I intended to play fast and loose with the guide line for the fur face. It worked fine for the paw, but by the time I got the face outline, I zoned out and spaced it. Flat and chonky and the fur is…yikes. Shading might help, and I should probably experiment with the blender, but it’s late and I’m burnt.
Thinking this is the end of the line on hashtag-me challenges. #hobbystreakisdead. Maybe if I didn’t have a job or a life or if I needed a boost to get making, but I have other projects I could be finishing, other mediums I’d rather be working in, and a collection of novel-inspired prompts that inspire me far more.
I am also not feeling any benefit to reducing the journey to a single medium. Last year I thought it was a good push to start making in-roads in ink. I can still smell the naïveté. Taking the time to do something I love and am also good at helps to offset the frustrations of struggling with something new. By the end of the 31-day sustained sprint I was burned out, discouraged, and had zero interest in inking again for months. Apparently absence really does make the heart grow delusion.
Given the number of YouTubers posting burnout on day 7, I’d say I’m not alone. Creative work, like emotional work, takes effort. Kudos to all the artists reminding us that effective planning and research can take as much time and attention as execution. And really, is there any work you want to share less than something arbitrary you rushed? Time to put down the pen. Mr Dunn will still be there when inking feels less like a marketing affectation.
6. Nekobaba 猫糞 – (literally ‘cat feces’) embezzlement, misappropriation, pocketing, stealing
You know how cats have a funny habit of burying their business after they’ve used the litter box? Some Japanese person clearly must have owned a cat and had some dishonest friends who acted just like a feline trying to cover up their dirty deeds. At least for cats, it’s a habit born of survival so that their predators wouldn’t be able to find their droppings and track them. While for those white-collar criminals, they are just flailing around, making excuses and trying to convince everyone of their innocence.
~KK Miller, “Cat got your tongue? 10 unusual Japanese phrases that use the word ‘cat’”