(Drawing in the Stumptown Comics Fest Comic Art Battle! A goal and fear of mine for years, CONQUERED in 2011!)
Goals I set for 2011 and how I fared:
1) Stay financially independent -- Yes!
2) Stay ahead of my deadlines on my big projects -- Ehh...I did my best. I blew several deadlines while I was still drawing the children's books and Between Gears, but I finished my Oni book early and believe I can catch up on my other book and hit our original Final Deadline.
3) Have great shows at ECCC and Stumptown -- Yes.
4) Study French with Mom -- Oui.
5) Stay healthy -- Up and down. I need to renew this vow.
6) Pitch *** and *** (and hooooopefully get one approved!) -- Pitched one, and it was approved!
7) Finish Between Gears... (-- Yes) ....and 1-2 more chapters of Over the Surface -- No.
2011 was a good year. I joined Periscope Studio. I celebrated making it through Year One of my freelance/financially-independent lifestyle. I got a taste of storyboarding and lucrative freelance work. I had lots of fun at ECCC and Stumptown, although it was a lean year for comic conventions. I read my comics out loud at Comics Underground. I finished 2 graphic novels for big comic publishers, and 4 children's books with my dad. I worked really, really hard, and I should see a lot of the payoff from that work in 2012. By my count, I drew 292+ comic pages (82 Between Gears, 70 WUIY, 140 ABAAG).
2012 goals:
1) Be more proactive about getting work. Go after what I want, versus sifting through what comes my way. (To help quantify that: check job listings at ***** and ***** every week and send a pitch or letter of introduction to ***** ******.)
2) Also, be good about saying NO. It's been hard to learn this, because the freelance lifestyle and money stress/uncertainty can make artists job hoarders, but a lot of jobs aren't worth my time, and I can afford to be picky. I need to prioritize the things I really want to do.
3) Keep up karate and French. Get my green belt and plan my 2013 France trip.
4) Draw Over the Surface 1 start to finish! :D Script book 2.
5) Get Adobe Flash and a Lynda.com subscription, and make 3 minutes' worth of practice animations by the end of the year.
6) Be active and creative about marketing Between Gears and my other two books when the time comes.
I plan for the worst and hope for the best. This year could be really lean for me. It could be a breakthrough year. I'll just do my best and see.
6 comments:
I find it odd that keep up karate and learn french are the same line item. It almost sounds as if you are learning karate solely to travel to france to beat up french people.
Well....it's not NOT my plan...
Flash animation? It's fun stuff! I did about a minute's worth for my thesis... and I still want to go back and do more! Maybe I should make that one of my goals. Congratulations on meeting so many of yours! Happy New Year! Que tu aies de la chance, la force, la richesse, et la santé cette année!
...bien, il me faut étudier la français aussi!
Merci, Emily! :) Bonne chance avec le vôtre!
May 2012 be the raddest year ever. RAD!!!
You are awesome & inspiring~ I wish you all the best in 2012! Let's do our best!! :D
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