I promise being a few days late is not becoming a bad habit! I was out of town, visiting an old friend and while I kept up with my daily room writing I have taken to an extended drawing session on Sundays for the map itself and that was not in the cards while away from home.
I have been thinking a lot about the nature of this KIND of project. To save you the long winded version I will simply say that the point of this now is to finish it, and to have finished it. I do not care what it ends up looking like in the end. Is this a bad thing? I think not, because the goal is to have done SOMETHING. Personally I learn more from pushing through the boredom or monotony of a task than from giving up. This phase of the project is ABOUT disliking it and what I’m producing. Having been consciously participating in the process of artmaking for the better part of 20 years I know the ebb and flow of my own interest, and I am excited for the next big swell.
All of this being said I think I can say with some certainty that success with this project requires the following-
An understanding that it will be a disjointed mess
An embracing of that disjointedness, likened to praying to a chaotic deity.
A simple gaming framework on which to build a world, and to lean back on when inspiration is no where to be found
A good strong arm with which to handwave any logical inconsistencies that get in the way of the practice.
A few different good pens, so you can shake things up from time to time
An understanding that it will never be a finished product, and the understanding that a sketchbook is not for selling, it is for learning.
A notebook that fits in your preferred method of transportation (the Hobonichi Weeks fits snugly in my pouch so I bring it everywhere with me like a travel sized holy book)
The willingness to skip the practice some days and batch multiple entries on other days.
A good place to write about and catalogue the experience of the practice.
At least 2 other people’s work that you are closely following, so you can feel the communal aspect without being overwhelmed by the work of others.
If you are reading this and also continuing to work on the project, keep going.