SELL THE PIANO: HOW TO MAKE COMICS FOREVER!
Our very last episode of The Terrible Anvil (Season One) was recorded this week! With Tom and Jess together in the same room!
We tried to tie a bow around the business of comics by offering ideas on HOW TO KEEP GOING (FOREVER), AKA making your own sustainable comics practice amidst inner/outer turmoil and also remembering to wash the dishes.
LISTEN ON:
Here’s a few highlights from the call:
Tom joined Jess in person!
So they were together in the same Zoom square—double the shenanigans in half the space! And Tom didn’t come empty-handed: he brought Jess an absolutely piping hot fresh copy of FOOMIN right from the presses, because of the Terrible Anvil of the deadline of the call! ALSO he used PROCREATE which he hasn't worked with much before, and Jess couldn't even tell it was digital. Wow!!!
SELL THE PIANO is a joke from the Graphic Novel Intensive, as a bit of advice for students not feeling they're making progress. It means: balance your other interests and maybe even set them aside to focus on your comic to get some more pages cooking…
However! Jess just got a banjo! She didn't play it for the audience, though :/ (Tune in next season when she figures this out…) Sometimes the inverse of selling the piano does the trick too: finding other interests outside of making comics, and letting them nourish your creative process, like Tom’s songwriting endeavors.
Either way, it’s all about finding BALANCE.
Some BIG TAKEAWAYS:
Celebrate SMALL WINS! In the alumni circle group at SAW, Jess sometimes posts a "Friday Brag Grab Bag" where she invites SAW alumni to offer something they navigated during the week that they could brag about. It's amazing to reflect on how far you've come. Those small bits accumulate but they are easy to miss. Remember to celebrate!
Forming bonds with others and keeping each other going is a great form of sustainable accountability
DEADLINES also keep us going - how could we forget that TERRIBLE ANVIL?!
You can have accountability buddies in near strangers too, like SAW's organically-formed online meeting spaces
Body doubling is a great hack!
Wanting to impress your friends can be a great motivator too (you don’t have to impress the whole world!)
There's more from this final episode, so check it out—and catch up on any others you've missed!
And don't worry, this isn't goodbye, it's see you later! Stay tuned for info on Season 2 of The Terrible Anvil!!
Happy making and STAY BOOTLEGGY!
WATCH THE FULL FINALE FOR MORE TIPS AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
WANT TO MAKE AND READ MORE COMICS?
Do you have a story inside you that’s just itching to come out, but want some guidance to help push it out?
Learn more about intensive comics learning with teachers at SAW by checking out SAW’s Year-Long Intensive Program and our Six-Month Graphic Novel Intensive.
Be sure to also check out our Online Courses, some courses are offered year-round and are always enrolling while others are limited in space and come around only once a year!
Our Graphic Memoir Intensive runs year round and is always enrolling. It includes access to a vibrant working community, twice-monthly live online check-ins, weekly prompts, and access to SAW’s Monthly Pro Calls!
Our Comics Flow Group, or SAW FLOW MEMBERSHIP, is also year-round and always enrolling and is SAW's MOST AFFORDABLE course option with access to Monthly Pro-Calls!
And, of course, come see what we’re all up to on SAW's Mighty Network anytime!
