My upcoming plans.
So, this is a very busy and difficult time for me temporarily, and I'm so excited for things to calm down and normalize, here are a few hot topics about this month.
Wedding!
My wedding is going to be on June 30th and all is going really well! Finalizing a few different things, preparing for Rocky to move in with me, and balancing all that with both my current full time job and painting (which at times is very stressful.)
After my wedding I will be visiting one my best friends for his wedding, then immediately afterwards going on my honeymoon to New York! I'm so excited! I will be in New York for about a week. We plan on doing several Anime/hobby related activities, also going to a bunch of restaurants that we want to try, and doing a few art related activities. While we're there I plan to start a small vlog series about everything were doing. Which moves us into the next topic:
Videos!
Yep! I'm going to begin working on my Youtube channel! Plans for content include: Art product reviews, personal vlogs, basic tutorials, speed paint videos, and a few other things. I'm still doing a lot of brainstorming as it's something really new to me, but I'm really excited to see how it turns out. Included in this section is also live streaming. I'm also exploring the option of streaming either on Twitch or Youtube. Which is a much larger audience than Instagram would be. So I'll keep you all updated about that.
Patreon updates!
There will be a few updates to my Patreon following my return from the honeymoon, one of which is a monthly print subscription! The print will most likely be 5x7 inches, and priced around 10-12 dollars, If not that size, it will be around 8.5x11. I'm still figuring that out. I've received a lot of support about the idea and I believe that It'll get the reception that I'm hoping for. I will also be making regular weekly Patreon updates that go over my current ambitions and projects, if you want to know more about what I'm up to, this will definitely be the place to look out for.
Katsucon Artist's alley!
I have applied to have a table at the 2019 Katsucon Artist's Alley! It's something that I've always dreamed about doing, and this year I believe that I can actually do it. I have to wait until next week to know if I've been accepted or not! I'M SO NERVOUS I think that I've progressed significantly as an artist over the past 4 years, and I haven't been so excited for something in a while. Even knowing that I've gotten better as an artist, I'm still so dang nervous. The thought of being surrounded by so many wonderful artists, some of them are my mentors and inspirations and they don't even know it.
I was talking to another artist recently who talked about "Artist Imposter Syndrome", where you don't feel like your "really an artist". And I totally have the same thought at times. I follow so many people on Instagram, all of the seem so far away in terms of skill that I feel that exact way, or that I'm somehow faking it. I have to keep reminding myself that my followers are here for a reason, that I make art because I love to, and that I'm painting for a reason.
Some things that I have to get ready before February are:
-Create a ton of high quality prints
-Professionalize my online presence and store
-Redo all my graphics and become more familiar with Photoshop
-Create significantly more fan art for anime and video game characters
-Work on other forms of merchandise including but not limited to apparel and pins/charms.
Personal Stuff!
Recently I've been trying to take the time to relax and play a video game to take a break every once and a while. I have a bad habit of not letting myself take it easy when I'm stressed out. Or on the other hand, become so stressed that I don't achieve anything at all. It's something that I'm working on and actively trying to get better at. Rocky is usually here in the afternoons, and having her around helps me settle down and watch a show with her, or take a break to cook some dinner together, or go out and do something fun. Sometimes she paints or plays a game while I stream on Instagram, its fun being together but doing separate things sometimes.
So in essence all is well and I'm so excited for everything that's going on. Thank you all for being so supportive and I really hope that you stick around, what's coming around the corner for me is really going to be insane. I legitimately believe that 2018 is going to be a game changer for me and that things that have been in the works for years behind the scenes will come to forward withing the next few months. I'M SO EXCITED! I pray every day that things will go according to plan, and that I'm in line with what God wants to happen.
Thank you for your time, stay cool :3