Hi Steemers,
When I joined Steemit, I truly meant to make it a priority to post as often as possible. I've been pretty crappy about it, but I'm seeing the light at the end of my project tunnel.
I took on the very ambitious project of doing 31 looks for the month of October, and I'm about 17 looks in now. I literally have no idea why I'm doing this project, aside from [hopeful] social media marketing. Trying to become your own powerhouse is a lot of work. Trying to market yourself is like learning a new language. Trying to exude confidence when you have none is the biggest challenge of all.
This project has been exhausting; For every look, I've styled the wigs, done the makeup, sculpted & molded the prosthetics (all for 2 I think, that I bought), set up the backdrops & lighting, taken the photos while being the model, and edited them.
Its....a lot, when you also factor in a 9-10 hour work day. I don't take a break. The second I get home, my dogs get walked & I'm sculpting or moulding, letting that dry, bouncing over to steam a wig, letting that dry, running to put makeup on, styling the wig, putting it on, etc etc etc. I've averaging about 2-3 looks a night in a 4 hour window. Not to toot my own horn but honestly, that's kind of impressive.
toooot
Because of this though, I no longer see my progress. Usually I'm able to step back for a day or two, see what might need to be done differently, and fix it. I'd like to lean on my girlfriend for that constructive criticism, but like any good girlfriend, she just tells me that everything I'm doing is great and perfect and excuses away anything I point out.
[Side note: that's a huge pet peeve of mine.]
And I know, I KNOW with a big project with this - time to prep = lack of quality, so I need someone to keep me in check. I don't have that, so I'm also trying to be that person for myself, begrudgingly. I don't look good in a cheerleader outfit, & I'd like to get back to being a brooding artist who hates everything I create.
Anyway, long story long, I did a shoot this past weekend, hoping to redo a Halloween costume I did about 7-8 years ago. Just like now, back then I did everything myself too. Both times I used a prosthetic I bought at my makeup supply shop. I'm grateful to have found this photo, because I needed this comparison to show how far I've come, but also how far I have yet to go.
This is the old photo from 7-8 years ago. I literally bought the sequin fabric, draped it over myself, & horribly cut it into a "dress".
Here's a photo from my shoot last weekend. I wanted to do a more realistic, sexy Miss Piggy outfit. It's not perfect, but it's not terrible either:
It's nice to look back and see what I used to think was a decent photo, and how I've evolved since. When you are self-taught, you have to learn to look at your mistakes, as uncomfortable as it might be. I am a tired soul, but there is happiness in knowing that I can never be accused of living within my comfort zone.
A hazard zone with all my projects? Yes. But never a comfort zone.