Froggy Blogs

Thoughts, feelings, ideas, and ramblings

02/19/2025

Today's blog isn't exactly well thought out or pointed, I just want to yap. I've been feeling a lot of frustration towards myself; worrying about not doing enough or falling behind. I have been thinking a lot more creatively again, I feel the drive to express myself in new ways. I am allowing myself to create as I feel it rather than trying to finish a project in one sitting. This feels like an obvious thing to say, but I actually feel like I'm improving now. Letting go of the fear of making mistakes and embracing the unexpected helps me take on new challenges that might have previously seemed daunting and impossible.

I'm learning to like writing again. Sometimes it's a challenge to turn my thoughts into words. It feels like a web of images rather than a string of coherent words. Drawing, painting, designing helps me see what I'm feeling and, in some way, gives me the words I need to write.

01/19/2025

I'm using this space to talk about whatever I want! Today I am talking about anger. I have been feeling a lot of anger lately. I am frustrated at the lack of care people have for others. The world is not all bad, but we are becoming more and more isolated. People seem to lack consideration for how their actions impact others. Not to state the obvious, but the people in power do not care about us. I feel like I am seeing this more and more everyday; they're not very good at hiding it. This lack of care for people has led to a growing amount of anger in everyday people. Road rage is becoming more common, violence is up, hatecrimes are only ever increasing. What frustrates me most is how easily people can redirect their anger and blame their neighbors, colleagues, even friends for the state of the world. Newsflash asshole! We're all getting treated like shit!

I'm not going to sit here and act like I am immune to feeling anger towards regular people, but we have to remind ourselves who's really responsible for the shitty state of the world. It's not your neighbors fault grocery prices are going up, it's not the fault of some kid on the street that the school system is in shambles. Look at the assholes at the top, see where their money is (or isn't) going, see who really controls the government. I am so sick of the infighting and divide over shit that does not matter. Gay and trans people existing has no effect on if I can afford eggs this week. A black person walking down the street has no effect on if my landlord will fix an emergency maintenance request before it becomes a danger. A muslim seeking a place of worship has no effect on if my car is going to start this morning. Maybe I'm missing something, but I will never understand WHY we choose to focus on this stupid shit when a majority of the country cannot afford to live. I want people to have access to medical care, a safe place to live, and enough food to feed their family. I want people to have unrestricted access to education and opportunity. I want people to be able to freely express their love for the world in whatever way they see fit.

The Burnout Blog (repost)

I feel like a great person to speak about this because I’ve been in what I consider a creative block for the past 4 years. I was still making things for my college art classes during this time, and they weren’t bad pieces, but there was no passion behind what I was doing. Art became very methodical to me, it became a task rather than a hobby. I started thinking way too much about how I can profit off my art, how to make things other people want, and overall just feeling unhappy with my skills.

My middle school and high school sketchbooks were full of original characters, story building, and emotional expression. I spent the first part of COVID lockdown learning new skills and trying to keep my mind active, but as the isolation continued, I felt my creative drive slipping away. So I stopped creating. I stopped drawing, sewing, crocheting, even using coloring books. I just didn’t find the energy or willpower in me to keep doing it. I felt like if my skills weren’t good enough to monetize why even do it? This is of course not true, and creativity is one of the most important things we can hold on to.

I started college hoping the studio classes would keep me thinking and keep me creating, and they certainly did, but I was only thinking about my art in terms of improving some skill so I could market it. That’s not to say it’s wrong to want to sell your art; I mean who doesn’t, but that need for approval kept me from challenging myself to go further.

When your creative drive disappears, the one thing that really helps is to do something else. I started making a website because I was getting bored of digital illustrations, and now I have a new skill in web design that I didn’t have before. I’ve found myself drawing more just to have stuff to put on here, and I’m constantly thinking about what I can add. Web design has lead to me further studying HTML, CSS, and Java; eventually I’d like to study back-end coding as well. If web design and drawing seems too bleh, I have started animating as well. It’s so important to have multiple creative outlets. Focusing on one medium or tool for too long is what often leads me to vicious burnout.

And of course the hardest thing to overcome in creative burnout is the fear of not being good enough. This is a constant struggle. It is so difficult to not compare myself to other artists, but that fear is what stops me completely from creating. When I need inspiration, looking to other artists can be great, but comparing my outcome to theirs is what often causes me to stop completely.

Things to Remember

These are the ideas I want to be driving my art going forward, not the fear and anxiety.