Creativity

Scroll and Scroll and Scroll

batboy sits and ponders with a pencil in hand
| Mister Kessell

I’ve talked about the perils of social media before and my addiction to it, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…also here on my blog in 2018.

And I don’t know if this makes me a hypocrite or what, but I continue my love-hate relationship with it. As an artist, or writer, or any other creative person in 2024, you need to have some level of social media presence. It’s really how I’ve made the handful of good connections that keep me going. But, sometimes social media use gets out of hand, it becomes addictive and so much easier to scroll forever, until your eyeballs dry up and your tongue lolls out of your mouth, than doing the creative work that needs to be done.

Comic in which Batboy sits at desk with pencil and blank paper caption reads: "Hmmm ... Maybe I should look at my phone for some inspiration."
Batboy knows the struggle.

Some of my Batboy comics from the past couple of years have dealt with this phenomenon. As pictured above, Batboy sits at a dangerously blank piece of paper, pencil in hand, needing some inspiration, and he has the most unhelpful thought: Maybe I should look at my phone.

BOOKS

“DON’T DO IT!” I say, as you are more than likely already reading my words on your little pocket computer screen right now. Otherwise you will end up like Batboy in my short animated PSA below:

SCROLL AND SCROLL AND SCROLL…

Comic in which Batboy is drawn sketchy in pencil and ink, he looks flustered as he holds his phone. The caption reads: "Been scrolling for hours and somehow I'm not better."
Do you ever feel like this after a TikTok binge?

Again, this may seem like I am biting the hand that feeds me, because in reality my Batboy character wouldn’t even exist without the prodding and support of a few friends on social media.

comic in which a cartoon boy angrily takes a bowl of matzo ball soup away from a monstrous hand with teeth

But sometimes it feels like I’m feeding the hand that bites me.

So, until all us indie artists get the attention and support we deserve from the mainstream pop culture institutions, I guess we just have to find a balance, set some limits on our screen time and try to get back to our creative pursuits as much as humanly possible. Before brain death sets in.

I try to hide my phone when working, or to put it in a completely different room.

How do you deal with the addictions of the internet and social media?/

If you happen to be scrolling, you can find my fantastic content on Instagram. And as an antidote to Scrolling Fever you can find my physical books on my books page, they’re a lot easier on the eyes.

BOOKS
I’m a Social Media Junkie

Batboy Gets Real

| Mister Kessell

Experimenting with a little mashup of photography and illustration. It’s a fun way to get out of my cozy little rut. Now I need to keep my eyes peeled for more photo ops!

I am notoriously anti-viral

| Mister Kessell

First thing’s first:

cartoon man struggles to not touch his own face

How’s everyone holding up in the days of the coronavirus? I hope you’re all staying safe.

I am currently working from my shoe box-sized home, my anxiety levels are off the charts, and I have been neglecting all of my creative outlets.

I figured I would share some of the things I’ve actually accomplished since the start of our current global crisis. The graphic above was something I thought I could send out into the world as a sort of PSA. A reminder for people.

I don’t know if it helped.

space girl floating admiring a distant galaxy.

You might not know that I love science fiction. But I do! Beep. Bop. Boop. I am a robot from Mars.

Right now, living in NYC, I’ve been going a little crazy, dreaming of more space, and that led me to create the image above. You can see the full image over in my portfolio.

Aside from that, I haven’t really been able to focus. Social media (mostly Twitter) has been creeping back, distracting me again and again. The news doesn’t help either. Does anyone else have these issues?

I should really get back to work.

If you happen to find yourself bored at home for some reason, my e-book is available for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

  • squamous monster reptile

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Some Art and Updates

| Mister Kessell

Forgive me followers, I have sinned, it’s been about six months since my last blog post.

I set myself some ambitious goals at the start of the year. But then I promptly forgot them, made some new goals, gave up on those, circled back to the first ones, fell into a creative slump, told myself that I need to just read more, got a second creative wind, decided to study French (pas pour la première fois), thought more about the original goals, binge-watched the second season of Mindhunter on Netflix, I had a turkey sandwich, and now I am here. Maybe just a quick nap first…

I’m not going to lie, the past six months haven’t been completely devoid of creative work, but I always feel like I should be doing more.

Sometimes I feel like I’m on the wrong path.

I’d like to share some stuff I’ve been working on recently. That hideous scene of eldritch horrors above is one of a handful of things added to my portfolio page. If anyone is in need of any Lovecraftian artwork for a book cover or to accompany any short stories, please let me know. I’d love to find some creative people to collaborate with!

I go through periods in which I focus on one medium to the detriment of all others. You could say I become obsessed. I recently decided again to work on this polymer clay maquette above, which I had started about three years ago. This is one of my latest goals, to finish this vulture goddess sculpt soon. We’ll see what happens.

A little time-lapse sneak peek.

The video above is my most recent work-in-progress, a follow up to probably my favorite piece from last year. Definitely the spiciest from last year. This is one of the last steps after the ink and watercolors have dried, the removal of the masking fluid. I should probably start the time-lapse recording a bit earlier next time, I’m just never confident enough that the piece will be successful.

Stay tuned for the finished piece and hopefully some other new weirdness.

À bientôt!

I’m a Social Media Junkie

| Mister Kessell

As a creative person, I think I have a problem with certain types of social media. I don’t have a healthy relationship with things like Instagram and Facebook. I admit that now. It’s good to get it out.

Cyclops monster obsesses over his smart phone

I get into these phases in which I begin posting quite often, maybe giving updates on a certain project, and I become addicted to the likes, to the attention. I check obsessively to see if there are any new followers. I’m a genius right? Shouldn’t I have thousands of adoring fans? Like so-and-so over there?

I begin comparing myself to those others who don’t seem to offer the same quality work that I provide. Or I begin questioning why seventeen thousand people would follow such an account. What do they know? Are they even real people?

I begin thinking up strategies on how to draw these followers to my side. I begin churning out junk that I think could be popular with certain crowds. It usually ends up being sub par and rushed.

I ignore the one person’s opinion that really matters in the end, my own.

It’s like Kurt Vonnegut says: “Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.”

Alien man with many eyes takes a selfie with smart phone

So, what do I intend to do about it?

I need to step back and have some quiet time, some “me” time, to reflect on the art and story ideas that really excite me.

That’s what I did this past week. I’ve chewed on the subject of this post for days. I also sat down with my sketchbook and thought about social media, these accompanying doodles are the result.

I should not invest so much time and energy in social media apps. I will try to connect with real people on the internet, only when I have a free moment here or there. I’ve joined the community at AbsoluteWrite and I hope to make some new friends, have some good conversations, and learn some things too.

Man likes his own smart phone selfie

I need to remind myself that Instagram is a tool that I can utilize periodically, like a hammer or a toothbrush. I don’t need to obsessively use it every day.