New year. Same goals. New process.

At the beginning of December I said I was going to start fresh. And I did. I created a new website, new blog, cleared out some of my old funky work from school and replaced it with some new pieces, and now I'm working on doing that again. This past year was tough for many reasons but one of the main reasons was I put a lot of pressure on myself. I put pressure on myself to be successful right out of the gate and that just wasn't the case. It's not the case for anybody. I've always had goals and dreams which is a good thing but they haven't always been realistic. Goals are great as long as they are something that you can reach within time. 

I thought I needed to be working in freelance gigs straight out of college, not working my regular job anymore, and being able to roll from my bed to my studio on a daily basis. WRONG! I forgot that I still had work to do. I forgot that I was green in so many areas and the things I wanted to do with my art I just wasn't ready for. I'm still preparing. I'm still learning. I'm okay with that. 

I graduated from college with a degree in animation and design. Those fundamentals are great and I'm quite proud of them. However, I have no basis for illustration or even art for that matter. I had no idea about tint, shading, composition, perspective, hue, saturation...you get the idea. So what did I do? I panicked. Surprise! Once I got over the initial shock of the fact I didn't know anything about the basics I realized it was time to learn. So I got to work. I started taking notes, reading, studying, and learning as much as I could to make me a better artist. I have a long way to go but there is something to be said for studying outside of the school atmosphere. There is so much about illustration and the mechanics of it all that I just didn't know. But I will. In time. And then I'll study even more. 

I have an image in my head of the type of artist I want to be and one day that image will become my reality. Until then I have to study, I have to listen, I have to learn what it means to appreciate art. I already eat, sleep, and breathe art styles of all different types but I don't fully appreciate it. I love art and everything that is involved but I don't appreciate it. To be able to connect to your work you have to appreciate the process. I'm not there yet but the fact that I know I'm not there yet means I'm going in the right direction. 

One pencil stroke at a time. I'll get there.