The Cart before the Horse
If you have been keeping up with my recent posts you will know that I am in the last month or two (60 days) before I graduate from college. And…
every. day. is. a. chore.
I have found myself filled with so much pent up anxiety and general fidgets that I just want to spring head first into making my manga and just get it published, and it become a tv-series and and and and… (it keeps going.. lol).
I’ve been so antsy that one night earlier this week I thought, “Hey! I’ll try to make a contest and find some ways to get more exposure for Oyasumi Yumiko!” It sounded good when I thought of it. Then I went to sleep, and woke up the next morning. *Bell Gong* o________o
How in the world am I supposed to expect people to get excited about Oyasumi Yumiko and its characters when… wait for it… THERE’S NOTHING TO READ. Uh, duh…
But I do that a lot. I get really excited about what could be, and don’t necessarily focus on what *needs to be* in place for things to even start.
So when I came to this “revelation,” though it really was a “no brainer,” I started thinking of the artist alley tables I’ve had in the past. I’ve had one consistently for 3 years – I started at a local con, Jampcon 2008, when I decided to finally go back to college. At the time it was the exposure and experience that I felt I needed in order to become a better artist, get feedback, and generally just *see* how the public would accept my work and my art. I would say honestly I’ve done fair at conventions. Not so great that I am rolling in money. But it wasn’t supposed to be about money, it was supposed to be about sharing my story with others and hearing their feedback.
In retrospect, I wonder if I should have just not bothered to get an artist alley table until I had something tangible and readable. Again when I started going to artist alley I was putting the cart before the horse. Going to ‘sell’ something that was non-existent. Sure I made all these characters, but there was no story to give them context.
Maybe it’s self-delusion, maybe it’s me trying to be more zen, but maybe I was putting this cart before horse because I was supposed to. Maybe somewhere in my jacked up mind I needed time to work with my characters, giving them adjustments here and there (Yumiko’s hairstyle took a few revisions), to where I felt comfortable saying… “Yes, this is Yumiko Nanahara, the apprentice Dreamweaver of Reverieh.” “Yes this is Yune. Yumiko’s personal dream companion.” And maybe I just needed time to boil up that water of self-determination and courage to see if I had what it takes to make it in Artist Alley and… just be out there professionally.
But now I realize it’s time to stop trying to push characters and push the story. That will take most if not all of my free time when I graduate (in 60 days.. Holla!!), and I hope everyone can eagerly await September 30th… b/c that is the release date I’m going to work towards.
So yeah, I’m ready to make Oyasumi Yumiko happen. I hope to not disappoint you all! 
Yume ni nare! (Become a dream!)
-Emily
