2021 Intentions

2020 was rough...I'll just leave it at that.

Though if I have to sum up the year in a couple of words; it would be

"Pause, Reflect and Adapt"

Many of us, including myself had plans for 2020 that were either had to change or throw completely out the window.

You can read my 2020 goals here:

One that comes to mind: My Wedding. It went from a well planned big wedding at a beautiful venue to a small ceremony on the beach with friends & family. Funny enough, I honestly preferred the small ceremony and I couldn’t have asked for more. Just goes to show that the little things really do make things memorable.

As an self proclaimed ambitious person, I found myself taking a step back and pausing all of my projects & plans for 2020. Heck the last video I posted on my YouTube channel was 6 months ago.

I just stopped.

In a year where there was so much dread and unknown, it would be hard to accomplish any goal.

So I just allowed myself to pull back to the basic things that I needed to do.

1. Wake Up

2. Work

3. Eat

4. Planned mini ceremony.

5. Exercised.

6. Hangout with friends & family (through zoom and socially distancing.)

7. Sleep

8. Repeat.

I took Ursula, from Kiki’s Delivery Service, advice for the whole year of 2020:

Discover & share this Kikis Delivery Service GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

“Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don't even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you'll be flying again.” - Ursula. Kiki's Delivery Service.

I was finding my own inspiration...

As the year went on, it had became evident that I was over influenced (if that is a thing) by outside noises and not allow the space and openness to listen to my inner voice. As I posted less and created less content, the more I found myself getting excited about project ideas and personal goals that were my own.

2020 was a year of turning down the noise and tuning into my own radio.

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The Thought Process for my 2021 intentions:

One of my favorite YouTubers, Rhett Shull, was talking about 2020; dealing with burn out and having to pivot/change. He gave some great advice on 5 things to put into practice to prevent burn out and stay inspired.

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Using that inspiration, here are my intentions for 2021:

The Big Project: Cosmic Play Studios

At some point a creative person would think to one day create their own studio. I myself have had that in the back of my mind the moment I left college. Granted the intention was to be financially independent from a studio and to live off of what I create. Isn't that the dream right?

Though having the intention to make money in whatever you create, it also can lead you down paths that make you forget why you wanted to do create in the first place. Making more financially (AKA SAFE) decisions vs creative (AKA Purposeful) decisions.

Cosmic Play Studios intention is to create stories while having fun.

The reason I came up with the name ‘Cosmic Play’ is that I wanted to have a vast amount of fun while creating. These projects aren't for creating profit or notoriety (I have proven that I can make a living as a professional artist for ten years now), its to fulfill the curiosity I have and to tell stories that I always wanted to see come to life.

The first major project I implemented this philosophy was Molly's Follies back in 2019.

Molly's Follies: Curse of the Skinwalker was the comic that I wanted to read as a kid. Molly and Fluffy were characters that I wanted to have growing up and during the times when I was on my own for the first time.

That comic has shown that it doesn't have to be a perfect story; it just has to be something that I would enjoy reading. When I say that I wouldn’t care if anyone would read it, I truly meant it. This story was for me and for me to share with others. That’s it.

That's really what Cosmic Play Studios is about; Telling stories that I wanted to see, make them a reality and share it with the world. If it connects with people GREAT! If not, well at least I loved it.

Now I can see you thinking to yourself

“Does that mean you are going to quit your current job and pursue this full time?”

The answer: NO.

I am happy where I am at currently. For me, Cosmic Play Studios is the place where I can be experimental and take creative risks. Not in just a creative sense but in entrepreneurship, storytelling and personal development. Not everything is about creating financial value, but to create personal value. That’s what this big project is about!

If it turns out to be something bigger that is awesome, but in the meantime its just my small little studio.

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Learning Something New: Blender

In 2010, I was introduced to the 3D program called Blender. After playing around with it for 10 mins I dismissed it as beneath me. Looking back ten years later, I was wrong for counting it out.

Blender has come a long way and from what I have seen other animators and 3D artists alike can do with it, it sparked my creativity. Plus with my interest in 2D animation and my full time job as a 3D Artist, I want to combine those talents in one program. To see what kind of films I can produce.

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Create Something: Animation/VFX

This is in line with learning Blender. In the past, I struggled with developing animated shorts was the fact that it was a "Team" sport. Now as advancements in technology has allowed indie film makers and creators to be able to produce high quality films by a few if not one man bands teams.

also taking an hiatus of all of my projects in 2020, I found myself sparking ideas that I only could create in the animation medium. I think what caused me to stop animating was the distraction of making it my profession and have notoriety from it; putting so much pressure to create something epic. Now I just want to animate something that is just appealing to me and share it with you.

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A New Style : Illustration/Digital Painting

My draftsmanship over the last decade has improved leaps and bounds. I love the work I am drawing each day. Now I am feeling more confident in my drawing skills, I want to take my art to the next level; which is learning how to digital paint. Really learn how to refine my illustration to look more painterly or even visual development level quality.

While I might not implement everything I learn through digital painting, I might find myself using those techniques in ways that can help improve future comic and animation ideas.

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Staying Curious:

"Animation is about creating the illusion of life. And you can't create it if you don't have one."-Brad Bird

In a time where it seems everything is “career focus”, I come to discover that I need to have things outside of my professional art career in order to stay inspired and scratch my curious itch.

-Playing Guitar/Creating Music

One of my loves as a teenager was playing my guitar and getting really into music. I still crank up the volume and scream my lungs out to my favorite songs.

I feel that one the things that was “sacrificed” to the art career was creating music. Funny enough, the drive for playing music never really left. I mean heck if I have my headphones on and my desk at “standing mode” more than likely I am strumming my air guitar!

Over the summer, I rebuilt one of my guitars with my Dad as a way to get back into playing.

That lead me down to learning new scales, then new songs and invest into new pedals.

One night as I was playing with a looper pedal, my wife thought I was playing a song off of YouTube to practice with. When she realized it was a recording of something I was playing earlier she said that I should share it when its done. I use to write music when I was younger and this path so far has gotten me to try writing again.

Music has been a way for me to process the emotions I am feeling in the moment and to allow to express. I would love to record an album or even just a couple of songs just because. Not that I want to go touring or be a professional musician. But to have songs to play for my films or even just to play around the camp fire.

Film:

Discover & share this Nostalgia GIF with everyone you know. GIPHY is how you search, share, discover, and create GIFs.

YouTube honestly warped my perception of how to tell stories through film. While I love that its a community of people that share their passions, it was also a lot of "HOW TO DO THIS" or "TOP FIVE XYZ" or "WHY ABC is ruining your channel". Basically stuff that would be clickable. I remember early YouTube its was people making short indie films, animation, or them doing a funny dance. Remember Numa Numa?

Just like telling stories through animation, I want to try telling stories through film. Mostly because I want to be able to go outside, and I am curious of what kind of stories I can tell through film.

Even though I have made YouTube videos off and on since 2012, I have never really got comfortable being in front of the camera. Kind of like one of my favorite animation directors:

“This is not where I really belong(in front of the camera), I belong behind the camera”-Chuck Jones

I think for the both of us its not about us its about the film & story we want to tell. Yes its not as consistent as a normal YouTube video, its at least something worth putting an effort into. If I am being honest, it was always a challenge trying to make YouTube content; a real struggle. However when it came to the short films I made previously I was able to get them done within a weekend because it was telling creative stories through film.

Photography:

Being almost locked inside for a year has really got me itching to travel to different places around the U.S. and even the world. The last big trip was out to Moab, Utah where I was able to capture the stars. I have had interest in photography back in high school but never really peruse it as a career. Ironically, my 3D art job is to create product photos using renders.

Photos for me is capturing a moment, a feeling, a story. I guess I want to push myself to take more than just the simple travel photo or selfie. Rather to capture something that I want to hang on the wall of my office. To gift to friends and family.

-Creating an Art Store.

Now I know what your thinking; Didn't you say that you didn't want to make money on your art?

I did say that but not as my main income. I am currently at a company that allows me to be creative curious and make enough to live comfortably. This is more of a lesson in how to develop products and diversify your income.

2021 will mark the 10th anniversary of me working as a professional artist. In those 10 years, it has been rare for me to stay at a job for more than four years. Life of a 3D artist I guess...

I am curious at what I can produce as far as products relating to my work and if people would be interested in purchasing it. Not to mention, I want go from the perspective of a person who is sharing more than making a sale. I am thinking of this as more of a hobby/side business than my main income.

Just as I have this idea of creating characters and stories that reflection my tastes, its the same as the products that I would be interested in purchasing.

Things like:

• 3D prints of my Characters

• Clothing apparel (Hoodies, hats,etc)

• Art Prints

• Stickers

• Printed books of my comics

• The Art of “Insert Animated Short” books

• Online courses

• Memberships to see my short films before everyone else.

• Plus more.

I will state that I am not going to add ‘Freelancing’ to this list because I have made help make other people’s dreams a reality over the last 10 years. I really want to focus on my dreams for a change.

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Final Thoughts:

I am considering calling 2020 “The Great Pause”. I cannot think of any other time in my life that everything was place on hold for so long. Even writing this we are still unsure of whether things will ever get remotely close to what pre-2020 life was like. As much as there was so much turmoil going and still going on, I am grateful for the lessons that this year has taught me. The fact that these intentions exist is because “The Great Pause” allowed me to pause, reflect and adapt.

Also I am ok if I don’t do everything on this list of intentions. Just like the name its in the intent or act of trying that is the real thing I am interested in. This is not for a career or for my brand; this is me exploring things that I hope will keep me inspired.

Thanks for reading!

Chris J.

Let the stars fill me with purpose. How my trip to Moab help me refocus.

Stop me if you heard this before.

You are an ambitious, creative person; You have big dreams of creating for a living.

You start a YouTube channel, Instagram, then you start live streaming and maybe even thinking of creating a podcast. You aren't seeing as much growth so you start watching videos that tell you how to do X in order to get Y. Suddenly that's the only type of videos you watch.

Your head is filled with advice and how to do this and that. You start doubting yourself.

On top of a full time job, planning a wedding and everyone is grabbing your attention.

That's me.

From 2015 to now I been trying to build something for myself and going no where. I honestly couldn't tell whether something I was doing was because I wanted to do it or because it was expected. The amount of noise (both figuratively and literally) was overwhelming. To the point, I couldn't find the energy or motivation to create videos or post on Instagram or even just to draw.

I needed to get away though I didn't realize it.

Then one day, I got an email from my manager urging us to put in time before the year end or else any PTO (paid time off) you have saved would be lost.

I look to see that I had 80+ hours of PTO. That's not including the time off I normally take for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Two weeks worth of time to take.

I thought to myself when was the last time Kelly (my fiance) & I had a vacation just us. Normally when we take time off its to either visit family or when friend from out of state come to visit.

Our last vacation alone was in Venice, FL in 2015!!!

It was time.

“I just want to let being in nature wash me clean fill me with purpose." Kelly said in a text when deciding where we wanted to go.

“The mountains are calling me” Kelly would say whenever we talked about hiking or being in nature.

After much thought we decided to go out to Moab, Utah. A place we both never been to.

“What's in Utah?” Was the phrase I heard from friends and family when discussing our trip. It seemed like a weird destination for someone to go on vacation. Most thought it was for a conference or for visiting family ( which we did visit Kelly great uncle George).

For us though it was an opportunity to experience something new together. To just be present in the moment.

In order to make the most out of this trip,I placed a couple of rules for myself.

1. No posting anything about the trip until we came back.

2. no phone unless in the hotel or searching for direction.

3. Allow myself to present during that time.

4. Do activities that I naturally gravitate towards. Not because it would be great for social media but because I wanted to do it.

My goal was to observe my own behavior in a new environment. This was a test for me to see what I was really excited about vs what I thought I was excited about.

Here's what I experience.

Silence forces you to be present.

When I say to you that the desert is dead silent, I really do mean it. I never thought of the desert to be as quiet as it is; considering that in most movies there is either some ambient music playing in the background or random hawk screening in the distance.

It was so quiet that my ears began to ring in order to fill in the absence of sound.

To some people it might be unnerving but for us it was an interesting, relaxing experience. I think it was because when you are hearing nothing, it forces you to be in the present moment. Your not worrying about the things you normally worry about. You are being alert about what's going on in that very moment. Words cannot describe the bliss of hearing nothing.

Hiking through Arches National Park the only company you have are

1. You

2. Your partner (relationship or a hiking buddy)

3. the landscape

That's it.

While we did see other hikers from time to time, the majority of the time it was just us and the rocks. It was amazing for us to just experience these natural wonders with only the silence of the desert to accompany us.

Not wanting to share the moment with the rest of the world

I honestly have to say I did not once wanted to post something to social media. This was Kelly and my time to reflect on ourselves; to learn to experience and honestly to disconnect with everyone.

While I love the connection with people of similar interests accross the world, I don't want to be disconnected from myself. If anything the message I want to spread out to the world has to come from a person who understands who they are at that moment.

The new,the discarded and revitalized activities that i discovered.

The Milky way at Balance Rock by Chris Jaser 2019

When you decide to stop your daily habits at home, what do you naturally find yourself doing when you are in a new place? This what I discovered.

The rediscovered.

hiking- I think my body craved psychical activities like hiking. While most of my days are sitting at a desk creating, this trip confirmed my suspicion that I love psychical activities. Especially where there is a goal of getting to delicate arch before sunset or to figure out how to get to a spot when there is no clear path. The reward of reaching the summit in triumph. Your aches and pains wash away as you are filled with accomplishment. This is something that I am taking back to Salem as I am now looking for new activities, new trails to explore. Keep finding the Wonder of this world.

Travel/nature- I feel sometimes when it comes to traveling that everything needed to be 100% planned out. That each day needs to be on a schedule see each site then move on. Sort of like consuming the whole cake before evening tasting it. Other than planning our flights and reservations, we really just went by ear. It wasn't a rush to see everything, in fact we just kept going back to Arches national park. We were planning to go to canyonlands and other parks during that week but for us there was so much to see that we just wanted to explore without the feeling rush to see the next thing. We're actually talking about going out there again because we didn't see everything. I think that's what makes traveling fun is feeling you only saw a portion but wanting to come back to see more.

The discarded.

filming/animation/social media- Whenever I do hikes I will start thinking of ideas for future films/animation. This trip was different. I didn't pick up my camera to film anything. I didn't fill my sketchbook with storyboards for the next animated short. I just did not have the urge to document my vacation (making B rolls of rocks doesn't sound appealing) or to work on the next big story. The memories I have of that trip are for my and Kelly viewing only.

I also discovered that even though I have the skills to make a short film, I didn't have the desire to. I think that was the big takeaway. I love movies and especially animation but as I am getting older the time to make them for me is too much.

Being back I have some little sparks to animate again but only little looping clips. I realize that I am looking at animation and filmmaking as hobbies. I need to have an enraging fire of excitement in order for me to make short films again. A “I need to bring this into the world” sort of feeling.

For now, I think making small videos with little bit of editing for YouTube and animated gifs of characters will suffice for now.

The new.

False Dawn at Balance Rock by Chris Jaser 2019

Photography- This was sort of new because I have always had an eye for photography but this trip, I really fell in love with it. I found with myself pulling out my phone to take pictures but also my mirco four thirds to take breath taking shots of the scenery. I think there was a moment the idea was planted in my head that photography was never going to be a path for me now that everyone has smart phones (boy was I wrong). However, I think there is a satisfaction of setting up the shot, taking the photo and see what you have captured. I still looking at it as a hobby but I am certainly taking my DSLR camera with me on future hiking and trips to improve my skills as a photographer.

Sketchbook traveler- this trip was actually what gave me the title for this blog & podcast. On my bucket list is when I travel somewhere new I will sketch the highlight of the day. First time doing it was this trip. Kelly actually remarked on my first drawing was that I captured the feeling of how it was like being there. I 100% agree with her. While photographs can capture what it was like there, I think drawings bring out the emotions of the event. You as the viewer are seeing what the artist was seeing and feeling in that moment of time. Plus I can draw outside of my comfort zone;pushing me to become a better draftsman.

Astrophotography- I know I just talked a little about photography but this needs its own category by itself. I never done this before and honestly failed the first night. But when I got back to the hotel, watched some YouTube videos, and dialed in my setting. The second night when I snapped that first starry picture, I knew I found a new hobby. It was a pure rush seeing the sky light up with so many stars. Each picture was more beautiful than the last. It so hard to explain the emotions but I just felt like a kid discovering something for the first time. It gave me a sense of wonder. Waiting to see what I captured on the screen as the camera processed the image. Not even the cold dark and frankly creepy desert could stop our excitement as we captured the night sky.

Now being back home, I am still thinking about Moab. It's has left a significant impact on our lives and revealed things about us that we weren't expecting.

I am reassessing how I go about things and finding ways not to burn out. I think part of the fun of traveling to new places is that you rediscover yourself. To find the purpose that you thought was lost but you never lost in the first place.

As the saying goes

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

J. R. R. Tolkien

And I think I needed to become lost in order to find myself.

What am I doing in 2020?

As of this post we are in 2020.

2019 was a crazy fulfilling year of self discovery. In fact this entire decade was a journey of self discovery.

As I look back over the last decade, I hard to believe how this past decade really shaped my creative career. Learning to better love myself & my creative process; to not allow outside expectations to lead me to paths that I shouldn’t have gone down.

At times I was glad that I took that leap. To take a chance and get outside of my comfort zone.

Other times, I doubted whether I made the right decision and failed.

But as the clock gets closer to close this decade out, I have to say I did accomplish something that everyone doubted that I would achieve back in 2009.

I am making a healthy living as a professional artist!

Through the good times and the bad times, I can officially say that I am not starving artist. That I am good enough to work and make a healthy living being a creative.

so what now?

What do I want to achieve in 2020?

and the next decade?

What are the plans for 2020?

Now that I can say I make a healthy living as a professional artist, its definitely not the time to get comfy and rest on my laurels. I spent the last decade working, thriving, surviving ,being caught up on other people’s expectations and rediscovering who I am as a creative person.

I want to start to the new decade with having fun with creating again.

What would I create when there is no expectation?

What would I revisit to try to create for my own satisfaction and not worry whether it will make money or make me famous?

What would I create?

Here are some of the things I am going after this year.

creating a portfolio that represents me.

This one might need some additional explanation.

from 2009-2019, I was developing portfolios that were focus on landing me a job or potential freelance opportunity. Something that would put food on the table and a roof over my head.

Basically…..

Is this the kind of work your looking for? Awesome hire me please for the love of god hire me!!!!

I never just create or expressed my opinions in a way that was truly myself.

I kept stressing (again other people’s expectations) that if I say the wrong thing or create something that was not in line with my career goals then I ruined my chance for being hired.

Its wasn’t until 2019 that I decided to create for myself.

I started off with writing and drawing my comic Molly’s Follies: Curse of the Skin Walker.

To be able to tell a story that I would want to read and not fret whether or not it takes off.

A story that I wanted to read.

1.Level up my art.

While the last part of the decade I have found a style that I love and enjoy, I did find myself caught in that style for everything. Mostly because every other drawing I did was for the comic.

I want to branch out.

Try different styles.

Even try to revive old projects that succumbed to the perfectionist insecurities I had.

I am more confident in my own abilities now that I am not chasing jobs or trying to impress anyone anymore. I want to just see what I can do now.

which brings me back to.

2. YOUTUBE

If you want a clear example of perfectionist insecurities, my YouTube Channel is it.

Top worries that caused me to stop creating (not in particular order) videos.

1. I looked fat on camera (will talk more about this in a future post).

2. Messing up on words. Being stiff on camera.

3. My videos were boring.

4. I wasn’t sounding like an expert.

5. Not getting enough views.

6. the algorithm.

7. Following the same trends as everyone else because again EXPECTATIONS!

8. Not having cool camera moves or interesting editing tricks.

9. No cool painted mural on my wall cause I rent an apartment.

10. Not a real solid reason to make YouTube videos other than to prove that I am an expert.

On and off.

On and off.

I was trying to be the next “insert famous YouTuber” instead of the first me.

Wasn’t until I join up with no small creators Facebook group that I learned what I was good at, what I loved and frankly what I hated.

After taking a hiatus from posting videos, I finally have a better understanding of the type of videos and message I want to share.

Type of videos for 2020.

1. documenting creating a portfolio that represents me.

2. Revitalizing lost art projects that succumbed to perfectionist insecurities. Talking about why it failed and how I am planning to revitalizing it.

3. Animation Artist react to good/ bad Animation.

4. Podcast & Live stream

3. The Sketchbook traveler : Podcast | Live Stream | Blog

One big dream ambition of mine is to travel the world and fill a sketchbook with images of what I felt saw and experience.

While currently its been hard to travel this beautiful world, the one true beauty of drawing in a sketchbook is that I can create world that I can travel to. Sketchbooks have always been a place to explore a creative’s journey to discovery.

I want to share that creative journey through doing a live stream podcast and of course this blog!

In a past tweet I wrote:

My social media philosophy: be the cheerleader for those who have big dreams but are searching for courage to pursue them.

— Chris Jaser Art (@ChrisJaserArt) October 30, 2019

That statement has resonated with me ever since. Outside of social media and on I want to encourage those who have big dreams to pursue them. I recognize that I might not be an expert of being a professional artists, but I can talk about the experience of getting to where I am now. To encourage and cheer on those who feel that they might not be ready to share what they create to the world.

I wish I had the courage to document the last decade’s journey.

but I allow perfectionist insecurities to consume my voice.

Now I want to start the new year, new decade right with the Sketchbook Traveler.

With a clear mind and better understanding of who I am, I am confident that 2020 is going to be a year of playful creativity.

And a decade filled with brand new adventures.

Happy New Year!

-Chris J.

Question for the reader:

What are your ambitions for 2020? Let me know down in the comments. Would love to know what you plan to do in 2020!

#NoSmallNovember Challenge overview.

Hey guys!

I recently joined a Facebook group called #nosmallcreator created by this youtuber named Cody Wanner.

The group believes that

creating is BIG. There’s nothing small about creating...there are NO SMALL CREATORS!! 
We are here to bring together creators with a following of any size, on any platform, who want to share their wins and struggles while connecting with a community of creators

Of course as someone who thinks of himself as a creative, I had to join. Plus lately, I have felt that my creative journey was getting lonely. I wanted to connect with people who were on the same type of journey and are documenting the journey through YouTube.

Then #nosmallnovember was announced

I’ll let Cody tell you what’s it all about:

I have done month challenges in the past like #inktober or #mermay or recent attempt was #drawlloween . However, this one I am really excited about because its focus on creating something big for myself. Not just “here is a prompt now make it for a month and pull you away from a project.

Dedicated a month to #NoSmallNovember and this is what I was able to accomplish.

Big Project #1 My Graphic Novel!

Goal: 10 pages by the end of November

Accomplished: 4 pages

This has been a project that I been wanting to get done and to build over time. It has been a story that literally been haunting me to write and draw. So I took this month to put out the pages for people to read. While I didn’t hit my goal of 10 pages I did learn to have a consistent scheduling of posts and allowing myself to not get caught up in the details too much.

I also think challenges like #nosmallnovember point out areas where you need to improve on and re-evaluate your goals. Like for Molly’s Follies, the amount of time coloring had the most impact on whether a page would hit the deadline or not. Also not taking the time to really strengthen my foundation of the drawing and work on improving my line weights.

Overall I am happy that I now have an upload schedule for this comic and the pages I was able to create within that time really help me get into a rhythm.

Here are my plans for December for Molly’s Follies:

• Reevaluate my color method

• Focus on strengthening my line art and shadows

• Document more of creating a graphic novel.

• Continue posting pages every Wednesday!

Big Project #2 YouTube.

Goal: Post 1 video a week

Accomplished: posted consistently for 3 1/2 weeks. gain 7 subscribers!

I’ll be honest, I stopped unloading videos for about 6 months because I felt lost with what I was creating. Just like I was in the mindset of creating for someone else vs myself. I also was putting way too much value on the production when I haven’t have much experience creating videos.

This time, I took Eric Wen’s #takeonevlog challenge and just recorded myself talking about one topic then just uploaded it as is. It really help me get over my irrational thought that I was rambling and no one is wanting to listen to me talk. To my surprised you guys did so thank you! I also learn to by my authentic self and to just have fun with my videos. I felt this time around I focused more on how can I make this video unique to me and be less critical to how I sound or how I speak. Just talking to camera like I was talking directly to you. To be vulnerable, say what is on my mind and allow myself to be comfortable with who I am.

I think that posting my questions to the #nosmallcreator group along with my videos really help me break out of that self criticism loop I was in. I was getting great feedback and direction from them. I feel so comfortable on camera now and I want to record videos even if its just me talking about a single topic. It reignited a passion that I lost and now ever want to lose!

Here is my plans for December for my YouTube Channel:

• Post 2 times a weeks

  • One polished video, two quick edits/take one vlog style videos

• Incorporate animation somehow to my videos (I been itching to animate again)

• Continue to draw animate and document my animation journey!

• Continue to learn and to find my voice

Keep creating!

Chris J

CJA self-evaluation and goals for 2018

Hey Guys, 

Now I know its sort of cliched to create a "new years resolution" and more likely not to keep it. However, I always like to set goals for myself and see if I can accomplish them as well as things that I have tried but found overall that I failed at. A sort of self-evaluation before the new year. 

Part of this eval is to also remove things that are taking away from my lifetime goals and replace them with things that will support my lifetime goals.  I this that is a critical cause if you're trying to say train for a 4k this year but find that you're guzzling down sodas each night, then you will find it will become more difficult to complete a 4k mile. 

Ok, let's begin!

What I am cutting out for 2018!

Added Sugars (overall improving my diet)

via GIPHY

This has been an issue that I been dealing with for years and as I am getting older just makes me feel so unmotivated and lacking the energy that it's just affecting my overall health. I am hoping by cutting down on the sugar intake and some foods like bread, dairy, some alcoholic beverages, etc, that I can gain some energy back after a long day at work.  Plus help my goals of doing a 4k run and improve my exercise sessions. 

TV and social media consumption (become the content creator)

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I am not as bad as the President of the United States (8 hrs a day seriously!?!?!), but I there have been times where I have found myself watching a whole series, or spend a couple of hours watching something on Youtube vs actually creating something for Youtube. Now I know I need to have some escapism from time to time but I want to do for Monday-Saturday focus on content creating. That way my weekends are free to do what I want whether it's hanging out with friends or just relaxing with Kelly (GF) and Tia (Cat).

OVERTHINKING and being FANCY!

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I can get pretty crippled when I overthink. It's almost like a constant loop that I can't seem to break myself out of. Like for example, worrying about whether I sound clear enough to you guys when I do a video. Like I know that I have improved so much with years of speech therapy. Heck people are shocked whenever I say that I was in speech therapy. Or a recent one is deciding on what kind of laptop I should get so that I can do video editing or art on the train rides to and from work. I think that caused me to not post as many videos and content cause I was worried about if people will like it vs just evaluating what worked and what didn't. I am hoping for future content that I will be more on just getting it out there vs being fancy. 

On hold for 2018

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Freelancing

Being able to work full time as a 3D artist has helped me cut down on looking for freelance work. Though I haven't been freelancing since I landed this job, I have done a couple of projects here and there. Though this year I am putting that on hold for the time being. If anything I want to focus on collaborations that can help provide more content opportunities for tutorials and possibly interviews. 

Selling Art

This is more of playing by ear. I have a couple of ideas that I want to play around with but for the time being, I am not going to push merchandise unless its something that you the fans would love to own not just an "I think people would love this as a *insert merch item* you should make it. If you personally want one of my works, let me know and I will add it to my Redbubble store!

Ok, now things I want to do, continue doing or bring back in 2018!

Saturday morning cartoons on TWITCH + Animating again!

I miss streaming and interacting with you guys! This is a two-parter cause not only that I want to bring back the stream, but I want to create some animated shorts. The idea I had was each Saturday, I will animate a small portion of the animated film and post each section up on my Instagram. Once I finish animating the whole animated short, I will then add music and sound to it along with the backgrounds etc. I have two films idea in mind for this year with hopefully a fan suggested the third film. I also want to do mini demos with the films so that if you're interested in animation you can ask questions as I stream! I have had a thought of doing a monthly "Chris Jaser Animated Stories" sort of like theoddonesout or Jaiden Animation style of animation but have to find the right store for that but we shall see!

Tutorials Tutorials Tutorials!

One thing I have found this year has been that I love sharing my knowledge with you guys and you guys enjoy it as well. I actually started creating a list of tutorials that I want to make and its already at 46+ videos ideas (which I plan to add more throughout this year). I am hoping these videos will help you guys on your artist journeys throughout 2018. I really love making them and if I don't over think them I hope to have them out each week. I also plan on developing an online course this year. One that leans more towards a career in arts as well as a drawing and animation courses. 

VLOG, BLOG & Film?

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So I experimented with vlogging when I was doing inktober this past October. I was surprised how much I actually enjoy doing it more. As well as with each tutorial I want to add a blog post with additional information! As far as filming, I would like to try my hand at creating some live action short films. Either with a script or just documenting my journeys. Good reasons to get out of the house and film!

Molly's Follies Comic (was there any doubt?)

Molly's Follies has been one of my favorite projects to work on since starting it in 2015 (wow its going to be coming up on 3 years on this cartoon...). I am hoping to keep incorporating them into the tutorials as vlogs but I would also like to be able to continue comics each week. I have a whole list of ideas for the new comics. It will be more about posting them more frequently on here as well as Instagram. 

2017 to 2018

2017 I will admit hasn't been the greatest year for me but it hasn't been the worst. I am finding myself in a better place and I hope to continue that into 2018. While I might not reach everything on this self-evaluation, it's still good to asset what I want and I don't want in this life. Overall it's more about how I want to be remembered and what I left for this world to enjoy. Here is to 2018! let's make it a great one! 

-Chris J

TUTORIAL: How to use Color Pencils to make your drawings pop!