Well, it's that time of the year again folks... that time being the end. Now as for myself, this year has been I think one of the rockiest in a while. I mean granted, it started and ended in peak with me watching Godzilla Minus One and Sonic 3 in theaters, so I guess the beginning and end from that standpoint are pretty good.
So what stuff did I do this year? Well quite a bit of things, but not as much as I'd like to have.
First up I got my first animated commission ever! Was a genuine surprised and am eternally thankful to have one to begin with
What else? Well been helping my pal Midgetsausage as an editor for his webcomic Cooper Bullet (personally I still call it Copper Bullet, but that's more my own preference)
Latest issue is right down here (ironically the one I had the least involvement with helping editorialize)
Also had the opportunity to be apart of the Pokeginjika collab hosted by @KittyHawkMontrose, thanks again for the opportunity!
Also had the glorious opportunity to contribute to Sonic Shorts Vol 14. I'm gonna be real, if you told me 10 years ago (14 year old me basically) that I'd be doing something for that, I don't think I would have believed you
Special thanks to @RGPAnims, @ter0nik, and @thewax70 for this opportunity, seriously you guys rock!
Other than those major ones, done a lot more doodling and sketching. Also got a kitten by the name of Frankie, he's approaching 6 months old as I type this out and he's an adorable handful.
And been getting back more into 3D modeling, with my most recent one being a Rouge model that I actually textured and don't hate! Usually stink with text
So yeah been having fun with that! I'm planning on doing Shadow and Omega next. Then eventually the whole Sonic Heroes cast, then any other misc characters I wish to do.
Also plan on doing a comic that's essentially an alt universe version of MHA, with the first issue coming out... well I had planned by the end of this year, but def sometime next year if I'm being real. Not used to doing comics, so that'll be an interesting experience.
Now with all of those positives out of the way, I might as well get into the negatives of this year, which have been pretty harsh.
I ended up losing both my grandparents this year. My grandmother in March, my Grandfather later that May. It was so... sudden ya know? I mean both had deteriorated in health for quite some time, my grandpa had gotten Parkinson's years beforehand, cause he was a welder for Ford since the 60s and he had been breathing in a shit ton of chemicals for literal decades daily. He ended up developing dementia I believe, it got so bad that he had forgotten to chew his food and swallow it and he'd choke on it by accident.
Even expecting the loss of someone, you never quite really expect it when it happens you know? And I have to admit, I feel very complicated about my grandma, because while I have these warm and fond memories of her as a kid, the warmness kind of disappeared the older I got and realized what kind of person she was. Wish it wasn't complicated, but that's just how it is with some people.
Losing them kind of fucked with my subconscious, because for a period I felt like that I was going to die any second and that I was doomed. If I don't make something soon, I'd lose everything.
And look, I prefer not to discuss politics because quite frankly they're arbitrary and basically team sports in the US, but this presidential election was like a punch to the gut. I woke up at 4:30 AM that morning needing to vomit, and then saw the notification on my phone, almost as if my body knew before I did. Was a genuine sobbing wreck, feeling absolute hopelessness and despair.
After a bit, I did calm down, checked in with family and friends who were feeling the same, and decided to just check out for a bit. I'm going to try to focus more on local stuff because that's something I can actually control, and I feel like that eventually it will work in the long run. Can also say whatever bad shit happens the next 4 years, I didn't vote for it.
My mental health has been ebbing and flowing, but hey you know what, can get thorough this. People before me did with even less resources, so blasting Alright by Kendrick's a good way to get through the bad shit.
Now that we've gotten the Debbie Downer parts out of the way, what next? Well here's my new resolutions for the next year.
MAKE MORE SHIT
Along with that MHA comic, I plan on doing another Sonic Short, as well as some documentaries/video essays on my YT channel. I got one in the pipeline about King Kong's stupidly complicated copyright situation and history (seriously it is fuckin bonkers). Also just need to stop worrying and just post stuff, more finished art in general and experimenting more.
Also gonna do more NSFW stuff because been learning more human anatomy and well... look it's fun okay? Don't judge me lol
BEING MORE SOCIAL
Now this year been a bit more social with peeps than usual, exploring new places and horizons, and meeting some really cool people throughout the year. But I can always go further beyond; I'm gonna try to make it to more NG meetups and Pico Day, just a matter of figuring out when and where is all.
So that kind of wraps up my 2 goals... I mean hey it's 2 goals, but hey easier to have smaller goals I can accomplish than listing a hundred goals I know I can't even come close to finishing.
But before I end the yap fest, lemme just give some shoutouts to pals that have been with me throughout the year and were very supportive and helpful
@Tappywara (dude's got incredible music taste and chill sagely advice)
There's a lot more people, online and IRL, but honestly that list is too long to go with.
Thank you for everyone that likes my art, or finds my stuff interesting, it's really appreciated!. I'm cautiously optimistic for 2025, but I'm gonna try to live it best I can and then go on from there.
See ya next year! (Yes that's corny I know but had to at least once)
Joe-Mega
hawk tuah