Fantasy

Friday night--after days of working nonstop on my projects--here I am, blogging about work. Haha~

In my last couple of blog entries I mentioned that I was writing a story. I have done my best to keep my mouth shut and I have only confided in one other person about it so far. But I felt like talking about it a little and at least showing where the character concepts artwork is right now. The drawings above are actually not even prepped for inking, they're still on tracing paper. Those are two of the main characters that will be in the series of stories I am working on. It's a fantasy setting based on the late medieval/early Renaissance period. Anyway, I don't want to reveal much more than that.

^^;;

I've been working on new artwork for the next two collections of t-shirts I have planned, even though the store hasn't launched yet. Let me say this, there is only so much you can do sometimes to push towards certain goals and waiting around biting your nails is not the most productive way to spend your time when you are waiting on other people. Anyway, again I don't want to reveal too much just now. But one of the collections I am working on is more of a pin-up style, mixed with Art Nouveau aesthetics and themes broadly based around "California." (That will make a lot more sense once it's released haha... in the meantime appreciate the work I've done so far ^^^) The second collection is inspired by my love for history, and will be "resurrecting" historical symbols that many people may not be aware of. (Trust me, it will make sense when you see it!)

Ignore the letters... that was reference for something else...

So ugh... here's the part that has been kinda getting me down. I've been vetting so many different companies to produce my t-shirts and I just haven't been able to find anyone yet who is offering everything I'm looking for. Or, I'll think I've found someone and then the quality is just crap or their print size is just too small or some other odd thing... That's been the story lately as far as progress on my business. It's encouraging to have everything legit now-- I got my DBA and the seller's permit and all that-- but it's disheartening when the most important thing is not really coming along. I just have to persist and continue searching. The images above are some scans I did of some of the samples I received. One of them is actually not bad but there are other things about using that company that have stopped me from fully committing to them. 

Anyway, other than that I just been watching a lot of Chris Rock comedy specials as I work and keeping up with election coverage... all that usual stuff. Been reading a book called On Writing by Stephen King and I really recommend it to anyone who is interested in writing or who likes Stephen King books (or movies based on them). 

OK, gonna close this entry with some 500+ year old wisdom:

“Don’t live in a hurry... There are more days than joys to fill them. Take enjoyment slowly and tasks quickly. It’s good when tasks are completed, but bad when happiness is over.”

— Baltasar Gracian, Pocket Oracle and the Art of Prudence

Renaissance pt. II

Another no frills blog entry here. It is 7AM here and I haven't slept since I woke up yesterday morning (well, close to noon). I just want to jot down shortly what the situation has been and where things are at.

I have been wanting my own business for a very long while now. Since I was still in college. The idea I had at first was never for it to be my primary occupation in life but for it to just be something quick on the side while I was going to school. That never panned out because school was pretty busy and even after school my resources kept getting diverted to other things.

Trying to keep this short, late in 2015 I started noticing some odd symptoms but I didn't think much of it at the time. Plus, I was doing a stint as a supervisor at my job and it was hectic working sometimes 60 hours a week during the holidays, although the increased pay was well worth it. And honestly, if it weren't for the money I accumulated during that time (and maybe even a little taste of management experience) I probably wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now.

So, going into 2016 I noticed the symptoms were worse and more frequent so I decided it was time to get checked out. I was a little panicked so I took a lot of paid time off work and even a bit of medical leave. Once all the exams were done, I was told I have an incurable but mild condition called ulcerative proctitis. The damage to my intestines is permanent but luckily it's not going to have a huge impact on my quality of life and I should be able to prevent it from getting worse now that I have the right medications. I am glad I got it checked out ASAP because I recently lost a relative to colon cancer-- which was a possibility with the symptoms I was experiencing.

While I was taking time off from work I realized that I never really wanted to go into retail management and that in all honesty my end goal is to work for myself. I seriously thought about going back to school and I even registered for classes and studied for the exams to get some classes waived. Ultimately, however, I decided against it due to the funds necessary. I decided I was going to fully commit to pushing through with my business plan instead.

So yeah, I got a DBA and my CA seller's permit is being processed right now. I have a new e-commerce site set up and it's ready to go once I secure a reliable producer for my t-shirts. I'm starting with t-shirts because it's simple product that's relatively low overhead to produce. If it succeeds I'll expand into other goods. I've been ordering samples from different companies and I'm in the process of deciding which one has the most to offer. 

It's almost there. In the meantime, I've been working on new designs nonstop and writing. Yes, writing. The writing is a separate project and once it's done I intend to make the story available for free on my website.

OK, back to work.

Renaissance

“Pray to realize the true way, and it will always be achieved... The harder you pray with tears of blood, the more the deities will grant your biddings.”

— Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure

No pictures for this one because I was sick for four days straight and am only just now recovering. Not only that, but I have decided that for the time being what am doing is purely for myself. And I fear that showing too many people will drag me into the temptation of doing what I am doing to please others. Or to make money or make business. There's a time and a place for that, but at the moment I am really enjoying just working privately for my own contentedness.

It's been one year since I first got this website up so I feel it is fitting to post a brief update on things.

First of all, I am only beginning to return to "normalcy" after a grueling period of work. I managed to lift a huge burden off of my shoulders and am finally feeling freedom again to not focus so much on finances  or my career. It's a good place to be creatively. I can't go into specifics, but I was blessed recently with abundance and prosperity. Even if only on a minor scale, it was enough to allow to focus on creativity again. Which to me, is everything.

So that's all I can really say at the moment. Maybe when something is polished up and finished I'll post it. Let me just say I've been dabbling all over creatively. I've been writing a story (a novella of sorts), drawing, designing, even a tiny bit of draping. It's not all towards the same project and I can't even really say there are any real "projects" to speak of. Really it's just me working on art that I enjoy.

I'll be back.