10 Sketches a day will eventually make me a Sketch Machine Anyway!

I'm a big, BIG proponent of James Altucher's 10 ideas a day.
I have been practicing it for almost a month now. I make it a point to churn out a minimum of 10 ideas. I average 30-50 ideas a day.

What is the reason why i follow 10 ideas?

It's simple.

But first, let me give you a background.

James Altucher created a daily practice. It has 4 pillars. or legs. to be a healthy and functioning human being, you must practice all 4 legs daily. and what are the four legs?

1. Physical
2. Mental
3. Spiritual
4. emotional

The idea muscle, comes from the second leg, the mental body. write 10 ideas a day and make sure your mental muscle sweats. write 10 ideas daily. it usually takes at least 6 months for any noticeable change. once done on a daily basis, once the idea muscle gains strength, you become an idea machine.

And when you become an idea machine, you rock!

That is the premise of the Daily Practice.

Now just what is this.. 10 sketches?

I believe it is a product of practicing my mental body, or the 10 ideas. Yesterday, I was pondering the mystery of my lost Lady Arthemis, of my lost creative body, when i mused how much weak and it must have atrophied.

Why don't I create 10 sketches. I mean, 10 sketches a day will make me an idea machine.
And the point of 10 ideas a day isn;'t to generate good ideas. part and parcel of the 10 ideas is to churn out ideas, good or bad!it doesn't matter if it looks awful or what. whats important is that... you churn out ideas!

In this case, i have a... not so bad case of perfectionism. but perfectionism nonetheless.

and it's what blocked me all these years (3 years). when i try to create something, the critic in me dissuades me from even attempting. "pathetic piece of shit you are. the only thing you're good at is anime and facials. you keep drawing the same thing"

So i never attempted to create something difficult. something fresh.

Strangely, this has never happened when i churn out ideas.  I do not hear the critic. the voice. the monster. i do not. all i hear is "Well, it doesn't matter! good or bad, the goal is to be an idea machine! i'll be a monster! i'll be awesome!"

Isn't that an interesting notion to be? To sketch, for the sake of sketching. to sketch and smile, because I can sketch, that I am thinking of new ideas. It doesn't have to be good, excellent or very good (I can refine the good ones anyway)

Yesterday, I gave permission and drew a bunch of... flowers, mermaids and whatnot. it's very interesting. Today, i have produced 10 ideas to sketch. and 10 ideas to sketch about flowers and gardens. I am excited to show them to the world. Whether good or not. I am an idea machine. I am a sketch machine,

I rock!

Who and where did Lady Arthemis go?

Lady Arthemis, was, well, a childhood username I created when I was active in the art world. When I  was an active creative. I could say that she was a persona I created. and boy, that persona sure did love to create!

But what happened? Like all children, I grew up. I believe the last time I saw Lady Arthemis was in 2012, when i was preparing for my nurse licensure exam. i was working on a wild arms 2 fancomic in the defunct mangamangazine at that time.  I stopped doing the project. I never saw her again.

I never saw again, that creative part of me, who loved to create, who felt she was born to create. yes, peter pan would be happy if I said I wanted to remain a child forever, but i had to grow up to accommodate reality. 

and it hurts

Yes, i am a functioning adult. Yes, I have savings. Yes, I thinking for my future. Yes,I'm pursing graduate studies. Yes, i am making friends and meeting new people. BUT. there is a but.

 a huge "but".

I am not happy. The creative soul in me is not happy. Because i have forgotten her. I have forgotten arthemis.

and it is ironic that he would remind me of what I had to put aside, of whom I threw away, of whom I forgot. I didn't mean to check his facebook page (i took a long hiatus from that website), but i did. and i remembered a name i had long forgotten.

Like  any person, i would cringe at the email addresses and usernames i had constructed in my youth. Arthemis. Lady Arthemis. The name originated from random name generator in Legend of Mana. The name stuck with me.

I loved to create stories patterned after my favorite games, so I decided to create a character patterned after Wild Arms 2's Antenora. And she was born~ Lady Alicia Clare Arthemis Silverheart. A former princess of Schellion who allied herself with her enemy, Arcion Legionheart (yes, yes,I was very fond of the name "Heart").

Her aim in life was to avenge her family from what Arcion did. oh boy. oh boy.... :( what to do now. what do i do. Anyway, the name stuck and I really really liked it. So I used it when I roamed several forums. 

Then I grew up, took a new username, and... well, I don't like it. My current username is associated with broken and unfulfilled dreams. My old username was filled with hopes and dreams. That username was determined to make dreams into reality.

I want what was associated with that username back. 

12 Ideas on how to be a Real Life JRPG Character (Part 1)

Have you ever played Japanese RPGs (JRPGs) before? It's a popular genre way back in the late 90s until the late 2000s. You play as a hero out to save the world. You play for the plot. (as I used to say!)

 

JRPGs were a big part of my youth. I immersed myself in different worlds and different characters.

 

Now that I'm an adult (23 years old), I no longer have the luxury of to sit in front of my TV screen to play a console game. My 8-5 job sucks the life out of me (I don't hate it, but I feel empty at certain times). But JRPGs never sucked the life out of me. I always had fun with it!So I decided to do a little experiment...

 

I've been reading James Altucher's works for a couple of days now, and I put to test his suggestions: 10 ideas a day and idea sex. 10 ideas on how to make life bearable/interesting plus my love for jrpgs equals 12 ideas on how to be a real life JRPG character

 

Let's rock!

 

1. Dream of doing something different from your routine

 

9-5 job sucking you dry? Don't worry, even my 8-5 job sucks me dry too. Even JRPG heroes are doing something that sucks them dry (before they embark on that journey that changes them. 

 

Stuck in a small village.

Stuck with their parents.

Stuck with their grandparents.

Stuck with their only sibling.

Stuck with the only job they have ever known.

Stuck with *insert whatever comes to your mind*.

 

Lunar 2's main protagonist, Hiro, was stuck as an archaeologist.

Until he saw the light from the Blue Spire.

Until he met Lucia.

 

Lunar SSSC's Alex was stuck in his village and his dreams of becoming a Dragonmaster.

Until Ramus approached him with the idea of stealing Quark's Diamond.

 

Suikoden's Tir McDohl was stuck to live a comfortable life as General Teo's son.

Until he sided with Ted and ran away with the Soul Eater Rune.

 

Alec from Arc the Lad III was stuck in Sasha Village.

Until bandits attacked his beloved village.

 

I've been stuck my whole life. (okay, this is an exaggeration). I am stuck in living a creative life. It's hard. I used to have big dreams as a creative person. Write stories. Write comics. Publish comics. Sell art. Improve my art. Live life as an artist. Along they way, I lost my vision. I lost the dream. and the most painful part of life, is to lose the ability to dream and to lose the ability to execute a dream.

 

Yeah, yeah. Whoever is reading this (including me), have a dream. For God's sake (or whoever you believe in), have a dream. and tell yourself that you will act on this dream. 1% at a time.

 

Action Item: Write 10 dreams on a piece of paper. It doesn't matter how small or big it is. It's important to realize that we have a dream that's different from our jobs.

 

2. Gather a circle of friends who share the same vision as you do.

 

What do Tir McDohl, Riou, Hugo, Lazlo and the Nameless Prince have in common?

 

They're the protagonists of Konami's Suikoden series and they are Pokémon Trainers out to collect all 108 Pokémon to gather the 108 Stars to achieve their goal of overthrowing the bad guys. Not to mention that collecting all 108 Pokémon Stars will unlock the True Ending.

 

A JRPG hero can't be a loner. He needs friends to defeat the baddie with the Power of Friendship (think Fairy Tail!). A typical JRPG hero needs a healer (who's usually the love interest) , a tank, a black mage, a long range shooter and a fury side kick.

 

Look at Grandia. Justin started with Sue and Puffy in his party. He met Feena. He met Gadwin. Then Sue and Gadwin left. Then there was Milda. Rapp. Guido. Liete. His party had to change numerous times. But the Awardee for the ever-changing party goes to the Suikoden Series (108 stars! Just how many combinations can you create for that?? 24,240 combinations! amazing~!)

 

To live this second idea, we (and I) need to be true to ourselves. Be authentic. Meet people. Some people will stick. Some won't. When you do meet the people who stick for what you stand and who you are: "CONGRATULATIONS! New party member acquired!"

 

I don't have a lot of real life friends who share the same interests. I do know a couple, but I haven't tried to connect with them. I have my friends from the student publication I joined in college. we occasionally meet...when work doesn't eat us (Haven't met any ones who like JRPGs, anime, create stories like to make video games, likes to draw---oh, I did. Before. )

 

From my experience, having people who're supportive of your dreams is great! It's truly amazing.

 

Acton Item: Write 10 places where you'll likely meet people who share common interests. It doesn't matter what kind of interest you have. Just write!

 

3. Have the equipment for the journey!

 

Okay, now this isn't exclusive for the "dream". Even routine jobs, or mundane tasks can benefit from this.

 

The characters from the Lunar Series purchase equipment from the next town they visit (because it automatically offers better stats than the previous town!). The characters from Suikoden 1 and 2 needed to see a Blacksmith to sharpen their weapons (and the weapon's names change!)

 

Dream to write? Purchase a pen and a pad of paper or a laptop (if you don't like the previous option)

Dream to sing? Buy a karaoke machine. Go to a karaoke bar and practice.

Dream to be a pianist? Buy a piano. Fine tune any piano in you house.

 

Want to be more efficient with your office job? Check your supplies: are the folders labeled? Are your pens working? Is the stapler even functioning?

Want a clean home? Do I even have a broom to sweep the floor? Soap to wash my dishes?

 

In my opinion, dreams or tasks require a vehicle to take-off. equipment can be a vehicle. It makes traveling from point A to point B possible.

 

 Action Item: Write 10 essential items for the dreams in Action Item #1.

 

 

Part 2 coming soon.