Pre/Post-Chapter

 

What's occurring?

Long time, no see! I'm doing very well I must say. I'm feeling all 'end of one chapter, beginning of another one', which may be related to it being so close to Christmas, or it might be due to my general activities. I end up being drawn back to writing blog posts when I'm going through periods of reflection, when I need to take a good look at where I am and where I'm headed. So, where am I?

Dev

I've been merrily skipping down my programming career path, in February I'll have been a programmer for a whole year! I have to admit, it was all rather overwhelming to start with. There was so much to learn and take in, and that hasn't gotten any less intense if I'm honest, but I'm much more used to it all and feel like I've relaxed into a steady pace. When I find a bit more time I'm looking forward to finishing the Medium Cat Space Invaders game that I started, and doing some more graphics noodling with SDL.

Comix Artist

After making my website and putting together a decent batch of comics, I was really keen to take my comics a step further by creating a book. I've had various attempts at writing a comic book before but failed each time, mostly due to lack of direction or it growing to big and complicated. Lack of deadline was also a problem, I didn't push myself enough. 

Anyway, this year I had a minor brainwave and decided to create a small comic/zine for the trick or treaters at Halloween. I really love the idea of Halloween, neighbourly and fun, but find it a little tragic how plastic and disposable it's grown. I wanted to create something that kids would enjoy for long after the day, something small and self contained. Also, the threat of having nothing to hand out to the kids if I failed to meet the deadline, was a good incentive to take the project seriously.

After getting my website up, generating a decent range of comics and finishing the Halloween book, I have started to feel like maybe, possibly, sometimes I can actually call myself a Comix Artist. Apart from making some more books, now I've broken the ice, my next little dream is to visit a comic convention, maybe even have my own table. Right now I've got my eye on the Lakes International Comic Art Festival and Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival.

I'm working on levelling up my comic creating skills by watching 'The Art of Storytelling' MasterClass by Neil Gaiman and also by reading:

Maths

I was really keen on the idea of completing A Level Maths so I started looking for other interested people at work. Turns out there's a developer that used to teach maths and he's started a weekly A Level maths class. I've been really enjoying it (though I'm a little behind on my homework, shhh!).

What's next?

The biggest challenge I had at the start of the year was that I was at the beginning of everything. Apart from the garden, which I have basically ignored for the past 6 months (and I do feel pretty terrible about), I've made some good progress with pretty much everything I set out to do.

I think the next biggest challenge is learning how to give everything attention simultaneously and keep it all moving along together. I've tended to drop everything else when I'm building up one thing, now I need to get those plates all spinning in unison!