So, let the reminiscing begin.
August
My challenge began. The first thing I posted was this:
September
I seemed to do a lot of drawing this month. I first introduced my little robots who eventually became the basis for Audubon, my winged robot sculpture (still one of my favorite dolls to date).
The month of the great costume. My oldest brother issued a costume challenge to the whole family and of course I decided to plunge headfirst into my own design.
I also did a lot of drawing in October and I discovered an inking style I actually like (and still use).
November
I finished the delightful little Audubon. I have yet to write the story that goes with him, but it's still something that needs to happen.
I also began work on my hobbit vest which, although the tutorial I made is actually fairly popular among the interewbs, was really not one of my best works. But I learned quite a lot from it.
I also wrote this in my Thanksgiving post which I find rather true and something I should've remembered a little better:
"My favorite scripture right now is 2 Nephi 2:25 "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." I wish I could make everyone in the world really believe in this. People are supposed to be happy. Sometimes I feel like other people (and even myself sometimes) believe that you can't truly be living unless you're stressed or worried or unhappy about something. Being happy isn't going to make it so bad or stressful things don't happen in your life, but it'll sure make it easier to get through those things. For example, take the Sterling Scholar process I just went through. At first I was incredibly stressed about the whole thing; I'd been dreaming about this since I was in 6th grade. I knew I really didn't have a chance and I really started to beat myself up over it. But when they made the announcement of who won, I was standing in the hall outside the faculty room with my friends. It no longer mattered to me whether any of us won. I was with the three nicest, smartest, awesomest people I've ever met, so I was happy. What else could possibly matter? I guess what I'm saying is that I'm thankful for this season of Thanksgiving and for all the things that make me happy - friends, family, skinned knees, space. Good stuff like that."
December
The beginning of many things. My once a month posts for starters. Also I started my sections on other artists and my tip section (they still don't have good names). Also, the beginning of Svenna the Fettish and her Box Elder mount, Rhubarb (another sculpture I'm delightfully pleased with).
I also finished my Hobbit vest and made the tutorial for it.
January
I posted some of painting assignments (speaking of, I should get the other ones up here, too, sometime) and also made my first stop-motion armature prototype. I also made my backpants! I fully intend to someday design and create a steampunk costume to go with it. I also have a pair of shorts I'd like to do a similar thing to. Wow, I used 'also' in that paragraph way too many times.
February
I finally finished my Hagrid doll that I had started back in August and I also made my Birdhouse Guitar (which is still unfortunately uninhabited). The first drawn picture of Svenna appears.
March
I discovered my love for power tools. I also began my steampunk goggle headphones (which still looks no different, except the ear pieces are falling apart because I've redone a bunch of things with them so many times). I posted my marionette Bengta this month, as well. She's one of my rare creations where I look at her and don't automatically think about all the things wrong with her. She is, of course, not without her faults, but I believe she's one of my most aesthetically pleasing creations.
April and May
The two months I never posted anything. A lot of stuff did happen though, that I don't think I ever mentioned. For one, Svenna and Rhubarb (the sculpture) were accepted into the All-state High School Art Show where then, unbeknownst to myself, my dad purchased it. It was certainly a major keystone in my decision to do something with art for a living.
June
Computer died, so it was a bit of a mishmash post. I posted a picture I drew near the end of school that really helped me see how far I've come in my own personal drawing style . . . which I can't find right now, but you can just go back to that post if you really have to see it again.
July
I turned 18 and University starts to become more of a reality. It was also the debut of Skin the Color of Alder, my nonsensical, who-knows-where-this-is-going comic.
And that brings us back to August. I started writing this post yesterday and fully meant to post it then, but time slipped away from me and stuff came up. So I apologize.
Well, after a year of creating non-stop practically, you would assume that surely I learned something. While it may not be anything deep or profound, I will share some things that have stuck out to me as I reviewed all the things I did and the adventures I've taken. You need to be passionate about what you do. Never get stuck looking ahead and forget to be focused on what lies in front of you. As I start a new outfit project I have to keep reminding myself to take it one step at a time. I keep getting caught up in what it'll look like in the end that I'm not spending enough time to add in the important details, the genre details, the ones that really matter. Also, if you're not happy doing something, either be happy or just don't do it. You can't expect something to turn out amazing when you're not even enjoying working on it. The love an artist has for his work really shows in the quality. Again, it boils down to the details. You're not going to smear some paint splotches onto a smock you're making for an outfit if you don't care about the character it's supposed to represent. And lastly, perfect practice makes perfect. It's something my orchestra teacher always used to tell us. If we practice the same piece over and over again without fixing our mistakes, it won't matter how many times we've played it, we're still going to mess up. It all comes down to laziness. Messing up is perfectly fine, I do it every day, but if we get complacent about the things we do wrong that's when it becomes a problem. If I'm just taking shortcuts all the time then I'll never learn how to make quality creations. I'll never be able to make something right. I guess what I'm saying is that I learned that I should stop being lazy and that I should be happy about it.
There's my schpeel. Thank you to everyone who has been decent enough to read through my posts. You've made me feel appreciated and inspired me to do better.
Here's to another year of fantastic craziness.
