January 2019 Monthly Recap

Hello, everyone!

I’m back with another monthly recap. This is an update blog where I chat with you all about the goings on behind scenes, and share what’s coming up next for the comics and myself. Just a whole heckin’ lot of stuff happened in January, so we’re gonna just dive into it.

I’d like to talk a bit about personal stuff first, because it’s shaping how work has been going so far this year (don’t worry, it’s all good things!)

All that Personal Stuff:

Improv:

• I started taking improv classes again, and they’re going well! I had to stop taking classes when I was in the middle of moving for like the fourth time that year. Now that I’ve been in Austin awhile and things are steadier, I’ve started classes at one of the theaters here. I can already tell how much more comfortable and confident I am during improv scenes, and it’s awesome seeing how the last few years forged me into a better comedian. I’ve also noticed that I’m quicker to come up with comic ideas now, so that’s a huge plus!

Fitness:

• I work two sedentary jobs and got tired of feeling like a couch potato, so I started working out. I’m working my way up to being a buff couch potato. I’ve been taking fitness classes for about 3 months now, and while working out absolutely sucks, I’ve noticed a ton of benefits. I’m happier, sleep better, and I can now flex on all the haters.

Therapy:

• I recently started therapy, because I figured it was time to try and get my anxiety under control. It’s a LOT of work, but I can already see massive improvements. You could say it’s a labor of love!

Monthly Faves: 

• This month I’ve been doing a lot of what I like to call ‘filling the creativity well’. In order to output art, I need to input other things. Books, shows, life experiences, etc. So here’s a little list of the things I enjoyed this month and in general:

1. Crucial Conversations

 Awesome book about learning the best ways to initiate and have conversations about difficult topics. 

2. The Daily Stoic

 A collection of short, daily writings about the philosophy of Stoicism. 

3. Strong Girl Bong Soon

A cute and fluffy k-drama about a girl with supernatural strength

4. Anna Akana

Youtuber who discusses interesting aspects of creativity and mental health

5. Read With Cindy

A small booktuber who I stumbled upon that makes me laugh so hard with her snarky humor

Conclusion:

• Making comics is such a rewarding and huge part of my life. However, it is my job, and work is only one part of life. This year I’m determined to focus on making the other aspects of my life just as rewarding as my work. The funny thing is, now that I’ve started this process, I’ve noticed huge improvements in my comics. Win/Win!   

All that Comic Stuff:

I’ll be writing another post soon about the State of the Doodledom, and my general goals for 2019, but for now, I’ll recap some things that took place in January:

Four comics a week:

• Every week this month I posted two comics outside of the two I normally create for Webtoon. This pretty much hits the limit of comics I can produce per week. It’s been a welcome challenge, and I feel it set the tone for the rest of the year. I’m determined to keep this pace as long as I can.

100k Followers:

• Barring some weird glitch, I’ll be hitting 100k followers on Instagram this weekend. This is the first time I’ll reach that milestone on a single platform, and it feels a bit surreal. I could write a whole blurb about what it all means to me, but I can essentially sum it up into a single sentence: Thank you for reading and supporting my work.

Bonus comics:

• Bonus comics have been a bit hit or miss lately for several reasons: 1. Even though I have ideas for Tuff Fluff, it was really hard writing comics for him. 2. I’ve been focusing on the “Dogs with Jobs” theme, which Tuff Fluff doesn’t really fall into. 3. Now that I’m making more comics per week, it’s been tough fitting in time for another comic that I wasn’t sure what to do with. In an effort to refocus my energy, the Tuff Fluff mini-series will be put on hold, and in its place, I’ll be posting the President Pupper mini-series. President Pupper does not have political commentary, but due to politics being a hot button issue, I don’t want to post these publicly for a good long while (if ever). I’m determined to include this pup in an eventual book of the dog comics, so I need to find time to create about 12-15 comics for him this year. For that reason, he’ll be taking over as the exclusive series for $3+ patrons.

Game update:

• There’s nothing really new to report here, as I’m still in the playtesting phase and will be for awhile. Here’s a hint about the game, though:

Commissions:

• I’ve been receiving a LOT of requests for commissions lately, so I’ve opened a few spots in my online shop. In case anyone was wondering: Commissions are different from Patron portraits in that they have more details (shading/highlights) and are high res for printing purposes. I’ve already had a few orders come in, so I’ll be chipping away at those this month. With how busy my workload is right now, I don’t think I’ll make these available again for a while, but I figured it’s a nice change of pace.

Streaming:

• Unfortunately, streaming is on hold until I can upgrade my computer. It’s six years old (as old as my comics!) and struggling to manage Photoshop and streaming at the same time. I should hopefully have a new build by the end of May at the latest. Patron livedraws will still happen, though I’m moving them back over to private Youtube streams in the meantime since they seem to put less stress on the system. February’s Livedraw will be Friday, February 22 from 6-8 pm CST.

Comic Anniversary:

• Doodle for Food turned six yesterday! Woo! My State of the Doodledom Address will talk a bit more about the personal and professional goals I have set for myself this year, plus a tiny recap on last year. I’m terrible at being sentimental (emotions scare me), but I try to make this post every year because I think it’s important to document accomplishments and goals, even if I feel awkward doing it. You can read last year’s here.

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Phew! That was a lot. I've been toying with the idea of breaking these updates up into much smaller weekly recaps like I sometimes make after a special event. What do you guys think? As always, please feel free to let me know if there’s anything you would like to see from me or this Patreon in general. My DMs and the comments are always open! See you soon with more comics!