Matt Lichtenwalner

To NaNo or Not - That is the Question Matt Lichtenwalner 10/31 '22

Thinking about doing NaNoWriMo this year, but I'm behind on the very tail end of Inktober and want to finish that first.

And really, this year, Thanksgiving is going to be the 'big' holiday since Trina, Ben, and the boys will be in town then and not for Christmas.

But with all of that said, I know I can 'win', and I kinda want that.

I first attempted NaNo in 2008, and it was a rough attempt. I mean, I started at least a week late (though memory says more) and with tremendous support from Jill "xtingu" Knapp I still almost crossed the finish line.

So it's kinda stuck in my craw ever since.

I've only made half hearted attempts in subsequent years.

I think that, as I'm writing this, I'm 'talking myself into it'.

Well, I guess I better get my Inktober images finished. I've got a lot to get done in the next 24 hours.

It will almost be something fantasy or urban fantasy based, but what do you think I should write about?

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10/31 '22 3 Comments

I'm predisposed to terseness, so 50,000 words in a month seems extremely difficult, but I had fun with my "planet" series which postulates a society and extrapolates from a few of its features. If you have a novel's worth of story in you, putting it in an invented setting like that can be a bonus.

nerdsholmferret

I dig it.

I think I want to go a little more 'traditionally novelesque', but don't have anything in mind. I'm considering doing it almost like a form of roleplaying, but if I'm going to do that, I need to come up with a strategy that will keep me from outlining - at least in depth outlining.

Hmmm...

Matt Lichtenwalner

I loved that series. By contrast, I met the nanowrimo victory conditions once, but it was unreadable garbage. Finish things that resonate for you.

Thomas Boutell

20180911 Art Thoughts Matt Lichtenwalner 9/12 '18

Art is my illicit drug of choice. The more I create, the more I need to make to get off.

Okay, so I put it that way to be a touch provocative, but it's also kinda true. I've been doing more illustration work pretty much every chance I get and I'm still getting further behind. What's more, I want to do more. That's kinda crazy.

ETA: Okay, I think I was going to go deeper into this and then change the post to public, but I've lost the train of thought and figure I should just let folks see it as is for now. I can always comment more later if I get that thought back.

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9/12 '18 6 Comments

The dimension in the last female figure iteration is wonderful.

Shelle Klein Houser

The one that's all the way left? The were-panther?

In any event - thanks! I've been working pretty hard on my female forms recently. I want to be able to do 'ideal' but not make that every female character like in bad comic books. Too often, comic artists learn a 'template' (which, of course, is some kind of idealized Olympic athlete which somehow retains breasts and butt cheeks) and just apply that template to every female character ever.

I don't wanna be 'that guy'.

Matt Lichtenwalner

Not the were-panther, the one in the second picture, the one with the big ears.

Shelle Klein Houser

Ahhh. Gotcha. Technically, that's a he/him, but you can't really tell since he's wearing a poncho. I _was_ also told to make him quite chubby. If you're curious, there's more info on this one in particular (and my process in general) here: http://dragonbones.net/character-portrait-drawing-process-a-step-by-step-demonstration/

Matt Lichtenwalner

Dood, your coloring skills are really getting great!

Jill "xtingu" Knapp

Thanks beb. All I can see is how very far they have to go, but I'm glad someone is seeing the improvement. ;)

Matt Lichtenwalner

Jeesuz You People are Productive Matt Lichtenwalner 10/16 '17

Of course, it's also probable that my being super crazy UNproductive makes the contrast that much clearer.

That wasn't meant as a put down. At least not one aimed at all of you.

On the plus side, your posts about writing and productivity are very motivating. I need to be making more. I need to be completing more.

At the end of the day, I think that's the biggest problem for me. I finish so very few of my projects. I pick nits endlessly, lose my motivation somewhere along the way because I've grown bored with the project in question (and because I have ideas for three new projects), and then I drop it in favor of the project du jour.

It's a bad cycle, and I do it ALL the time.

The only reason that I'm still clinging to my book idea with bloody fingertips is because I've got so much invested in the character over so many years.

Frustration point: I know what the solution is. I've heard it countless times on countless podcasts about writing: Just make slow and steady progress to spit out that first version of the book. If that's one sentence a day, that's fine. It's progress, and it's measurable. And you need to know, in advance, that it's going to suck. Writing is REwriting and all that.

What's more, I've learned that I actually enjoy revising old writing. I never finished my one attempt at NaNoWriMo, but I find myself dropping into the book and editing a chapter here and there occasionally. For no real reason - it's not like I'm planning to ever let it see the light of day.

And Inktober? Yeah, I'm way behind there too.

I have no excuse. All of you have WAY more going on in your lives and you're making progress while I do the equivalent of clicking through cable channels.

Okay, that's enough self flagellation. It doesn't accomplish much. I have to get to work while there's still daylight, but tonight, I need to get some work done.

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10/16 '17 4 Comments

I dare you to draw a bunch of fat naked middle aged ladies frolicking on a beach.

Starting with lots of circles.

#inktober

Lindsay Harris Friel

Heh. I could do that. In fact, I just might. I think that I just decided (just prior to opening my browser and reading your response) that I'm going to do a bunch of 1/2 hour or 15 minute limited images. That should help me catch up since I'm so far behind.

Matt Lichtenwalner

This comment has been deleted.

It sounds it. It also sounds like it IS productive. Or at least more productive. If you finish one project that would have otherwise languished in a drawer somewhere (digitally or physically) then it's more productive.

Perhaps I should start a list that I can prioritize...

Matt Lichtenwalner