(Update) Some Personal Words <3 (Patreon)
Content
Also I'm planning on trying to do more Patreon-only Q&As and if you ever want to shoot me a message, I'll be better about replies if I can!
-Viv
( original Tumblr post)
Hey you guys!
So
if it hasn’t been that noticeable, I haven’t been as active recently as
I have been in past. This is actually due to a lot of stuff. The first
and foremost being that I’m just really busy, and my lack of energy and
drive keeps me from having any extra time for postable stuff like I
normally do.
I just got back from a pre-birthday break visiting some
friends in NYC, and it’s put me in a good enough place I feel I can
finally give an update without being too upset or depressing with it.
Over
the past few months, I haven’t been doing so well in the mental health
department, I have been dealing with things that make me feel worse
about myself as a person and all but destroyed the confidence I had in
my work. I also have been trying my hardest to stay strong for my
friends going through MUCH darker hardships then myself, and it’s been
difficult.
Having people judge every word you say, and everything you
do is very hard, and it becomes harder when you already hate yourself
so much, and are struggling to be ok with yourself, but my work was
always something I could rely on to keep me strong. My work is
constantly changing, I’m constantly learning and growing and trying my
hardest to better myself. But I feel I have improved so much in just a
few years, in animation and in my designs, and I feel like my coloring
and characters are finally looking -more- like how I always meant them
too.
I’m always looking to better my work, because an artist is never
done learning, and there are many things I don’t feel any confidence
in, even things I feel are my strongest skill sets have miles to go
before they even reach a notable level of good.
But lately I just have lost my passion for my work, specifically my comic.
I
will never stop it though, and I actually plan on trying to have more
people help give me critiques on thumbnails as I work, so I can improve
the areas I am not as mindful of, like word placement and consistency.
The way my mind works isn’t always the most conventional, and I am
basically self taught with my comics so there’s a ton of flaws with it.
But this disconnect with the comic has definitely made it hard to keep
up with working on pages, and even writing the characters as strong as I
can, or thinking ahead too far. I have so many other things going on
it’s hard enough giving the comic the care and love it deserves, and
when I do work on it all I can see is faults, and people seem to enjoy
seeing it go down in flames, which is making me lose sight of the reason
I’m making the comic in the first place.
Zoophobia comes from my
heart, it comes from the imagination of a little girl, it is a story
concocted by a young girl that just stuck around and got bigger and
bigger and a bit more developed as the years went by. That’s all it is,
it’s me trying to a tell a story, in fact- a BUNCH of stories that just
have existed in my mind for years. It’s nothing revolutionary and
especially now just into book one it’s nothing amazing. But I really do
love working on it, and I LOVE the plans I have in store, the bigger
grander stories that I have set to come. I really hope that people can
at least enjoy it for what it is. The fact ANYONE likes it at this point
in time baffles me, but it also keeps me going. The support you guys
give, the love you have for these characters I can’t express how much it
means too me.
I continue to share my work, and try extra hard to
create bigger and better projects because you guys have shown me how
much it means to you, and how much genuine happiness and joy it can
bring. I’m so thankful to be in the position I am, and I just want too
give back as much as I can. I don’t want this emotional stunt to cause
another ZP hiatus, so I’m going to try to battle the hate, and push
through to make sure there will always be pages every week.
I want to finish book one, I want to share this story with you all.
I have some big plans for it, including even a motion-voice adaption, that might include actual new scenes and songs! <3
Plus more animated films both related and unrelated to ZP!
I
want too continue to give, and to inspire. To inspire better stories
then mine, better artists! I want to at least show that you can do
anything you want if you just GO for it!
I’m sorry that I’m so
absent on here, I’m sorry that if you ever sent me a fan message that
you might now have gotten a response. I haven’t been in a good place, I
don’t always trust myself to talk to people I don’t know anymore. People
have taken advantage of my naivety and open-ness when speaking online,
and its too the point I’m scared too continue. But I promise, I seek out
as much as I can when it comes to your kind words, I read everything
and it all keeps me focused, and keeps me moving forward.
I love you
all, for everything. Your support is what keeps me afloat, keeps me
working, keeps me moving, striving for grander projects, bigger dreams!
I’m
not a perfect person, I’m human, I hurt, I cry, I am insecure with my
work and doubt my future sometimes. The world is scary but if we support
each other, things seem less cold.
I don’t want anyone who
follows or likes my work to feel ignored, I’m sorry I can’t give every
single one of you a huge hug, I’m happy that right now I feel happy, and
I feel more ready to jump back into my work and try to find the joy in
it again.
It’s been a dark time because when I was younger I knew who
I was, I was so secure in my ideas, and myself as a person. So having
that confidence all but gone now, it’s just hard, but I feel like if I
take things slow, maybe take the internet much more casually and focus
on myself, I can gain at least a fraction of that strength back! I’m
sorry if this means I remain to seem very distant, but I promise it’s
just because I’m trying to do whats best for my own mental health.
I
thank you ALL in advance for your understanding, I love you all and I
promise to continue to do my best, to better my work, and keep it coming
for you guys!
I have some really big stuff in the works and I can’t WAIT to share more of it with you all!
I love you <3
-Vivienne M.