Work-art Balance

[Anonymous No.6954262]

How do wage/salaryslave anons here maintain a work-art balance?

I'm... finding it really hard, desu. I haven't finished many pieces this year. The stop-start with work breaking up my drawing throws me off.

I've started prepping food to maximize art time at home, and drawing a bit before work (just to avoid 16+hr gaps)
I'd appreciate any other advice you guys have.

[Anonymous No.6954317]

>>6954262

It really depends on what job you have. A sit at your desk job tends to have a lot of downtime while a Starbucks boy has no downtime. So I can give you my experience, but that won't translate for you because I work from home and you most likely don't.

[Anonymous No.6954321]

>>6954262
i leave work early and barely try. still cant draw for more than 2 hours a day with a fitness routine

t techfag

[Anonymous No.6954329]

I work 8, 10, 12 hour shifts as a welder and once I'm in the appartment I take a quick shower, eat and draw until its 9 pm and hit the bed.
I draw a lot more on the weekends.
I got like 6 sketchbooks filled out with drawings, scribbles and practices in like 2 months. If I ever went neet I would draw a lot more. God I hope I get fired

[Anonymous No.6954372]

>>6954329
I relate, anon. Used to be a trucker, now I do grunt-work as a mech in a lab, we get in these stuffy suits work 8hr in cleanrooms. It's marginally better than trucking since I come home every day.
>>6954321
>leave work early
Do you not clock in/out?
>>6954317
>wfh
We actually had that for a while, was really pleasant. I could just pretend to work/be in meetings while drawing all day.

[Anonymous No.6954698]

>>6954262
that's easy OP once i got a job i simply stopped drawing and just fall asleep in front of a movie instead

[Anonymous No.6954702]

>>6954262
i work from home, used to have lots of downtime between short bursts of work but then management downsized our department by like 2/3rds for no reason and now it's been hell on earth for the past 5 months

[Anonymous No.6954747]

>>6954262
I'm struggling with the same problem. I hate my shitty retail job. I'm thinking of just saving up a few month's pay and switching to part-time so I can focus on drawing more. Hopefully one day I'll be good enough to escape the wage slave life.

[Anonymous No.6954759]

>>6954329
>I got like 6 sketchbooks filled out with drawings, scribbles and practices in like 2 months
That's not bad. I'm a NEET and filled 23 this year. There's a bunch with with gestures and quick drawings that I got through in 4 days, and others with more rendered out work that took over two weeks to finish

[Anonymous No.6954773]

>>6954702

I feel that. My job is gonna cut their security department because fuck old ladies getting scammed by romance scammers, so I’m going to lose my cushy half day of no work and it’s back to just taking emails. Luckily though, I’ve saved up enough personal macros that it doesn’t take long anymore.

[Anonymous No.6954774]

>>6954773
err not actually cut but outsource what I’m doing to 3rd worlders

[Anonymous No.6954776]

I work 40+ hours a week and draw 0 hours a week.

[Anonymous No.6954796]

>>6954776
trvth nvke my brother

[Anonymous No.6955174]

>>6954776
I work 36hrs per week and draw for 25-30hr.
2 hours on weekdays, 8-10 on weekends.

[Anonymous No.6955536]

>>6954372
I'd do that job in a heartbeat as long as its not in a hazardous area desu
>>6954759
Good numbers, mileage gang gets things done

[Anonymous No.6955595]

>>6954747
I only work 38.5 hours (fuck corpos) spread out in 6 days and it's somehow more exhausting than a 5 day workweek. As a consequence, my drawing time took a nosedive.

[Anonymous No.6956759]

>>6954262
i'm a retail cuck right now, but also studying to get an actual career and still try to put at least 2-3+ hours for drawing a day if i can, and 4-5 on my days off. i live less than 10 minutes away from work so there's no commute and i cut out wasting time on video games/scrolling twitter, etc as much as possible. it's hard but doable depending on your circumstances

[Anonymous No.6956789]

>>6954262
Carry a pad and pen/pencil with you.

[Anonymous No.6957271]

>>6956789
Only works if you commute by bus/train or have lots of downtime away from home.
As a car commuter, I'd rather just fly home and draw at my desk

[Anonymous No.6957287]

>>6954262
cut back on your dick handling time

[Anonymous No.6957312]

I work as a security guard doing night shifts. Usually I have lots of hours for drawing but some places are better than others for it. The 12 hour shift structure is terrible though.

[Anonymous No.6957329]

>>6957312
Are you inking with a paintbrush? That's amazing, I want to learn more about this but I'm too much of a beg and instead I just buy sakura microns.

[Anonymous No.6957399]

>>6957312
YGMI, Cat-anon.

[Anonymous No.6958187]

>>6957399
You too!

[Anonymous No.6958244]

>>6954262
I hate day jobs so fucking much so here's my plan to finally escape them, feel free to copy:

>Save up money and/or become a NEET and live with my parents
>Draw for 8+ hours a day, everyday
>Break down current and in-demand pro artists
>Create a portfolio based on them
>Reach out to comic art editors
>Become a full time comic artist
>Build a following on social media
>Monetize my following thru kickstarter/merch
>Move to a cheaper country
>Buy houses and flip/rent them
>Start a lot of "essential" businesses
>Become an Entrepeneur & Landlord
>Never wageslave in my life again

I know this plan can work because I know a Murican that did it. That guy was a minimalist tho (he didn't buy anything except for food and cheap clothes) and he got paid six figures in his former tech job so that plan was easier to implement. (he moved to SEA countries)
OP when you're not a wagie, you can draw all day everyday, good luck!

[Anonymous No.6958249]

>>6957312
Do the animatronics get quirky at night?

[Anonymous No.6958308]

>>6958244
what's a cheaper country that isn't a shithole

[Anonymous No.6958343]

I'll probably work more than 60 hrs/week during December. Fuck me.

[Anonymous No.6958358]

>>6954262
I think it comes down to your overall system for managing your life. Do you have anything in place anon? If you haven't made anything, a good place to start is reading+implementing "getting things done" by david allen. changed my game at work and grad school

[Anonymous No.6959711]

>>6958244

I would say you can almost have too much free time as a NEET. I've had moments of being one, especially during covid, in the end you find ways to procrastinate and the art takes a back-seat.

I also sympathise with OP, spent 3 years running a large hospitality business. Literally 0 art made while I was there. Graduated from art school 6 years ago and since then have dropped in output massively due to wage slave jobs. Had a huge realization several months back that art makes me happy and should be the focus of my life. Quit well paid job, moved out and now drifting from one 'live-in' job to the next. work where you're only doing like 25hrs a week, living on site and getting food paid for by your employer is massive. pay might be shit but its enough to keep you going. Don't be afraid to be a bum, I did it through art school and it was the best years of my life.

[Anonymous No.6959722]

>>6958249
They don't and I don't enjoy horror games because of that. I've spent my life walking outside at night or urban exploring while not even being prepared for that. Nothing spooky ever happens.

[Anonymous No.6961481]

>>6958358
When it comes to school/uni, I actually do really good
1st class honors Engineer. I don't really have an issue with sitting down and studying or working.

Difference is: With Engineering, the process is clear.
In uni you work in the problem the way you've been taught, at work you do the task the way the Senior Engineer taught you to. Why? Because the Senior won't accept any work that doesn’t conform to the methods he's been taught.

With art, it's all me. So when I get stuck it's up to me to solve it and there's no clear way or methodology either. I just have to think, pace around, consider the issue, until I've found a solution.