Artists tend to have an innate fear of judgement and ultimately a fear of sharing their work. Because after all, small (or big) traces of ourselves end up in our larger bodies of work, whether we like it or not. Over the years, I’ve gotten over this fear through biting classroom critiques and a general sense that I have no one to impress. In the grand scheme of things, I’ve realized that no one really gives a shit. Only you. And I don’t mean for this to be negative but sobering. You have no obligations and no one to disappoint. That’s a freedom that we rarely get to enjoy in life. So, it’s time to celebrate!
For better or for worse, this fear is exasperated by the Internet and the social media that inhabits it. Not only do we reveal our work to our family and friends, but we open the floodgates to a slew of complete strangers who might love or hate our work. Internet people are so fickle.
And with that introduction about fear and freedom, I now segue into my announcement that I will be revealing my graphic novel, The Musical Melodyians, in weekly page installments ON THE INTERNET! (Come at me, trolls) I’ve been working on this larger transmedia project for the past two years with my collaborator, Scott Tooby, and we’re both very excited to get the story out there.
I’ve been all talk for the past two years and refused to show unfinished pages to anyone except my closest friends to edit. Somewhere in between quitting my day job and realizing that the present moment is the most important, I’ve decided that the time is NOW! And to show you how serious I am, here’s a sneak preview of the cover art I designed.
So, cheers to no obligations, a banishment of our fears and comic making merriment! Stay tuned.