I Graduated! ...What do I do Next?

Hi all!

If you couldn't tell by the title of this email, I have officially graduated college :)
I now have a Bachelor's in Digital Arts Animation, a minor in Creative Writing, and no clue what I'm doing next!

I've been applying and applying to everything I can think of, both day jobs and art-related opportunities, and seeing what sprouts. So far, its been a lot of silence, a lot of rejections, and one (1) non-paid writing project.

Nothing big, but not nothing, right?

Read My Comics! My two thesis comics are available on itch.io FOR FREE! Check them out

The Slow Sowing

Submission after submission, rejection after rejection... Working on this newsletter, I realized that even though I've submitted things around once or twice a day, so far one has paid off.

Talk about demoralizing!

Its easy to get frustrated or sad about this process. Its a very frustrating time, when you're waiting on others to get your life started. You can only send things into a digital void, hoping it gets picked up. More often than not, it doesn't.

Rejection is a very natural part of being an artist or writer. Its expected to fail over a hundred times before anything bites. To cope with the waiting, the fear, and the hurt, I try to keep lighter expectations.

I'm planting seeds, expecting them not to bear fruit. Then, when one does fruit, I can be happy and suprised. Once I finish an application, I congratulate myself on applying, then forget about ever obtaining any results. I don't pay attention to the little voice in my mind panicking over imagined rejection, or preening pridefully over imagined acceptance. I move on to the next opportunity almost immediately, or take a break and work on something else.

That being said, of everything I sent out, I did get accepted for a secret collaborative project! I started out a little nervous, but the people are incredible. Everyone's ideas build on top of each other like snowmen, and our roles combine to be greater than the sum of its parts.

Its both good experience and good fun.

New Simmer Pot

I've got two basic comic pitches that I prepared for my senior thesis show, and right now I'm working on a second draft to send to an agent.

Calamity and the Hero is a fantasy story with a unique form, and so far its been challenging to convert my written experimental book draft into a more art-heavy comic format.

I'm at the very, very beginning of the process with this project - research and inspiration gathering.

So! Like any good idea soup, you've got to add some ingredients to the pot. I've been treating my burnt, overworked brain to a feast of fantasy/fairytale movies and books to get the juice flowing again.

I watched Azur and Asmar and The Last Unicorn for the first time. I started (and stopped) reading Alice In Wonderland, and picked up a copy of The Annotated Arabian Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale. I've read the Nights before, once in high school, but it was the Project Gutenberg edition from the 1800s and the translation wasn't so good. I'm really excited to revisit the story from a more authentic translation.

I make an effort after each story to explain what I liked and didn't like about the piece, things I noticed, and what the writing or art was doing that affected my experience.

Its been working so far! I was struggling earlier in the months to ideate on command, but after two weeks of digesting new stories, I'm ready to create again. Inspiration comes in short bursts - in the hours before or after bed, in the shower, and while going on walks.

General Housekeeping

• I've been slowly rebranding everything to just my name in anticipation of my future art career. It feels scary, to go against the decades of "never share your name or face on the internet," ingrained in me since childhood, but it was recommended to me in multiple sources to do so for professionalism reasons. With time it's become more natural to me.
• I've been making an effort to polish up my web presence, and that means updating my portfolio website again. And again. And again. The current iteration was a massive change, but I'm happy with it for now. It will change again.
• I've decided to pivot this newsletter to general updates instead of article + updates! Now, you'll get a shorter list of events I'm attending, projects I'm working on, and other things I've been up to, sent monthly. Plus, plenty of sneak peaks!
• I'm now a proud member of the Cartoonists' Cooperative! With plans to get more and more involved in the coming months. I appreciate the resources and community it's brought so far, and can't wait to give back in whatever ways I can.
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