Headsup...

[ellenmillion]

Just a note that about half... maybe more... of my EMG designs are going away in the next week or so; most of the stationery, single-color cards and bookmarks, in particular. If there's something you've been thinking about, this may well be your last chance:

http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/fantasyart/emgartist.php?profile=9

It's just looking too dated!

I'm putting together a progress page showing my progression over the last several years - inspired by Michele-lee's recent post and the forum at FAE. I'll tell you, it makes me feel old and somewhat stagnant... some of the threads, and Michele's progress in particular, show this incredible progression of talent and skill in such a remarkably short time. I've made progress, yes, but it's spread out over 13 years, not 13 months. I feel slow and untalented. Stubborn, yes, and better, yes, but not as much better as I ought to be for the years I've put into this. If I were going at their rate, I should be da Vinci by now!! I have excellent excuses for not being terribly far along (EMG, day job until recently, built a house, got a degree in engineering), but as Ursula says in next month's EMG-Zine, I have never seen anybody listed in an art history book for the quality of their excuses.

I'd feel worse about my rant on the EMG boards scolding people for not participating in the boot camps - except that complaining actually made people go do the projects, and honestly, I've been sorely frustrated with it. Weeks and weeks of just my scribbles. I can do my own private exercises, no need to embarrass myself and spend time organizing these things if no one else wants to play along, so pff. I feel only marginally bad. In fact, I don't feel really bad for the scolding - I only feel bad for not appreciating as much as I should... most of the artists who replied are already very active in the forums, and it wasn't *really* them that I was aiming at. And sometimes you just need a good little hissy fit.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were ways to learn lessons that didn't involve doing stuff spectacularly and regretably wrong? Ah well... live and learn!

Comments

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Eh. You have been busy doing other things. This is not an excuse. You don't use it as an excuse. If you decide that huge leaps and bounds of improvement in your artistic skill is what you need to be showing/doing/proving, you will turn your mighty attention to it and you will improve. I have come to believe people do things in the time that they are ready to do them in, so if that time has come for you, you'll do it. I have plenty o' faith. :)

[celticwren.livejournal.com]

Are you keeping Wild Roses? Have you thought about coloring that one the rest of the way in? :)

Re Boot Camp : I think we all owe some push ups and boot shining... ( I feel like Beetle Bailey!)

[benevolntgoddes.livejournal.com]

I'm a numbskull. I sent you an email about it but didn't want you to miss it in the rush to get my order out.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Got your note, and no problem!! :)

[littlefire.livejournal.com]

I am so sorry I've not done the bootcamps. I've been completely overwhelmed with stuff lately and barely have time to do my commissions! I've still made a list of them, though, and desire to do them...just gotta find time between the baby, the new job, the commissions, etc.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't pay me too much mind. I'm just tired and grumpy and occasionally have a need to flail in outrage. Your participation has been welcome and I appreciate it! :)

[songblade.livejournal.com]

I blame overtime and online games :X not good excuses at all...

in light of my crappy fans not buying Wish3's print volumes... should we discontinue? :( should I THREATEN to discontinue, to see if any sales happen? I feel bad about the principle you put up, I worry about it x.o

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Aw! *hugs* I am running numbers like a computer lately, and I'm taking a good hard look at numbers. Mostly what I'm hating is the money I wasted on trying to print these in an entirely *wrong* format... I should have taken when I invested initially and put it into this perfect binding from the beginning - we'd be in fine shape at this point. I've made so many mistakes on printing Wish3 that I just feel attrocious. I owed it more. And I think that a lot of its lack of raging success is in my court - for these reasons.

I'm sort of stalled out for the night in brain power, but I'm not seriously considering discontinuing Wish3 - I *do* know a lot more about what I've done wrong, and how I should have done things. :) I think that it'll only pick up from here, and my regrets are all about what I've done (and not done), not the quality of the work I'm still learning how to get 'out there.'

[songblade.livejournal.com]

I also blame myself for not promoting my own gorram book as well as I should x.o I'm gonna go to a convention and try to sell it there, but alas.. eh. I wouldn't mind if you stopped printing it and just sold the stuff we already got... I'm gonna make an announcement about this, something needs to spur sales >:(

[jewelz-star.livejournal.com]

..."Wouldn't it be nice if there were ways to learn lessons that didn't involve doing stuff spectacularly and regretably wrong? Ah well... live and learn!"...

Oh yes indeed it would!! *hugs*

[renatus.livejournal.com]

I posted why I haven't participated in the rant thread. I don't expect you to necessarily DO anything about it - I know perfectly well my sense of humour doesn't always work! - but I thought I owed it to you to tell you why.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I appreciate it! I did ask for a little more clarification, though - basically, is it the boot camp/army theme that puts you off from doing them entirely? Or is it just a slight bad odor to something that you hadn't gotten to doing yet, but probably would anyway if you had time or inclination? I mean, if it's honestly putting someone off of doing something they'd otherwise enjoy and make time for, it definitely needs a re-think.

[renatus.livejournal.com]

Okay. :) I'll go answer over on the board. ^_^