005 : CHOICE
- 24 hours ago
- 5 min read
Welcome, new and old!
Here's what happened since the last update:
mapped out a lot possible video topics
drafted outline for an email-program
made a 3D model of a mannequin (very essential)
wrote three scripts for videos
What have we learned?
How will we move forward?
Let's see!
Showing Off
Probably not going to be a regular segment, but I would at least like to show you what I've been cooking up.
This is a character I've made in Blender for the videos I'll be making.
No, there isn't going to be further development beyond refinement. The character is just a mannequin because the idea of using a mannequin for all the surreal stuff I have planned was extremely funny to me (or at least, it proved to be more interesting than just using an audio visualizer while I ramble into the mic; not that there's anything wrong with that; I'd like to not repeat myself again).
The last time I've messed with any form of 3D modelling was months ago. And before that, well over a decade! Happy to see that this turned out well enough for simple posing. Time will tell if I decide to animate it; my skill with 3D animation is atrocious, but I'm chalking it up to not knowing Blender very well.
: :
This next part is less exciting, and maybe a bit incomprehensible to most of you, but still relevant to the process and may help you out in your own projects.
It's a shortlist of video topics. The ones in green are the ones I've made scripts for.
The scripts are semi-stream of consciousness outpourings at run on for about 700-900 words. Some of the future ones will likely go for longer once I get more comfortable with the process.
Of course, the videos themselves won't be like that. I'll just pick out the most useful sentences out of what's written. Why not just write what I need? Well, it's easier to philosophize and jam out a bunch of words in one sitting, pick out the most interesting ones and recycle the unused material for future pieces.
And, I'm not going to get into the alphabetical shorthand that I'm using for the layout, but the whole grid amounts to about 408 potential topics. There's no way I'll write all of these. But it ties back into the process of having surplus and remixing excess.
I get to stay busy while also not worrying about "running out" of things to talk about (which was a very frequent issue with my previous projects; I would outline a set amount of things, very rapidly reach the end, and then move on). Just one of many options that you could apply for yourself when working on your own projects, especially if you're prone to the same problems!
Anyway! Onto the reflections!
Reflections
You can usually get one idea for two (or more) because one idea is made up of several.
Every sentence in a paragraph is the start of its own paragraph. Every object in a painting is its own subject in a completely different painting. Any segment in a song can evolve into a myriad of new ones. Execution is often halted by time or energy, yes. But what about taste? What if you just hate the idea of creating something "mundane?" No one's stopping you from taking the idea and twisting it into something interesting. A "technical and dry" paragraph can be interesting. So can a picture of a bowl. So can a musical piece with one note.
Most of the time, what you need for a creative project already exists.
You just need the drive to look hard enough to find it (I recall looking, with great fervor, for something to make the quiz without requiring me to learn programming, and sure enough I found it, thank goodness). But if you've been searching for a long time and it hasn't landed in front of you yet, you might just have to be the one to bring it into existence, assuming you have the expertise. If you don't, do you have the drive and patience to look for that, too?
If you are afraid of executing an idea, it means you care about it.
In case you had any doubts about whether or not you care about your idea, this is a reminder that you have skin in the game and you don't want it to fail. You will either perform as well as you can to prevent this from happening, or you will bounce off of it in favor of something either more comfortable. Neither of these are the wrong choice.
Reality loves people that choose.
Maximize the number of deliberate choices you make. Exercise your agency.and develop the muscle to do it. In this, you'll make better choices. Ideally, it wouldn't be aimless. Reflect on what you want. Learn to spot opportunities related to it (there may be some around you that you may have been overlooking). Reason about your options and work to land on a strong "yes" or "no" for each option.
Related to the previous point, it's usually time to choose "yes" when the idea has been living in your head for months. Years.
Working up the nerve to start is often, purely, an internal battle. Some do recognize it sooner, but they're also ones to drop it and move on to something unrelated with just as much intensity. They may beat themselves up for it. It's not a bad thing. You're just looking for the thing you want to actually want to finish.
Parting questions for your own reflection:
What skills do you need for your goals? Would you rather spend time developing skills or find someone that already knows how to do what you're looking for? Are you taking the steps to cultivate the results from the approach you prefer?
Consider what you're thinking about starting. What happens if you do fail? What does that look like? Do you think you can handle it? Are you able to try again after failing? What about a year from now? Three? Five? Ten? Is it something you're willing to even continue for that long?
What was one decision in your life that, if you chose otherwise, would've radically altered where you are in your life right now? Are there many decisions like that in your life? Are you pleased with the choices you have made so far? What decisions do you want the opportunity to make? What will you do to create those opportunities?
Want to be notified the moment I upload the first video of whatever strange disaster this new video series is going to be?
Well, no, who would willingly want to watch a strange disaster.
What if I told you the videos would be about how to create worlds and characters from the perspective of an abstract being that's done it herself?
I'll let you decide for yourself.
(And to see all of the other videos I've made over the years.)
But, no pressure.
You'll be hearing about the new stuff here anyway.
That's all I have for you today.
Thank you for your time and attention.
Next update on the 15th, barring emergencies.
Until then,
👋