Yes Toyhouse fam, I bit the bullet and re-organized my character folders!!!!
I've been whinging about whether I should keep my characters organized by species (as I had been doing) or by story for a while now. But the more time I've spent browsing galleries on Toyhouse, the more I've come to seek others' characters that are part of stories, rather than just great designs. And I'm a person who wants to do things in a way that I'd like them to be done for me. Hence, the inevitable restructuring.
NOW if you go to my gallery, you'll be greeted by a bunch of folders for different stories and different worlds! Please delve into them and read the summaries I've put together for each story. Let me know which ones sound interesting to you!
If you're feeling real generous with your time, I'd love a question about a story/world/character... as a treat <3
I have a question! How do you keep yourself motivated to follow a story through to its completion? I have stories that have been hanging over my head, half finished, for around 20 years. No joke! I want to finish those stories, but it feels kind of hard to do that all on my own. I really could use some advice from a more accomplished writer/artist.
6 months, 13 days ago
I actually was afraid of not being able to follow Heroes of Thantopolis to its conclusion before I started it. But when I did actually start it, my goal-oriented, task-focused nature kicked in and working on pages became a habit to me. I find it very easy to stick to things once they're habit. That's just how my brain works. If you are someone who gets excited by checking things off a to-do list then I think this could be helpful advice. If that's not you, I realize it's not very motivating XD
What other advice could I give? I think some artists stay motivated to work on stories by relating their story to anything they see, making their characters fit into every nook and cranny of stuff they like or relate to. They see a funny scene from a TV show getting passed around and say, "Hey, that could be a comic of Character X and Character Y," and make that and share it online. This is not advice I follow because I'm not really tuned into to what's popular online. I kinda make it my brand to avoid popular things XD But it is something I see other creators doing and I think that feedback loop works for some people.
If you worry about doing something all by yourself, then joining a community of artists is a good idea! I will admit, a good community can be hard to find, but they're out there, and if you like collaborating with people or just having a sounding board it can be a big motivator. I think a lot of artists in the community I'm in get motivated to share their work with other talented creators. I like it because I like hearing what people have to say about working and making art. If I have a question I can usually find someone to answer it. You do have to do the same for others, and if you have a hard time with reciprocal social behavior this can be kinda tricky. But it is worth it!
Something else I do that really works for me but I bet will not work for 99% of people is that I'm constantly thinking about my stories and characters to keep the anxiety at bay. Stories are a coping mechanism. They've brought me so much joy and comfort that I gotta share them with other people. That's just me though XD I hope the previous points were more helpful!
6 months, 13 days ago
WOOOOOOO!!!!
6 months, 19 days ago