Turning the Tide
After 4 years of writing, off and on, about a variety of things such as odd thoughts, close calls, success (and failure) and other things now relegated to the archives, it’s time to switch directions and start anew.
From the get go I’ve always envisioned this site as an outlet for experimental creativity and to share the results of such with whomever was interested.
This site’s focus was never meant to be excluded to just a blog, but due to my interests in creative writing it just remained. Like Anton, I’ve been ready for quite some time to move away from just being a blog and realign (not that kind of realignment) my interests and the intentions of this site.
For historical preservation, I’ve decided to select the best articles from the archives and compile them into a book because I’d hate to see those disappear. Besides, I’d like to do some self-publishing and Lulu has me more than intrigued.
A Fresh Restart
What this means is that I’ll be transitioning the blog, or what you’re reading now, into a small, but important portion of the site. If you can think of it as the conversation that takes place after you’ve consumed a three-course meal, then you’ll understand what its purpose will be.
The main course of the meal will be the illustration and design, wrapped together in a fresh and fun layout that’ll hopefully immerse you in what I’ll have to offer. (Speaking of which, have you seen the new Squidfingers design?)
As corny as this might sound, I do appreciate each and every one of you who continues to subscribe to, read and interact with kartooner. There are plenty of you who should be proud of your design prowess and measure of intellect. Without you, I’d just be a guy with one of them-there blog thingies here in New York. In other words, channeling the mantra of Chris J. Davis, “You rawk!”.
Catching up with Goals
Part of the reason I’m so adamant about changing some things is because I need to finally meet my goal of finishing my comic. Yes, that comic, the one I’ve been talking about for a little over 2 years! After mixing it up with my friends at SXSW this year and absorbing the enthusiasm, I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to not just pursue, but chase after and tackle my goals.
I could just keep making excuses or continue playing trash basketball to bide the time, but that wasn’t why I chose this career in the first place. This is a journey of exploration and fascination that we’re all on, and I’m moving up a couple seats to see the full view.
Process and Innovation
On my panel at SXSWi this year I mentioned doing conceptual sketches for Sideville, using the movie Pirates of the Carribean as one of my source materials. I foresee using the blog to post my work in progress, kind of like Carson System’s Bare Naked App but without the app and the bare nakedness. It seems like people are interested in the process and craft of developing a project and appreciate that mistakes are made along the way.
As perfect as the end result might be, success needs to be constantly fine-tuned and recognizing trail and error is part of that process. Every brilliant and successful business or idea has to be built from the ground up and the visionary at the forefront of things needs to keep innovating and moving forward.
Sure, a lot of what success can be might seem serendipitous, but it’s the crucial element of keeping one’s eye on their goals that makes it both challenging and rewarding.
To sum it all up, I’ve got an idea and it’s time to take that from concept to reality. Join me.
In roughly 3 days I’ll be enroute to Austin, TX to take part in the SXSW (South by Southwest) Interactive conference. I’m bound to be a bit overwhelmed by the festivities and elbow-rubbing parties, but I won’t lie, I’m pretty excited to meet in person the numerous amounts of online buddies I’ve made and collaborated with over the years.