What I've Been Up to In May 2022
What I've Been Up to In May 2022
MAJOR CHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT - Newsletter Launch
* This is the first newsletter re-launched on substack here, and the last one to be hosted on my blog.
It is time for some changes, and I am happy to announce that this monthly update will turn into a newsletter and also the launch of my first illustration book!
Please sign up! My monthly newsletter will always be free, and as an iteration of my monthly update blog, it will continue to be a place to get a boost of inspiration, track my creative progress, and engage in thoughtful conversations 🙂 Going forward, this newsletter will be the only channel for me to send these monthly updates! (my manual emailing and the blog version of this will both stop).
“Just a Dream?” (ebook for now, paperback is coming soon) is an illustration book for all ages, about the journey of creators. It took me a year to put it together but I’m excited to launch my first book! It will be available as an ebook on Amazon Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and a paperback (delayed a bit). Potentially I also want to create a hardcover version.
Next month I am also hoping to launch a Patreon membership along with a revamp of my website. Stay tuned (by signing up to the newsletter!) for more ways to support me on my creative journey. Now let’s get into this month’s update.
Jake Parker is an artist who I greatly admire. His recent newsletter put an elegant note on the many horrible events that took place this month (the never-ending Russia-Ukraine war, the COVID pandemic that morphed into long term coexistence and really messes up with a lot of people’s minds, and the many many horrible mass shooting that took away so many precious lives)
if there was no bad in the world, there would be no need to put good into it. The fact that there is bad out there means it is the responsibility of everyone to put good back into it using whatever gifts they’ve been given.
~ Jake Parker
This seems to loosely coincide with the mentality of a lot of poets in the Tang dynasty. (you know where to see some of their poems illustrated! :D) Their art becomes the channel to express their feelings and thoughts towards the injustice and the horrid events in their time. At the end of the day, we can at least hold onto our art, and to create more art is what I will do. (For consolation, there was a horrible period in Chinese history, the Culture Revolution, when even arts and literature were forbidden)
Here are the things that kept me busy this past month, aside from the day-to-day ‘job’ related stuff…
Creating and hacking stuffs
Game dev – The game ‘Qin’: M2 release! pushed to github, and updated itch.io with more description as well as devlog and changelog (since M1). Give it a stir!
Drawing – I continue to develop my skill and style, for both drawing and calligraphy. I am happy to see that my art started to change style, taking a voice by itself…
Writings – As mentioned earlier my first book ‘Just a Dream’ has been published via KDP (kindle direct publishing). This is an illustration book about a creator’s journey and my hope to help others re-invigorate their dreams, and assertively start their creative projects. I’ve also starting my next book project… which I plan to provide more detailed progress, art assets on the future newsletter and upcoming Patreon membership
Merch Store – yeah… no update here, but please do check it out…
Consuming Stuffs
Reading – continuing slowly on the Chinese history epic ‘帝國前夕’ (東周); finished audiobook Before He Kills (A Mackenzie White Mystery, Book 1 By Blake Pierce) and started ‘After Alice’
TV/Movies – TV: Hustler (um, it was OK, it was my wife’s pick :), Moon Knight, Ozark Season 4 (love it! too bad it had to end) started Obi-wan Kenobi (as a fan of Rebels series, I am not so sure about of its portrayal of the Grand Inquisitor…); Top Gun: Maverick at theater (‘Danger Zone’ is now my household song)
Gaming – dragging slowly through Portal Reloaded; got into Batman: Arkham Knight @ 23% and continue on the beautiful Taiwanese game made in Taiwan: Legend of Tianding (廖添丁)
If you really finished reading the above, I thank you, and wish that my sharing would either entertain you, or inspire you (if you’ve been thinking about your own creative projects).