Episode 32 - Keeping Your Skills Sharp! (With Clayton Barton & Ric Bulow)

How To Draw Comics

In this week's episode of the How To Draw Comics Podcast, Co-Host Ric Bulow and Clayton Barton talk tactics on how to keep your skills sharp - even after you've been away from the drawing board for a while. Taking long breaks from your craft can leave you feeling fearful about getting back into your groove. We believe our abilities just won't be at the level we left them, and that can lead to a severe lack of confidence in what we're capable of artistically. So we end up in this perpetual cycle of increased anxiety over the fact our skills are getting rustier by the day, which prevents us from daring to go back and shake it off. The longer we leave it, the more freaked out we get about forgetting what we've learned! Luckily, for an aspiring comic book artist such as yourself, who's on the path to comic art mastery and has got a little mileage behind them already - it doesn't take a whole lot to hit the drawing gym again and ramp up your artistic fitness. It's not like you're starting out at square one. Everything you've learned up until the point you stopped is still there - you've just got to remind yourself of what it's like to go through the motions of your process again. This is something else we chat about in this weeks episode; how to actually re-inspire your creativity when you're just not feeling it. Maybe you don't like the direction your work is headed, maybe you're self conscious about what other peoples reactions are going to be to it after you have stepped away for a bit to take a break, or maybe you're just feeling burnt out and in need of a motivational boost. We hope you find this episode valuable and that it gives you a ton of insight into keeping your skills sharp and ready. For more comic art tips, tricks and tutorials, be sure to visit us at www.howtodrawcomics.net.