creativity during covid-19 and why it's important to try new things

Perhaps on of the most influential terms in my TGS career, the creativity during covid 19 module put me on a path I could have never imagined myself walking. Over the span of two months, I went from a girl who hated art, to one who realised that this was an unexplored passion. It truly proved to me that jumping in the deep end and trying something new may not be half as bad or unfortunate as I thought.   

When I learned that we had to do a creative project about covid19 I was truly stumped. Not only did I have no clue what to do but I was drowning in school work and all my other projects. By no means was it an easy time. Thinking that creative endeavours were not my strong suit, I decided to just take one of my Japanese project writings from my journal and turn it into a train of thought comic. This way I had some material to work with, and I could use it for my Japanese project summative as well. Furthermore I made the decision to make it multimedia— allowing me to use both pictures and digital art for the creation of my comic. In my mind I thought it would just be some project that I quickly start and finish.

Oh how I was wrong.

I faced many set backs when trying to create this comic. I had to learn how to use clip studio paint and draw on a Wacom pad. This was strange for me because I, like most people, was used to drawing looking at the pad— not looking at the display screen. Furthermore I had a tough time drawing and colour matching things. I had to use myself as a reference and try my best to draw myself accurately. However, all these struggles motivated me. I put aside many of my less engaging projects and immersed myself in this project that I could not even fathom before. The strife and the struggle just made my successes sweeter and I couldn’t help but jump up and down in happiness when I finally finished a single panel, or edited a single image. 

This project truly pushed me beyond my boundaries and allowed me to test myself in new waters. I learned you don’t behave to be good at something to like it, and that webcomics are something I would like to persue. This would lead me to think of my second mastery— a pitch bible for my very own webcomic.

Looking back at this project now, I definitely think that it was the work of a rookie. My Japanese was wrong in many places and despite my efforts the colour matching and drawing are tolerable at best. However, for me, this project was not about making the perfect webcomic, but rather just the start of a new passion in my life. Rather than it being the best end product, I see it as a seed that kickstarted my artistic journey.