Jack Kirby once said “I’m paid to draw, not to erase”. That explains not only why Kirby was the best, but also why he was the fastest, drawing multiple books a month without breaking a sweat. He didn‘t concern himself with second-guessing. Hell, there wasn’t a single procrastinating bone in his body!

Erasing and re-drawing is only “ok” if it is meant to fix a honest-to-God mistake. Erasing an extra-finger = fine. Re-doing the whole arm because you think you can do it a little better this time = bullshit. Starting over is not an option.

The reason for such a “radical” stance is simple: most people can’t tell what reasonable from what’s just plain stupid. They’ll rationalize anything and everything. If you try to find an excuse, your brain will find it. Every time. But a dumb choice is a dumb choice, regardless of your reasoning.

I’ve talked before about listening to your body. Every time you do something – anything, you get a “this is good” or a “this is bad” notice from your body. If you listen to it, you’ll always know what’s up. The thing is, most people are so dulled that they don’t even hear it anymore. And the ones that do hear it? Mostly choose to ignore it.

It’s like a horror movie. They know Crystal Lake is cursed, but they go for it anyway.

Seriously, if you’re not careful, procrastination will eat your soul. You’ll re-draw panels to make them marginally better. You’ll scrape whole pages. You’ll skip drawing for a whole day for no reason. You’ll go out to buy a new pen when the one you have is still working. You’ll have 10 half-done pieces sitting there on your drawer!

Don’t fall for the bullshit in your head! Just do it! Do it day after day for the same time, at the same hour. Good, bad… plow through it, and get it done. Don’t stop half-way, don’t start over from scratch. Finish it and move on…

To the next drawing.