Well I'm writing a comic

I have sort of been thinking about writing something for a while now. And things finally started falling into place recently. My random ideas began to come together to form something coherent and I actually have a workable story. It may not be the best story every, but I think it's interesting. I'm a little nervous about my ability to pull off the visuals. But if I take my time, I think I'll at least get by. And having the story totally worked out before I start will help a lot.
Right now I'm doing some sketches, experimenting with format, and working out the plot details and dialogue. I've never attempted anything this big before, so I honestly don't know how far I'll get before it falls apart. But I'm going for it! My plan is to keep it simple and go with my gut.

feeling the pressure

I have gotten some extra exposure recently with my monster girl drawings and I've gained a bunch of new followers. I am so happy that people are enjoying my art and I have been having so much fun. But now I am feeling a little anxious about making people happy and keeping up the pace I have been with the monster challenge. I really want to keep drawing things that people like but I'm a little worried that after I complete the challenge I'll be wiped out. I have to find some way to keep up the momentum at least a little bit.

Challenge

So I recently decided to do this monster girl challenge hosted by a group on tumblr. I didn't think much of it and honestly wasn't sure if I would even be able to complete them all. I just wanted to practice and I like monster girls so it seemed like a good thing to try. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it and how inspired I would become. I feel like my skills have improved drastically over just a couple weeks. The designs are coming to me more easily now and I can finish a drawing much faster than I ever could before. Just drawing daily has done so much for me. On top of that, I am drawing things I really enjoy and had kind of gotten away from. I feel like I am finally doing what I want in the way I want. And I'm not as worried about what other people will think of it. I'm not doing it to impress anyone in particular, just trying to have fun.

Once the challenge is complete, I am really going to try to continue to draw every day.

the desire to create

I have been toying with the idea of developing a back story for one of my designs. I sort of have an idea of her personality which I portray through the drawings of her. I feel this is somewhat necessary to create an emotive piece.
But some people take it further than that and really come up with a narrative for their characters. This isn't something I have ever had interested in. Until now. I have a character that I really like. Her design, I think, is rather unique and I enjoy drawing her. If I so desired, I could create a story for her, with other characters, in a unique setting and start a comic. However, this would take a lot of time and planning. And some ability to tell a story through art. I'm not sure if I have any of these things.
So I likely will do nothing. But I'll keep drawing her, even if I'm the only one who knows what she's thinking.

confusing struggle

I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember and it has always been an important feature in my life. I never wanted to make it my career, but it's something that I still take pretty seriously.

But after all this time, I still don't feel comfortable with my art. I don't feel confident in my skills. And I'm unsure about why I even want to draw.  I don't really do it to make a statement, I don't really have any creative ideas, and I'm not trying to achieve realism or anything. The closest thing I can think of to explain my motivation is that...I just want to make pretty things. I just want to draw things that are nice to look at.

But if that's the case, why do I take it so seriously? I wish I could just have more fun with it, and not worry so much about how it's going to turn out, what people are going to think of it, or whether it conveys my "style" properly.

I feel like I would enjoy art more and be more inspired if I wasn't so concerned with these trivial things.

Acceptance

I realized that I had found a technique that worked for me. And things were looking up, art-wise. I was regaining confidence and thought I should "experiment" with more dramatic subject matter.


But then I realized that...  I am not dynamic. Everything I do is soft, and pretty, and totally static.
But I think that's okay! Maybe that's just what my art will be and people will enjoy it for that reason. My most recent finished drawing went really well. I finished it quicker than I thought I would. And I didn't over-work it. I didn't even color it. I thought I still might, but I don't really feel like it. And I think it's still good.

I do have plans to color my latest in-progress drawing. But if it doesn't turn out how I want it, I may just stick with the black and white. We'll see how it goes. But I am feeling mostly optimistic about it.

BLOCKED

I am suffering from some art block right now. A lot of things in my life are changing a bit, and it has been busy and a little stressful. And so I have had little time for art. I have been doing regular updates for my pony tumblr, AskNettle, with some success. But personal art has been placed on the back burner for the most part.

I did complete this drawing recently:

I liked my original sketch, but I lost interest in the drawing about halfway through. I struggled to complete it and the end result was that it was technically finished, but not something I'm extremely proud of.

I think sometimes drawings are like that, where they just happen without any real impact on your life. I will just move on to the next thing, and hopefully that one will feel more like an accomplishment.