Now feels like a time where I should be cocooning, wrapping my consciousness in loving comfort, hunkering down with soup. Now does not feel like the time of year where I dedicate precious Survive The Winter energy to… goal setting.
– Ismatu Gwendolyn
Though that quote resonates with me more than ever as managed to catch a cold on the 1st of January, it is an appropriate time to reset and worldbuild anew.
Dedications for the next 50 days
Worldbuild Daily
No matter the circumstances, allocate at least 10mins/day to visual, aural, and written worldbuilding. Queer ancient stories, reshape futurisms, and whatever else feels just to the tomorrow self- but do not break the streak.
Storytelling > Aesthetic
Get away from grand animation, and focus on telling better stories, better. Right now, animation is too costly of time. Still images, sounds, writing- any of these can create a convincing story. Quit sacrificing identity for image.
Make a Living
Begin earning with my passion by the end of February- get my first $500. At least $100 by January. This will allow, beyond financial stability, for a mutually accountable community that will take me to new heights of creative work. Environment is everything, to me.
Sustainable Action Only
Living through a prolonged power outage has shown: my creativity is reliant fully on technology. From now onwards, create off the grid, and simply share online. My work will be not restrained to electricity. Don’t get stuck in posthuman suffering.
Concrete Action
10 mins of writing, 10 mins of illustrating, 10 mins of composing/sound design per day. No matter what, get it done- this is the daily mantra, prayer, sunrise that marks my commitment to the grandeur future.
30mins of learning 2D imaging. Improve my contour, anatomy, scale, movement, visual memory, plein air, value, and color (digitally) skills. Again, purpose is to be able to depict vibrant words with moving life, not lifeless stills. Create motion.
1 ambient animation/week. Contribute 10-20mins/day, with 3-5 days for painting, and 3-4 days for animating.
10 pages of comic per week- to arrive at 70 by end of this personal season. This is the most direct storytelling I can engage in right now.
1 Composition/week to go along with my ambient animations, when time allows. This also will only get 10-20mins/day, after all other commitments are set.
all of this is to be balanced with 90mins of writing/day and my full-time job (and rest and love)
Wait, what about blender?
Still to be used! But, only as an augmentation of my canvas, not the canvas itself.
onwards, to a better present
