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mid-month update

2024 july 16

what's new with the site? current main projects:
  1. set up art page
  2. set up ocs profiles
  3. weekly game journal entries
not much this time, site-wise. as noted, i did add a commission info page finally, although they aren't currently open. i still need to set up my kofi & artistree accounts so that people can bypass using email, if they really don't want it, but prices, examples, TOS, all that good stuff is up & ready to be perused. researching current freelance rates for simple drawings like this was somewhat eyeopening: when i was trying to get into this field years ago, they were just as bad. i couldn't believe how low people were pricing things.
i feel the prices i've set are a nice median between full-value high-cost custom artwork, and cheaper quick-turnaround low-demand sorts of pieces ... but at the same time, i still feel like this sort of thing should cost more. i'm only doing this in my spare time, so i'm not really sweating profits too much -- i'm just thinking about how much more grim it's gotten to be an artist & lamenting. you know how it is ...

in sadder news, tragedy has struck: the raspberry pi we were using to host webtools tragically passed away. :'( not everything was lost, fortunately, but we did lose data. what this means for the website, is that i no longer have my tool i used to write game reviews! so those are going to have to go on hiatus once again, sadly. shouldn't be too hard to re-implement, i believe, but it'll take some time.

what's new with me?

well, after a good few weeks of minor pain, my nerves are enflamed again. very likely because i've been working consistently again for artfight -- although like i said in my last entry, i am trying to take it easy. despite that, though, i've still succumbed to the ouchies & i'm going to have to take an extended break. with the month halfway over, i'm feeling frustrated that i need to stop already ... but hopefully i can get back into it before too long.

i've been having fun, though. i really think artfight is just so rewarding. i love surprising people with a drawing of their character, it's great & feels good making people happy. i've gotten more art this year than i was anticipating already, too! i'm shocked!!
the only issue is that i very quickly hit the point where my physical ability started to make me ... depressed. i know i'm capable of more, but the pain i feel makes it so executing on my knowledge is impossible. it's agonizing & humiliating. a solution is to find better brushes & keep tinkering with settings so that i can try to emulate the tools i was using prior to arm etc. damage ... but that's exhausting! and annoying!! but it's necessary. if i want to keep making art & getting better at it, i need to find a work around.

something i've been considering is looking into getting, like, a drafting table of sorts, but for my lap? part of the problem is that my arm does not have a proper support when i'm drawing, and this contributes to weakness & pain. i have a small lap desk that i've tried to use, but i think it's still too small; as well, i can't angle it very well, which is also why i want a drafting table ( because another problem is, if my arm has support on a desk, then i'm bending over and destroying my neck & back to see my canvas. -_- it's so awesome no longer being 15 years old ). does such a thing exist? i'm doubtful. but i'm going to look around anyway.

i also looked into buying a larger tablet. my ipad is nice, but it's quite small. 20"+ display tablets are all 1.5k USD, though, and i'm deeply anxious to commit to a cost like that when the last time i did, i was burned. i bought a cintiq over a decade ago that, to give credit where it's due, felt REALLY good to draw on; the massive downside was that the cables that came with it were total dogshit, and the drivers consistently had problems, resulting in a disjointed workflow. there was no point in replacing the cables either, btw, because they were made to be crap & would inevitably give out again anyway.
it's so difficult to find reviews for these sorts of products, too. it just feels like none of them are genuine, and what ones that are all seem to be like, "these all suck". i thought huion was a rising star in this field, but it sounds like a lot of their mandatory peripherals are bad as well. it sucks! non-display tablets are a cheaper solution, but ... i've been spoiled by my screens ... i don't want to go back ...

anyway, enough of that. it's ... summer!!! here in the northern hemisphere, it's hot! there's fire! and drought! although i really can't complain, because where i moved is really quite temperate, even for the already temperate region. the ONE thing that's pissing me off though ... ? tourists.
it surprises me that this is a popular vacation destination, but it is. the influx of people means that travel to do basic things like Get Food or Go Outside is hard now, and it means trying to get off the island is like a whole-day ordeal. it's annoying!!!!!!!!!!! but also not the end of the world. no idea when to expect it to die down, but probably august. besides that, it's still been great living here, old house & bugs & all.

okie dokie, i'll quit yapping your ear off now. my hands hurt!! and i gotta chill if i want to keep drawing art for strangers on the internet. i'll talk with you all later! take it easy.