Working With a Partner

The creative process is a complicated affair in general, but if you ever think you have a handle on it, I highly suggest trying to do it with another person, just to complicate them more. I'm exaggerating here, but only so much. Trying to create with a partner is a completely different process.

Going solo, the hardest part of the process is coming up with ideas. Although inspiration does come from time to time, the dry spells require sheer force of will. This is where a partner is a great asset. Sometimes a writer just needs a sounding board and sometimes they need somebody to think of something we just aren't thinking of. A partner can do both of those things.

But for as easy as it is to come up with ideas, the partner also makes it harder to agree on which ones to use. The most important thing to remember is that it is no longer either person's vision, but the group's vision. Both sides need to compromise, but still fight the good fight to make an excellent piece of work.

One piece of advice I have heard is to separate the tasks. When each person has control over their own domain, they stay out of each other's hair and the pieces will fit together as long as everybody pulls their own weight. Although I know it is a solid piece of advice, I don't always agree with it. There's a lot of nuance that makes it harder to define.

For my comic, I write and my friend does the art. Kels is a far better artist and I'm a far better writer. That doesn't mean that we are incompetant at each other's jobs, just less skilled. As I said earlier, my partner acts as a sounding board and as an idea generator. And I do the same thing for Kelly's art. When I am writing a script, I'm planning out where characters are, what actions occur, and how the panels themselves would show it. However, Kelly has more experience, so he usually has a stronger, clearer idea of how to make those. And at that point, I shut up, sit back, and let him do his job.

But, for as wonderful and perfect as the partnership is, it isn't perfect. Sometimes we disagree on things that we don't see as petty. One of us has to back down, but neither wants to. Othertimes the stress just gets the better of us. As much of a blast as doing a comic is, it is still a labor-intensive process. When you spend 6 hours penciling, inking, coloring, shading, and highlighting a 4-panel strip, then get criticism, it's understandable that you won't want to hear it.

Still, though, partnerships amaze me. Probably the most amazing thing is that they even occur at all. My own experience in the comic world is that there are countless writers who think they can't draw, but I have never once met an artist who thought they couldn't write. So with artists rarely looking to partner with a writer, the pool of availability instantly drops significantly. Of the artists that are willing to work with writers, a good majority of them aren't looking for a partnership, but a business relationship. The artist is basically commissioned to draw a comic, then gets a flat fee, rather than acting as a partner in the comic itself. Of the handful of artists that want to work with a writer and do it as an equal partner, there is then the problem of finding somebody who shares the same vision, has an acceptable artistic style, and equally would enjoy the project. The odds of those two people finding each other are microscopic.

That said, though, I must say that I am ecstatic to have found that magic person that fits all of the guidelines. The fact that there even is such a person makes all of the minor trouble within the relationship completely inconsequential.