Xiao Kong @ ARTBOOK PRE-ORDERS · @Velinxi
4th Apr 2019 from TwitLonger
Important life update on me dropping out of college and Countdown to Countdown
As some of you know, I’m currently attending art college as a freshman while balancing my freelance work and webcomic. I chose to go because I believed that receiving a diploma would provide me with a sure fire job, and because I received a scholarship- making me feel as though I shouldn’t waste this opportunity. I’ve learned a lot throughout the year, but I found it extremely depressing and unfulfilling. Still, I stuck with it because college isn’t always about doing what you like. However, my body started to break down under the strain of video editing classes and my tuition continuously hiked up in price. Discussions about artists being successful without going to college also circulated. Artists that I knew and/or befriended spoke openly about how they managed without an arts degree, and I began seriously considering what I want to do with my college situation.
To put it bluntly, I’ve decided to drop out of art college and will be looking for freelance work/ permanent illustrative work while building more of my portfolio on the side. This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made but I feel like it’s the best call for now. Even with the “highest” scholarship and financial aid, art college is still not affordable for me. I can’t be paying 20k-30k a year for some classes that will not benefit my career path in the future. I’m eternally grateful for the friends I made here and the few teachers that encouraged me. I’ve learned a lot in the year I’ve spent at Sva, but I feel the need to withdraw. My family and I have discussed this, and I’m extremely lucky to have them be understanding about my choice.
There’s a chance that I’ll come crawling back to art college with my tail between my legs if it turns out I can’t make it without a degree to back myself up. Even with friends reassuring me and speaking of their own successful experiences, I don’t know what lies in MY future. I don’t know if I’ll be unlucky and land no jobs. I have no idea, but I’m going to be taking a gamble and work harder than I ever have to try to make sure I don’t ever have to go back (Key word “try”).
I feel like a fraud for flushing a golden scholarship down the drain and wasting the 20k I spent on one year of art school, but I feel even more terrible about every tip and encouragement for me to go to college. I’m very sorry to anyone that’s disappointed about my decision, I’m extremely grateful for the support thus far. I am so sorry for quitting this early on. So many opportunities could come from me bearing with it, but I need to at least try this option- I can’t imagine breaking my body and financial situation even more for the next three years with classes I don’t need for my career path. I was on the road to recovery by the end of high school, but constant video editing, essays, etc in college put me in a worse state than when I began.
From here, I’ll be working hard on freelance jobs, applying to more cons, and looking for other opportunities (like a permanent job that requires my illustrative abilities or long term jobs I’ve had to decline before because of my responsibilities as a student).
As for Countdown to Countdown- I’m also taking another huge leap that was painful to ponder. The current webcomic will be stopped for now, and my Patreon tiers will be shifted in the near future to accommodate this. I AM NOT giving up on CTC, I am planning to reboot it entirely in a more traditional comic style to save time and have a more cohesive storytelling. For a while, CTC has been painful to draw and I’m ashamed to admit my fuel for it nearly died after several personal events happened in the past months. It was something I started in middle school, and needless to say my writing was outdated, and my old ideals of painting every panel perfectly was unrealistic (and very damaging). I will probably explain this better in another post in the future, as CTC readers deserve a more proper explanation and update as to where it will go. Do know that I’m not giving up on it. I’m going to try to publish it under a comics publisher or simply self publish when I have a more solid hold on the reboot. I’ll be making updates on it when I can.
Again, I’m sorry if these decisions disappoint or sadden anyone. I’m really grateful for every tip and/or encouragement that’s went to my college fund or CTC. I’m trying to do what’s best for myself, my family, and my comic. I also want to be uninhibited in my artistic improvement and spend more time building my portfolio. I want to give the best version of CTC to my readers that I can be proud of as well. I’ve been debating these decisions for the past few weeks- draining as it was, I’m glad I came to this conclusion. I understand I’ll be throwing away four years worth of my comic and one year of my life. The thought of it is exhausting, depressing, frustrating, yet a bit freeing.
Thank you all once again for your support and reading through this jumbled mess. I’m here to answer any other questions, just shoot me a DM or email. See you guys next time.