Oh man, guys. I feel like I gotta be real with you. I don't wanna sound like a whiner, but man.... oh MAN....
I've got a new job at a local hospital, in their Electronic Medical Records department. Sounds really important and official, right? Well, let me assure you that it's not nearly as interesting as it sounds. I basically sit in front of a computer, scanning pages from medical charts and sorting the files into folders. For 8 hours. Now, It's not really that difficult, being I've dealt with computers for the majority of my life and know my way around, inside & out of a scanner. And the people I work with are all really nice and it's great to not be stuck all alone all day every day. However, the job itself is soul-suckingly boring and I hate it.
The unfortunate thing right now is that I don't have a choice. I needed some kind of steady income, as my commission income is unpredictable month-to-month, and forces me to spend all of my time doing one-off pieces for others and no time to get back to working on my own projects (like COMICS). The catch is, now I come home so mentally drained that the last thing I want to do, after sitting for 8 hours in front of a computer doing work, is to come home and do MORE work, even if it is "fun" work.
I miss drawing. I miss making comics. I miss having FUN doing this. I'm hoping that this is just me getting used to having a steady job after being self-employed for over 2 years. If not, well... this IS just a temp thing. So we shall see. ;^_^ Let's hope I can get a new plan well in motion by then!
In other more BETTER news.... Here's some things I did! Hooray, things!
This first badge was done as a half-commission, half-favor. One of my fans, who goes by "BrightTail", needed to raise money to help his cat with some health issues, and asked me if he could have an "auction" for a badge commission from me, with all the proceeds going to his kitty. I don't do things like this that often, but BT has been great to me in the past, and is one of my more vocal, chatty followers on twitter, so I decided to help him out. Blackfoot was the highest bidder, and the above badge is his reward! It will print out to 4" x 6", and was done entirely in photoshop.
This next badge is easily the most complicated one I've ever done. I've done badges with characters who have multiple heads or limbs, and a few simple ones with 2 versions of the same character (usually a male & female), but this is the first one I've done with 2 fully detailed characters. The commissioner was fairly specific about how he wanted it, particularly when it came to D'Nae's body type, but it ended up being one of my better badges, if not my best. ^_^ If the buyer doesn't LOVE it, I admit I may cry a little. Ha! This one was also done digitally, and will print just about 6" square.
In case you are curious, at the moment I am NOT taking new work! I want to make sure I finish everything I currently have before I accept new work. I have no idea how long that will be, especially given my work situation explained above, but if/when I take new work, I will post about it here. So if you're interested, save your pennies and keep an eye on this space!
-Lizzy B.
