Learning to handle the stress

I´ve not been a lot active in my social networks during the last weeks.  Even when i tried hard, strong headaches, weakness, lack of sleep (my body was slept but my mind kept running like a hamster in the cage during nights) and a blue mood didn´t let me to continue my normal routine and put me in some kind of art block mixed with a need of being retired and alone.

In a point, i could recognize some of this issues that i felt before, once when i suffered of burnout syndrome.

We are living a hard moment in my country and even when the art and music help me a lot to keep my mind busy, I'm not exempt of the same troubles that the majority of us have to handle in the day to day: lack of cash, troubles with transportation, worries about the food and a large list that is not necessary to mention.

So, i had to call myself to keep centered.  To feel anguished, worried and stressed is not going to resolve it and by the opposite, it could lead me to be sick and the troubles would be the double.

First thing i did was stopping to see news for a day.  No news, no Twitter.  Just funny memes in Facebook! I laughed hard every time i saw one very funny.

Second thing i did was meditate.  My head was so confused.  The internal dialogue was so intense and that i could not stay focused in anything.  I searched some guided meditations and did my best effort to follow it the first day.  At the end of that day i was feeling in better mood and the headaches stopped.

Next day, i did my vision board.  I put in a board photos of Japan, my favorite J-Rock bands i want to watch in a live, motivational phrases and things i want to accomplished and put it in my desk, so every time i  sit in my desk to begin to draw, i see them and i feel the happiness to have goals that i want to work for it.

I kept adding other things to my activities as listen positive and motivational podcasts and my favorite music to shift my energy when i begin to feel down.

This week i´ve felt in better mood!  My creativity returned, my passion and love for paint is burning inside of me again and i have a lot ideas i want to work on them!

I learned that if we do not take control of our emotions and the way we respond to external stimulus quickly, those are going to control and destroy us slowly.

I wish all of you that are feeling the same emotions i felt for the same reasons, could find the inner strength and guidance to control them.

Keep positive, keep strong! Have a good day, night, morning!

P.S.1 A sketch i did of one of my favorite characters of Dragon Ball, Trunks, in semi realism will be available in my Secret Blog.  Supporters in Ko-fi will get the link to access it! I wish you like it! :D


P.S.2  I am running late with all the projects so please, be patience!  I will be updating the stories soon! ;)

A perfect day begins!

The day began so bright and clear!

I would like to be in the square with my sketchbook just drawing without to think about nothing.

I hope this weekend i have so time to do it!  ^^

These pics are from Plaza Francia in Altamira, Caracas - Venezuela

Hi, hi! ♫

Hi!!

How are you? ^^

The year began a little slow for me.  I had troubles with my internet for the last three weeks, so i just could checked some few things through my cellphone.  Finally was resolved!

But it was not as bad after all:  I was planning many things, scheduling activities and suddenly... no internet!!  One of my main tools of work!

So, i re-evaluated things, took other decisions,  found other ideas and now...i`m rescheduling everything! ^^

Talking about reschedule, i found an online tool that was very useful for me.  It`s Trello.  Since i am the type of person that like organize everything, make plannings, etc.  I found this tool help me to do it with all my projects in one place.  I left you the link here just in case some of you want to test it and can be as useful for your works as it is with mine ^^  https://trello.com 

Stay tune up!  New things are comming very soon!  

Looking at the road traveled ...

Today, i realize that i`m almost finishing the second part of chapter 8 of "Angel Guardian".

I really cannot believe how far i arrived with this story!

When i decided to work on it, i was in a very bad moment in my personal life, so i decided to take the old concepts and story i wrote years ago and began to rewrite it and remake the characters just like a personal therapy to try to surpass the moment.

At the two weeks of begin to work on the sketches and pages, i received a call. Someone was working in a project of a magazine online and wanted to see my works. When i finished the call i really couldn't believe it!

That was the beginning of the journey. That was the impulse i was needing to begin my path of my dream to make manga.

Nowadays, when i look back i cannot say i wasted my time waiting for the perfect moment to begin. The perfect moment arrived itself. When i look the first pages and compare them with the last done, i cannot feel ashamed but proud of myself to keep compromised to improve. Every single panel is full of happy and cheering days and sad and tearful days.

With this, i learned the following life lessons:

• There is not perfect moment to begin something. You make the moment perfect and the decision to begin something is in your own hands.
• The begining is hard, but you have to be strong enough to continue if that is your dream.
• Cheer yourself! And that will give you energy to cheer others!
• In art, what you do today and you think is perfect it will not be at your own eyes in the future. That is normal! So never wait until you can draw perfectly because perfection is a never ending way.
• Thanks to everybody that give you a critic. They are your teachers without the title.
• And the more important: practice, practice, practice! Day after day, days and nights, in every free moment, in any piece of paper you have.

Never give up in your dreams!

The sketch of today

The sketch of today!

Since i had not a lot creativity during my lunch hour, i did the classical scene with a vampire with my own touch. A partner in my job made me realize about some mistakes in his arm and shoulder.

In the moment he helped me to change my perception of the drawing, i could see the mistakes. It`s very useful to have someone that give you this kind of help, especially when the critic is very polite and give you feedback for improve ^^

When characters claim for more attention...

Characters are like little children.  They want to catch your attention and give you more ideas about their stories.

It could be good because you always have a new idea, but when you manage different stories and ALL those characters want to catch your attention, be prepared for a war in your head!

Lately, my characters Armand from the story Mission Sentinel and Kyrsiel from Angel Guardian have a real fight in my head!  Ideas for illustrations, new pages, action sequences...i would like to draw as faster as they whisper all that ideas in my head!

So, i did a quick sketch about it.  Gersiel is always at the side of their troubles!  He stay there but not making a lot noise, waiting for the proper moment to talk.