Yesterday I was really planning on posting something. Then I went from excited, to panicking, to straight being pissed off.

As I've mentioned, more than once I believe, I had applied to art school and was planning to start in the Spring Semester. There were a bunch of tedious processes to go through and they got done. I had reviewed this school years ago when I first wanted to attend and they were pretty good. The fact that it was online and had specifically geared classes towards the career I wanted were the biggest appeal to me. Later in the day yesterday after finishing some modules for financial aid and decided to just look them up again.

Of course they were a lot different this time. They were either REALLY good or REALLY bad. I don't think I saw a single review that was just okay about the school. I delve deeper and find out that they have pending lawsuits, that they may be losing accreditation due to low graduation rates and also financial aid eligibility. THIS is where I started to panic. I COULD NOT go to school without financial aid. The other problems were also bad but this kind of drove it home.

"What if this happened why I was there?"
"What if I had to drop out and be in debt for nothing?"

Those were two of the hundreds of thoughts and scenarios running through my head and this was the point where I started getting pissed off (SO MANY EMOTIONS). It had to happen now. Later that night I emailed the school representatives and informed them that I could no longer attend. I was left with the panic, the anger and the disappointment. But, I was not going to give up on getting the education I wanted. Since this wasn't a reliable possibility for me anymore, I've decided to forgo art school, at least for now, and self teach. My insomnia kicked in because of all of this so I spent most of the night researching different ways to teach myself and still have a career. Here is what I've found out so far:

• Online Workshops: These are definitely a viable option for me since they are online, cheaper than school courses, and have great reviews online and through word of mouth.  The LevelUp! Workshop from ConceptArt.Org is the first one I want to try. It's $139 for six months and has courses in a lot of different subjects I love, including ones geared towards building a career. Two other ones I plan on applying for are CG Master Academy Master Classes, which are pretty much all $699 each and The Gnomon Workshop, which is $499 for a year. I need to save up for those two. There are many options out there.
• Regimented Schedule: Another widely given tip out there is to make yourself practice a certain amount of time everyday to master techniques and hone your craft. I plan on starting to draw about five hours a day every day fixing my weaknesses and learning the basics with a new eye and seeing how that goes. I can't learn without a lot of practice.
• Free Tutorials: The internet is FILLED with all sorts of tutorials on how to draw, paint and learn the technical skills of being an artist. Pinterest has loads of resources linked in and YouTube has a lot of different videos/tutorials available.
• Books Books Books: This makes me very happy, even if it is really obvious. Last night I researched a lot of books that have helped people learn. The list is pretty long but I'll end up making a post of my favorite art books in the future when I've found out what has worked for me best.
• Don't just learn the skills, learn the business: I really believe this to be true, especially since I won't have the resources some schools could give me. Knowing the laws, how to market myself, and how the industry works will go a long way in me actually landing a job.

I'll admit I'm still filled with a little bit of panic, but I will not give up on this. I want to pursue my art career and refuse to let school bring me down. I thank all of the resources that I have available that will help me achieve my dream.

What are some ways you know of to self teach? What has and hasn't worked for you? Any feedback or information would be greatly appreciated!



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For the last few years life has been in a kind of limbo state. I never felt I was moving forward and things were just, stuck. Besides working and exercising there was no kind of structure in place at all. As of late it's been driving me nuts especially when I try to make goals and am somehow shocked when they don't work out.

For a little over a month I've been implementing journaling into my day for weekly to do lists, daily to do lists, wish lists, blog posts, mood charts, and generally to see where I'm at during the day emotionally and mentally. It's been working for me in the sense that I'm not at a loss during the day of what needs to get done, I can dump all of my thoughts onto pages, write poems and be able to recollect what has happened over the course of time and what has helped me and what doesn't work. (It also helps that I'm a bit of a journal junkie, I LOVE pretty journals)



Now that I know its a process that works for me I want to implement it in long term plans. For example:

• College Enrollment. A long and tedious process. The amount of work I need to get done before even starting can get a bit jumbled. Transcripts, class registration, talking to school representatives and all of the financial aid hoopla like getting grants, loans and scholarships. I need to make sure I can afford all of my tuition with financial aid.
• Getting Healthy. One of the most important long term changes I need to make. Since going into a very bad depression for over a year I gained around 70 lbs. In my spare time I slept and ate like shit most of the time, I can admit that. What really helped me when initially losing most of the pregnancy weight was writing everything down that I ate, what work outs I did and how many reps I did, taking progress photos, and writing down a lot of research. Doing that again may help me in the long run.
• Classes. Once starting school I'll have to keep track of my assignments, deadlines, ideas and even more research. I'm super excited to be starting school in the Spring semester but I know I'll be needing a journal with me to keep track of everything.
• Blog Posts/Videos. I love blogging, as nerdy as that sounds to some people. Being able to write about what I want and having the possibility of receiving feedback is an amazing thing to me. I like writing my posts down in a book and working it in there before typing it up. I like writing lists of blog ideas and scheduling what will be uploaded when. In the future I want to have dedicated art posts and tutorials since that is a  subject I am really passionate about and would love to see that grow. Also, I would like to start posting videos as well about art and life and just whatever makes me excited, y'know? 

These are just a few of the long terms plans I have been writing through, there are more bouncing around my head. What are some ways you like to keep organized? Do you have any long term goals? Let me know!

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