[Comic Tips] Weekly Work Schedule

Not sure if there's an interest for this, but I'm gonna do a lil ongoing series for y'all answering any of your questions about my work process etc. 

I'm starting with what my weekly schedule looks like as I get asked that quite often, especially when I don't have a team working for me like a lot of other creators. I think the main key thing is to have as much of a buffer as possible before you start publishing anything. I just finished ep 207, and 203 got released on Fast Pass today, so I'm working at about a month ahead (I lost a week of work while house hunting but 4 eps ahead is like the minimum I always try to maintain). I have to do 50 panels per episode, and work on canvas/pages that are 1600px by 10000px at 300dpi, so if I do 5 panels per page that means I have to get 10 pages done, give or take due to pacing. 

With that being said, I usually take about a week and a half on an episode, while starting the next episode halfway through because my brain only lets me work on one thing for so long before I can't stand it anymore (lol). This is my usual schedule, using the last week as an example:

Monday

• - Write episode 204 script
• - Ep 204 pages 1-3 sketch and lineart (usually takes from 9am - 1pm)
• - Finish coloring ep 203 from previous week (until finished or about 6pm)

Tuesday

• - Ep 204 4-6 sketch and lineart
• - Finishing coloring/shading ep 203

Wednesday

• - Ep 204 7-10 sketch and lineart (finish ep lineart, depending on how long the ep is)
• - Do lettering for ep 203/ finish and turn in

And then I would basically have until the following Tuesday to color/shade ep 204, and aim to get it lettered and turned in by Wednesday. Of course this varies on how good of a week I'm having, but that's what I try to stick to! It takes me about 2 days to color/shade an ep, and I try to give myself weekends off because after working through weekends for years my brain really does need that time to rest otherwise the burnout is real. I've also been doing this for like 5 years now and can work fairly quickly, and the style I've done the comic in doesn't require any flashy effects or anything. But this is why I suggest working far enough ahead that you're not panicking on a Friday trying to get it turned in because you're trying to do it week-by-week if that makes sense.

Of course, if this job was all I did I would be having a pretty easy time of it lmao, but I have like 6 other things ongoing at the same time, including my shop where I stay pretty late embroidering and making things to pay the bills haha. 

Hope this has been insightful and encouraging for anyone looking to start their own comic but were worried about the time dedication (I also suggest not doing 50 panels per ep if you're not contractually required to, or doing weekly updates even lol). Those three days above can obviously be spread out over 2 weeks to suit your own schedule. 

Let me know if you have any questions you'd like me to answer next!