HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin13270457 .center { text-align:center; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltop { background:url('https://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/5/b/462599920_1722728_fluttershy_dance_by_heilos-d5ymglw.gif'); background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-bottom:0; padding-top:380px; padding-right:55px; padding-left:55px; margin-left:130px; margin-bottom:0px; max-width:690px; } body div#devskin13270457 .filter: chroma { opacity:.5; filter:alpha(opacity=50); _zoom:1; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltop h2 { font-family:Garamond, 'Bold', Garamond; font-size:40px; font-weight:normal; position:static; color:#00000; text-decoration:none; text-shadow:0 0 10px #fff,0 0 15px #9000ff, 0 0 20px #9000ff, 0 0 25px #9000ff,0 0 35px #900fff; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltop h2 img { display:none; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltext { background:url('http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/172/a/2/text_box_by_pinipy-d7ne0wl.png' ) repeat transparent; margin-top:5px; margin-right:20px; margin-left:20px; max-width:720px; overflow:hidden; border-radius:50px; -moz-border-radius:50px; -webkit-border-radius:50px; padding-left:30px; padding-right:30px; padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:35px; font-size:13px; text-align:left; font-family:arial; text-shadow:0 0 15px #000, 0 0 30px #900fff; color:#fff; border-top:2px solid #4f5087; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltext img:hover { border:1px solid; } body div#devskin13270457 .journalbox { background:url('http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/078/0/2/free_custom_background__fluttershy_s_cm_by_hoshi_hana-d7atjgv.png' ) center fixed; min-height:500px; border-radius:90px; -moz-border-radius:90px; -webkit-border-radius:90px; color:#999ad0; font-weight:bold; font-family:arial; font-size:12px; text-align:right; max-width:800px; margin:auto; } body div#devskin13270457 .list { position:absolute; top:100px; left:500px; right:50px; text-align:right; color:#4f5087; max-width:460px; } body div#devskin13270457 .list { background:none; padding:10px; } body div#devskin13270457 .a { background:transparent; padding:10px; } body div#devskin13270457 .hsep { display:none; } body div#devskin13270457 a { color:#fff; text-decoration:none; } body div#devskin13270457 a:hover { text-shadow:0 0 20px #900fff, 0 0 20px #900fff,0 0 30px #fff,0 0 20px #fff; } body div#devskin13270457 .footer { position:relative; right:675px; padding:10px; width:100%; text-align:center; color:00fe36; font-size:16px; } body div#devskin13270457 * { border:none; background:transparent; padding:0; margin:0; } body div#devskin13270457 a:link { cursor:url(https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/0/1/462599920_1722729_fluttershy_cursor_by_lunasakurahime-d5g13yz.gif), pointer; } body div#devskin13270457 a:hover { cursor:url(https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/0/1/462599920_1722729_fluttershy_cursor_by_lunasakurahime-d5g13yz.gif), pointer; } body div#devskin13270457 { cursor:url(https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/0/1/462599920_1722729_fluttershy_cursor_by_lunasakurahime-d5g13yz.gif), pointer; }

A little something happened today that I thought was worth sharing.

Something that you may not know about me is that I like to write notes to myself. All the time. Sometimes it's mundane stuff, like a list of things to do tomorrow or (when I was in college) assignments that were due that week. Sometimes it's more important stuff, like little snippets or ideas for a story, or ideas for a future plush or piece of artwork. Sometimes if I see or hear a motivational quote that speaks to me, I'll write it down for future reference. Whatever the case may be, I write notes to myself A LOT.

Today I decided to clean off the head of my bed, because it really needed it and (more importantly) I was tired of looking at the mess. It was stacked with note cards, old receipts, napkins, and scraps of paper, all with notes written on them of varying degrees of importance. Most of it was shockingly, embarrassingly old (I found receipts dated as far back as 2010), and the majority of it had notes that didn't amount to anything now. I threw at least 90% of it away, beaming with pride at the massive amount of space I had cleared in the process. But a few small items managed to maintain enough importance to warrant saving from the wastebasket.

One of those things was an index card, with a simple title at the top -- "Art Goals." Based on the contents of the card and its relative position in the stack from whence it came, I estimate it to be from around 2011. There were only five goals written on the list, but as I read them, it struck me just how meaningful they were to me.

Goal 1 -- Win a blue ribbon at the fair. I smiled, thinking about my Fluttershy cross-stitch from late 2011. I had entered it into the county fair the following year, and sure enough, she took home the blue ribbon in her category. I remembered how proud I felt that day.

Beaming, I read the next line: Goal 2 -- Get featured on Equestria Daily / Drawfriend Stuff. Oh, wow. I remember how I used to feel back in those days, seeing so many talented artists and their beautiful works displayed for all to see across the front page of EqD. I saw it as quite the honor, and I made it a personal goal to push myself and my craft to the point where I, too, would one day be worthy of being featured there. Six years later, I have been blessed enough to have been featured there multiple times for my plushies, and even for a couple of my early artworks. To me, that's quite an honor, and I felt a bit ashamed of myself for having virtually taken it for granted in the time since then.

I looked ahead to the third goal on the card -- Create an artwork worthy of "Ponies Plus." This one got to me the most out of any so far. In the early days especially, "Ponies Plus" was one of the premiere gated communities here on DeviantArt for high-quality MLP art. I remember how much I wanted to join their ranks, and how hard I worked to make it a reality. I submitted many pieces over the course of a year or more, to no avail. For a while, earning entry into this club was my number-one goal as an artist. Then on day, I finally got my break. I wish I could remember which plush it was that pushed me over the top, but all I remember at this point is how ecstatic I felt when I received the acceptance note. I know I celebrated pretty heartily, and it may or may not have involved some Keith Urban and an epic air guitar solo.

At this point, I paused and looked up, reflecting on what all I had read. At one point, these were just simple little goals, small things that I told myself I wanted to achieve and had jotted down for reference. And not only have I achieved them, but they have led to much bigger and better things, things that I wasn't even dreaming of at the time because I didn't think it was anything I'd ever be able to do. I never thought that one day I'd be selling my wares at the largest brony convention in the world. I never thought that I would be running my own business based on one of my oldest passions in life--art. And I absolutely never thought that I would one day sell a plush to one of the biggest names in MLP comics (and one of my personal artistic heroes), Andy Price. And if someone had told my past self that all of this would happen in the next six years of my life, I would never have believed them.

Of course, there were still two goals left on the card:

Goal 4 -- Make a comic.

Goal 5 -- Attempt NSFW artwork.

Heheh, something else you may not know about me is that I have a bit of a naughty streak that most people don’t know about.

These last two goals are ones that I’ve aspired to try my hand at for some time now. They are the only goals on the card that I haven’t accomplished. The funny thing is, they are also the only two goals I haven’t tried yet.

Anyway, the purpose of sharing this little story is not to boast of my own achievements, but rather just to offer a little perspective to anyone who may be in the same boat I was in six years ago. It just struck me that there were so many things I wanted to do, so much of which I never thought I would succeed at. Even if your goals are relatively small, they can still act as stepping stones to much grander ambitions in the future. Just don’t ever get yourself down, and don’t ever tell yourself that you can’t do something. Believe in yourself, and in six years’ time you just might be surprised at how far you’ve come.

Skin by Pinipy

:D (Big Grin) — Description
body div#devskin13270457 .center { text-align:center; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltop { background:url('https://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/5/b/462599920_1722728_fluttershy_dance_by_heilos-d5ymglw.gif'); background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-bottom:0; padding-top:380px; padding-right:55px; padding-left:55px; margin-left:130px; margin-bottom:0px; max-width:690px; } body div#devskin13270457 .filter: chroma { opacity:.5; filter:alpha(opacity=50); _zoom:1; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltop h2 { font-family:Garamond, 'Bold', Garamond; font-size:40px; font-weight:normal; position:static; color:#00000; text-decoration:none; text-shadow:0 0 10px #fff,0 0 15px #9000ff, 0 0 20px #9000ff, 0 0 25px #9000ff,0 0 35px #900fff; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltop h2 img { display:none; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltext { background:url('http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/172/a/2/text_box_by_pinipy-d7ne0wl.png' ) repeat transparent; margin-top:5px; margin-right:20px; margin-left:20px; max-width:720px; overflow:hidden; border-radius:50px; -moz-border-radius:50px; -webkit-border-radius:50px; padding-left:30px; padding-right:30px; padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:35px; font-size:13px; text-align:left; font-family:arial; text-shadow:0 0 15px #000, 0 0 30px #900fff; color:#fff; border-top:2px solid #4f5087; } body div#devskin13270457 .journaltext img:hover { border:1px solid; } body div#devskin13270457 .journalbox { background:url('http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/078/0/2/free_custom_background__fluttershy_s_cm_by_hoshi_hana-d7atjgv.png' ) center fixed; min-height:500px; border-radius:90px; -moz-border-radius:90px; -webkit-border-radius:90px; color:#999ad0; font-weight:bold; font-family:arial; font-size:12px; text-align:right; max-width:800px; margin:auto; } body div#devskin13270457 .list { position:absolute; top:100px; left:500px; right:50px; text-align:right; color:#4f5087; max-width:460px; } body div#devskin13270457 .list { background:none; padding:10px; } body div#devskin13270457 .a { background:transparent; padding:10px; } body div#devskin13270457 .hsep { display:none; } body div#devskin13270457 a { color:#fff; text-decoration:none; } body div#devskin13270457 a:hover { text-shadow:0 0 20px #900fff, 0 0 20px #900fff,0 0 30px #fff,0 0 20px #fff; } body div#devskin13270457 .footer { position:relative; right:675px; padding:10px; width:100%; text-align:center; color:00fe36; font-size:16px; } body div#devskin13270457 * { border:none; background:transparent; padding:0; margin:0; } body div#devskin13270457 a:link { cursor:url(https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/0/1/462599920_1722729_fluttershy_cursor_by_lunasakurahime-d5g13yz.gif), pointer; } body div#devskin13270457 a:hover { cursor:url(https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/0/1/462599920_1722729_fluttershy_cursor_by_lunasakurahime-d5g13yz.gif), pointer; } body div#devskin13270457 { cursor:url(https://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/o/2014/172/0/1/462599920_1722729_fluttershy_cursor_by_lunasakurahime-d5g13yz.gif), pointer; }

A little something happened today that I thought was worth sharing.

Something that you may not know about me is that I like to write notes to myself. All the time. Sometimes it's mundane stuff, like a list of things to do tomorrow or (when I was in college) assignments that were due that week. Sometimes it's more important stuff, like little snippets or ideas for a story, or ideas for a future plush or piece of artwork. Sometimes if I see or hear a motivational quote that speaks to me, I'll write it down for future reference. Whatever the case may be, I write notes to myself A LOT.

Today I decided to clean off the head of my bed, because it really needed it and (more importantly) I was tired of looking at the mess. It was stacked with note cards, old receipts, napkins, and scraps of paper, all with notes written on them of varying degrees of importance. Most of it was shockingly, embarrassingly old (I found receipts dated as far back as 2010), and the majority of it had notes that didn't amount to anything now. I threw at least 90% of it away, beaming with pride at the massive amount of space I had cleared in the process. But a few small items managed to maintain enough importance to warrant saving from the wastebasket.

One of those things was an index card, with a simple title at the top -- "Art Goals." Based on the contents of the card and its relative position in the stack from whence it came, I estimate it to be from around 2011. There were only five goals written on the list, but as I read them, it struck me just how meaningful they were to me.

Goal 1 -- Win a blue ribbon at the fair. I smiled, thinking about my Fluttershy cross-stitch from late 2011. I had entered it into the county fair the following year, and sure enough, she took home the blue ribbon in her category. I remembered how proud I felt that day.

Beaming, I read the next line: Goal 2 -- Get featured on Equestria Daily / Drawfriend Stuff. Oh, wow. I remember how I used to feel back in those days, seeing so many talented artists and their beautiful works displayed for all to see across the front page of EqD. I saw it as quite the honor, and I made it a personal goal to push myself and my craft to the point where I, too, would one day be worthy of being featured there. Six years later, I have been blessed enough to have been featured there multiple times for my plushies, and even for a couple of my early artworks. To me, that's quite an honor, and I felt a bit ashamed of myself for having virtually taken it for granted in the time since then.

I looked ahead to the third goal on the card -- Create an artwork worthy of "Ponies Plus." This one got to me the most out of any so far. In the early days especially, "Ponies Plus" was one of the premiere gated communities here on DeviantArt for high-quality MLP art. I remember how much I wanted to join their ranks, and how hard I worked to make it a reality. I submitted many pieces over the course of a year or more, to no avail. For a while, earning entry into this club was my number-one goal as an artist. Then on day, I finally got my break. I wish I could remember which plush it was that pushed me over the top, but all I remember at this point is how ecstatic I felt when I received the acceptance note. I know I celebrated pretty heartily, and it may or may not have involved some Keith Urban and an epic air guitar solo.

At this point, I paused and looked up, reflecting on what all I had read. At one point, these were just simple little goals, small things that I told myself I wanted to achieve and had jotted down for reference. And not only have I achieved them, but they have led to much bigger and better things, things that I wasn't even dreaming of at the time because I didn't think it was anything I'd ever be able to do. I never thought that one day I'd be selling my wares at the largest brony convention in the world. I never thought that I would be running my own business based on one of my oldest passions in life--art. And I absolutely never thought that I would one day sell a plush to one of the biggest names in MLP comics (and one of my personal artistic heroes), Andy Price. And if someone had told my past self that all of this would happen in the next six years of my life, I would never have believed them.

Of course, there were still two goals left on the card:

Goal 4 -- Make a comic.

Goal 5 -- Attempt NSFW artwork.

Heheh, something else you may not know about me is that I have a bit of a naughty streak that most people don’t know about.

These last two goals are ones that I’ve aspired to try my hand at for some time now. They are the only goals on the card that I haven’t accomplished. The funny thing is, they are also the only two goals I haven’t tried yet.

Anyway, the purpose of sharing this little story is not to boast of my own achievements, but rather just to offer a little perspective to anyone who may be in the same boat I was in six years ago. It just struck me that there were so many things I wanted to do, so much of which I never thought I would succeed at. Even if your goals are relatively small, they can still act as stepping stones to much grander ambitions in the future. Just don’t ever get yourself down, and don’t ever tell yourself that you can’t do something. Believe in yourself, and in six years’ time you just might be surprised at how far you’ve come.

Skin by Pinipy