#personalblip

Living so close to my SO has brought us closer, and has made me a better partner and roommate. It is tiring to be around someone so extroverted, but in that regard, we respect each others’ time.

Working temp artist jobs has given me a very specific outsider’s perspective on the digital design process and the knowledge of what I need to be competitive in this industry. When it comes to a job search, I am miles ahead of where I was when I left college, in both experience and judgement, but I still don’t know where to go from where I am right now.

In the last year I average about ten hours of board games and RP games a week, probably more (see my media consumption blog). It’s fundamentally changed my creative problem solving and critical thinking. I’m learning patience. I’ve met some of the most interesting and friendly people, and a core social group, through the hobby.

I’ve started to make time for novels again, and I wonder how I was ever too busy to have a book.

Things have been going so fast lately. I started a freelance gig where I basically do tiny changes in hundreds of files, in a real office. The days are very slow, but I’m learning so much. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a company so completely organized. I used to take the stance of “everyone is just keeping their nose above water”, but honestly this experience is changing that. Apparently temp work is exactly what I needed to learn new skills and meet new people.

So somehow in the last 2 years I’ve gone from finishing a degree in animation to working for real money in a related occupation. My skillset has so diversified that I don’t even know if I’m an animator anymore. I wanted to make a comic of this, and I still might. If I believe the artists and interviews I’ve read or listened to, at some point, if I work hard enough, I’ll figure out what really works for me. And then I won’t be an animator/illustrator/production artist/etc, I’ll just be my own style or title.