A month and so into the new year has presented me with a new set of fun creative challenges and I say fun positively! While tackling the second Nightingale I was also taking on a few other projects.

The first is that of a 3D printer. I was lucky enough to receive one for Christmas. Now, I’ve done a good chunk of the research into 3D printers to know that the glass on the inside shouldn’t have been shattered. Ended up getting a refund from amazon and getting a Mars 3 pro, rad! 

Typically I get very frustrated when things don’t go according to plan but honestly, I’ve been going with the motions when it comes to 3D printing.

Busted the FEP film when a print went bad and I wasn’t sure what to do. Boom replaced it. Failed print? Chuck it in the scrap bin. I’ll use it on dioramas. I recently learned how to hollow things and add holes in lychee because I had toxic waste bins I wanted to replace and they kept failing, suction problems.

I’m like a kid in a candy shop. Sure I might fail but I also get lots of cool prints! Crabs, snails, frog dudes, home depot buckets, it doesn’t matter. The world is my oyster!

Along with printing and minis, I have been getting challenged by a good buddy of mine, Kyle! I had this little UFO kit from Granitecon 2021 that was collecting dust in the backlog so I busted it out a few months ago in the fall and gave it a quick spray paint coat. (Shout out to Salty for sending me over his Tamiya rattles that I used on the project)

So during Kyle’s interview, we got to chatting about projects and he dared me to create a somewhat realistic Asian dragon. I can’t disappoint him, so I sketched it out and it went from there. I honestly surprised myself with how much fun it was. I was expecting it to be stressful. But it wasn’t! It was joyful and invigorating.

I sent him the progress and asked what was next.

Funky Lady with an Afro.

Cool! I don’t paint or draw people but why not?

Check that off, now what? Something Mario Themed.

Got it!

The next challenge is a detailed graffiti skyline, and I haven’t gotten to sketching that yet. I’m going to do Lynn (my hometown) in a big bold graffiti style and a viewpoint from this high rock that overlooks the city. We used to have to jump people’s backyard fences to get to it. It was a sight to behold!

The more exciting news is that in twelve days I will finish my bachelor’s degree and I really cannot wait. I’m going to have a lot more time on my hands with not having to do coursework after coursework for a while! This year has been solid for creativity so far!

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Have a happy Tuesday, everyone!

-J