2022 is finito, what did I do
Projects, failures, discoveries
Hi pal!
I just wanna start this one of by saying that I can see that about 20 to 30 people read the newsletter every week, it’s super nice to see that so many of you open them regularly! I understand that it might be hard to find the time to read from top to bottom (I encourage you to skim and slow down if something catch your attention).
So thank you for reading!! It keeps me motivated!! I’m happy to have you here!
Now onto my notes…
22 was quite eventful for me.
When I started 2022 I was still living in Paris. Since then I’ve moved with my partner to another town. Which I’m glad we did, this town is much calmer and the apartment is great.
The most unexpected thing was all the traveling. I went to the USA 2 times, Sweden 2 times and once to Amsterdam. I’m not a traveling kinda person, it just sorta happened, but it was a fun change.
I’m excited for 2023 because it’s so full of unknowns. Will people like Surmount? When will we release it? What will I do afterwards?? That might be one of my favorite parts of not having a steady job or to be studying. Just roaming freely.
I finished way more things this year than I usually do, mostly because I started writing blog posts and they are quite reasonable to start and finish compared to a graphic novel or a game.
What I did this year
Most importantly we announced Surmount. And now it’s 2023, the year when we’re supposed to release this thing. Goddamn!!
It’s incredible how this project started as a little thing nagging in the back of my mind and now it’s become a horse bringing me all the way to SF and it makes me meet new people.
I published a bunch of blog posts. The Unclear Inspiration Syndrome, When You Don’t Know What to Draw and Silly Doodles VS The Biggest Painting Ever are the ones I’m the most proud of.
I submitted this piece to the My Famicase Exhibition. (and I wrote about it)
Ported Dropert to computers. (it’s free)
Tinykin was released. A game I made a lot of concept art for and a few 3D models.
I got to make another key art for Toem’s new DLC.
And of course I committed to and named Indie Notebook, the newsletter you’re currently reading!
Wrapping up Surmount is my top priority this year.
What I didn’t do this year
There are a bunch of things I would have liked to do, but I can only do so much. Here are a few things I failed to do this year.
Write a book
Establish a “passive” income
Make a tiny game (side project)
Abandoned a short film project
Sculptures or physical objects
Get a driver’s license
Get way better at french (I only got a bit better)
No biggie though, this just means I have some stuff left to be excited about and look forward to.
What I discovered
For me 2022 was the year of self-help stuff. I gulped up books and podcasts about productivity and creativity. Now I’m starting to feel a bit stuffed on it and mostly seeing repetition, so next year I will probably explore other topics, like history and fiction.
Either way, here are the things that impacted me the most.
📝 Writer - Austin Kleon
Basically any of Austin’s books are worth picking up if you’re any type of creative. My motivation to start this newsletter partially came from there.
We all have to get over our “starving artist” romanticism and the idea that touching money inherently corrupts creativity. Some of our most meaningful and most cherished cultural artifacts were made for money… Paul McCartney has said that he and John Lennon used to sit down before a Beatles songwriting session and say, “Now let’s write a swimming pool.”
📝 Course - Write of Passage
This is the first ever live-course I took online.
It helped me find a comfier way of writing. Basically I continuously gather my thoughts and discoveries in a Notion database and then when I want to write about a topic I pull the relevant bits from there to get pieces to start from, which means I rarely have to start from a blank page.
My biggest take-aways from this course is the importance of writing in public and using my notes to write and generate new ideas.
As well as the people I met! (I know some of you might be reading this, hello!)
📕 Book/ideas - Atomic Habits
I haven’t actually read this book (yet), but I feel like I’ve picked most of it through various Youtube videos and podcasts. On top of that my partner read the book and I sucked up even more through osmosis.
In short, the results of success is highly talked about and valued.
But the small things that actually led to that success is usually ignored and doesn’t seem significant by themselves.
“Woman eats chicken salad for lunch every day” doesn’t sound intriguing. But “woman loses 50kg” is. What we should care about is the tiny steps there.
🗯️ Comic - Forming
This is a strange creation myth story with lots of humorous dialogue and profound reflections. It contains lots of weird sex and a fair bit of piss and shit, which I love. It’s the kinda real humor that you would only find in a strange indie comic like this. If you like the deeper aspects of Adventure Time you will probably be into this too since the creator contributed a lot to that show.
You can read it all for free through that website which is nuts. Comic publishing is crazy.
🎞️ Anime - Chainsaw Man
I had no expectations at all going into this show. It looked completely nuts and incoherent. But people seemed to like it so I gave it a shot with zero expectations and was surprised by how much sense the story made. It’s quite something. I feel like I’m being attracted to more and more dark aesthetics and themes lately, maybe my work is gonna take a turn in the coming years.
🎞️ Anime - Odd Taxi
Not gonna say much about this one, it has a chill and mellow tone. Start watching for the vibes, stay for the mystery.
It’s a bit
Is this email too long? I consider it a bit of a special one since it’s the first one of the year. Hehe
Thank you for reading Indie Notebook 2022!! Looking forward to have you around for 2023!
I’d super appreciate it if you shared the newsletter with a friend.
Take care!
P.S
I’ve always been shy about singing and talking in front of people, this year I sang into a camera for the first time and shared it on twitter.
This might be my first tiny step towards sharing my own music someday.
Jonas!! Your cover of Little Piece of Trash is SO good! Super brave of you to share that. Please, share more.