Quality and Conviction

My project is being delivered today, guys. I've been 20 mile marching more than ever, but I still had to move fast at the end of this project. And I'm a perfectionist, so there's always some hard days at the end. Not sure how to avoid that yet.

But, I still take care of myself even with the long hours. I eat my salad, exercise each night, run 3 times a week, and I force myself to rest for 30 minutes in the afternoon to break up the day. I stand up at my desk for about 3-4 hours each day, and I'm still using software that forces me to rest my hands periodically (been doing that for over 7 years). All of these things have really helped me sustain my energy output for the full days I've been churning out. Like I talked about last week, I'm no good at my job if my body is in disrepair.

I'll share the video as soon as I can, but today you'll have to make do with an image:

I've drawn so many cartoon people this month.

What's next? Well, it's been requested that my cube dancing videos keep coming. You can expect one next Friday. I had a good idea for one a couple days ago that made me laugh. Next week I'm also going to be working on a "video in two days" with somebody. I have no idea what it will be, because we will conceive and create it within the two days. A fun challenge.

I'll be showing more client work later this month in addition to some new work on Hunted. It's been a while, I know.

Releasing Art

I've been getting better at releasing art. This blog and those silly cube dancing videos I've been making have helped me to just get my art out there. I feel embarrassed by them, but there's a method to my madness. Throughout my career I've either obsessed over something for way too long or I've been forced to release stuff by my employers/deadlines.

Quality is still one of my most treasured principles, but releasing unfinished things has it's benefits too. There are some things that I will continue to obsess over, but now I'm creating "throw away" content that I churn out regularly. Right now, it's my cube dancing series.

So, what's the value? Well, it's made me more confident. The last big project I did had a 2 week period of intense crunching at the end. That's right when I was finalizing my business and putting in my 2 weeks notice at my old job. I was frantic! This time, I did work hard at the end, but I wasn't as overwhelmed by the thought of releasing it. I'm sure not everyone likes those stupid cubes, so it's forced me to be okay with that. Bottom line: I know I'm good at my job, so I don't have to prove it with every thing I release. The pressure to do better with every project has often suffocated me instead of helped me. For years my portfolio had like two things in it because I didn't think much of my stuff was good enough.

Not to worry, though. I'm a fanatic for obsessive detail and the life-long pursuit for greatness. I think we should all strive to be excellent in all we do in life. It's one of my life principles. I'm so passionate about it that when the quality of something is threatened, I quickly get involved and I fight really hard to make it good. But as my great-grandmother would say: moderation in all things.

Bailey