I’m still going to wait to post another blog with all my latest art as I want to make changes to a lot of my more recent pieces. So, in the meantime, I’ll talk about keeping your head above water during the senior year and some advice I have for others who are struggling with an 18 credit semester or with constant deadlines. I’ll also share some of my upcoming plans.

I’ve found that, over time, the semester tends to fall into a sort of wave pattern. At the beginning, assignments are due sporadically and, when you’re lucky, you get two or three due one week and two or three due another week. Eventually, they end up settling into one week where nothing is due, and the next, everything is due. Every calm week, I try to get as much as I can done for the next week, but it feels like I always fall a bit short. The week before last was somewhat of an exception. It was Halloween, and I spent a lot of the week preparing for the Halloween party. I ended up a bit short on time because of it. I’ll share my Godzilla pumpkin carving below because it’s on theme.

Anyway, here’s my advice to mitigate the swampiness of the semester, especially when these “waves” hit:

1. Try to stay off Instagram, TikTok, Youtube… Facebook? Snapchat? Anything with a short form content outlet.

I feel like a grandpa every time I say this, but it’s true. I’ve been wasting so much time on any kind of scrolling situation for the past few years. I also seem to always need something running in the background to do anything. I haven’t been putting on Youtube anymore. I’ve just been sitting in silence doing my work. It seems like whenever I have Youtube or even music going in the background, I find myself taking breaks to switch videos or skip ads, and then I see an interesting Youtube short and it’s all downhill from there. These past few weeks I’ve tried to go on Instagram solely to text my friends as well. I’m not perfect. I still lose time here and there from getting sucked in when I open the app. The first step is realizing what app you’re drawn to every time you open your phone. If you’re consistent in breaking that neural pathway, it becomes easier to stop yourself going forward. It’s been a lot better when I’m consciously thinking about it every time I touch my phone. In 2017, there was a study that showed that people were increasingly less productive as their phone was closer to them or within reach. Other studies have been done in the years following that have solidified this research. Sometimes you might need your phone for reference images, but if it can be mitigated, keep it as far from you as you can. It’s helped me a lot.

2. I’ve said this before, and I don’t take my own advice, but when you know that you have a billion things to do, keep your projects simple.

I’m always going crazy because I want every project to be the best it can be, and I think a lot of us (if not all) struggle with this. Not every project can be the best you can make it in the time you are given. If you’re having difficulty with this, I’d recommend doing the bare minimum first and then adding the fun parts as you have the time to do so. This is easier to do depending on what you’re doing. Right now, I need to make 8 infographics for my Communication and Conceptual Design class. Naturally, I physically cannot do something fun for each. Each one is about a different environmental issue, so I wanted to make my clustered bar chart a cluster of differently sized trees. I want to make my line graph about invasive burmese pythons have a python as the line. I also wanted to do small illustrations of the creatures that are the subject of the other graphs. I currently in my heart and soul intend on doing all of that but, first, I need to finish the graphs. I’ll prioritize the python and the trees before I start working on the small illustrations that don’t add as much. Starting on unnecessary parts to “make sure they stick around” is a sure way to end up with an unfinished whole. I used to work that way, and it caused me a lot of unnecessary grief. I’ll update in the next blog on what ended up getting added to the graphs and what was scrapped.

3. Personal Projects and/or Commissions

I’ve personally not been too plagued by this problem as I struggle to get to personal projects even during “peacetime” (spring/winter break), but I’ve watched my friends struggle on assignments because of personal projects or commissions. I think trying to do commissions while in college is great, but if you’re taking a bunch of classes, it can get really hard and push your timeline back. I learned this the hard way with a few crochet projects (the blue-green dragon from blogs of recent memory) and now I’m very careful with when I’ll accept commission work. People work differently than others! If you’re already implementing my earlier advice then you might have ample free time… or if you’re on a particularly light semester you’re all good. Obviously do what’s right for you. But if you’re currently struggling on assignments and deadlines, don’t work on personal projects! Now what I would recommend is to make your assignments personal projects. Keep a note of all your ideas and when you’re struggling to think of something to make for an assignment, consult your ideas. I’ve done this for a while and it’s allowed me to make personal projects when I otherwise wouldn’t have in favor of making stuff for school.

4. Don’t be Scared to Switch Projects Now and Again

I’ll sometimes try to keep myself on one project I need to get done. While this is a decent way to do it, you could get burnt out or get too in your head. It’s good to take a break from a project and look at it again later with a fresh eye. You notice glaring mistakes you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It’s always best to catch that stuff early. I also would recommend switching projects/taking a break when you’re at a “high point.” What I mean by this is a point in the artwork where you’re in the zone and excited about where the piece is taking you. If you leave off at a point where you’re sick of drawing and don’t like the way the piece looks, you’ll be less likely to want to get back to it. It’s hard to leave a piece when you’re at that high point, but if you’re getting close to needing a break, I’d suggest leaving off before you get to another low.

Those are my suggestions to anyone who’s in the same boat as me right now trying to get everything done! I’m really hopeful this week’s projects will come along successfully. I’m excited to share all my most recent pieces in the next one!

More to come!

~Marissa