Hello Folks!
It’s May 15th and it’s my birthday! Which means I’m 30 now. So old, considering how much the internet wishes to believe anyone over the age of 25 doesn’t exist! haha, just kidding.
Reflections of my twenties
It’s a milestone that I never thought I would get to. There was a time where some people compared my work ethic to someone like Tezuka, which gave me this irrational fear that I would die at 25. Why 25? I don’t know. I was young and in my early-twenties working 3 part-time jobs and going to school full-time while commuting and paying my tuition out of pocket as much as possible. I had internships to fulfill and eventually I found my partner of 10ish years now.
I learned so much about myself, and how mentally ill I was. Which really… all of that made me calm down on my output. I’m still a bit of a workaholic, as some would suggest, but I think it’s a very healthy amount.
After my time with the Baby-Sitters Club, the royalties have been something I’ve been coasting on for the past year or so. It was a life-changing amount of money, so if you (a cartoonist) ever get approached by Scholastic to work on BSC, do NOT turn it down unless you work in tech and make almost 6 figures a year. There was so many hardships working on that series, especially since I worked during the beginning and through the height of the pandemic. Along with my best friend’s step-father was murdered by cops, ahhhh! All so much!
Reflections of my art
Lately, art has been more and more of a duty and a means to an end for me. Maybe that’s a very blunt way to put it, but art pays for me to live! This is truly a dream for many! I’m so lucky for it, but the feelings I had when making it as a teen has severely faded. I hope that doesn’t discourage people from following or supporting my work, but I know many artists who may be deemed “successful” feel the same.
I love to make art, but I personally feel like my art doesn’t have a real place in this world anymore. Even after writing my story “My Voice”, it’s still painful to create anything. I’ve lost a lot of my ability to come up with stories and worlds due to the harsh reality of the world around me. I have been having difficulties just loving what I have been making, and having trouble believing people think it’s worth anything. And you know the saying, make art for yourself!
But when art is what keeps the dinner on the table and the roof over your head, how else are you supposed to quantify your work from an external standpoint?
So what does that mean for me?
I wont stop making art! But I need to find a path that allows me to enjoy making art without it being my lifeline anymore. I don’t mind it being adjacent to art, but centering my CREATIVITY to be my personality and worth has done a number to my health.
Before I’m 40, I hope to finish two big series that I’ve been meaning to make forever. I want to make We are all Superstitious as a GN and make a webcomic with my best friend and writer/artist Danya. It’s been in the works for some time, but we need to start shifting into execution mode.
I also want to make a short story every year, then perhaps make a compilation of my shorts into a published book.
Before I’m 50, I’d like to release a book with my pirate blorbos. This will be a severely outdated phrase if I ever look back on this post.
After that, I’m hoping to find maybe a stable part-time job along with being an art manager that gets paid to help folks organize their calendars and convention merchandise. Similar to what George Rohac does for Organized Havoc.
I spent a lot of my 20s helping other artists, and I think that’s where my heart has always been. I love innovation but I also love being an advocate and resource for my peers. I am not that great at what I do, and I am still very shy… unless I got sicko business mode… but I hope that maybe I can start turning this blog into a guide for artists who need a help starting out in Artist Alley and promotion.
Wishing you all the very best!