I'm a doodler. No doubt about it. In high school, the margins of my notebooks were always filled with random doodles. I found ways to be distracted long before social media came along. The problem is, while I'm good at creating spontaneous doodles, focusing deliberately on completing a project is a different story.
The latest experiment. The goal with this was to create a scene with a background plane, props and characters starting with simple shapes. Next, to add varied lighting sources and then refine it thoroughly. I imagined creating the scene as if I was placing objects in a 3D program.
In this video, I share the parable of the Boatmaker & the Sea as a metaphor for the creative process. The moral of the story is that although we often think that those who have created anything such as art, music, an invention, or an entrepreneurial venture began with a pre-defined vision of what the final form will be. Instead, ideas often start as vague, unformed stardust that only come into being by moving forward boldly into the unknown, or as in the story of the Boatmaker, by jumping in, knowing you will get wet.
In my ongoing quest to figure out how to develop videos, I found that I reached a point where I had no idea what to do next. So, I did an experiment. I would just move forward boldly into the unknown. I would hit record for the audio and start speaking. In addition, I had no idea what the visual would be. I played back the audio and thought I'd just start sketching storyboard-like images as I listened. This seemed to work well. I then imported the images and edited the video.
Although very rough, I was happy to discover this worked. It supports my theory that creating something is a process that requires boldly moving forward, and the answers meet you on the way. This core theme and philosophy of J.Merton Creative Lab are illustrated in the parable of the "Boatmaker and the Sea," which I'll feature in the next video.
It's been a while since I've posted, although I've been working the whole time. I'm not sure what to post. I keep trying to find a hook to get on a roll. Again, I have lots of ideas, but I am still trying to form them into something. I haven't posted because I thought I didn't have anything worthwhile to post. Then, I reminded myself that this is what the site is about. It's not about a finished product or a polished presentation. It's about sharing the creative process. And part of that creative process is the stage I'm in. Muddled, unclear, figuring out what to do next.
But I had a fresh insight.
Where I left off - I started heading down the road of doing rudimentary videos as practice, going from beginning to end of the process of producing a video. But, once I did that, I got hung up on what content to create. After struggling for some time, I returned to my initial concept that the product isn't a product but sharing the process of developing a product. To that end, I'm going to make videos about coming up with the ideas - coming up with the elements of the videos - the illustration, the audio, etc.
It may not be interesting, but it does follow my philosophy of the Boatmaker and the Sea. By making the content about coming up with content, I'll always have content even if I never come up with the final content (a bit meta). That's symbolic of life in a way; nothing is ever finished.
I’m working on “practicing” making YouTube videos. There are steps to making a YouTube video. For example, my list of steps is as follows.
Set up computer folders
Launch Blender software
Set up screen recording
Record the session
Export screen recording file
Import into Adobe Premier
Add Intro Video
Add Title Card
Edit Video Clips
Record Audio Track
Export
Create Thumbnail
Upload to YouTube
Add Description
Publish
So, I created some simple exercises to see how quickly I could move through the steps so that they became second nature, and I could then focus on the content.
For this exercise, I use the concept used in programming when a novice creates their first web page and uses the phrase “Hello World.” I made two videos. One where I sculpted the word “Hello” and a second using the word “World.”
I haven’t updated the site in five days. Days can go by so quickly. There’s excitement and focus when a project starts, but life starts to creep in. If a project doesn’t become a habit, it will not take root. This is why forming habits and routines is so important. It creates a structure to capture time and withstand all the distractions of life. Think about how public school is set up. Students follow a very structured schedule. A day is divided into multiple classes that get roughly an hour per day. The student progresses on multiple fronts each day. As an artist or anyone attempting to create anything, not only do you have to work on creating the thing itself, you also have to create the routines and process. These are the “invisible” that cause an idea to become a reality versus staying an idea.
I had mentioned that one of the reasons I set out to learn Blender was to assist in getting the perspective of an illustration just right. The idea was to create 3D models and then use them as a guide for the illustration using Procreate. This is my first sample of an illustration using that technique.
I've added a couple of upgrades to the site. I created an overall Work page that links to the Work pages of the Areas of Interest. Within the Work area for Procreate and Blender, I added a page with links to their related YouTube channels.
I'm developing a social media plan. I've set up a Facebook, Instagram, X, and Mail Chimp account. Next, I will create a content schedule and plan all the monthly posts and weekly newsletters.
I'll be adding links to connect to social media and to join the newsletter.
Then, I have to create content goals. Determine how often I post new work, create a new tutorial video, or do a live stream. Regarding live streaming, I need to do some initial testing.
I've finished the initial website. It took some time to make it compatible with desktops, tablets, and smartphones. I connected the domain and am happy to report the site is officially live!
I've uploaded a bunch more images to the Procreate Work section and am working on adding more to the Blender Work section.
I needed a favicon, which is the little icon that appears on tabs at the top of a web page. I had a simple idea based on the robot dog illustration that just seemed to fall into place. I think it also works well as a logo icon to go along with the name script. It symbolizes creativity as an illustration, a lab in that it's a robot, and the antenna that is always open to receiving new frequencies. It could be a fun brand icon to use in a variety of applications.
On the illustration front, I'm going to continue to upload samples. I have a series of samples of video captures of Procreate that I will upload. I was doing a series of sketchbook videos.
I have a YouTube channel called JMerton Sketchbook, but I think I'll change it to JMerton Illustration and make a sketchbook a subcategory.
I can create sub-themes such as:
- Sketchbook - for random drawing
- Teaching - For sharing techniques and tips
- A Little Sketchy - Short Animations
- Live Streams
What is the next thing for A Day in A Lifeform?
I think the next step is creating an illustrated book with all the text. This will serve to show the complete story. The animated short may ultimately be different from the book, but the book will serve as a starting point. I'm finding that the process of developing this website is allowing me to find an anchored starting point for each category.
Once I set out to create the initial illustrated book, it will show areas needing work that can be converted into specific tasks.
What's next for Thinkism?
I think I'd need to create a list of blog topics that could include the following ideas:
- Critical Thinking
- Tribalism
- Cognitive Biases
- Religious Foundations
- Luck, Fate, Fortune
- The Cliche Play for Power - Zero Sum, In-group, Out Group
- Dissecting Social Media Posts
- Playground Mentality - I know you are, but what am I?
- Core human needs - Security, Order, Stability
- Outsourcing thought to the group
- The Bell Curve Left to Right
- A fixed vs evolving opinion
On a side note, what I find interesting is that J.Merton Creative Lab categories include both drawing nonsense artwork and delving into the mysteries of life. Maybe that idea itself could be a topic to explore.
What's next for Tribal Free?
I will be uploading more samples. The initial samples will be for Social Media posts. Once I finish, I will begin posting on Facebook and X and see if they get any response.
After that, I will work on creating a Shopify store and adapting the designs to products.
Again, the concept behind Tribal Free is to create a brand for the rest of us non-tribal people to show support for collaborative dialog to solve complex issues.
On the Blender front, I'm continuing with the Basic Series. It's more about exercising how to produce videos efficiently than the content itself. They're meant to be "throwaways."
Throw Aways
"Throwaways" is a concept I developed to help me break the inertia of not doing something. If I trick myself into saying that I'm only going to throw it away, I avoid procrastination by not worrying if anyone will see it. Then, more often than not, something interesting is created that I'm not apprehensive about sharing.
What I'm trying to overcome creatively is hesitation and inertia.
A Clear Process and Time Constraints
Additionally, I've found that you need a clear process and time constraints. So, I created this process with time limits in each step. Wherever I'm at the end of the time limit, I move forward whether I like it or not. This, again, counters perfectionism and getting stuck in an endless loop of tinkering.
The steps so far:
The Benefits of Notebook Posts
I'm continuing to build out the site. Next on the list is to do the first notebook posts in each category. An initial post will give me an anchored linear starting point from which I can build. It helps to keep me focused and be able to reference a previous post.
The benefit of posting is that sharing progress creates accountability. Writing also helps clarify your goals by getting thoughts out of your head and turning them into tangible tasks.
Work Samples
I will continue uploading samples to the Work pages of each category. Uploading samples has been a good exercise in taking inventory of the work I've done over the years. It allows me to take a moment to review my progress and, again, anchor a starting point from which to continue. I've discovered some work I hardly recall doing; there's a benefit to seeing all the work in one place and processing it. It inspires me to want to do new work.
Process and Routines
I'm also developing a routine and schedule for doing the work. Think of it like setting a class schedule. I'll divide the day into classes. A class for each category, and then each category would then be divided into time spent creating, learning, promoting, etc. Having a routine also contributes to creating discipline and focus.
There's a great book on this topic titled "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield—a play on the famous book titled "The Art of War." The War of Art is about the discipline required to succeed in the creative field; two words, discipline and creativity, that often seem to be opposite of each other.
As I write this, I'm developing this website. I'm using the tool as I'm making it. Much of the site still needs to be completed. My challenge is that I have many ideas and things I want to do, so they become a bottleneck. And I get anxious about how time-consuming it is.
But as always, I need to stop, create a ToDo list, prioritize the list, and then focus. Switch from the macro to the micro and focus on the next thing.
I am encouraged. The "keep moving forward" mentality seems to be working. Whenever I move forward, what I'm working on often comes out better than I expected.
