So, I totally bombed 24 Hour Comic Day.
It’s a failure, but it’s not one I’m going to beat myself up over. I’m so out of practice on doing sequential pages, plus the time-crunch, and that I really decided last minute that I was going to try at all factored in to the outcome.
I had wanted to participate in 24 Hour Comic Day for years, but I never wanted to do it alone. I’d had friends who either expressed interest, but couldn’t schedule it, or friends with no interest at all. Or, I’d always find out that the official day was THAT day, or had completely passed by. But in the end, there was only one thing that was preventing me from trying, and that’s me.
I made it to 9 pages in 15 hours or so before I gave up. I was losing too much time with each page, my back, neck, and shoulder were starting to hurt, and my wrist and hand were seizing up on me. When that wasn’t happening, I was literally falling asleep with pen or pencil to page.
But, I tried, and in the grand scheme of my life, that’s more than I usually achieve.
If I do this again, I’m definitely taking a prep day to sleep and get my things in order. I’m also going to take a drastically different approach to how I do it. I’m gonna draw smaller, instead of the standard 10 x 15 comic size, and I’m definitely putting less panels per page. Seriously, why in the hell would I decide that 9-panel grids are a good idea for a timed project? I’m an idiot. Also, find the simplest, cartooniest approach to the artwork, and stop noodling. And finally, minimal dialogue. Or find a way to work digital so I don’t have to hand-letter anything. I’m not some sub-human beast. There’s a reason God made fonts and Adobe Illustrator.
So, yeah, it was an experience, and I still don’t feel fully recovered. I am so seriously out of shape, a project where I primarily sit in one place whipped my ass.
Anyhow, these were the only two good panels from all the pages.
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I’m really proud of you for attempting it, even if you didn’t finish. Those panels do look awesome, but I think a lot of the other stuff looked great, too. I look forward to seeing it in person. And I hope you finish the comic.
I liked the book so far and would also love to see it finished sometime. There were some great panels and characters… plus I love Kirbyesque machines and costumes.
Hey, next year the Olympics will be going on during 24 Hour Comic Day… maybe you, me and Joe can compete for Team America in the 24 Hour Comic competition?
Yeah, congrats on making the attempt! You’re 9 pages further along then some people (like me). In terms of how to optimize your time, maybe look at other people’s completed 24 hour comics? I know there are a number of collected editions out there of just 24 Hour comics from various years.
Again, simply making the attempt is something to be proud of, and working towards a second attempt next year sounds like a great goal.
Those two panels are way better than some finished 24 hour comics!