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Friday, April 17, 2009

Time, My Arch Enemy.

In the many years I've worked as an artist/animator/creative geek, I've prided myself on never missing deadlines. Ever. I used deadlines to keep me moving, keep me from getting stuck on some bit of minutia that nobody else would likely notice or care about. I figure that I could never be a 'fine' artist simply because if I didn't have deadlines, I would never finish anything. I would just endlessly tweak them. There is always room to improve an image. I always see places where I could fix something or redo it in a more effective manner. I'm never completely satisfied by my own work, and that is OK. 
When I worked as an animator/designer for computer and video games, I enjoyed the iterative process. Putting in rough art, focusing on functionality frst, and then tuning it up to be as good looking as possible within the limitations of the platform and time. This also allowed for a good deal of feedback from various perspectives among the team. It worked well, this iterative way of working. 
Now, I'm trying to grow a venture that defys most conventional wisdom. I want to make comics, and t-shirts, and games (tabletop and eventually electronic), and paper modeling (papercraft) kits, and a bunch of other odd bits. Very diverse. Not focused enough, many wise biz people would say. Also, on a shoestring budget and with a stubborn DIY ethos and by myself since I can't afford to pay for any assistance. The whole thing is sort of like a game to me. "I'm told this can't be done. I accept the challenge!"
Yes, I suppose I am insane. Sure feels like it sometimes. Anyway, this is one explanation of why it is that updates to this blog are infrequent. I have given myself an impossible number of assignments. I have severely underestimated just how much work some of these items require. 
I've got some t-shirts and stickers back from the printer and I hope to sell them at a sci-fi convention next month. I am scrambling to keep my head above water on the comic while developing some paper model kits in time for this convention. (working rubber-band powered cannon and skull-shaped box are my faves, but I am also working on a model of the Prof's plane) We shall see how well that goes.
So... If the comic looks a bit rushed lately.
it is, a bit.  


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