I'm drawing portraits of my characters to understand them better.
How curiosity helped me cultivate a deeper connection with my creative self.
A few months ago I had this conversation with my fiancé... I told him that I really wanted to make this art career thing work, but that there was something overwhelming holding me back: I was afraid that if I fully devoted myself to my current project, that something bad would happen. I didn't know what exactly, but it felt like the universe and time itself would, poof, vanish, if I devoted myself to The Golden Thread.
As someone who has always struggled with ADHD, time management has been a concept outside of my grasp, and when I was in college, time was everything. If I took a 30 minute break to have dinner, I would have to sacrifice 30 minutes of sleep, because my projects had to get done. One incomplete project could threaten me with a failing grade, and I would lose my school grants. These projects always required the same amount of time to finish (8+ hours). Knowing this, my fiancé assured me it was time to let go and that I could have a little obsession as a treat.
Instead of spending countless hours harshly criticizing my work in an attempt to propel my skill – a hopeless attempt, as negative reinforcement helps no one –, I'm choosing to obsess over my characters and my world. My first undertaking for this challenge is to create character portraits. I'm happy to finally be able to share some of the behind-the-scenes work with you.
