Behind the Comic: Staying the Course With Notion
I guess you’re suppose to disclose “This is not sponsored” when discussing a product, but I don’t have a huge following for that to matter. Recently, I’ve been trying to find ways to tackle my procrastination. I tried setting reminders and a little tasks on my calendar, but I would always ignore them. It has become easier to push something off to “tomorrow” or disregard my calendar. This behavior is an obstacle for me, and has been for my whole life. In regards to art, I feel like there is no room for growth with my current approach. I’m not someone that preaches productivity or feel like you need to do something with ever second of your time. I can’t say that I like the idea of wasting a day. I have wasted many days so far since the start of the new year. I wrote a post sometime last year, about how I don’t want to consider this a hobby anymore. I see what I’m doing as my craft, and I want to dedicate the time to be a proper craftsman at the work that I do. Finding ways to outgrow a part of myself that I no longer want to identify with has been challenging.
Looking at the other artists and other parts of my life, I found myself at Notion. I tried Notion many times in the past, but didn’t have a firm grasp on how to use it. This time I utilize the ways that I seen other artists use it, and the project management approach from my 9 to 5. I always had an idea (way too many ideas), but never really a direction. My Notion is grounding the ideas that have been floating around in my head, and organizing them into approachable tasks. Rather than just starting with a sketch, I’m breaking down all the requirements that I need in order to make my idea a reality. Going back to my background in software engineering, this is a key component before starting any project. When I took a step back from my art, I realized the project management principles from software development apply here. I’m embarrassed at how long it took me to reach this revelation, but glad it was sooner rather than later.
I feel that through Notion, I will have the direction and professionalism that I need to take my craft to the next level. Currently, my goals are to have a new drawing each month, work on oneshots, work on fleshing out two graphic novels, and practice with Blender. This can feel overwhelming with managing work and the ever changing world around me, but it’s a challenge that I want to tackle. Another thing that Notion is helping my do is to break down the process into a formula, so that I won’t cut corners and focus on consistency. When creating a comic, I need to make a outline, character design, storyboard/script, and sketching. This wasn’t my process before, I didn’t create an outline and would character design when I felt like it. I want to operate in a way that is true and honest to the craft and myself.
I’ll make sure to do my post about my project management journey with Notion (or any other tool that interests me) in the future. There has been a lot that has thrown me off my center. There will be much more in the future that will throw me off my center. If I can place my trust in a tool that can keep my honest and focus to allow me to stay the course that’s all I can hope for. There is so much that I want to give back to the world through my art. There is so much that I want to accomplish with my art. When I look at myself honestly, I can’t do those things with my previous approach.
One Love,
I am Charles Williams
