Happy January and Happy New Year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! π₯³πβ¨
I hope you all have had a lovely start to the New Year, and if you haven't, that' s okay, too! A perfect start isn't necessary for a wonderful year ahead π
New Year's is my favorite holiday: a fresh start, a new planner, exciting new goals, blank pages ready to spill some art on-- it's so fun!!
I like to use this time of year (ranging from Nov/Dec to the end of January) to reflect on what's been going on the last twelve months. What's working? What was hard? What was easy? What's something I want to change? What do I feel excited to do? Where do I want to go? What habits do I want to bring with me or cultivate this coming year? How can I make things easier for myself?
Quick note: You are not lazy, unproductive, bad, or "behind" if you're not doing goals or a resolution for New Year! I very much only set goals/plans for myself because I find it fun and enjoyable, and it's not something I think everyone should do. So don't feel bad if you're not doing this kind of thing! π
By contrast, if you're the kind of person who also gets excited for New Year, then I hope this newsletter gets you excited, too! π
Also-- it's my birthday this week! π I'm excited to celebrate, hopefully with a couple days off, some homemade cream puffs, and a nice dinner π
Thank You + A Gift
Before I start the rest, I want to thank you! Thank you so much for being here or joining me for the first time in 2023, for reading these newsletters of mine, checking out my work, and supporting me. I really appreciate you being here, and I hope to bring you some fun and interesting things this year!
As a thank you for your support, please enjoy these free mini comics! You can head over to my new Subscriber Gifts page to download three mini comics for your personal library. Enter with this password: urthebest
Be sure to download them soon because that page will be updated periodically with fresh new goodies!
Also, if there's anything you'd like to see me offer in 2024, please let me know! I'm excited to share more with you this year! Thank you so much for being here, and I hope you enjoy the comics π
2023 Reflection
I have been describing 2023 as the year of mistakes, and I think it fits 2023 just right! lol I say this in a positive way, though. I made a lot of mistakes in 2023, and that's because I tried a lot of new things! I'm honestly so proud of myself and the things I've done and learned in 2023 and how I've grown as a person.
I learned three key things in 2023 that I'm bringing with me into 2024:
1. I need to go easier on myself.
2. I need to show up for myself the way I show up for others.
3. I need to rest more.
In November, I realized that I was putting so much of my time, energy, and labor into supporting others and building wonderful things with other people that I didn't have enough left over for myself. I burned out a bit, and I couldn't finish my plans for my own work in 2023, let alone start any new art.
So December was a reset! I still did things to help others, but I put myself first more often: I rested. I read comics. I cleaned my home for New Year. I baked. I set up my 2024 planner and reading journal. I created a new work routine. I caught up on my emails and got my open tabs under control. I spent time with my partner. It was really refreshing.
And now it's January, and I'm filled with determination to use the lessons I learned in 2023 to make more mistakes and to learn and try more new things!
Here's a look at one of my 2024 goals spread in my planner. Still marinating on exactly what I want to include, so I'm waiting to fill these out til a few weeks into January to make sure I'm not just cramming ALL the things in here like I have in the past lol. If you like this set up, you should check out JashiiCorrin on youtube, which is where I got this new-to-me layout to try!
2024 Plans
I'm a big fan of New Year's resolutions and goals. I know a lot of people hate them or consider them useless, but they have truly helped me every year! Even if I don't end up accomplishing my goal(s), taking the time to really think about what I want to do in the upcoming year and then taking steps toward those goals helps me to figure out the direction I want to go in and to develop my habits and skills.
This newsletter will never end if I list all of my goals or go into the breakdown for each of these ones shared, so here's a quick look at my main ones lol:
- improve my marketing skills
- make more comics
- make more art
- talk to more people
- buy and read more mini and micro digital comics directly from artists
- prepare for a move that may or may not come (still hoping it's a yes!)
- play and rest more
- trust in myself more
And of course-- read more comics π I read 150 comics last year (not including the mini + micro ones I read on social media bc omg, I wouldn't have space in my journal for them all! π), and I'm wondering if I can make it past 200 this year π€
I'm still figuring out all the ways I want to implement this goal of showing up for myself more, and the first step I'm taking is to not pressure myself to have it all figured out right now. I'm giving myself permission to learn more on the way instead of before I even begin, and that flexibility has me feeling more energized and excited.
I'm also working really hard... to not work so damn hard lol. I'm not great at relaxing these days (ahem-- years). My ADHD makes me really antsy and bored if I do what is typically considered "resting": not doing much, just relaxing. So I decided I need to do other things that are fun and interesting instead of just resting, and that means: more hobbies. lol One of those is my comics reading journal! I've got my 2024 pages set up, and I'm excited to play with it and use to read even more comics this year instead of turning to social media because my hands are antsy.
What are some things you're hoping to do or accomplish in 2024? I would love to hear about them, and please know that I'm rooting for you!! The world is hard on us, but I like to think we can still make bright spots in it. I hope you find or make a bright spot of your own this year! π
Behind the Scenes
If you're interested in seeing more about the way I'll be using my planner and reading journal, I'll be sharing that over on Patreon!
Here's a look at a mostly filled out page from 2023, as well as just a few of the 2024 pages I'll be sharing over on Patreon this year!
In the Studio
While the year just started, I do have a bit of art I can show you! It's a WIP that I started back in-- omg, AUGUST! I had to check, it's been so long π I'm finally getting around to it, and I'm enjoying it a lot (and ignoring the other WIPs I have in Procreate π). I started working on it again last week, and I'm very excited to start the plants next. I'm aiming for luscious details and all kinds of shades of soft and moody greens!
It's a standalone piece, not part of any longer comic (as far as current me knows anyway lol). I made the original sketch around a difficult anniversary for me as a reminder that ...it's okay. I'm okay. It will be okay.
I want to make more things like this-- just exploring a single page of an incomplete story more. I think it's a helpful exercise to try to condense the emotional impact of a moment into a single scene or a few panels, and I enjoyed practicing the layout of the dialogue around the characters.
In addition to this piece, I've decided that my first full comic for the year will most likely be the one I've been putting off for the longest as I got distracted by so many other things lol. I can't remember if I've mentioned it before, but it's a comic with the working title of Cath Palug (kah-th pah-loog).
It's a short trans vengeance story exploring the ways we can horrify ourselves with our capacity for violence and questioning how far we can go before we become that which fear. And it includes a bit of Welsh lore: a GIANT, MAN-EATING CAT!
I can't wait to share more with you!
Comics Read in December
December saw the highest reading count of 2023 BY FAR: I read 34 whole comics!! It was a really nice time, and I felt lucky to have so many great series to read, too π₯°
- Sweat and Soap, Volumes 6-11
- Matcha Made in Heaven, Volumes 1-6
- Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales
- Does Maribella Want a Croissant? (this was a ShortBox Comics Fair comic; linking to the promo of it so you can follow the artist and see if they release it again later!)
- NAPKIN! Or: Shelby Takes the Long Way Home (another ShortBox)
- EXTINCTION (another ShortBox; I also recommend this creator's comic Wolvendaughter)
- When Death Comes, I Will Follow (another ShortBox)
- Birds of the Storm (another ShortBox)
- My Love Mix-Up! Volumes 1-9
- Incredible Doom, Volume 1
- Incredible Doom, Volume 2
Minis + Micros Online:
Here are the mini and micro comics I read from creators online last month. So far, these have been mostly on social media, but I'm hoping to include more from artist websites this year, too!
- teaching horror comics classes is fun
- I hope
- nothing like a straight girl to never help you realize you're a guy who's into girls
- The red roses of DoΓ±a Mercedes
- New Year's Resolutions for Frogs
- I'm Glad That We Both Exist at the Same Time
- A comic about Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and typos
- secrets I keep at the side of my neck
- ππ
- But What Were You Ashamed of?
- You are loved, desperately so.
- I will show you all your wrongdoings
- New Crow Time π¦π¦ββ¬
- Journal comics - keep learning
- 231226 λͺ¨λλ€ λ°λ»ν μ°λ§ λμκΈΈ λ°λμππ
- 231229 κ°μ‘± π§π§π±π
Recent Favorites
Here are a few of my favorite things from recent weeks:
- having my partner home more often
- these absolutely delicious brown butter pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
- my comics reading journal and my 2024 planner (I use a letter sized Vernal Sunset and a B5 sized Snail, respectively, both from Archer + Olive sales)
- Zebra Mildliners (especially the mild gold color) and Tombow Dual Brush Pens
- a 2024 calendar and stickers from Raahat Kaduji
- horror movies! Here are a few I enjoyed recently (be sure to look up content warnings): Barbarian (2022), The Boogeyman (2023), No One Will Save You (2023), Krampus (2015) (rewatch lol), and Cobweb (2023)
See You Next Time!
That's it for today! Hope you have a wonderful January start to the year, and I hope you can get some rest and good food this month to keep your spirits up π I'll be returning to sending the newsletters out on the first after this month!
If you want more behind the scenes looks at my work, downloads, sneak peeks at my work, and other goodies, you can join me on Patreon!
Thanks for reading! π
With love,
they/them
