PATIENCE - Creatively

PATIENCE – Creatively
08/30/2011

Patience is a hard thing to master. Among most that I know I am a very patient man, more so when it comes to being patient with others or with external situations. I am however, NOT patient with myself or with situations that I feel I should be able to impact and help to move faster, more effectively, or more successfully. Often times I’ll just do it myself and take all that weight on my shoulders because not only do I want it done, but I also don’t want to have to be patient through the process of “fixing” something that perhaps another party involved should have not messed up on initially. This is a huge factor of my daily struggle as a creator & storyteller.

Over the last 2 years I have accomplished more than in the 7 years before them. Still I fight the feeling of pressure, perceived pressure, and impatience with me to put out more work for my supporters, for my fans. I want a new book at every show. Prints you will all love. I want to be good enough, fast enough, nice enough where it’s almost as fun for you to support my work as it is for me to receive your support. I say it that way because, let’s face it, it’s always going to be the larger honor to me to have received your support. So I feel like there is this place I SHOULD be at. That there is this work load that I SHOULD be producing to keep fresh content available to entertain and please those who believe in my work, and so I push myself. Even though so many have said to me “Take your time…”, “Its worth the wait.” Still this desire to please weighs on me.

I wish I had all 4 issues of The Midnight Raider DONE, not just drawn but done, and ready to print so that I could share them with everyone RIGHT NOW. Not because of a desire for sales or success, but because I believe this story is that good. That it’s fresh and unique enough to stand out in the crowd of other hopefuls.

Also I hope to reach the point of being able to illustrate and tell stories full time, perhaps only having to work a day job part time, rather than the current situation of having to work 40+ hours per week at the day job and hopefully squeeze in a couple hours for my creative work at night.

So I need to be Patient.

One of the ways I am learning to be more patient is to keep things in accurate perspective. Yes, I work more than full time at my day job, but this does not keep me from being productive. In April I penciled all 22 pages of the Midnight Edition of The Midnight Raider #1. It was EXHAUSTING but I did it, and it proved that under the circumstances I could perform at that level if needed. This accomplishment left me feeling like I would be able to get the subsequent books done within a similar timeframe. However we don’t just want to put out another book, we want to make sure we put out our best possible story. Thus began the revision process of the story to The Midnight Raider. Which resulted in finer plot points and a tighter story, but it also meant some revisions art wise to the already drawn issue 1. Largest of which was the need to expand the story from 22 to 24 pages by adding 2 more pages of content to the opening sequence of issue 1, thus better establishing the focus of the story. This change though meant taking out the current page 1 and replacing it with 3 newly illustrated pages. Also after taking into account the critiques received there has been other panel adjustment for subsequent pages, along with the whole book be re-lettered and dialogue adjusted. It’s all about staying focused on the goal.

While it will SUCK to tell those who are hoping to get issue 2’s Midnight Edition at the Fall shows that it’s not available… YET. It will be available but we had to be honest with ourselves and focus in on that we are trying to create a property. A property that we hope to submit to a publisher and get it printed nationwide, while at the same time we are running a fund raising campaign to help raise funds to help with printing costs, especially if we have to print it on our own. So we’re doing revisions on issue 1, and those art corrections take time. Yet on the bright side we’ve finished the scripts for issues 2 and 3! With Kat already started work on the HUGE finale for issue 4. Keeping these facts in perspective has helped me stay positive and keep moving.

I’ve also adopted a term that I remind myself of: Directionally Correct - Think about it. It doesn’t matter if its 1 inch or a mile, as long as its directionally correct.

Even with all this perception management I still have a LOT I am trying to accomplish and a lot of it relies completely on me. It would be GREAT to have a manager, someone to take care of the logistics and negotiating but honestly even my closest family members don’t fully grasp my goals and what I want to accomplish and it just wouldn’t work. Also I’ve come to realize that its emotional enough chasing your dreams, there is no wisdom in bringing in more emotion by having a loved one try to manage you. It will likely lead to head butting, arguments, and a whole slew of avoidable stress. Instead things need to stay objective, so I have to do it myself. Among those things I have on my plate is upcoming work on the book NOTHINGFACE and a couple projects with Raven Entertainment Studio that are all set up after I complete The Midnight Raider.

So far 2011 has been my biggest year yet, and it looks that true to form 2012 will be even bigger. I just need to be patient. Take my time, do it right, put in the hard work and most of all Make IT Happen!!!