Whew, 2020 itās over…
Such a weird year. Eventful to say the least.
But what will I say that you donāt already know, right?
I must admit that despite everything, I was lucky that my year went mostly okay. Iām a big stay-at-home person so I wasnāt that bothered with the restrictions.
I was mostly bothered with people not following them for selfish reasons or not wearing a mask just because they didnāt feel like it…
(I understand a lot of people have real trouble staying home, anxiety and other issues. Obviously, Iām not talking about people with real problems, just about the ones that go partying with 20 friends and then go visit their grandparents…)
But letās not get caught up with that!
So, as I was saying, despite everything, 2020 did had a lot of positives for me.
In this post, Iām gonna give a little overview of what I did & achieved this past year. And as usual, I’ll talk about what goals and resolutions Iām setting up for this year.
Hereās a couple of ā letās say ā mantras or mottos that I want to focus on for this year that have been in my mind for a while:
- āBe Consistentā
- āGet work done in advanceā
Iāll talk about them some more bellow!
![Artists goals and resolutions for 2021](https://www.patriciapedroso.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Artists-goals-and-resolutions-for-2021-2-546x1024.jpg)
![Artists goals and resolutions for 2021](https://www.patriciapedroso.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Artists-goals-and-resolutions-for-2021-1-683x1024.jpg)
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REFLECTING OVER MY 2020
I usually write a post like this every year since I started this blog (2019). Thatās actually when I got a bit more serious about having goals and resolutions for my art and business as an artist.
So, if you want to see what goals I set myself last year, you can do so by reading this post here.
ABOUT MY 2020 GOALS:
Still, Iām gonna do a quick reflection here of the main points I had in mind for 2020:
- Focus on studying (schoolism & other courses)
- Keep my blog & yt routines and improve them if possible.
- Start earning some money with my blog.
- Focus on my shops & start my own on this website.
- Then continue some of my ongoing projects: my circus colouring book & the 100 somethings project.
About studying, I did a couple of courses on Schoolism before my subscription ended. But then decided to leave it be for a while ā mostly because I couldnāt renew it but also because I felt like focusing more on art.
- Read more about Schoolism in my detailed review here.
I was pretty good at keeping my routines – despite everything – and I did end up setting up my store here!
And I kept my other shops quite updated ad well!
The other two werenāt as successful.
After reflecting on it for a while, I decided to change the blogās name and domain from āConfessions of an Art Addictā to my own name.
For many reasons, but mainly because itās better for me and – as much as I donāt like to say it… ā my ābrandingā as an artist.
However, that did sink the traffic for a good while and I underestimated a bit the work it would take to re-style & update the website.
I might still have over 10 posts I need to review & re-upload… (Iām doing it slowly)
WHAT IāM HAPPY ABOUT
Despite the sink in traffic just when my blog seemed to be starting to pick up, I am quite happy about the change.
Not only the website looks better ā thanks to my new premium theme & a good number of hours of work ā but I feel like this also served to optimise it better now that I knew a bit more about what I’m doing.
So, I finally have a website Iām proud of & that reflects a bit more my personality! And itās starting to pick up where we left off now that the SEO gods trust me again.
Having my very own store here itās something Iām quite happy about as well.
Mainly cause the fees on Esty have been increasing, so Iāll probably close my shop there it once the things start picking up here.
In May I also published a small colouring book via Gumroad! And I re-edited & published āFangsā, my Inktober book from 2018.
Despite the odds, I did have more freelance and commissions this year than ever, which itās amazing because my bf and I moved in together in September and I needed all the work I could find.
And still do…
And produced my own merch like Enamel Pins & stickers for the first time!
Lastly, these past final months of the year Iāve been noticing an increased engagement & growth on my Youtube channel, my Instagram page & here on the blog.
Finally, after years of work it seems like itās paying off.
It might also be due to the fact that Iāve been quite consistent with them these past 4-5 months. ā and most of the year too except for a couple of short breaks.
HABITS I WANT TO IMPLEMENT FOR 2021
1) DRAWING
One of the main things I want to focus on this year is to draw & create more.
For the past couple of years my focus was on learning (thus why I got my Schoolism subscription). And I was in and out art burnout. All the time.
The mixture of the two basically ended up with: barely any new artwork ā mainly exercises for the courses – & a constant feeling of unproductivity.
So, my skill was improving but I wasnāt putting it to use.
Also, focusing on learning itās awesome and you learn a lot but itās also draining. And letās be honest, sometimes all the exercises can be more boring than your own art. Mixed with that artblock I was talking about, it just made me feel like I couldnāt come up with ideas anymore.
I will keep learning, but for now Iām taking a break and focus on creating. This will also help me update my portfolio.
Thatās why I came up with the āI take One Week off to make Artā challenge in November. And it really helped! Read about it here.
- For this, I set myself a goal to draw 5-10h every week. (That Iāve been doing since November)
- And I want to do at least 100 drawings/illustrations this year. I even made a tracker in my Bullet Journal to keep myself accountable!
![bullet journal drawing tracker goals and resolutions](https://www.patriciapedroso.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/bullet-journal-drawing-tracker.jpg)
These two arenāt super hard – at least I donāt feel like it ā but they will help to keep me accountable.
2) SKETCHBOOKING:
This goes alongside the lines of the previous.
Iāve always kept a sketchbook – since I found out about them ā however, I never use it the same.
Thereāre times I use it a lot, and others, specially lately, that I donāt use it as much as I like to. To help with this, I also keep a ādigital sketchbookā in case I rather feel like sketching digitally.
I want to fix this and try to make it a habit.
Iāve read & heard several times that itās really good to warm up for 10-15 minutes at least before you start working. Just like exercise, you warm up your hand & your brain.
Also, and Iām not sure where this came from, Iāve heard that starting your day spending 10-15 minutes in your sketchbook helps artists a lot.
Iāve been wanting to try this regularly for a while and see how I feel after implementing this routine.
So, here are my habits to implement in this regard:
- Allow myself 10-15 minutes in my sketchbook every morning as I take my breakfast. No pressure, just doodle whatever comes to mind.
- Finish my handmade sketchbook this year ā About 25% into it!
- Create āThe Sketchbook Workshopā course on Skillshare. Where Iāll be giving advice, prompts & ideas to make spending time in our sketchbooks a happy time. And productive too if it needs to be!
This last one has been in my mind for a bit ā and slowly in the works ā and I feel it will really help me as well as anyone who wants to join.
I plan to get it out in this first quarter of the year, so if you want updates on that sign up for my mailing list! (Plus, you get freebies!)
3) ORGANIZATION:
Organization itās key for anyone trying so many avenues as artists nowadays.
I, myself, feel like Iāve improved tremendously my organization skills over the last couple of years. Especially since I started bullet journaling!
![bullet journal organization goals](https://www.patriciapedroso.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/bullet-journal-organization.png)
I have a post about it here if you want to know more.
Iāve added other tools like Toggl to track my working hours & this year also Trello for a bit of everything. (Not an affiliate or anything, I just like them)
But, thereās still room for improvement, specially since Iām doing this 9 to 5 now from my own home. There have been some changes and I still feel like I need to adapt & do better in a lot of ways.
A couple of goals for this year:
- Start batching tasks for the blog & youtube. Hopefully, this will help with the goal of getting work done ahead of time and improve my productivity.
- Read or take courses about organization/habits. I do have a few pending!
- Eventually work to set up some boundaries: weekends off! Probably this will take a while, so Iāll start by trying taking just Sunday off first.
Iāll probably start by re-reading the book āAtomic Habitsā by James Clear while taking some notes. I remember it was really good but I forgot most of the good stuff…
GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS ABOUT PERSONAL PROJECTS
I always have like 10 projects I want to embark myself on. And 2-3 in progress all the time.
The problem? Some of these have been in the backseat for years!
I mean, itās not all bad, I do get some projects finished.
But, I have had a Circus colouring book in progress for 3 years or so that I should probably start taking seriously. I have 7 illustrations done and I want the finished book to have between 15-20.
![circus clown lineart inking linework digital 2020 Patricia Pedroso](https://www.patriciapedroso.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Payaso-2.jpg)
I also have an ongoing project called āThe 100 Somethings projectā. I talk about it in this post, so Iām not going too much into it here. Just know that itās one Iām taking slowly but it should get a few additions from time to time…
So, hereās a list of personal projects Iād like to ā at least ā make some progress with this year:
- Circus Colouring book.
- 100 Something project: reach at least 10-20 designs.
- Improve my portfolio. Make more statement pieces.
- Finish the 6 Fan Arts Challenge.
- Make my Pumpky Zine/sort-of-childrenās book in time for Halloween! (This was my Inktober project for 2020 that I really enjoyed, you can read more about it here)
- Finish the Lingerie Challenge. ā no pressure, for fun!
Then, I would love to do this thing where I do a mini-personal project every month.
I just feel itās a really cool idea, it could be anything from making a set of bookmarkers, to make a movie poster every month or whatever you want!
However, I feel that till I finish my Skillshare class Iām not gonna venture myself into this. And I should probably focus on some of the points above before this as well!
Maybe for next year!
GOALS & RESOLUTIONS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA + YT & BLOG
Iāve been focusing on IG & Twitter lately and I feel like itās working. Slowly, but itās better than nothing.
So, Iām gonna try to keep it up!
For Instagram, I decided a few months ago to try to always keep stories up (even if itās just one) but only post on weekdays. Thatās five posts a week that I usually schedule on Monday – if I can ā and I try to mix it up and upload a reel or a video from time to time.
Sometimes the reels I do in the weekend to help boost the engagement over the week. (I read it helps)
And then I basically re-post manually all of that on twitter. Plus, some occasional extra tweet.
Since Iāve been doing that more or less regularly, I feel like Iāve started to get out of my 2k follower rut Iāve been for the past 2 years. So, itās basically about keeping it up – while keep reading about the algorithm and its changes.
As for Youtube and the blog, so far, I plan on sticking to my current routine: one post every fortnight alternating blog & yt.
Iām trying to plan my content a bit more by having the content for the next month or so thought out up front.
And I would also love – as I said up there – to be better at having a buffer of a couple of videos and blog posts done ahead so if something comes up I donāt have to stress out about that & leave my platforms without content.
GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS ABOUT PRODUCTS & COURSES
As I recalled in the beginning, this year was quite good for me in terms of products. (For making them, not as much for selling them…)
I was especially excited about stickers & enamel pins! (you can find them in the shop if you want a peek)
And while the enamel pins havenāt picked up yet the stickers have slowly started to sell over on my Esty!
Iām really looking forward to making more stickers, itās just so exciting! And a relatively cheap investment to start with.
Some goals!
- The Skillshare course I talked about, plus some other if I feel that goes well.
- Write an ebook on watercolour basics for illustrators that I had in mind for a while.
- Find a good printer (locally or on the internet) to get quality prints made. ā Though long-term Iāll love to invest in a printer & make my own prints!
- Think about more stickers & sticker packs.
These ones Iāll take as it comes and my budget or time allows!
This helps diversify my income & hopefully make a more reliable income in the future.
COMISSIONS / FREELANCE WORK
This one of the main “goals & resolutions” for me this year.
Iām not a student anymore and Iām living on my own, so Iām gonna really focus on trying to get commissions & freelance work this year.
Iāve set myself a monetary goal to be able to pay the bills plus put some money on the side to save. Itās not too high but I want to see if I can make it there because it will mean I can keep working from home and as a freelance illustrator/artist.
![commission commissioned art](https://www.patriciapedroso.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/IMG_20200928_122200.jpg)
Mainly, Iām gonna be searching for work more actively.
Iāve already started but I feel thereās still much to learn about searching for work as an artist. Itās a surprisingly unknown world for many of us that not many talks about.
If I do make advances on this regard, I plan to search what I learned, so it can help you as well.
Iām willing to take a job on the side to help pay the bills if I canāt make progress. Iāve tried already, but with the current pandemic situation I havenāt been able to find anything…
Weāll see how that goes!
PERSONAL LIFE GOALS & RESOLUTIONS
So, this time of staying home hasnāt been too good for my body. I must say weāve indulged quite a bit on ordering takeout more regularly than usual & on chocolate. And probably other not-so-healthy things.
Iāve put up a few pounds that I would like to get rid of, but most of all I would love to be a bit healthier from now on. – talk about typical goals & resolutions, uh?
However, Iām not and Iāve never been a fan of exercise. Iāve tried, I promise…
Yoga & going for walks has been the only thing I enjoy doing, so, I want to do it more regularly.
Iāve started the year by doing the 30 Days of Yoga with Adriene on yt. Iāve been doing yoga with Adrieneās channel for about 2 years ā though not regularly ā and I really enjoy it.
Plus, it helps with my back problems!
I hope this is the start of a better yoga routine that I think will benefit me a lot.
Other personal goals are:
- Go on walks more often. At least once or twice a week to start with.
- Keep doing yoga regularly, even if itās not daily after the 30-day challenge.
- Eat better. We home cook 95% of the times and weāre big veggie fans, so I just want to eat a bit less quantity and reduce the takeout & sweets for some time. Be more conscious of what I eat.
- Finish my Final Degree Project for Uni and officially graduate. (In progress)
THATāS IT!
I do have more specific goals & resolutions for certain stuff & long-term goals but I feel like I shared enough already.
Basically, when I write this I do it to keep myself accountable and try to inspire artists to have their own goals and resolutions as well.
Goals are what keep us improving and moving on so we donāt stagnate.
You donāt have to be crazy strict, of course. But itās always good to reflect over what you want and what you have been doing to achieve it. ā or have you been standing in your own way?
Whatever it is that you want you can have it. As long as you put in the work, I believe we can all get where we want to.
Thatās why I set myself these goals & resolutions.
Hereās to a better 2021 for all of us!
And donāt forget to share your goals with me in the comments if you feel like it!