"Wow, That Project I Started is Actually REALLY BIG..."
- GenreChowderStudios
- Sep 11, 2017
- 3 min read
I don't quite know how to communicate that internal "Oh no..." verbally, but Sheriff's face is a fairly good visual indicator.
You know what I'm referring to. The moment when you've just started a thing and then you look at it, crunch some numbers, and then the wave of dread comes over you as you realize that the project you committed yourself to is so much bigger than you originally thought. It's like coming down from the honeymoon. You were so gung-ho and full of love. Until that morning you wake up, roll over, and think, "Oh my God, I'm spending the rest of my life with this person."
Putting aside the fact that the two don't exactly compare and I've never been in a romantic/sexual relationship so I probably don't know what I'm talking about, I know from work experience something that will make it so much easier to press on.
It's okay.
Realizing the gravity of the project is a necessary evil. When I started "The Explorers," I thought it was just gonna be a quick little strip I could pump out easily. The same with "A Simple Escort Mission." In fact, especially in regards to the latter, as that one was specifically based on boiling everything down to its bare minimum. However, as I approached the end of the thumbnailing stage, and as I wrote down the beat-by-beat to-do list over the course of several weeks for the both of them, including their deadlines, I had that moment. "What have I done...?"
But a project is going to take time. And very likely, a project is going to look like an absolute monster if you look at it as a whole. But, see, that's why you break down all the tasks into tiny chunks. They may seem like a huge number of tasks, yet if you look at them, the actual work involved with each task is likely quite small. Small and manageable.
A project, if planned out and formulated well, is manageable. You can't stop when that internal "Oh no..." speaks to you. You can't let the size of the project spread out on your schedule scare you away. You have to do it. You have to attempt it. If anything, you have to at least try. You started this thing. The way I see it, you owe it to yourself to try your 100% darndest to see it through to the end.
The two strips I started and eventually completed were strenuous, frustrating, and full of things I wish I could change now. But I finished. I finished and gained so much experience from it. I learned I need to redesign Hudson Stone. I learned how to make outside lighting look nicer. I learned I need to finally need to fix my bloody color swatches. And more.
But the most important thing? I know what it's like to undertake a project (twice over) and finish it. What's more, I have something to show for it. Yes, I'm moderately proud of both, which might not be possible for every project undertaken, but I completed two projects. Completion. That is a very important feeling to, of course, feel but also to have felt. Every artist needs to know the satisfaction of completion. That alone can fuel your push to the finish line. You need to know that taste. You need to know that you can. Why not start now?
What if I hadn't? What would I have learned? I would have learned that I couldn't do it. I would have learned, "Hey, it's safe to retreat if things get tougher than I'd like them to be." Not a good lesson... Unfortunately, it's a lesson that can be habit-forming.
Yes, I know. Things happen. More important things get in the way. Sometimes. Projects. Just. Don't. Work. Out. It happens. But giving up before giving it your all shouldn't be an option unless you have no other choice. Personally, I think, like I said at the top, you owe it to yourself to press on until you absolutely can't. You'll probably come up with a lot more than you thought you would.
This whole post came off a lot more motivational than I originally meant it to, but this was fairly stream of consciousness, so that's how that goes. In the beginning, I just wanted to do a bust of Sheriff with the aforementioned "Oh no..." face. However, as I drew him, his expression reminded me of that sudden "project doom" I felt when I was working on a thingy recently, so I steered the pic in that direction. After that, I figured I'd put this up as the picture for the post because it captured the internal dread of starting a new piece. Or it did for me, at least.
Thanks for reading.
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