HAPPY YEAR OF THE RAT, EVERYONE!

January 2020 has actually been going alright so far after a rocky, emotional start.

I'm making good progress on issue six of Slimepunk, and I'm hoping I can have enough done so I can start posting again next month. The pages that are finished so far are being shared on Patreon with folks who are subscribed at the $5 tier, if you want a headstart on everybody else.

My first painting of the year, depicting a bellydancing friend in an inflatable Godzilla costume, can be seen over here. I also did my first real fanart work last week, my own attempt at drawing Shin Ultraman:

And I've posted another weird, personal, NSFW painting on my weird, personal, NSFW account End of April, if you follow that, with some words about my figure drawing friends who appear in it.

Speaking of figure drawing, the first Defining Bodies meetup of 2020 was this past Sunday, and it was absolutely what I needed. I've updated the figure drawing album on here with some recent work, but it's time to promote my Patreon again by reminding you that $3 subscribers get to see EVERY drawing I do at our monthly meetings, no matter how bad or ugly they are, along with rambling about what I was trying to do.

The Shin Ultraman and NSFW painting went up over there first, too. Basically, most everything I do now goes on Patreon at least a few days before it goes anywhere else. Even just a dollar a month gets you access to a bunch of process posts and things!

It's also where I first revealed Ninel's return in a two page dream comic I made called Another Dream: Mutual Friends. The comic itself is up on Other Sleep's website now, but patrons got to see the full process for it, from the original thumbnails and scribbled dialogue to the finished pages.

So yeah...not a bad way to kick off January, I guess. I have several other, more personal goals I'm working on this year too. Last year I managed to keep track of my spending habits, and this year I'll attempt to do a better job of saving money. I've decided to stop drinking alcohol for at least this year, just to see what it's like. I made the decision to quit last month, so I already have a good head start.

I had some other, bigger goals last year that I never managed to pull off. Rather than try again, or double down and try to make up for it, I'm trying to think a little more modestly this year. My big exercise goals always fall through, so this year I'm scaling it back to just a little light jogging and/or some pushups here and there each day rather than trying to stick to a demanding routine. Washing my face daily too, it's a small thing but it's reasonable, and I can build off of it.

I dunno, I'd read something last year that talked about how, if we try to make a bunch of changes all at once, we're doomed to fail. It's better to start small, build a good foundation that you can later expand on. I've always felt like I'm super scatterbrained, and maybe there's no way to completely rewire myself out of it, but I realized last year that part of the reason I never feel like I know what I'm doing is because I never really spent time building any foundations.

Studying anatomy for months last year was a good, solid thing to do. I didn't feel super productive when it came to making finished work, but it helped me regain at least a little confidence, and I want to keep at it this year, relearning and better understanding what I'm doing with my art, how I'm doing it, and how I can improve, rather than sitting paralyzed and directionless.

Things aren't stopping: I will be printing the first collected Slimepunk volume this year for sure. There will be more dream comics with Ninel. I'm working on a cool project with my friend Mark O. Stack that will have a Kickstarter next year. I have so many paintings I want to do and I'm getting a clearer understanding of how to make them. I will be at KapowCon in May and RobCon in June. Defining Bodies will continue to meet monthly as long as I can host and convince people to come model and draw.

And if I fail to succeed at any of these things, if any of it falls through? It's not that big a deal. I can start again, and I think I finally know how to look at my failures and learn and grow from them, making the next try a little easier.

It's hard to look at everything happening in the world and not feel despair. But I think it's important to know how to work on in despair. Take care of yourself, and if you have the strength, look after those around you as well. See you soon.