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What’s Inspiring Me Right Now

A long while ago I wrote a post about my inspirations. Some of those still hold true (looking at you, Paprika). Some, however, have moved to the shelf so I can focus on some new inspirations.

Here’s what been getting my creative juices flowing recently:

KINGDOM HEARTS 3

I loved this series as a teenager. Then I hated it. Now I’m back to enjoying it.

This series is NOT flawless. But it’s like a cup of tea with a bar of chocolate: the best self-indulgence you can get without thinking too hard about it.

Really, the series is at its best when you’re not thinking about the plot. Though, as SuperButterBuns put it, the plot isn’t that confusing: it’s just a lot to remember.

(I also do the Crash Bandicoot logic of boss fights, in that the bosses in the previous games didn’t “die.” They were just defeated once and then came back for Kingdom Hearts 3.)

So what about Kingdom Hearts 3 has been getting me inspired? Well, I’d be lying if I said anything other than “The Organization.”

Or seeing Woody from Toy Story tell one of the Organization members to piss off. That scene gave me SO MUCH LIFE.

Also, Kingdom Hearts fans will get this reference: Yeetas Vanitas.

There’s tons of silly, charming character moments in Kingdom Hearts 3 in particular. Is the voice acting as good as the Union Cross: Back Cover movie? Nope. But the character banter is on point, more so in this game than in any other Kingdom Hearts installment.

And, well, the Organization and the mystery behind each member just intrigues the hell out of me. Not to mention that the characters themselves make good warm-up sketching material. Every character looks and acts differently. And I appreciate that.

Ok, I’ll move on to the next piece of inspiration before I gush anymore:

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD

From Kingdom Hearts’ absolutely bonkers plot to a story with a damn-near flawless plot. Yes, FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s story is so expertly woven that it’s really McFreaking Hard for me to find a fault with it anyplace.

Every character has a purpose. Every motivation makes sense. And the action of this series is driven by the motives of the characters, not some invisible hand dragging them by the nose under plot contrivance.

Also, much like Kingdom Hearts, the character designs for FullMetal are just superb.

Really, though, it’s the writing and how the story moves forward that’s been inspiring me the most. It makes me want to write.

I doubt I will ever write anything like Brotherhood. But it gives me something to aspire to, and a benchmark to look at whenever I lose focus.

TRIGUN

Above anything else, the humor (and one other thing) of this series has been inspiring me the most lately.

The other day I was marathoning this show in the background while I was doing studio work. And yet the show still makes me laugh, even when I’m not watching it directly.

There’s a soft spot in my heart for any character who fulfills the Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass trope well, and Vash the Stampede is the best embodiment of this trope.

Also, the very first episode of this show is the best introductory episode of any anime I have seen thus far. Period. Don’t believe me? Watch it for yourself. You’re welcome.

Did you know Studio Ghibli (yes, THAT Studio Ghibli) did the animation of some episodes of Trigun? When I learned that, it blew my damn mind.

This is also another series with some damn good writing to it. But for a different reason: FullMetal’s focus was on the characters and motivation. Trigun’s focus in the writing is on the world-building, and Vash’s connection to it.

Once you see the conclusion of Trigun, you will realize there’s no other story like it. And that’s what inspires me.

That’s all for now. I’m gonna’ get back to drawing.

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

P.S. Another fun fact that blew my mind: the English voice actor for Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts also did the voice of Detective Konakawa in Paprika. Now I can’t look at Xemnas half the time without thinking about Konakawa’s dream antics.

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My Tumultuous Tumblr Relationship

I’ve had a Tumblr blog for I don’t know how long exactly. But how I’ve used it has always been a mixed bag.

Lately I’ve discovered the secret (or what I think is the secret) to Tumblr and using it successfully. But before I get to that, I want to make a quick statement of what doesn’t really work on that site…

At least, in my experience.

KickStarter announcements – maybe just don’t share a link to your KickStarter campaign in a post on Tumblr. In my experience, those posts only get a lot of traction AFTER the campaign has ended. And that defeats the purpose of the whole process.

Original Art – this has always been a mixed bag. I don’t really know (personally) any artist who has made posting original illustrations on Tumblr popular. Comics? Maybe. Anthro art? Depends on the crowd. But original characters and comic concepts? Practically dead in the water upon arrival.

Social Justice posts – I know Tumblr has garnered a reputation for “filthy SJWs to make echo chambers” on the site, but actually no – that’s Twitter. The most common issue I see on Tumblr whenever someone tries to make a social justice-related post is someone retorting with a fact-check…or something that they THINK is a fact-check. To be honest, I have a side blog on Tumblr specifically for reblogging social justice-related posts, and those don’t get a whole ton of attention.

Here’s what DOES get attention in my experience:

FAN CONTENT.

Tumblr. Is a Site. For Fans.

Archive Of Our Own Fanfiction links? EVERYWHERE. Fanart of video games characters? CONTENT FOR DAYS. Posts dedicated to headcanons (or stuff that a fan made up that may or may not have a basis in the actual content, but they think would work in the official canon)? THERE ARE ENTIRE BLOGS FOR THIS SH*T. And these blogs can even be categorized as ones that are safe for work, or not safe for work.

I came to this realization fairly recently – and also because, of all the posts of my artwork that have gotten popular on my Tumblr blog, the most popular art posts are fanart.

There’s nothing wrong with a site dedicated to fandom. I think it’s great. Sites like Archive of Our Own are a testament to that.

But if you’re an original content creator looking to promote your work? Tumblr is not for you. Tumblr is a site for fans.

(If you’re making a fancomic, though, it’s something to consider).

To that end, I’ve been restructuring my Tumblr blog so that it IS based more in me geeking out about the content I like. So if you want to geek out with me, go check out the re-named blog.

That’s all for now. Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

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Self Care for Artists: A Personal Journey

I’ll be blunt – I have generalized anxiety disorder.

It’s not that people make me go, “Oh no I said the wrong thing they’re gonna’ hate me etc.” That’s social anxiety. I don’t have that. I do not fear making a dang fool of myself in front of other people.

No. My anxiety stems more from future-based thinking. Specifically, I’m REALLY good at worst-case scenarios. And my trigger for cooking up worst-case scenarios is getting a bit of unexpected (especially bad) news.

So, in a video I made fairly recently, I said that my living situation was looking to change within the next year. That’s because of two things:

  1. I currently rent my house from my mom while she and her boyfriend do the RV-lifestyle thing. And,
  2. Mom said (at the time of the video) that she was looking to sell the house I’m currently renting within the next year.

She has since changed her timeline and decided the house won’t be listed for 2 to 3 years at the soonest. But when I first got the news, when she told me the 1-year plan, my anxiety kicked into High Time Worst-Case Scenario Cooking Mode.

That, coupled with dealing with my emotions around the death of my grandfather at the beginning of the year – and those feelings resurfacing because we sold/auctioned off the estate – meant that I was in Emotional Shutdown.

Right on the same week that The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Chapter 1 on KickStarter wrapped up, and right around the same time that one of my side hustles decided, “you should work 35 hours this week!”

So there was a period where I took 4 days off of EVERYTHING in order to take care of myself. No studio work. No side hustles. No freelance. Nothing.

And in that four day period, and in the days after, I had a realization.

The thing is, I’ve made drawing and making art my full-time thing. Drawing and making art is what pays my rent, my groceries, and basically everything else. I do not regret making my art be able to do this, and I’m proud of the fact that my art can do this.

BUT.

There are a lot of self-care guides out there that recommend that people “make art” as part of taking care of themselves and having time to relax.

Let me be clear: I do make art for self-care, as well as for work. It’s just that the art I make for self-care is VERY different from the art I make for work.

I love comics. Otherwise I wouldn’t have made it my job.

But when I’m in Emotional Shutdown Mode, I do not draw comics. That’s work. Instead, I crochet. I bake. I paint. I do anything but make comics.

Most importantly, I discovered – when I take care of myself, I WRITE.

I’ve been writing so god-diddly-dang much these past two weeks, but not on email newsletters or comic scripts or blog posts.

I write stories.

(Granted, the one story I’ve been writing for self-care purposes is fan-fiction, but it still counts as writing. The act of writing, whether fan-fiction or not, is an act of practicing the skill.)

Do all of these stories I write for self-care become comics I make? God no. Especially the fan-fiction. That shit is for ME.

But for some reason, writing is the catharsis that makes me less angsty. It is the thing that stops the Emotional Shutdown train of thought. And it is the first thing I turn to whenever I feel the Worst-Case-Scenario-Cooking Mode begin.

If you’re an artist, I hope this helps you get some ideas of what you can do for your own self-care. Yes, making art is great. Making art for a living is even better. But you don’t have to be making art all the time in order to be valid.

It’s ok to take time for yourself. And it’s ok if taking care of yourself looks like something besides making art. You have permission to not make art in order to take care of yourself.

Thanks for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

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LGBTQ Myths and Facts

This was written as an op-ed piece for submission to my local newspaper – which ran an article discussing how 3 West Virginia state lawmakers support and even endorse the idea that LGBTQ people are “the next Ku Klux Klan.”

It came to my attention that there are now 3 lawmakers in West Virginia who endorse the idea that the LGBTQ community is on the same level as the Ku Klux Klan.

So I thought it would be helpful to debunk some myths about the LGBTQ community.

Myth #1: “LGBTQ people are neo-Nazis!”

No.

It’s widely known that Nazis hated and persecuted Jewish people. Less well-known is that Nazis persecuted LGBTQ people, as well. Nazis would mark them with a badge bearing a pink triangle. Those with the pink triangle would be sent to concentration camps, just like the other “undesirables.”

Part of the reason the Pride flag has a pink stripe is to honor that history. Think of the POW MIA “You Are Not Forgotten” flag. That’s the same sentiment for why pink is in the Pride flag. It’s also a way for the LGBTQ community to reclaim the color pink as a positive color, not a color to be used to persecute them.

Myth #2: “LGBTQ people are terrorists like the Ku Klux Klan!”

No.

The Ku Klux Klan doesn’t just chase after black people, though that’s their most obvious target for their hate. The KKK is not a fan of LGBTQ people, because of their “sinfulness” and “perversion.” The KKK is an extremist Christian terrorist group. They takes the concept of “love thy neighbor as thyself” to mean “love the neighbor that’s most like me,” and to “correct” or eliminate anyone who does not fit their standard.

However, this leads to the next myth…

MYTH #3: “The LGBTQ community is violent!”

Are you talking about the Stonewall Riots of 1969? Because those riots were against a police force who had been actively targeting LGBTQ people, especially transgender folks, and shipping them off to prison for violating dress code laws. (Yes, dress code laws were a thing. Dress code laws were partially why women wearing pants was unheard of pre-1960.)

Nowadays, LGBTQ people are no more or less violent than the general population. But it is noteworthy that the most common defense for LGBTQ people accused of being violent is “self-defense.”

MYTH #4: “Political correctness is too rampant! That’s why gay perversion is allowed!”

Let’s make one thing clear: “politically correct” means to have actions and motives in line with whoever is in power at the time. Our current president has made it clear he does not tolerate LGBTQ people, by banning transgender troops from the military and repealing many laws that protect LGBTQ people from housing and job discrimination.

In this era, the politically correct thing to do is to discriminate, even hate, against the LGBTQ community because that’s the standard the President and Republicans in Congress have set. They are the ones in charge (for now).

So, if you want to be politically incorrect, and go against the people in charge, wave the Pride flag. Be friends with your lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender neighbors. And above all, don’t kick out your children who come out to you as one of these qualifiers. And don’t send them to conversion therapy, either. Conversion therapy is politically correct because that’s what the President and Republicans in Congress want.

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Asking the Right Questions (To Grow Your Business)

There’s been some factors outside of my control lately that have made me brainstorm ways to grow my business.

Unfortunately, it can be easy to fall into the trap of brainstorming new content and social media management ideas – but those won’t really solve the problem of, “How do I grow my business?”

So I stepped back and had to ask myself the right questions. And that’s what I talk about in this video.

I hope you find this useful in your own entrepreneurial endeavors.

If you have any questions, though, please leave a comment below! I will do my best to help.