Admin Post: Community Check-In for October

[goss]

Tomorrow will be the last day of the month (Halloween!), and we'd love to have you check in and chat with us. How have things been with you?

Did you take part in any fandom activities in October, or have you been working on any personal art projects? Are you currently trying to meet a deadline? Feel free to share upcoming challenges that have got you excited, any frustrations you've been experiencing, possible goals for the next month, and so on.

Also, if you participated in Inktober over the past couple weeks, how has the experience been?

Comments

[goss]

Inktober

Right now I am experiencing complete burn out. I thought I could make it through to the final week, but with the added pressure of RL/work stress, I...just can't right now.

But! The first 3 weeks were AMAZING. I feel like this has been the most art I've ever produced in one month. Not only that, but even though I've been creating fanart for years and years, I'd never really explored ink as a medium. Plus the lack of colour pigment meant that I got the chance to really play around with lighting and positive/negative space in order to create visual interest.

It's been a joy checking the community each week, and my flist too, and being inspired and motivated by all the wonderful artists and artwork being produced for this challenge.

Inktober has also been helping me deal with my perfectionist tendencies, which I often struggle with. Having to produce so much, in such a short space of time, forced me to (somewhat) let go of my need to produce a 100% finished/perfect piece every single time. I've always been an all-or-nothing type wrt to my art, where I'd rather produce nothing at all than something half-done. But there is definitely something to be said for quantity over quality sometimes, and I'd really love to keep up with producing artwork (regardless of quality) on a regular basis, and keep this momentum going. So thank you, Inktober! And congrats to all who took part it in too! :D

Other Deadlines and Projects

I have no other deadlines at the moment. I deliberately left this month clear, and November as well, since they're always a busy time for me IRL.

As for projects, I'm thinking maybe for December month, here at drawesome, we could possibly engage in some kind of group art activity. Any ideas for this would be welcome... :)

[mific]

Group projects, hmmm. The introduction pieces we did were fun. What if everyone who wanted to filled up a puzzle piece with anything they liked - maybe something meaningful to them or linked to their home/where they’re from, or anything at all, could be colours or a pattern. Then we could join them up at the end (I’d be happy to do that in photoshop). The number joining in wouldn’t matter, as the end result wouldn’t have to be symmetrical.

We could use a puzzle piece like this, for example.

[goss]

Oohh, puzzle! I like that idea! And that the nature of this one keeps it open in subject matter and to a flexible number of participants.

Another variation could be more structured, with an outlined picture for people to fill however they want. But of course the division of puzzle pieces would depend on a specific number of members joining in. I remember fanartivation on LJ having these group Grid Projects, that were pretty fun to take part in.

[mekare]

I really like the idea of a collaborative project in general and the puzzle piece idea is neat!

[goss]

Awesome! :)

[minoanmiss]

*fans you*

A collaborative project sounds so nifty!

[goss]

Good to know you guys are on board with the idea of a collaborative project for the community. :)

[mekare]

I feel like this has been the most art I've ever produced in one month

That's definitely true for me!

And I was pretty happy in that I only planned to do something every two to three days, it was hard enough as it is and I've great respect for all of you who managed to do it.

[mific]

Well, it’s all been Inktober this month of course. I’ve learned a lot about managing the challenge, and am also pretty exhausted at this stage of things. I for sure hadn’t factored in how time consuming it’d be, and how much of my non-work time it’d consume. That’s mostly as I was unrealistic about what I could manage and set too-intense goals. The second two weeks went better as I experimented more, and I’ve had fun trying out new techniques with inking, brush detail, and watercolours. My main problem is that I seem unable to do smaller, simpler works, so even giving myself freer range with the ideas, it’s still very labour intensive. I’ve also had to manage carpal tunnel problems which have been getting worse especially in the last few days, despite exercises. November will definitely need to be a quieter month. Would I do it again? Yes, I hope so, but I’ll try to set lower sights next year, and force myself not to take on as much. For example, I think I’ll do artworks on smaller pieces of paper, so that they just can’t involve as much time. I’ve loved seeing what everyone has been doing across the month - that’s been the real high point.

[goss]

Would I do it again? Yes, I hope so, but I’ll try to set lower sights next year, and force myself not to take on as much.

Same! I'm thinking something like a small thumbnail sketch a day (maybe with a 20-minute time limit for drawing), and maybe one larger, complex drawing for each weekend.

[mekare]

and am also pretty exhausted at this stage of things.

But go you! You really did something every day and I am looking forward to seeing your stuff from the second half of the month. :-)

[minoanmiss]

Inktober has been surprisingly delightful. I was worried about drawing entirely by hand, which I don't do anymore due to my vision impairments, and then about catching up, what with my computer dying and being replaced. But I have had a BLAST.

Upcoming I have a Yuletide story to write, and I might be brave enough to give someone a fan art treat for it as well. This community is good for me. :)

[mekare]

It's great to hear you had fun, that's the main thing. And I agree, this comm has been great!

[goss]

It's wonderful to know that the community's been helpful for you, and that you've enjoyed drawing by hand this past month. Good luck with the upcoming Yuletide! :)

[tarlanx]

Sadly, October has been a sad and stressful month for me trying to fit in a lot of fandom deadlines while dealing with my Dad's ailing health - and his funeral yesterday. Weirdly I was able to write but couldn't find the enthusiasm to even doodle... though I did manage one silly Halloween doodle spotted on a Youtube tutorial that I plan to share! Nothing spooktacular but it was fun.

I bought myself a couple of decent art drawing pads and I hope I can find the inspiration to start using them.

[mific]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad. Big hugs, and I hope hanging out in fandom helps you feel a little less sad.

[tarlanx]

Thank you. Fandom has certainly made for a great distraction, and a way to avoid all the family drama associated with these sad events.

[mekare]

Oh that's harsh. I'm so sorry. I hope fandom can give you a bit of space.

[tarlanx]

It has done, thankfully. I've needed the distraction these past few weeks.

[goss]

I'm so sorry that you're going through such a hard time right now. We are here for you, and happy to distract whenever you need it. *hugs*

[tarlanx]

Thank you :)

[mekare]

Guys, guys I am so so relieved. I have finally finished all my BigBang challenge pieces! The last one just got finished and is being posted right away tomorrow! So that's four pieces I've done in the last two months: two bigish watercolours and two pastel pieces. I can't wait to share the fics and art with you.

Inktober-wise, as expected my productivity took a sharp decline once school started again. I did manage a couple more pieces in the last days though.
I can't even imagine what it would have been like, had I set out to do a piece a day like some of you. Big kudos to everyone who managed that! I was pretty happy with my goal to do something every second or third day. Next time, I'm probably going to set a time limit though because I did tend to try to overcompensate with some of the pieces (don't ask me how long that Aragorn piece took). Will post my most recent efforts soon.

[goss]

Yay for finishing your Big Bang pieces!! \o/ I can imagine the relief. ^___^

Next time, I'm probably going to set a time limit though

Ha! Same. I spent waaaaay too long on some of these. Next year for sure I'm enforcing a time and size limit, so that I don't set the bar too high for myself.

[mekare]

It was a lotof fun but I completely get when some of you say you are burned out. I didn't even do one every day and it was kinda exhausting keeping up. But yay, look at all the cool art we produced! Your round-up post made my eyes boggle.