#which made the pressure insurmountable bc I went into every session expecting a two hour perfectionist run

[dragonsongmakhali]

The 2023 retro has been completed, so let's get to the 2024 kickoff!

Things I'm working on this year below the cut! This is mainly a tool for me to keep track of what I want to accomplish this year, but if I post it, then I've also got some form of accountability built in.

Storytelling in posework - what it says on the tin. My stuff is entirely 'moment in time' based, which can make some really cool action shots, but definitely also contributes to the feeling where Makhali is a deserted theme park - the colors and action are all baked into the design, but it's empty because there's no actual life in it. I think if I make myself think more in sequences of events, it will make her story more real to me.

Color theory - I've never really put much thought into the color palettes my shots get outside of very general vibe feelings. I would like to dive more into why certain colors fit certain moods, and I would also just like to play with palettes in general. Maybe find a preset that isn't Cyane Prism (or my other favorite, Cyane Prism With Some Sliders Jiggled For My Purposes, but that's a mouthful so I just say the first part).

Live multi-actor shots - I've done a few of these, and they're always a challenge. I'm fairly good at setting these up async, but I had a lot of difficulty when I tried to do it live with two friends of mine - there's just not enough time in explorer mode to set up three poses AND get good angles on them AND get good lighting for all actors AND find a preset that fits. I'd like to find a workable solution for this because it's the primary blocker for why I haven't gone to or organized any gpose meetups.

Gifs - this is easily a bonus item. I'll get to it if I feel my other objectives have been met or at least are proceeding at an acceptable pace. Once the images start moving, I call wizardry and hide in the cupboard. Maybe I can stop doing that.

As an overhang to all of this, I'm trying to be more outgoing and more present in the xiv community, and although that's not art-specific, it's something I hope will be noticeable this year.

Alright! That's it! Happy 2024 Y'all!

#the mun speaks #yoinked this because it's an excellent idea! #that way a year from now i can look and see if i've accomplished what i wanted to #rather than the nebulous thing I've got going now that is more accurately an indicator of my mood than of any kind of progress #anyway I'm hoping to experiment more this year - i feel like a lot of my problems are because i stopped doing that as much #so everything i did was something that i ostensibly was supposed to be 'good at' #which made the pressure insurmountable bc I went into every session expecting a two hour perfectionist run #and like. i only got there because 'ffxiv screenshots IV' and it's prior ilk are all over 1gb in size #that's a lot of experimenting!!! it didn't really occur to me until the 2023 wrapped post.