then theres the whole art side of it.
I'm not saying you have to pay people, but asking specific people who specialize in certain things might help you refine your comic even more, its not the same thing as being generally open to critique or asking nobody in particular openly in a social media space but literally reaching out to (hopefully qualified) people to give you critique.

Tried that a few times already. I was only met with people apologizing for being too busy to read through it.

At 9/15/23 12:04 AM, DerangedKnite wrote:Going to start being honest, I think I am forever going to be stuck with my art being mediocre, i don't think I'll ever, EVER, Improve in my life in a much more greater span, Patience and all, But I just don't feel it, I look at my Artist friends Like ShokBlok and Other artists.....

At 9/15/23 12:50 AM, DioShiba wrote:

At 9/15/23 12:04 AM, DerangedKnite wrote:Going to start being honest, I think I am forever going to be stuck with my art being mediocre, i don't think I'll ever, EVER, Improve in my life in a much more greater span, Patience and all, But I just don't feel it, I look at my Artist friends Like ShokBlok and Other artists.....

Sorry but I'm gonna stop you right there and refer you to this comic:

You're friends might not be the old masters but they very likely have the same feelings with their art as you do with theirs. The point stands either way.

Stop comparing yourself to other artists.

I know it's easy to say but having had this same insecurity about whether or not I am a good artist like everyone else I know years ago only hampered me in the long run. I learned to build a mentality to remind myself that while I can appreciate their work, I shouldn't give a fuck if the results they have at their end product are going to be better than mine or not and instead focus on what I can learn as I evolve as an artist.

My journey as an artist is not the same as anyone else.

If we keep comparing ourselves to others we may as well start comparing our work to all the cavemen that were around back in the prehistoric era and never grow.

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

At 9/15/23 03:51 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

EXPERIENCE is not a waste. Failure is only bad if nothing is learned from it. Your first few comics, even ones as long as yours, are merely launching points for better work.

At 9/15/23 03:53 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:51 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

EXPERIENCE is not a waste. Failure is only bad if nothing is learned from it. Your first few comics, even ones as long as yours, are merely launching points for better work.

I want to finish one goddamn thing for once in my life. There are already so many projects I have left abandoned because I realized they weren't going anywhere.

At 9/15/23 03:58 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:53 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:51 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

EXPERIENCE is not a waste. Failure is only bad if nothing is learned from it. Your first few comics, even ones as long as yours, are merely launching points for better work.

I want to finish one goddamn thing for once in my life. There are already so many projects I have left abandoned because I realized they weren't going anywhere.

All the projects you have done are experience. This is another experience. You are strengthened by it if you learned something. You are ambitious. You are learning and adapting. You have shown dedication. I dont think you realize just how elevated you are already. I dont know any other artists who have made as long of a comic as you. I know comic artists, good ones even, they dont have the chop to commit to 900 pages of the same story.

At 9/15/23 04:05 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:58 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:53 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:51 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

EXPERIENCE is not a waste. Failure is only bad if nothing is learned from it. Your first few comics, even ones as long as yours, are merely launching points for better work.

I want to finish one goddamn thing for once in my life. There are already so many projects I have left abandoned because I realized they weren't going anywhere.

All the projects you have done are experience. This is another experience. You are strengthened by it if you learned something. You are ambitious. You are learning and adapting. You have shown dedication. I dont think you realize just how elevated you are already. I dont know any other artists who have made as long of a comic as you. I know comic artists, good ones even, they dont have the chop to commit to 900 pages of the same story.

I thought I had learned enough to finally make something worthy of attention. But it turns out no one wanted it but didn't bother to say anything until I asked. How am I supposed to process having to redo everything at the age of 29 because of a mistake I never caught because no one told me it was there?

At 9/15/23 12:56 AM, DerangedKnite wrote:But believe me that mentality will not die away from me, I always look at another artist's drawing and I just go "I wanna imrpove, Now I want to draw again to get better" I just can't I get this stinge of feeling my art is inferior, At this point its not helping me, Just taking taking it and accepting it in a sense. It will go there by time I guess or something

At 9/15/23 04:05 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I thought I had learned enough to finally make something worthy of attention. But it turns out no one wanted it but didn't bother to say anything until I asked. How am I supposed to process having to redo everything at the age of 29 because of a mistake I never caught because no one told me it was there?

At 9/15/23 04:18 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 04:05 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:58 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:53 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:51 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

EXPERIENCE is not a waste. Failure is only bad if nothing is learned from it. Your first few comics, even ones as long as yours, are merely launching points for better work.

I want to finish one goddamn thing for once in my life. There are already so many projects I have left abandoned because I realized they weren't going anywhere.

All the projects you have done are experience. This is another experience. You are strengthened by it if you learned something. You are ambitious. You are learning and adapting. You have shown dedication. I dont think you realize just how elevated you are already. I dont know any other artists who have made as long of a comic as you. I know comic artists, good ones even, they dont have the chop to commit to 900 pages of the same story.

I thought I had learned enough to finally make something worthy of attention. But it turns out no one wanted it but didn't bother to say anything until I asked. How am I supposed to process having to redo everything at the age of 29 because of a mistake I never caught because no one told me it was there?

its not really fair to say no one wanted it. people follow your comic. you have regular commenters. you want it, and thats the most important part. its not other peoples job to make your comic better....you've just finally thought to ask people willing to give you the time it takes to answer your question.

At 9/15/23 04:39 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 04:18 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 04:05 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:58 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:53 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:51 AM, Template88 wrote:

At 9/15/23 03:49 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:I could only conclude based on the input I received today is that my lack of social skills and marketing knowledge have effectively made the three years of working on my webcomic completely worthless. It was a failure from its inception because of problems from the beginning I never knew existed before, and now I'm 29, my life is only going to get more complicated, and I basically have to start two of the three years over again.

Here's to the wasted years of my life.

EXPERIENCE is not a waste. Failure is only bad if nothing is learned from it. Your first few comics, even ones as long as yours, are merely launching points for better work.

I want to finish one goddamn thing for once in my life. There are already so many projects I have left abandoned because I realized they weren't going anywhere.

All the projects you have done are experience. This is another experience. You are strengthened by it if you learned something. You are ambitious. You are learning and adapting. You have shown dedication. I dont think you realize just how elevated you are already. I dont know any other artists who have made as long of a comic as you. I know comic artists, good ones even, they dont have the chop to commit to 900 pages of the same story.

I thought I had learned enough to finally make something worthy of attention. But it turns out no one wanted it but didn't bother to say anything until I asked. How am I supposed to process having to redo everything at the age of 29 because of a mistake I never caught because no one told me it was there?

its not really fair to say no one wanted it. people follow your comic. you have regular commenters. you want it, and thats the most important part. its not other peoples job to make your comic better....you've just finally thought to ask people willing to give you the time it takes to answer your question.

And the ones I got convinced me that my current direction was fine when I should have gone back to the drawing board as early as chapter 2.

I just wanted to make a story that was talked about, that could make an impact of some kind to someone, but it'll never happen at this rate. By the time I fix everything, I'll be old, I'll have other things I have to worry about, and the story I had mapped out will remain just another fantasy.

This whole situation just has me feeling like a loser.

At 9/15/23 04:28 AM, Tenebrare wrote:

At 9/15/23 12:56 AM, DerangedKnite wrote:But believe me that mentality will not die away from me, I always look at another artist's drawing and I just go "I wanna imrpove, Now I want to draw again to get better" I just can't I get this stinge of feeling my art is inferior, At this point its not helping me, Just taking taking it and accepting it in a sense. It will go there by time I guess or something

Let others inspire you, not drag you down. Learn from them if you can, but do not feel frustration if you are not there yet, where you want to be. I used to be very envious on certain artists untill I found myself sitting there - trying to deconstruct their works and understand how they achieve their results. I ended up learning and improving because I had changed envy with curiosity.

At 9/15/23 04:05 AM, ChrisOssu wrote:
I thought I had learned enough to finally make something worthy of attention. But it turns out no one wanted it but didn't bother to say anything until I asked. How am I supposed to process having to redo everything at the age of 29 because of a mistake I never caught because no one told me it was there?

You know in 2020-23 no one says anything unless asked, as when you say without asking you get cancelled or yelled at with words, "no one asked". I have had this like a girl asked me to review her comic and fan story and I warned her that I work in arts and my comments maybe too strict/honest and she said it is ok, least I am honest. I told her that she should have described better certain things as a reader I got lost, and that character X seems to be a bit of a god-mode - but without any explanation why.

She stopped talking to me since. Just because I didn't say "awesome" for her fiction. No, really this was her response to me that all she actually wanted was me to say I like it. She cut off years of contact at that day.

At 9/16/23 02:06 PM, Tenebrare wrote:Been thinking about a notion I have seen posted here a few times. "I want more than what i got". A small story time. Or rather something that I have been told "what you say is a lie and you do not believe in it as no one would agree to it."

Now one of my slogans has been, "if there is even one person that smiles seeing my doodles, then me sharing it has not been in vain". I have been challenged for that statement more than i can count. "You cannot tell me and claim that you are genuinely happy, when you get a singular like!"

... but i do. Nowadays i do. There was a time, when I wanted also 100, 1000, 10 000 and what-not-likes-and-followers, but years back I met a person, who was suicidal. She told she keeps a written diary to distract herself from dark thoughts. In there she pretends to be someone else, on a journey and she writes this story as a character. And one of those dark days she had by accident run across one of my doodles. Lets be said it was a doodle with 0 notes, shares, likes, anything.

There was many coincidences - me making the doodle, me posting the doodle in time, me posting the doodle to that place (not posted it anywhere else) and her finding it at right time.

She wrote to me how my doodle came just in time to prevent her hurting self on that day as the doodle was like 100% correct illustration to her story. I do not want to share too many details of what was the story, or what was the doodle or the character for obvious reasons.

Another time my 'obnoxious and irrelevant' doodle reached someone (a civilian) , who had just landed on front lines of a war and it was their favorite character.

Those stories to me are more important than whatever 1000s of notes I got for some other work in same platform. I had created something that at least in given moment offered something to someone else. I do not even know if those people are alive today. I hope they are.

Those are also stories why i tell myself to do what I (me, myself and I) love and then share it in hope that those works reach the right people in right time. I post my silly doodles in hope that they make someone smile - that one right person smile. It does not matter if they tell me that (it be great if they do), I just hope there is someone. who smirks thinking, "oh that's awesome!" and presses 'save as'.

It was not easy road for me to get there, but to be able to impact even one person and make them smile is an honor. Not statistic.

I also see people sometimes post in threads like these, or elsewhere in socials how their friends and family liking their work is 'irrelevant'. I think it is actually good to see best friend drop off their chair laughing, seeing my stupid drawing... why are my friends worse than random people online. I'd smack them cross their head NOT liking my doodles!