Thriving and Improving for 2020 – Redux

2020 is only less than a month away from coming to an ending. Being a Black creative has taken many valleys and hills during this unpredictable year. But recent events have left me hesitantly optimistic.

I’ve been expanding my business to turn my passions into a steady income. Marketing through Patreon, Etsy , and Fiverr has allowed me to grow my business in different ways.  I might pursue one or two more avenues to market my services. Operating an LLC has been the best decision I’ve made in the past few years. Working for myself has its good and bad days, but tapping into my inner entrepreneur has allowed me to become more familiar with the business side of art. 

I’m still working towards getting the necessary equipment needed to fulfill my creative dreams. While some things have become reality, there are still things in the works.

While I seek independence for my creativity, freelance opportunities have been slowly coming to me as more individuals and businesses looking to freelancers and independent contractors to fill much-needed roles. Some new opportunities haven’t panned out, but I’m still grinding to expand my client base.

Despite taking a break from my design work, I plan on finishing up Brothas and Losing Valarie before 2021 arrives. For the first time, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Before year’s end, I finish my work on interiors and exteriors for both series. Because in 2021, I’m all about character designs as I try finishing up some summer leftovers while creating new ones.

In 2021, I plan on spending my time focusing on my action adventure series. I want dedicate my art skills to creating a visual representation of that show.

On a side note, I have decided to do my annual Black History Month project. I’m still working out whether to continue my current project or start something new. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Thriving and Improving for 2020

2020 is only less than a month away from coming to an ending. Being a Black creative has taken many valleys and hills during this unpredictable year. But recent events have left me hesitantly optimistic.

I’ve been expanding my business to turn my passions into a steady income. Marketing through Patreon, Etsy , and Fiverr has allowed me to grow my business in different ways.  I might pursue one or two more avenues to market my services. Operating an LLC has been the best decision I’ve made in the past few years. Working for myself has its good and bad days, but tapping into my inner entrepreneur has allowed me to become more familiar with the business side of art. 

I’m still working towards getting the necessary equipment needed to fulfill my creative dreams. While some things have become reality, there are still things in the works.

While I seek independence for my creativity, freelance opportunities have been slowly coming to me as more individuals and businesses looking to freelancers and independent contractors to fill much-needed roles. Some new opportunities haven’t panned out, but I’m still grinding to expand my client base.

Despite taking a break from my design work, I plan on finishing up Brothas and Losing Valarie before 2021 arrives. For the first time, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Before year’s end, I finish my work on interiors and exteriors for both series. Because in 2021, I’m all about character designs as I try finishing up some summer leftovers while creating new ones.

In 2021, I plan on spending my time focusing on my action adventure series. I want dedicate my art skills to creating a visual representation of that show.

On a side note, I have decided to do my annual Black History Month project. I’m still working out whether to continue my current project or start something new. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Business…Man!

Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com

Forging My Own Path

Before all the chaos, pandemics, and civil unrest took over in 2020, I decided this would be the year I finally took a risk on myself and create my content on my terms. So far, forging this path hasn’t been easy.

Character silhouette

In creating my own path, my eyes have been opened to how hard it can be for someone like me with all the creativity but minimal business sense. In order to make that transition a little easier, I’ve decided to make to create Patreon and Etsy pages to help me not only fund my own projects but to sell some of the design work I’ve been stockpiling the last few years. I see this opportunity to make help my creative dreams come true while giving to those who have supported me over the years.

For years, I’ve had certain ideas floating in my head with some of those that can be seen on this website (check my “Multimedia Art” menu for more). I want to do comedies, dramas, action-adventure, mystery, sci-fi and so much more. On top of the fact, I’ve been sitting on scripts, designs, story bibles, and so much more ready to be seen. And I’m tired of waiting for my chance. So I decided, in order to create the content I want to see, I will need to recruit other creators of color (especially Black ones) to help make animated content for the marginalized and underserved. But I need funds, that’s where Patreon and Etsy come into play. Plus, Hollywood is rushing for anything animated given the current state of live-action fare so strike while the iron is hot.

Photo by Retha Ferguson on Pexels.com

With that said, I’ve been concentrating on my personal projects for the past month or so. Most of many work can be seen on Instagram while some will be revealed over the course of the summer. It’ll definitely be worth the wait.

While I seek independence for my creativity, more freelance opportunities have been coming my way. The pandemic had put a stop to my freelance work for a while, but with the economy slowly reopening, more people are willing to hire freelancers and independent contractors. Some new opportunities haven’t panned out, but I’m still grinding to expand my client base.

I’m still working on my personal projects as I mentioned before. Some of those results will start to pop up on my site pretty soon so be on the lookout.