This past week has been full of failures and frustrations. I’ve been trying to force myself into inspiration, trying out ideas I’ve had stocked away for a while, but they don’t look right, they look off, sad. It feels like my muscles have forgotten how to paint, draw, and create; like I’m slugging through mud.
Any suggestions about how to break out of this?
Social media is still something that I struggle with. There are times where I feel comfortable(ish) and share easily, but when I'm struggling it makes it very hard to post work that I don't feel is "up to snuff". Especially as I've been working on a story, recently, and I haven't made many full illustrations. But here are my characters! Character design is fun, I'd recommend it. I'd also recommend keeping in mind that if you don't step out of your comfort zone once and a while, you'll never move an inch. #copic #comic markers #illustrator #art #artist #characterdesign #character
I forgot my mittens in below zero weather today. My hands hurt.
Making art can be scary. Fight back and keep making things.
5 Goals for the New Year:
Taking care of myself is one of my top priorities. With my mental illness issues, and my hectic work schedule, taking care of myself is important. So here are my goals.
1: Take control of your eating disorder. Go to the gym and work out to get stronger, rather than to obsess over your body and your weight.
2: Take time to read a book. Life is busy and hard, and you have a lot of goals you want to reach. But reading a good book may help to inspire you to create better and better work, as well as just serve as a way to relax.
3: Cuddle your dog, as much as he will let you (which is a lot, trust me).
4: Take a bath once a week. It always makes you feel better.
5: Don’t let your depression rule your life. Let it be a shadow in the background, not an all encompassing cloud. Most things are not as bad as they seem. Promise.
10 Art Goals for 2017.
1: Practice watercolors. Try to paint something every few days, learn how to use them. Hopefully you will stumble upon your own style with them in the process.
2: Get back into the print studio. Find a place to print and print. (printprintprint!)
3: Draw everyday. Whether that be line drawings, illustrations with markers, or sketches with watercolors - just make things everyday.
4: Don’t focus upon one specific style or medium, you make a lot of things, so don’t make it fit into only one thing.
5: Put yourself out into the art world. Apply for grants, and exhibitions, and comic anthologies. Nothing happens if you don’t try.
6: Post your work to Instagram and Tumblr everyday. I repeat: nothing happens if you don’t try. Maybe even try out other social media platforms as well! Don’t let your fear of rejection hold you back.
7: Don’t constantly second guess yourself and your art, it’s worthwhile. It doesn’t have to be the most amazing, life changing, illuminating art the world has ever seen. You can just make things, and those things are pretty okay.
8: Create comics. Strive to create a comic essay each week.
9: Learn how to take better photos of your work. Even if your work is good, if your photo looks like shit, so will your art.
10: Doggedly pursue art. Its what you love. Don’t back down, and keep working until you like what you do; and even past that. Just don’t stop.
Just a witch and her veggie friends 🔮 top tip: if your sitting in a waiting room - draw cute witches.
Falling asleep while watching tv is really confusing. I woke up this morning all discombobulated.
I have a lot of thoughts.
I’ve been working on writing some of them down in little spurts, and turning them into comics. Working through things, and practicing comics/sequential art at the same time.
For my first comic essay I’ve written about my relationship with art, and how I’m trying to give myself a chance to make my dream a reality.
