Reflection 13&14

"Last"

“I couldn't possibly be as unproductive next week as I was this week.” I drew in three panels this week (one less than last week’s four). I wanted to get out of the rut for this week – that was the plan. I clearly didn’t accomplish that. I think I’m pretty much burned out for the drawing portion of this project. It’s safe to say that the drawing phase is over. I just can’t anymore. It feels too forced. I did like the story I created and how what I actually put on paper came out though. Even if it’s still pretty much in the beginning.

"Ow"

This week I drew in no panels - I'm preparing for the presentation. I was able to draw a total of 113 panels in the span of 4 months. That’s actually pretty good compared to my past rate. When I used to draw comic books they weren’t released consistently. I would draw all 44 panels in one day (that’s how much was in one comic) but then wouldn’t start in the next for about maybe two months. I didn’t really get that recuperation period with this project. So I drew 25 more panels than I would have if I followed my old ways. These were also high quality (I like to think) as compared to my old ones so there’s another plus. I’m a tiny bit disappointed I didn’t get farther in the story but I can’t say I didn’t see this coming. I just thought this time might be different.

Reflection 12

"The Plan"

Brace yourself for the disappointment. I made a pathetic 4 panels this week. I’m trying to think hard about why I was so unproductive this week but I can’t get it. I know I had enough time (many classes didn't give homework because of APs). I guess I just wanted a break. I saw that I finally had free time to do nothing and I wanted to use it all. However, if I’m not using my free time to do something I love then that’s a problem. The plan for next week is to get out of this rut. I couldn't possibly be as unproductive next week as I was this week.

Reflection 11

"The Climax?!"

          So last week I planned to implement a schedule for this week and it worked pretty well. I missed two days so i didn't draw as much as I could have but I did more this week than I've done in a while. This week I drew in 22 more panels. I believe there was only one other time where I drew over 20 panels in a week and I think that was 21 so this is a new record! My goal for next week is to break this record (by sticking to the schedule). And no, that isn't the climax.

Reflection 10

"My Own Eye"

This week I drew in 16 more panels. My weekly average seems have been 15 so far, but hopefully that will change this coming week. 15, I think, is an ok number but it could be better. This week I will be implementing a schedule that will hopefully help me draw more panels. I’m going to try to dedicate 30min each day to just drawing for this comic. I timed myself today and saw that I drew 7 panels in 30min with relatively few distractions. That means I could very well have over forty by the end of the week if I stick to this new schedule. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish the entire comic before the deadline but I’m aiming to get decently far into the story.

Reflection 9

"Time"

As I look back at my project thus far, I feel I've wasted a lot of time (when does this project even end?). I envisioned myself farther without the comic book than I currently am though I can’t say I didn't expect this (I’m still in the beginning of the story!). I knew I had a problem with time management when it came to drawing these things but I was pretty enthusiastic in the beginning. I felt like I could draw for days. I didn't lose enthusiasm, I’m just disappointed that I couldn't power through like I planned to do. Progress is still good for this week though - I added 15 more panels.

Reflecion 8

This week I drew in 10 more panels. It's not that great but it's progress nonetheless. I like the way everything is looking so far. There's not really much else to say; i'm in full blown drawing mode. Most of my progress was made in one day so i think i could make a lot more progress by spacing out my drawing sessions. If i can do 7 panels in one sitting i don't see why 20+ in a week should be that hard. My goals for next week remain the same - draw more.

Reflection 7

"Eye Contact"

I didn't make as much progress as I’d wanted to this break but I made progress nonetheless. I drew in 13 additional panels which isn't that bad. I also took a trip to the store to re-stock on my lead for my lead pencil so that shouldn't be a problem anymore. Starting out this project I thought that thinking of the story line would be the difficult part – that’s how it usually is, right? I didn't think drawing would become such a problem. It’s not that I don’t like doing it, it just surprisingly requires a lot of time. That and I suppose I get easily distracted between panels. I’ll try to focus more while I’m drawing. My goals for next week remain the same; draw more panels.

Reflection 6

This (technically last) week i made absolutely no progress whatsoever. There were a couple of projects due and major tests this week. That combined with homework, i just didn't have time to work on the drawings. I also noticed the week goes by pretty fast - 7 days really isn't a lot of time (at least with this schedule). I could't even make use of the in class 20% time because I had an EMT test to take in the morning. I plan to overdo it for the remainder of the spring break. I need to make up for last week's lack of progress and for any potential (and probable) upcoming unproductive weeks. I'm not going to give myself a specific number but i just want to try to draw as many panels as possible.

REFLECTION V

"It Begins"

“Aim for the sky so that if you fall, you’ll land on a mountain”. This week I drew a whopping 15 panels. Last week I promised a minimum of 21 panels from by 3-panels-a-day plan but that didn't really work out - I failed. But, like I said before, I made 15 panels! That’s more than twice the amount I made (6) last week so that’s great. I’m still proud of the progress I made and now I’ll aim for 25 next week. If I raise the bar, I’ll have to try harder to accomplish my goals and the herder I try, the more progress I make. I just hope I wasn't just lucky this week and that I can keep the rate at which I’m drawing this comic consistent.

Reflection IV

"     "

I was able to draw 6 more comic panels during this past week. I definitely made progress but it wasn't the type of progress I was anticipating. I’m still only in the beginning of the story. When I said I’d draw more the previous week, I had about 20-30 more panels in mind. I now know that I have to dedicate some time each day to drawing. I can’t just leave it to my free time because school and other obligations don’t allow much of that. I feel like if I can make myself draw something each day of this week, I can make a significant amount of progress. I’ll try to get in at least 3 panels in each day (starting today) so that by the end of the week, the minimum I’ll have is 21 new panels – which is great. I’m also pretty sure I can squeeze in more than just three per day so by the end of this week I know I’ll make significant progress on the drawing portion of my comic book. The picture above is just a random scene I chose. As you can see, I’m using stick figures because I’m most comfortable with them. I like to portray a lot of action in my drawings so they’re the perfect choice for drawing action scenes (because there will be a lot of panels and I don’t necessarily have the skill, patience, nor time to learn to draw and actually draw realistically). 

Reflection III

This week I didn't really do much because I ran out of lead for my lead pencil. It sounds like a bad excuse, but it’s true. Luckily, I found some more lead now so my problem has been solved. I added a little more to the story line and drew in a few more panels. I have 9 panels in total. I’m definitely going to have to really start drawing more for next week because I realized I’m pretty behind in that. So, this week I will focus on drawing rather than building the story (which I already have plenty of). 

Reflection II

"The Cover"

This week I made a bit of progress sketching out the first couple of panels for the comic. I have the title page above and although i don’t intend to color it, I’ll probably make some changes here and there as time goes on. I'm not entirely sure if that'll be the final version. The only obstacle i ran into this week was that my lead pencil ran out of lead so that's pretty good. Other than that, things are going pretty smoothly. I'll also make it clear now that I’m not some amazing comic book artist, i plain to use stick figures. Not bad stick figures - reasonable, good ones. It'll still look nice but I’m not that great a drawer and if i tried to draw everything with actual people i don’t believe id be able to finish and I’m almost certain id get tired of struggling every panel. It’s a big story and there’s a lot to draw. I'll try to start the actual comic next week.

Reflection I

Progress

This week (and a couple of weeks before it I guess) I made a significant amount of progress with my comic book. As you can see above, I drew out a template page for the boxes that I’ll be using throughout the whole project. I had to be efficient with space so measurements were necessary and precise. Besides, this is the template from which all my other pages will be built on – it had to be good. Besides that, I have about five “screens of notes” on my phone that outline the entire plot. There’s still room for more but I put down a lot. I was actually having trouble figuring out how to begin the story. I knew how I wanted it to begin, but I didn't know how to begin it (if that makes sense). However, I figured that out in 20% time so I believe I can actually start drawing very soon. I also drew the cover page but I’ll save that for next week. The title is “Out For Milk” – I’m feeling pretty proud of this one.

Twenty Percent Proposal 2.0 (2nd Semester)

          My 20% time project will be making a comic book. It'll be fairly long (I have like 4 months) and be in black in white. Not that i'm lazy, I just personally like them better in black and white. I used to make alot of comics when i was younger but i stopped because i just dont have time anymore - but now there's 20% time. All i'll need for this project is a pencil, some paper, and my imagination so that'll be easy. The only obstacle i can forsee is being "bored". Not necesaarily with the project, but with doing it. I tend to plan out the entire story in my head before i finish the first page and it becomes boring doing what i thought of 20 days ago (an exaggeration, sort of). As a matter of fact, I've already thought up an outline for, what i believe to be, 80% of the story. I'll try to take my time on the planning stage so I can make it with no regrets then i'll spend the rest of my twenty percent time drawing out what i planned. That's what my twenty percent time in and out of school will consist of. That's it.

Reflection 14

This week I had a reality check and realized that this project is due next week. I crammed like there was no tomorrow. I'm focusing on polishing the skills I already know because I haven't practiced them in a while. I’m still “cramming” right now but I’ll have to start working on the video soon. There’s not really any time to start learning a new move. I’ll use the weekend to keep developing my skills and start recording on Monday. The video will most likely be a short collaboration if the things I learned. That should give me enough time to be ready for the presentations on the 16th.

Reflection 13

This week, in addition to a younger cousin that came in the beginning of winter break, another cousin came and left just yesterday. I didn’t get much done. I actually had to hide the ball because no matter how many times I told them “it doesn’t bounce” they’d continue to try. There’s the holidays. Basically all I have this week are a bunch of excuses – none of which I think are valid. Sure it would’ve been hard but I could’ve done something. Not much has changed since reflection 12 in terms of progress. By next week I’ll be relative-free so I should have something to show by then.

Reflection 12

Eh

It's not that i didn't make progress this week, it’s just that I'm a bit frustrated with the chest roll. I've managed to complete each part of the move except the ending. The frustrating thing is that there is nowhere online where I can find how to end the move - I'm completely on my own. I worked on isolations for the most part and I'm getting better at it. I also made a post about "The Elevator" a while ago but I'm trying to make it look better. So my plan for next week is to continue making progress.

Reflection 11

Multitasking

         I think it’s time I faced the fact that I’m wasting time on this chest roll. I’ve literally been doing this for about a month now; I’m going to start multitasking. I’m wasting too much time on this one move and I haven’t even completed it yet. I’m not abandoning this endeavor completely – I’m just going to start simultaneously learning other moves. Progress on the chest roll is already pretty slow so I don’t expect it to get much slower. The move isn’t too difficult. The lack of progress is most likely directly related to my lack of practice. This week I practiced a little more than last week but it still isn’t enough. For next week, I’ll start learning another move (maybe even complete it).

Reflection 10

         This week I was actually able to practice for a decent amount of time and I made significant progress (still doing that closed arm roll). A couple of hours ago as I was practicing I tried starting the roll by lifting my fingertips. The ball was a thousand times easier to control! I went from 15% to 60% mastery just like that. No video I watched described that lifting your fingertips was the proper way to start the move so it definitely was an important discovery. As of now, I just want to get this move down by the end of this project. Its taking a lot longer than anticipated but I think it’s worth it. Next week I’ll keep practicing and hopefully, with my newly discovered technique, I’ll finally complete the move.

Reflection 9

          Last week I said that I’d work harder this week but that didn’t happen. In fact, I think I made more progress last week than this one. We didn’t have 20% time last week so that was a huge drawback. And then, even though we had two days off, we had a lot of family over for thanksgiving so there was no time to practice. I think I might actually have a real solution this week though. I’ll simply practice in the morning. I always have some time before I leave the house for school and I’d be able to do it every day. I’ll try it out.