Valiant attempts at getting over art burnout

One reason I haven't blogged in a month is - the blog "lives" on my laptop. It uses a post database to sync to the blog and my only option is to use dropbox or something to keep a version of it "on the cloud" and reference that instead of a database on my harddrive. Kind of wish it were easier, maybe I'll try to convert my blog to another format because I use multiple computers and it would be nice to post from any of them easily.

I have struggled to get over art burnout for a while. Usually I bring a sketchbook or tablet somewhere for an hour or so and just doodle randomly, nothing really focused, and it's a bit frustrating because I don't really do anything

Finally i just decided to draw a moped of some kind. After I was done someone else at the coffee shop asked me if I took commisions, which was very flattering! 

Later that same weekend I was again at a coffee shop and was going over random prompts. I wanted to start drawing comics again but I didn't know where to start. One of the prompts was a "Hotel Lobby" and I sort of took it from there

Later that week I decided to go to a drawing meetup. I had been going to a meetup on and off for over...10 years at this point? I dropped in unannonced because the discord that they use is pretty dead, but me and a few other old friends got to hang out again, and I drew another page.

Finding dedicated time to draw is key to me getting to actually draw. The meetup provided dedicated "drawing" time so I was able to get the pen moving and get something on paper. One of the things I struggle with is figuring out what to draw, and so working off of prompts gives me enough of a direction to get going. After these two pages I kept thinking of possible plots and stories the narrative could go. I did feel a bit like I did when I was drawing regularly. And then the holiday week came and I've been too busy.

One other major problem is what device to draw with. I have been using my now decade old Surface Pro 2 (3?) and it's been mostly been able to keep working, but the charger's cable is in such a state that it has to be zip-tied into a position. It also uses windows 10, and the battery (which is unreplacable - the chassis is glued together!) lasts about 2.5 hours now. I find that I have to draw on a screen and using a separate graphics tablet really doesn't work all that well for me. So maybe I buy a new surface just for drawing? It feels overindulgant, but maybe it's worth indulging in.

I also really like the art of Alariko and I want to make similar landscapes. I have been studying them up close, it's very intimidating because their work is so detailed and their colors are very very good. But I like how they are able to render distance in landscapes so if I can be 1/10th as good I'll be happy.

Sorta makes me wish I had gone to art school instead. Having dedicated years to draw and hone skills would have been nice. People can't even make a living in Computer Science anymore so what's the difference? 

Ok I have rambled enough.