How was everyone's Christmas? We had a good one here!! The month of December was crazy busy for us, being involved in so many church related Christmas activities! 'Tis the season!!! I also crocheted gifts for everyone in my family this year, and that took more time then I thought...and I started back in September!!! O_o The end results were well worth all the time... But I literally crocheted right up into Christmas morning to get projects finished. So there was very little drawing going on in December, and that made me sad. I didn't draw our cards this year and didn't have any commissions except for two small ones, but that was OK!! I needed the extra time to crochet. The picture above is all the art related gifts that I received for Christmas!!! I have finally been able to break into them, and the pencils are definitely what I've used the most so far. For being dollar store pencils, they are awesome and have a wonderful variety of color and blend very nicely!! I used them on this Arietty piece I did today for "Miyazaki Monday"... and I am loving the results!!
As far as any artistic goals for the new year... I don't know. I feel like I should set some, but I've set them in past years, and they just sort of dwindle out by the time March rolls around and our lives get really busy. As for now, I just want to commit to be more faithful about getting Miyazaki Mondays done... I debated picking another similar project, but the Miyazaki style is fun, and there are a lot of characters I haven't been able to draw yet that I would like to. I would love to fill up my sketchbook with these drawings, so I'll keep at it another year. =-) I plan to keep doing "Wednesday Wednesdays" for awhile too, because I have quite a few ideas for her and they are fun to draw and people seem to like them too. I feel like screenshot copying is cheating in a way, but I would like to do some more Sailor Moon screenshot drawings, since I have several saved to draw from!! It is good practice in figure drawing and coloring, even if some people might say it's just cheating to draw from something else like that... ;-)
I plan to keep on drawing fifties ideas, too. To be honest, I doubt that anything ever comes from it. Even though I want it more than anything, I know in my heart of hearts that I will never be able to make it as a manga artist. There's just so much that I don't know how to accomplish in the field, and I don't have the money or time to sink into the supplies like computer programs, screen tones, publishing, and being able to commit ten hours or more a day to only draw. If I could, that would be awesome, but I know it will never happen. Most self published manga are really poorly done and never pick up a following because they are poorly done. I know that I don't have what it takes to really make it in the selling field. Some days it hurts to think that, but I think it's good to not lie to myself about it anymore. I've come to take each sale I do get as a blessing. Most people I know also don't know what manga is, or they have a mindset about manga that is hard to get over. It might not seem like it's worth it, but I draw mostly for myself, because I love it and feel that it's what I should be doing, whether people like it or not. Most people have suggested to me that I should do a children's book. The thought is there, and from time to time, I do get ideas , but in my mind they usually end up looking like a manga page... I enjoy the pictures in children's books, but I also think that if your heart really isn't in that, you aren't going to create something that children can enjoy, and so that's what holds me back from going down that road... I don't really feel that my heart is in it. And so. If your heart isn't in it, don't do it!!!
So, here's to 2017.... looking forward to the art that does happen!!!!
-Stasia-Chan'17
