Canister X – A.P. FuchsWriter, Artist, Creator
Public journal of author and cartoonist, A.P. Fuchs.
Everything is a Herculean effort today.
Every task is being done in increments because I’m tiring easily.
I’d opt for a day off, but since I’m an extremely boring person with little interest in anything outside of making books and comics, we’ll do what we can to keep the machine running until a full recovery is made.
Just pinned down the paper for the Fredrikus No. 1 cover on the drawing board, and all penciled and inked buffer pages just need a short review before scanning.
Getting there.
Soon, my on-line offerings are going to go through a change-up because THREE project launches are happening all around the same time!
This was not planned.
The three things:
1) Launching Fredrikus
2) Launching a new serial novel on Patreon
3) Launching Year Six of The Canister X Transmission
I suspect my work schedule is going to shift for a short season at that time so I can spend my days doing the necessary Web stuff to get this all going. That said, creating will drop to second tier as these roll out so I can properly get them out from the studio and into the world.
Formal announcements to occur around the time of the launches.
Regularly check back here on the blog to stay in the loop. My door is also open if you have any questions about these upcoming project launches.
Prompted by a chat with artist Sean Simmans last night, I got to thinking that it is impossible to ever fully arrive in the arts field.
You may be doing poorly or extremely well on the scale of subjective success, but wherever you are is only temporary and never stable.
Any art form is about finding one’s voice, which is different at 30 than it is at 50 than it is at 70. Your style will constantly change, sometimes–and ideally–for the better, but also sometimes not.
Unfortunately, we have been sold this packaged idea of what success looks like in the art field, genres ripping apart the industry, and marketing madness brainwashing us into what we’re supposed to think art looks like . . . but it’s never accurate.
Ultimately, art is living and fluid and is like water, always flowing, not a dam in sight.
Your work might be polished, but even in a polished state, it’s incomplete because there is always that one thing you could have done better or a little bit smarter.
Art isn’t prefect. It’s not supposed to be. Then it isn’t art. That’s Sean talking and I agree with him.
Whatever your craft, where you are is where you are. If the art is made, you’re an artist. And, in that context, you have arrived . . . but our work never will.
It’s all about the journey.
Coronavirus is on the rise, and with it now growing inside Canadian borders, various precautions are being taken that are affecting many areas of life. Old routines are gone, new ones are being formed. Strange timing because I was in the midst of a planned routine change already so it’s kind of a double change-up for me in that regard.
We’re finding our footing in this new paradigm where we all need to band together to see this through as healthily as possible, both domestically and the worldover.
I’m not sure what the next few weeks are going to look like as things ramp up. I also don’t know what the next few months will look like after Canada peaks with this thing.
Time for changes.
Time for kindness.
Time for patience.
We’re all in this together.
Recently, I’ve been giving some special thought to my hidden readers, the people who buy my books and/or read my blog and/or watch my YouTube channel but don’t say anything or make themselves known in any way. They’re the readers I’ll never know about other than through the number of books sold or the number of times a post is read or a video is watched. If you’re one of those people, know that I do think about you and do appreciate you spending your time and money on me. You are considered every bit as important to my little operation of heroes and monsters as the people I do know about.
You are not unnoticed and you are valued and you are one of the reasons I try and do my best with everything I create.
Today, you are visible. Tomorrow, you will be, too. You were yesterday along with other times in the past, and you will be as the Timeline of All Things unfolds.
Thank you.
I have a lot to do.
Lots has been done but I still have some fairly large projects that need completion.
At the end of each day, I’m beat.
The frustration: After a full day, I’ve hit my wall. I can’t work anymore. Technically, I could and get by, but I care enough about this stuff to ensure I carry it out to the best of my ability so I honor not only the work but, more importantly, my reader. That said, though I could work a little more or do some task a better way, I know I won’t be at my best therefore run the risk of messing up. Sure, I might still do a solid job overall but if one thing is off, well, I don’t want my reader to be the recipient of that. When you want to work because you enjoy it but you know you can’t is very irritating.
I live and breathe books and comics. This is what I do and who I am. It’s tough when you need to step back even though you know it’s for the best.
A character flaw I’m working on, the flaw being not always knowing when it’s time to step away when it’s a good thing to do that. This applies to both knowing when to call it quits for the day and when it’s time to declare a project done.
Anyone know when the next workaholics meeting is?
With winter in full swing and the temperature plummeting, I’m hunkered down in the bunker here at the Central getting things done. If you follow my newsletter, you know I had to do a bunch of work before I could work. This was the fall and early winter. Now I’m in a position to work on Project Rebuild and get my other ducks in a row.
There’s something magical about settling in with your work. Something comforting, alluring, and satisfying. It’s one of those things that you could put into words if you really tried—but defining it would take away its power. Instead, I’m opting to just enjoy the feeling, revel in it, and get things done.
A lot of what I share on here has to do with the creative journey and stating what I’ve learned through experience. The reason is rooted in my passion for the creative industry. I’ve been making stuff up since I was a kid running around in a Superman costume (something I did even when my other friends had grown out of it). It’s all I know.
Making up stories, drawing, and thinking about how to better get my imagination onto the page takes up most of my time and is my preferred activity. Some guys work on cars or model kits to help fill the hours; I work on imaginary worlds. It’s just how I’m wired and I don’t know any other way to live my life.
Is always talking about creativity beating a dead horse? I honestly don’t know because in my world that horse keeps coming back to life. All I know is writing out my thoughts on the creative life helps me organize them, and if they can benefit or entertain someone along the way, then I’m more than happy to take them on the journey with me.
It’s important for every creator to make a schedule for their creative time. The idea of “creating when inspired” or “in the mood” doesn’t work. (Been there, done that.) Not very long ago I was mocked on-line for suggesting a creative schedule to someone who was having trouble creating. The answer I proposed to their problem was to treat it like a job and just do it. Most seasoned creators will tell you that you have to create whether you feel like it or not if you want a career in this business.
The formula is simple: Approach this casually, you’ll get casual results. Approach this diligently, you’ll get diligent results.
There is no way around this. And, usually, once you get going on a project after deciding to start working, the project starts to flow on its own anyway.
Schedule out your time. Schedule out your projects.
It’s worth taking the time to do this step. In fact, it actually saves you time later in a multitude of ways.
Last night, as I was winding down, I was struck with an idea for another massive project, one that, by it’s very nature, would be ongoing for years to come. I made a bunch of notes, but I had that famous moment where I thought, Gee, don’t I have enough to do already?
I tweeted:
“Why is it that I keep coming up with ideas for gigantor projects? As if I’m not busy enough writing books, making comics, blogging daily, taking and sharing pictures of my cooking efforts, marketing, freelancing, and trying to rebuild my life. I need to stop sleeping.”
If I could indeed stop sleeping, that would free up 8 to 10 hours a day. But I also know that without a good night’s sleep, a person won’t make it in this world, and my years of functioning off minimal sack time are long gone.
My plan for this massive project is to let it simmer in the ol’ noggin and if I’m still hyped about it in a week or two (or more), then maybe I’ll put it in motion.
