State of the Projects - April 2013

Totally sucktastic last month. I couldn't focus at all on art.

But something kicked my butt into overdrive mode, so if I don't go crazy and burn myself out, expect A TON of updates next month. I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo, I want to get that collaboration started, I want to fan a ton with Morning Musume fanart, I want to sketch sketch sketch, I want to get a chapter of one or two webcomics done, I want to read all the Sherlock and Raffles stories I can, I want to work on all my other stories, I want to blog until you're sick of hearing me, I WANT TO GET THE DARK WRITERS BLOG RUNNING AGAIN (I'm been feeling terrible about this, since I don't want it to look like I've been insincere about wanting to make it a thing again), I want to clean up my room, I want to take care of the stack of papers on my desk and all the stuff creeping around my desk... I want to do A LOT! Time will get in the way of a little bit, but the human body under pressure is an amazing thing, and I want to prove to you guys and myself and I don't want to get stranded with a unfulfilled legacy and at my current pace nothing will get done, so I have to work like it's all going to end at any time in the near future.

By the way, on a random personal note, I got a little Pants figurine as a gift on Friday. He is absolutely delightful and Big!Pants immediately took to him.

Major Projects

1.) Hellhoney - Nothing.

2.) Minervellas - Nothing.

3.) The Fart Eaters - Nothing.

4.) Power Warp - Nothing.

5.) Toilet Spawn - Nothing.

Minor Projects

1.) QT Crawlies - Nothing.

2.) Mervscorn - Nothing.

3.) Plush Illustrations - Nothing.

4.) Hobo Story - Nothing.

5.) Zodiac - Nothing.

6.) Random/Silly Calendar - Nothing.

7.) Optimizzy - Nothing.

8.) Super Popcorn - Nothing.

9.) Birds - Nothing.

10.) Pantheon - Nothing.

11.) Pin-Up Calendars - Nothing.

12.) Faeries - Nothing.

13.) Random/Original Art - Nothing.

14.) Playing Cards - Nothing.

15.) Tunnels and Elevators - Nothing.

16.) Game Levels - Nothing.

17.) I'm A Bug?! - Nothing.

18.) Coloring Book - Nothing.

19.) Tutorials - Nothing.

Collaborations

0.) The Dark Writers - Nothing, because I am a loser.

0.) Collaboration with Meshia - Nothing, because I suck.

0.) Illustrations for Rica - Nothing, because I'm a terrible person.

Fan Art

- Pokemon - Nothing. But thanks to a certain little bird I follow, I thought of a Raffles/Pokemon crossover art.

- Idols - Eight chibi-ish Pokemon/H!P crossover pictures I drew to try to get the juices flowing. I WILL post them eventually on dA and/or my H!P blog, but I hope the girls never see them, I'd be so embarrassed (well, maybe Mizuki could understand my intentions, being a fellow Nintenerd.)

- Other Fan Art - Nothing.

Sketchbook - Nothing.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap.

State of the Projects - March 2013

It has been another "meh" month. Not much in the way of drawing, but I did get some things inked and a tiny bit written. But most of the "written" part was just blog stuff, so I'm still behind on my stories. Oh well, this month and the next, I'm giving up a lot of recreational activities (like anime and most idol blogs), so I'll see how that works out. Like forever, I haven't reordered the projects since there really hasn't been a point.

Major Projects

1.) Hellhoney - One drawing, a part-formed sketch, more details added to a comic page, and seven inks. It hasn't really been going over well on dA or Tumblr, but then again, my Pokemon fanart hasn't either. Time to get my butt in gear with the webcomic and give people a reason to care. (Don't worry, Meshia, I know especially you care, since you're always after me for this project in particular! I'll get back to work on it! XD )

2.) Minervellas - Nothing.

3.) The Fart Eaters - Nothing.

4.) Power Warp - Nothing.

5.) Toilet Spawn - Nothing.

Minor Projects

1.) QT Crawlies - Yay, a project that more people care about! I completed five inks, and I'm ready to draw and ink more!

2.) Mervscorn - Nothing.

3.) Plush Illustrations - Nothing.

4.) Hobo Story - Nothing.

5.) Zodiac - Nothing.

6.) Random/Silly Calendar - What's this... green?! Four inks means I completed my goal for this project through February!!

7.) Optimizzy - Nothing.

8.) Super Popcorn - Nothing.

9.) Birds - Nothing.

10.) Pantheon - Nothing.

11.) Pin-Up Calendars - Nothing.

12.) Faeries - Nothing.

13.) Random/Original Art - Nothing.

14.) Playing Cards - Nothing.

15.) Tunnels and Elevators - Nothing.

16.) Game Levels - Nothing.

17.) I'm A Bug?! - Nothing.

18.) Coloring Book - Nothing.

19.) Tutorials - Nothing.

Collaborations

0.) The Dark Writers - Nothing, darn it.

0.) Collaboration with Meshia - I wrote a little!

0.) Illustrations for Rica - One full drawing, little scritch-scratches on others.

Fan Art

- Pokemon - Three inks. I'm not sure if anyone really likes the Corruption Series.

- Idols - Nothing.

- Other Fan Art - Nothing.

Sketchbook - Nothing.

So in short, this month blows, and I've got to put more effort into next time.

State of the Projects - February 2013

So much for starting the year off with no red. I'M SEEING ALL RED. ;_; Well, I did get some stuff done, but it's just so small an amount, I'm ashamed of myself. I don't really know what to say (maybe because I'm tired.) I'm going back to only using the computer once a week, since that seems to help a bit. I won't reorganize the projects since I didn't post anything. I'll have to redouble my efforts. Because I don't want to get Force-choked.

(Did anyone else understand that or is this amusing only to me at seven in the morning with twenty-four hours of no sleep.)

Wahahaha... boohoohoo...

Major Projects

1.) Hellhoney - Nothing

2.) Minervellas - Nothing.

3.) The Fart Eaters - Nothing.

4.) Power Warp - Nothing.

5.) Toilet Spawn - Nothing.

Minor Projects

1.) QT Crawlies - Nothing.

2.) Mervscorn - Nothing.

3.) Plush Illustrations - Nothing.

4.) Hobo Story - Nothing.

5.) Zodiac - Nothing.

6.) Random/Silly Calendar - Nothing.

7.) Optimizzy - Nothing.

8.) Super Popcorn - Nothing.

9.) Birds - Nothing.

10.) Pantheon - Nothing.

11.) Pin-Up Calendars - Nothing.

12.) Faeries - Nothing.

13.) Random/Original Art - Nothing.

14.) Playing Cards - Nothing.

15.) Tunnels and Elevators - Nothing.

16.) Game Levels - Nothing.

17.) I'm A Bug?! - Nothing.

18.) Coloring Book - Nothing except a paragraph in a notebook.

19.) Tutorials - Nothing.

Collaborations

0.) The Dark Writers - Nothing. Crap crap crap... I must fix this in February.

0.) Collaboration with Meshia - Nothing. :(

0.) Illustrations for Rica - Eight drawings and another one half-finished.

Fan Art

- Pokemon - I did one silly little illustration and two from that series I mentioned. Not inked. I also finished two Pokemon drawings I had sitting around for two years, because I finally found reference material.

- Idols - Nothing.

- Other Fan Art - Nothing.

Sketchbook - Nothing. Every time I think of something to draw in the sketchbook, I decide to just do it as a full drawing instead. ;_; I make the decision before I've put the pencil to paper, so it's working the opposite of how it's supposed to (ideally, I would sketch a lot of ideas and then pick the best to turn into drawings.)

Sketchbook - Famine and Death

This week I have the other half of the Four Horsemen combo from Hellhoney. This was drawn around the same time as the other two, which was months ago. Luckily I still have some old sketches to keep this column rolling while I draw up another pile of sketches!

Remember how I said I liked drawing curvy girls or downright obese people over super skinny figures? Well, here's a drawing of a skinny villain so it doesn't look like I'm picking on one body type. Famine is riddled with parasites and you can practically see her organs throbbing through her skin, but she still thinks she's hot stuff among this group of bullies-turned-evil-threat.

And finally the inheritor of Death's horse, the Queen Bee of the group. She's very pretty and smart, but got mixed up with the wrong crowd due to teenage insecurities. Due to the crowd she hangs out with, though, she has a low opinion of humanity in general. But unlike the other three, she could probably turn out to be a nice person if she just broke away from the low standards and meanness of her clique and mingled with other people.

Next week I'll try to have some mermaids for you to look at!

State of the Projects - January 2013

Aaah, a New Year, a new start! I pretty much said my intentions regarding this year in the last State of the Projects, so I shouldn't take long here.

In short, I have three planners I'm working from (I received another one for Christmas!): the 2012 Planner, the 2013 Planner, and then Another 2013 Planner which combines the two, making a Bare Minimum for me to complete each day. I probably shouldn't tell what my bare 'minimum' is, since I'll probably get yelled at. If I get the bare minimum done, then I'll go to the 2013 Planner. With that done, I'll go to the 2012 Planner. Every week I'll upload what I have inked to dA (except for things that must be posted elsewhere, like comics and Dark Writers stuff.) At the end of the month, I'll reorder the priorities to reflect which projects are received most favorably. It's time for me to set things right this year!

In the future, I'll green the titles that I'm on track with and red the titles I'm behind on. I don't want to see a lot of red this year on these posts!

Major Projects

1.) Hellhoney - Still working on the comic and hoping it will debut this month. I have some more illustrations planned, too!

2.) Minervellas - Still working on the novel and photocard illustrations.

3.) The Fart Eaters - Another novel I'm working on and there's a few illustrations planned, too. And a short comic!

4.) Power Warp - The comic and illustration sets are still on!

5.) Toilet Spawn - If the guide starts rolling along, maybe it won't sound so flat and uninteresting. And trading cards!

Minor Projects

1.) QT Crawlies - I actually made a dent in this series last year, but there's a comic strip and more illustrations to come!

2.) Mervscorn - Comics and watercolors are planned for this series.

3.) Plush Illustrations - Meet my fluffy friends as they do cute stuff and teach about my pet peeves!

4.) Hobo Story - Inked story pages will be posted to The Dark Writers blog and if it gets a following, I'll color it!

5.) Zodiac - Still working on each sign.

6.) Random/Silly Calendar - I don't have much left to do on this one, so I better get my butt in gear!

7.) Optimizzy - More death-filled hi-jinks this year!

8.) Super Popcorn - If I don't re-scan that comic soon, I'll scream. Also, more comics and illustrations planned!

9.) Birds - 15 birds a month in either watercolor, digital, colored pencil, or pastel. Can I do it?

10.) Pantheon - More illustrations of gods and heroes (including Arthur's Round Table) planned!

11.) Pin-Up Calendars - Still working on a set of guys and a set of girls.

12.) Faeries - I found an old story from junior high and wanted to draw the faeries from it. I think I threw away the original drawings almost eight years ago, so I'll have to redesign them!

13.) Random/Original Art - Mostly to use up other art supplies I have.

14.) Playing Cards - With cameos from various projects.

15.) Tunnels and Elevators - I've got to find the manuscript again, but this is another comic (one-shot) that I want progress on.

16.) Game Levels - I want to create several 2D video game-style "landscapes."

17.) I'm A Bug?! - Still re-doing this book.

18.) Coloring Book - A new project that I hope will turn into something more.

19.) Tutorials - I'm still going on about this?!

Collaborations

0.) The Dark Writers - Lots of ideas for writings and drawings for this. We will survive  (I hope my power stays on so I can make my post on Thursday!)

0.) Collaboration with Meshia - A blend of comics and prose that I also hope will take off this year (by take off, I mean WHOOOSH! lots of people enjoy it!)

0.) Illustrations for Rica - Because I promised them and I've anticipated doing them FOREVER, and by golly I will. Even though I'm doing them for her to use as she likes, it's also fan art because I fell in love with her characters and I want to have fun with them this year!

Fan Art

- Pokemon - Still working on drawing every Pokemon and various illustrations. Of note is a planned series involving evolution stones (my brother's idea, actually. Thanks, bro!)

- Idols - Lots of fan art planned, including a series based on single/album outfits of Morning Musume. Also a crossover gag comic and a small series of Idoling!!! illustrations, since those girls have grown on me, too, with their YouTube channel.

- Other Fan Art - My Sailor Moon series and other little random fan arts will go here.

Sketchbook - I want to fill up most of my sketchbooks this year!

Okay, off to make good on my New Year's Resolutions and To-Do Lists!

State of the Projects - December 2012

December already. I can't even kid myself anymore... not even ten percent of that to-do list is going to be done by the end of this year. I guess if I posted my to-do list, I wouldn't look as much of a failure. There were thousands of drawings and comic pages on it. Any sane person who saw it would have taken me aside and said, "Tori, this is more than a human could do in a year. The daily goals are all unrealistic. Heck, even if you stayed in your room all year long and didn't need food or sleep or the bathroom, you probably wouldn't be able to finish it all. You're just one person."

And it wasn't just drawings or writing projects on that to-do list. I even outlined my entertainment, from what books I'd read to what shows I'd watch to what video games I'd play. I didn't make much of a dent in those lists either.

Now I'm planning on doing it all over again.

Scratch out 2012 and make it 2013. But I already made a 2013 to-do list... so I'll be working from two to-do lists next year. At least my 2013 list isn't as big as my 2012 list! (I sort of learned my lesson...) (And that makes no sense because I'm combining the two...)

Yes, I'm stubborn. But I don't think 2013 will be the year I pass out from exhaustion. Rather, I hope it serves the purpose 2012 was meant to serve: see what sticks. I didn't get enough variety out this year to see what concepts interest people and what concepts aren't worth progressing further. That was why I had the changing priority list (I still never assigned points to each project. There wasn't enough posted stuff to compete. I guess QT Crawlies won?)

So next year! No point in writing the list out this month. All I did this month was work on my NaNo, a collaboration with a friend, and a commission. (And I watched the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and fell in love with Donatello, gaaah, the cuteee...!!) And raked lots of leaves. And had stresses and scares. And played a little bit of Pokemon SoulSilver, which I finally started on my birthday (yay, recently I beat the first gym!)

Next year I'll have the same list, but with one new main project (this year's NaNo-related projects) and at least one new minor project (a fun coloring book concept that came to me while coloring earlier.) I'll also include the collaboration projects, my fan-art, and my sketchbook to the list. They won't have priority numbers since the first is a high priority and the other two are whatever. But it will give me a sense of accomplishment (or failure) if I list them, too.

And like this year, I probably won't be doing a whole lot of coloring (at least not digitally), but I'm going to try to color one well-liked lineart from my dA gallery a week so I won't fall out of practice for when I do get a new computer (and hopefully new Wacom, too!)

Okay, okay, before you leave shaking your head at my lack of accomplishment again... I'm still going to try to finish some things this month. I want to jump easily into 2013, and here's my unfinished business of 2012:

1.) The Dark Writers blog will become active starting this month (active as in... people posting stuff!) Rica's turn is first, mine will be the second week. Please check it out!

2.) Illustrations for Rica! I'll get the first batch to you soon! (I know I said this last month...) That way I can start inking stuff in 2013!

3. Collaboration with Meshia! Hopefully we will get all the details ironed out this month so we can work on the collaboration proper in 2013!

4.) Work more on the NaNo! (Alas, I didn't finish this year. Again. Not even close.)

5.) Clean my room! The stack of sketchbooks and notebooks has become more of a detriment than an aid now.

6.) Finish filling out the details of my super to-do list!

...

That's the main stuff, but I'll have more... see you next year!

State of the Projects - November 2012

Aaaaa, it's already November?!! (Actually, it's the 27th of October, Kuduu's birthday -she's my favorite Morning Musume-, and I'm typing this up in advance since I don't think I'll be online for the first!)

Obviously my goals this month are going to be with NaNo (I was going to use "lie with", but I don't want to jinx myself!) And now I'm at the point where every project is a free-for-all in my mad rush to get as much done as possible before the end of the year!

I wish I could read faster. It's my major distraction...

And I wish my physical writing (with pen/pencil or keyboard) was as fast as my mind. I get on the computer twice (and this time, maybe once) a week and I can't seem to find the time to read, reply, type out, scan, post, and watch everything that I want to. I either have to skim or skimp (something I'm loathe to do) or just add things to my backlog... which stretches back to April in some cases! (And in the case of some shows, last year... there's no hope for them now and I should just drop them, huh?) (And my art is infamously backlogged since prehistoric times, it's so sad!)

I may not get my NaNo all typed out in time to qualify for winning, but I'm going to try very hard to fill up the rest of a large notebook with it handwritten out (I only used one of the five subjects in high school, so there's plenty of paper for 50,000 words if I write very small.) If only I could get my NaNo Prep done...

Major Projects

1.) Hellhoney - Nothing.
2.) Toilet Spawn - Nothing.
3.) Minervellas - Nothing.
4.) Power Warp - Nothing.

Minor Projects

1.) Plush Owls - Nothing.
2.) Random Silly Calendar- Nothing.
3.) QT Crawlies - Nothing.
4.) Zodiac - Nothing.
5.) Random Original Art - Nothing.
6.) Mervscorn - Nothing.
7.) Birds - Nothing.
8.) Super Popcorn - Nothing.
9.) Pantheon - Nothing.
10.) I'm a Bug?! - Nothing.
11.) Optimizzy - Nothing.
12.) Pin-Up Calendars - Nothing.
13.) Tunnels and Elevators - Nothing.
14.) Playing Cards - Nothing.
15.) Hobo Story - Nothing.
16.) Tutorials - Nothing.

Carried over from last month:

Other things that should be worked on this month at high priority:

- That large list of art I want to do for Rica's novel but keep getting side-tracked on because I want it to be perfect. I had one drawn at the beginning of this year and felt bad about it and have been wallowing in shame all this time... forgive me, Rica! Of the main characters, I'm going to start at the bottom (boom! squawk!) to break the ice and work my way up to the main main characters. Then tackle minor characters. I hope this works. I just can't start at the top of the list because that's where I messed up.

- Other gift art I wanted to get done since forever. I'll need to scribble the references down since I likely won't have the computer on while drawing them!

- Boatloads of Pokemon! How about just playing some Pokemon as a reward for doing something. On my birthday, I want to play the SoulSilver I got last Christmas. I haven't opened it yet. I was so excited for it, but I wanted the mood to be perfect when playing it, because the Johto games are my favorite. It's like I'm setting up a date with this game and I don't want anything to go wrong. I want it to laaaast. Of course, playing the game will motivate me to doodle more Pokemon...

- Boatloads of Hello!Project! The videos and gifs and translations I've seen lately make me want to draw the new Morning Musume soooo bad. I love them. ;_; Seriously, the "Wakuteka Take a Chance" dance is really cool and Kudo and Sato are hilarious (not in the music video, but elsewhere.)

- That October NaNo Prep Challenge thingie from writing.com. Still haven't finished this... I have to hurry!

- NaNo itself, as mentioned earlier.

- And last, but not least, the collaboration I'm working on with Meshia! I have so many ideas I need to flesh out.

- Okay, false alarm up there. This is the last, but not least... Dark Writers stuff for our launch (for serious!) in December. 8D

And I have to clean my room...! I have notebooks and sketchbooks all around and on my desk and my room needs dusting and what am I going to do?? D: Give me back January!!