Quantity vs Quality

• 1 new image in Illustrations

The answer to the "Quantity vs Quality" question heavily depends upon the desired outcome (this we already know).

GaryVee explains this topic beautifully: https://www.facebook.com/garyvee/videos/281843645986900/

I fall under that category of Prioritizing Quantity when it comes to how I operate as a creator and the truth is I don't see art or the fandom the same way others do (a fact that led to trouble in the fallout of the podcast).

Here's why:

UnLearn the Negative Connotation of Quantity

Whenever I talk to other creators about this subject they fight me on it because they believe spending their resources (time, energy, etc.,) on making quality work will yield better results than if they were to prioritize quantity - by and large, the misconception is that, by prioritizing quantity, it somehow equates to a lack of care or craftsmanship; that you're suddenly putting out poor quality or soulless work. There's 3 things wrong with that mentality as a creator trying to make money:

1. Quality is subjective. It does not matter if you put 60+ hours into a work if the subject matter or art style is not what the viewer wants. Point. Blank. Period.
2. Being a perfectionist is a flaw, not a positive aspect. It significantly lowers your productivity and can lead to you being difficult to work with (missing deadlines, seeking control, burning out).
3. This assumes the creator did not spend their time working on how to create quality work efficiently.

I learned this lesson the hard way during my days in Art School (Good ol' MCAD)

I was a naïve (and not so talented) 18 year old with dreams of becoming the next Jim Lee.

I wanted to make the next super successful comic and get all kinds of recognition and money and blah blah blah.

I learned the hard way just how much work went into creating comics and that the comics seen in the industry were the result of a 3-4 person team, not one. And while one person could do the job of all 4, the amount of time it would take would significantly increase (as the workload literally quadruples). It just wasn't practical for one person to be spending that much time on a work if their goal was to release content for others to enjoy.

At the beginning of January 2017 I made a very hard push to try and create a full fledged Graphic Novel with HOWL. I had found a way to produce quality work at a high rate and was putting in 12-16 work days.

I ended up getting very sick and had to stop. I should have learned my lesson there.

Still, naïve and very optimistic after Art school graduation in May, my next major project was the Zach Cooner comic which ended up being 190 pages long - this was the turning point for how I saw art, comics, etc., I had slated ZC to be a webcomic that would operate by posting 3 pages a week. Now, for a one person produced webcomic, that's already a lot, let alone if the comic has more panels than the average webcomic and is inked. I was literally creating a graphic novel with each page having a set deadline and, even worse, no script. It was hell.

While I ended up finishing the project February of 2019, I was burnt out and very disappointed the project didn't achieve the goals I'd wanted it to after a year and a half of solid work. It was in the production of ZC I quit seeing art as art and started looking at everything as numbers and product. I optimized my workflow, I measured the traffic of engagement - comparing it with others and other platforms, I figured out that there was a sort of 'sweet spot' for each creator, where they could make quality work efficiently and be able to grow their platforms through consistent output.

Riddle Me This

One of the things I was criticized by my (asshole) Comic Art peers at MCAD my Senior Year was repeatedly asking if there was a specific art style or quality that appealed to a platform or audience and the answer I got was a very clear no. It goes back to the famous two cakes analogy for creators:

My goal in the fandom has always been to grow my platform so I can share work with others who would enjoy it. I actually got into painting and prioritizing quality back in 2016 when I wanted to obtain the skillsets of the supertalented illustrators/painters that create for the fandom.

And while the work was higher quality than my other one's, the time it took to create it just wasn't practical for my own goals. I couldn't spend 20+ hours on a single work if I could get higher engagement making 3 works in a fraction of the time.

Real Case Examples

Let's take two popular artists in the fandom right now, Spirit Dancer and Hun , both are terrific creators in their own way and, as you see, they have very different styles.

(( Hun: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/45783355/ ))

(( Spirit-Dancer: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/41491785/ ))

Both get their comms lists filled in minutes and both have very high traffic with their platforms.

What I want to point out is, statistically, even though Hun has the higher view count on each very high quality piece, what you'll find is the sum of Spirit-Dancer's released comics outperform Hun's works on a consistent basis. This is specifically because Spirit-Dancer has consistently and effectively been producing content at a high rate over a long period of time. They've honed their craft to produce quality work efficiently and has achieved success as a result.

While there are other factors at play such as genre, longevity, and audience: the point I'm making is that Quantity doesn't automatically equal a lack of Quality and prioritizing efficiency and productivity can be more effective than prioritizing quality when it comes to growing a platform and community if that's the intended purpose.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I'm going to be experimenting with my art these next few weeks to reach that sweet spot of productivity and quality. I'll be playing with tools, layers, and whatever devices necessary to try and make full works in a fraction of the time it normally takes. We'll see how it goes ;)