I wanted to make a follow-up from last years New Year’s resolutions, but since we’re soon to be half-way through March already, this post is going to be a little bit different than I thought.
(If you’re not interested in my rambling, just skip to the bonus pixel animation thingy at the end of this post).
As to be expected with New Year’s resolutions, not everything goes according to plan. Yet, I’m pretty happy with the “Be creative and make things” part of my list of goals. As I’ve mentioned before, 2012 was actually the first year I’ve ever had any resolutions at all. It has been a useful experience having something to work towards, and from that perspective, it doesn’t matter that I haven’t fulfilled all of my goals. I think that just knowing that they were put into writing has helped me to stay creative, and to seek opportunities to make and draw things.
Speaking of which… As a fun bonus, keeping a blog where I post my sketches and drawings has made it possible for me to get illustrations in print, and I’ve also gotten a couple of exciting and challenging commissions. So that has certainly been a pleasant surprise!
Most of my resolutions for 2012 were about keeping my creativity flowing and “getting things done”. I said I was going to read more, procrastinate less and spend more time creating things and learning new skills. The usual stuff. As far as practice and procrastination goes, there’s plenty of room for improvement. I’ve probably spent more time thinking “I should draw” than actually sitting down to draw something. Yet, I’m pretty happy about some of the things I made in 2012 (not to mention my efforts on Hourly Comic Day 2013, of which I’m pretty proud of).
Anyway, I’m thinking that I should incorporate some of the points from the 2012 list into the new list of goals for 2013. But I’m going to paraphrase them a little bit, and maybe be more concise on some points.
Goals for 2013
- Read and relax more
- Engage in social media (blogs, comments, Twitter)
- Practice useful skills to use in drawings, illustrations and comics. This includes, but is not limited to: life drawing, caricatures, watercolors, digital inking and coloring.
- Challenge my creativity and collaborate with other people
- Make a work schedule and stick to it
- Keep files and photo libraries organized
These are goals that I want to work towards, so that I can stay productive and do what I like the most: create stuff!
Here’s a tiny pixel animation that I’ve made, just to keep this post a little bit interesting. It gets even more interesting if you add some dance music to it.
