Tag: goals

Posted on

What’s New for 2022?

This is Part 2 of a blog series about New Year’s Goals. Be sure to check out part 1 and its hot mess. Because that will influence this post.

So, 2021 was a crap year. Yes, stuff got done. Mostly. Sort of. But a lot of Murphy’s Law came into effect.

Looking back on that made me ponder how I would approach 2022. Would I, in fact, not have goals set at the start of the year? Would I have more structure instead of less? How would structuring the year even work?

After a lot of meditation and brainstorming, here’s what I came to…

CREATE.

It’s a simple, 6-letter word. Because 2022. 2 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 6. I’m willing to give numerology another chance because 5s in numerology (and especially Tarot) are kind of cursed. (Side note: maybe that’s why my Mocktaw in The Legend of Jamie Roberts often have 5 eyes.) 6 in numerology is better.

Also – Create. It encapsulates the feeling I want to embrace for 2022. I want to create a LOT of things.

This year, I won’t hold myself to the sorts of lists I concocted for last year. I have a rough list of what I would LOVE to get done for 2022. But I won’t say anything more. Part of me wants to see just what happens as the year goes on.

In addition, I spent the last two weeks of 2021 planning for 2022’s projects. And 3 projects already got done! So that’s nice. And unexpected. And part of the reason why I don’t want to say too much about what’s in store for 2022.

With that said, I’m going to do one new thing this year.

I’M ACTUALLY WORKING WITH A PRODUCTION CALENDAR IN MIND

This may sound weird, but in years past, I never actually made a calendar to determine when (exactly) projects would start, get done, go on KickStarter, etc. At least, not a calendar that encompassed ALL of my projects. Each project would have its own rough list. But this year I’m doing it differently.

I’d share my rough production calendar with you. But…

a) it’s kind of long. I included convention dates, commemorative months like National Novel Writing Month and MerMay, book projects, prints, secret projects, Sticker of the Month club, ongoing projects like webcomics… I threw a LOT into one place and gave it some semblance of order. But that order only makes sense to me.

b) it’s not set in stone. And I did that on purpose. If I have to move a project up or down the production calendar, I am willing to do that. (And that’s how 3 projects got done before 2022 even started.)

What else can I say? Well, be sure to stay tuned on this blog, and follow me in these ways:

Plus I have projects such as The Legend of Jamie Roberts and The Fourth Leg podcast. All of these will update more often and in different ways.

That’s all I’ve got for now. But I’m actually excited for this year.

Thank you for reading.

You. Are. Awesome.

Posted on

Did I Reach My 2021 Goals?

It’s customary for me to write about my goals from the previous year; then to write about the goals I have for the upcoming year. So this post is Part 1 of a 2-Part series. (Part 2 will be tomorrow.)

More importantly…

DID I REACH MY 2021 GOALS?

Yes…and no. I met some, but not all.

Let’s break it down.

1) MAKE 5 NEW CRAFT PIECES.

How completely self-indulgent to have a goal NOT related to work!

Here’s the thing: technically I DID make this one. But I didn’t get to everything on the initial list I had. 4 out of 5 pieces on my old crafting to-do list got done! Then I got sidetracked and began making new things.

That’s ok! I’ve decided to just pursue the things that bring me joy instead of dread. That’s more important. ESPECIALLY for a hobby.

2) MAKE 5 NEW MINICOMICS

This DID NOT HAPPEN. I did not make 5 new minicomics.

…But I DID make – and finish – The Legend of Azu-Mi. (At least, the art for it.) I’ll count that win for what it’s worth.

3) MAKE 5 NEW 11X17 (OR LARGER) PRINTS

Yet another goal that DID NOT happen. I barely got two. Even then, one of the new prints, Kay the Valkyrie, is not 11×17 inches. I thought I had formatted the original working file to that size. Turns out, I did not.

I did, however, finish the art for one that had been a work in progress for two years – the Cryptid of Leaves. Here’s a peek at the original…

My new scanner bed is not quite big enough to accommodate this guy, though. So I’ll need to figure out how to digitize him to make prints.

4) RELEASE 5 NEW BOOKS

This past year, there came the release of…

But that’s not 5 books.

That’s fine. I’ll consider it good that these even got done. Especially considering that The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1 kept getting a LOT of setbacks – from production delays to book misprints.

And lastly…

5) MAKE 5 VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE

I gave up on this one. Like, yes, I made a lot more videos on TikTok after I got on that platform. But actually editing video is my least favorite thing in the world to do. It’s right up there with bashing my head against the refrigerator door, or burning myself on pans while baking.

But I DID get into animation.

Look at them! I animated Jamie here! Thank you, Clip Studio Paint, for making that happen. Eventually, I’ll get used to your animation tools. Because currently, it’s like trying to read French.

I think we can all agree that 2021 was not the year we expected, or hoped, it would be. On my end of things, there were production issues, an encounter with a scam artist, and 3 deaths in the family in the final 6 months of the year. To be blunt, 2021 was shit. Basically 2020 part 2: Electric Boogaloo.

With that in mind, I’m going to…restructure a few things. But I’ll get into that tomorrow.

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

You. Are. Awesome.

Posted on

Mid-Year Check-In on My 2021 Goals

Remember when I set my goals for 2021? Well now’s the time to do a mid-year check-in and see how things are going.

Number 1: Make 5 New Craft Pieces

Are we talking about 5 craft projects TOTAL? Yes! This goal is achieved.

But are we talking about the specific craft projects I wrote for myself to do? No.

See, I wanted to make…

  • a kitty-sized sweater for BreeBree (why? Because she’s neurotic and wants hugs ALL THE TIME. I thought a kitty sweater would help)…
  • a patchwork skirt…
  • a bikini top made from upcycled T-shirts…
  • a crochet shawl covered in crochet donuts and cookies (why? I was inspired by a shawl I saw in the live-action The Grinch movie)…
  • and a scrapbook for my graduations. I’ve had these graduation keepsakes for 10+ years and I want to put them in a book instead of a box.

Those first 3? Those are done. I even made 2 bikini tops. The shawl base is also done, but now it needs cookies and donuts.

Number 2: Make 5 Videos that are NOT Live Streams

Honestly, I dropped this goal. Would I love to make animatics? Absolutely. But I need to study how to make animations in Clip Studio Paint. I have no idea what I’m doing.

Number 3: Make 5 Large Prints

I have finished 1 print so far!

an image of a modern-day Valkyrie flying in the air. Their skin is dark, hair white, wings gold and silver, and they wield two swords. The clouds part behind them and divine light shines upon them.

Unfortunately, 2 prints had to be put on hold because they need more work than I expected. The Cryptid of Leaves print is more of a time-sink than I thought because of all the details. The Fighting Game roster I want to draw will require more research and character mock-ups.

So 1 print is done. But that leaves 4 left to do.

I have 2 other ideas in mind. Both are for personal projects. We’ll see how that pans out.

Number 4: Make 5 Books

Slow and Steady wins THIS race!

The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1 has its own updates going on KickStarter. The same goes for Less Than Secret: A Cryptid Anthology (which I did a short story for).

The book I’m designing for Sean…all of it is edited! Now comes actually putting it into PDF form.

But while we’re here…

I’m thinking of NOT doing Inktober this year.

Shock! I know! I’ve done Inktober every year since 2017. And every year, after Inktober wraps up, I put those sketches into a book. I’ve done Witches, Gods & Spirits, AND Dragons.

2020 threw off those plans. As for this year? I’m thinking of not doing Inktober. Because I would LOVE to get the Roxie comics I did for Validation into a book. Those…and Tiny Unicorn.

Number 5: Make 5 Minicomics

HOT DANG, this took a minute to figure out WHAT minicomics I wanted to make.

For this goal, here’s what I want to make:

  • The Legend of Azu-Mi (for KickStarter backers)
  • The Character Compendium (a personal project I talk about sometimes on Instagram)
  • A Mr. Dino story
  • A Kitties By Kelci story
  • And a NEW art sketchbook zine

I have a LOT of zines on clearance on Ko-Fi because I want to make more room for these new minicomics. (If you’re interested, get them before they’re gone forever!)

Here’s hoping I can still make these goals by the end of the year!

How are your goals going? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

Posted on

Falling A Twee Bit Behind on Some Things…

here's a picture of an art piece in progress. The 11 inch by 17 inch paper has a monster depicted whose body is mostly made of leaves. Next to the canvas is a tin full of colored pencils.

I want to talk a bit about how to set goals to be…more realistic. Because I have fallen a twee bit behind on a few things.

First, I wanna’ talk about this piece, pictured at the top.

Right now, the title is (tentatively), “Cryptid of Leaves.” I started this piece all the way back in 2019. So…it’s been A WHILE. I worked on it, then set it aside, because those leaves ALONE took effort to draw. And then I thought, “Let’s color this with colored pencil! That’ll get the look I want to achieve!”

And past me thought I could have this done in a month. On top of everything else I have going on. Which…(insert laughter here).

I have only worked on this in my free time, when I have the urge to do it. So I’m shifting the goal for this piece: I want it finished by…the end of October.

Why so late? Because I still have KickStarter rewards to fulfill and other books to put together. Speaking of which…

Second, I want to talk about the PDF for The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1.

For KickStarter backers, I had said, “Oh this should be delivered to you by the end of May!”

It’s June 1st now. The PDF still needs put together. Oops.

To be fair, May was a big transition month. I quit working at NeverEnding (long story), and shifted back to freelancing full-time. Still, getting my freelance sea-legs back can only explain so much. All I can ask is please, continue to be patient. The PDF should still get done by the end of June. I’ll go more in depth about the process in a KickStarter update tomorrow.

Third, The Legend of Jamie Roberts.

So…I’m out of buffer. The month of May had some unexpected events that prevented me from keeping up with my usual production schedule. That means right now, I’m making the next updates as the story is going. That’s not a place I like to be in.

Does this mean that The Legend will get a temporary hiatus? I don’t know. But I’m tempted to have a short, two-week break from regular updates just so I can build the buffer back.

…Maybe I’ll just do that. Expect a more solid decision tomorrow, with The Legend’s usual Wednesday update.

I’ll end this here before this post gets too long. Thank you for stopping in! And thank you for your support.

You. Are. Awesome.

Posted on

My Projects for The Rest of 2021

Last Saturday, on my livestream (which you can watch because it’s archived here), I announced a LOT of projects. To make the list more understandable, here’s the broad strokes.

Group 1: The Books

Last week I announced my departure from NeverEnding. For reasons listed here. Now that I have left, that means more time to fulfill KickStarter rewards.

So, yes! The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1 will get done MUCH faster!

Less Than Secret: A Cryptid Anthology is coming together well. That said, this book is being handled by my comic buddies Ben and Rainer. So most of the production is out of my hands now.

I also have a small list of books I would LOVE to see released before the end of the year. So come back later for more info on those!

(Spoilers: A couple of them may be collaborations I’ve done with CB, co-creator of Validation. We’ll be collaborating on new projects soon!)

Group 2: The Illustrations

BreeBree Bootique is back, with a modified release schedule. Why?

Because Mr. Dino & Friends will be getting their own RedBubble store AND Instagram soon!

These two projects will have alternating release schedules: one Friday will have a new BreeBree Bootique design. The next Friday will have a Mr. Dino and Friends design. Then the cycle repeats.

Also, there are still large prints to make as part of my 2021 goals. One is already done (and you can watch me work on THAT in this archived stream). That leaves 4 more to go – and I will livestream working on those!

Group 3: The Everything Else

I’m ready to livestream on a regular schedule again! I had to take a break after the frenzy of promoting Less Than Secret. Now, livestreams will be coming back.

So be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit that bell. I’ll be streaming every Saturday at 1 pm EDT. This weekend I’m streaming Clip Studio Paint Tips and Tricks.

As for other projects…well, there are new podcasts on the horizon. I’ll keep you posted as those shows come together. If you like tabletop RPGs, I hope you’ll stick around for these new podcasts.

Speaking of Tabletop RPGS…I’m putting together an NPC Compendium. This resource will be for all the game masters out there who need non-player characters to populate their worlds. Follow me on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, or Ko-Fi as I draw these characters!

And the Blog?

I’m updating this blog more often so you know how things are going! I hope you stick around.

(Or you can subscribe to my email newsletter. It’ll have updates on ALL of these projects at the end of each week.)

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

You. Are. Awesome.