2020 Year in Review (Patreon)

Here we go- I wanted to make a sort of blog post/reflection on 2020 art-wise? It's been one million years since I've written something longer than a tweet (wow) so bear with me, I would definitely like to use patreon as a sort of blog platform in addition to sharing art here though so... let's do it!

Well, 2020 was a shit year for many reasons that I think we're all aware of, but art wise for me it was actually... great??? 

I drew Atlas and Philo for the first time in March, and started thinking about making a goofy little comic to practice comics with. I really dived into Sparks head-first- I'd seen some tweets by friends about how if you want to improve at making comics, the only way to do it is by MAKING comics- which seems obvious now but at the time I was so scared to start because I knew my first pages would be rough. This advice really hammered home to me that I was just going to have to accept that the beginning would be rocky, and that starting there would be the only way to get better and learn! So I did it!!

It's been wild- what started out as a vague idea (Satyr that do magic, BL) has now fully formed into a story and (mostly) fleshed out world/setting, with a way bigger cast of characters than I expected. I actually went and bought a notebook to start writing story notes in the other day- I haven't written anything in it yet (oops) but its getting to that point where there's too much to trust my brain to keep floating around and I need to write it down! 

I know the stress of 2020 stopped a lot of people from drawing which I completely understand- and honestly I'm surprised it didn't happen to me. I think I was going through so much stress at work that the only thing that kept me sane was diving into the world of Sparks and putting all my focus into it- the feeling of completing a page kept me going! And now I've completed 100 pages, which makes me feel amazing honestly, teenage me would lose their SHIT (I've always wanted to make comics hahaha). (Page 100 will get posted here as soon as I finish toning 101 and 102 so I can upload them as a set :) ) 

The response to Sparks has been incredible as well- way more than I ever expected. I feel so lucky, when I started it I wanted to make the most self indulgent project I possibly could so that it would always be fun for me to make, and I didn't really expect that anyone else would like it as much as I do! Everyone here- all my patrons- you're incredible and the fact that you like my art/Sparks enough to support me here means the world to me. It feels weirdly selfish or like.. embarrassing I guess to say this but I've started hoping that one day I'll be able to earn enough through Patreon to quit my day job and make comics full time! Making Sparks brings me so much joy and it's been such an eye opener for me- I really feel like it's finally 'clicked' for me that comics are what my art works well for and what I really enjoy making. 

I made a little 2020 in Sparks image as well! 

I personally feel that comparing my latest pages to my first pages, it's clear I've gotten better! I can't wait to keep making Sparks and to see how much it progresses, one of my favourite aspects of reading webcomics is seeing the art style change and improve over years so I'm definitely looking forward to that. There's also characters that we're getting so close to seeing in action now that I'm really excited about (like Pallas, who you've all seen a lot of in my sketchbooks hahaha). 

I also made an image with some art goals of mine for 2021!

Behold, it's me. 

-Complete 100 more pages of Sparks- minimum!! I'd love to start being able to consistently make 12 pages each month, because then I can increase the upload schedule on tapas/webtoon to 3 pages/week instead of 2! I have so much buffer of the comic right now (as you're all aware hahaha) I love that patrons are able to read so far ahead, but I'm also like oh my god really I'm going to have to wait months for everyone to reach the bath scene... aaah... so if I can increase the posting schedule while also staying far ahead that would be ideal!

-Draw more environments- Sparks has really pushed me with drawing backgrounds and scenes, and it turns out I actually really enjoy it?? Don't get me wrong, it's still really hard and I have to really fight with myself to sit down and actually do it, but once I get started I have a lot of fun! So I'd love to keep practicing these and improve more. I'd really like to do some one off colour illustrations with environments and characters- I'm thinking of using those angel OCs for some, so we'll see!

-Vol 1 of Sparks at Halcon- Halcon is the big convention in Halifax, I was meant to be tabling there this year but obviously it was cancelled! It usually happens in October, so I'm hoping by October 2021 it'll be able to go ahead. We're approaching the end of 'Part 1' of Sparks now (I'm estimating it'll be around 150 pages- very rough estimate lol) I may have already looked online at some printers to get ideas of prices and I think I'd be able to swing getting a batch printed! It would be so amazing to hold it in my hands... a manga... I made a manga.. anyway I really hope this one can happen hahaha.

-Postcard/sticker tier- I've been thinking about this for a while! Because all conventions were cancelled this year I've been missing making merch- I still have a huge stack of sticker paper so it would be easy for me to make little paper stickers, and I've found some postcard printers online that seem reliable. I'm mainly just nervous about the shipping/postal aspect since that's all been a bit up in the air this year, but I'd definitely like to look into it more in 2021 and see if its feasible!

Well... there we go! I think that's it from me! 2020 was a bucket of shit but making and sharing Sparks with you all really saved it for me. Thank you all so much and I'm excited to keep sharing it with you!! <33