Creating a New Community
There is a small group of artists that is slowly making their presence known. No whales, all minnows. It started from a minnow called @sireh who is assisted by another minnow (@perennial). This is a vibrant community that speaks not with words but with visuals. This community is colourful, interesting, diverse, dynamic and purposeful.
For those that are acquainted with us, we form this community as a support system for new artists and with the purpose of retaining good and budding artists within Steemit. The way we see it, the more talents are retained in the system, the community will grow by leaps and bounds.
Multimedia University, Malaysia
It is true that artists are a struggling lot. For those who swim in ponds, there isn't enough planktons for all and for those that made it into the ocean, could end up as supper for the big boys. Life isn't always rosy. That is why any opportunity to make the life of an artist a better one, we would seize the opportunity.
Multimedia University is located at Cyberjaya (aka Silicone Valley of Malaysia). @sireh is responsible to groom these future artists as in all aspects and one of the most sensitive but seldom talked about topic is on income. It is almost carved on the stones that any Asian parents would want their children to either be a Lawyer, Doctor or Engineer. I am a product of that Asian dogma.
But lest we forget, not everyone is born to write or save lives. Some are born to draw and some are born to play with colours or infuse humour into our lives. Try imagining life without Charlie Chaplin or Mr. Bean. It won't be the same.
Death of Printed Media
The industry that we are so used to in the 80s and 90s is slowly dying. I remember reading comics of heroes in printed form. We would usually wait for the next edition at our local newspaper vendor. Those were the golden ages of the comic industry in Malaysia. These days, comic relief is so readily available online and it is also available for free. The economy has evolved and we have to learn to adapt.
When @sireh first joined steemit, he told me that he has a motive. Besides trying to get to know @sweetsssj his ulterior motive was to source for viable and reliable source of income for creative effort. To gain exposure though facebook is possible but to monetize the exposure again is another ballgame. It is a tricky question to answer if time the age old question pops up,
'Can I earn by just drawing?'
The answer is yes, even in Malaysia. But the honest answer to avoid being misleading is, it takes a lot more effort than any other field. There is the recognition, the career building, the endless hours, the marketing, the story telling and the image.
Let Find a Shortcut
I remember that my mom used to tell me, boy, in life there is no shortcut to success. I agree with her, but there is a shortcut to quick pocket money and it has a name.
This is an attentive lot. @sireh told me that he would have failed in his duty as their lecturer if he does not expose his students to the onslaught of the real world. He took upon himself with this initiative that he has planted in his faculty of Creative Multimedia with a loose coalition of budding artists called Scroll. His second initiative was to keep the young talents motivated with the real possibility of earning a decent return for their work. His third initiative was to create a community that will give the support and prevent good talents from leaving the industry. The culmination of these gave rise to the tag #steem-cartoon that we fervently promote now.
The New Blood
It did not take long before we start to see the influx of talent. Some of their work has been visible through the community. Here are some of the many that has joined.
Let wake up to surprises every morning and make #steem-cartoon our daily read for visual funnies. It maybe an uphill task alone but if a community is rallying behind you, it is tough to fail. But please don't try to fail....
We are here for you! Make this community your community. Lets have tea or coffee in #steem-cartoon. Let's create a system of support for each other. Let's forget the mentality of 'SHOW ME THE MONEY FIRST'. Enjoy yourself and the income will follow suit. Trust the octopus (@sireh). Afterall, the went through tough life if having to scrub bellies for a living until a particular whale took liking into his scrubbing service.
Life is wonderful in this community. There is no rules, except enjoy yourself. There is no compulsion except you MUST enjoy yourself. There is no punishment for failing to post articles regularly. This is a free community where you hangout, find your life partner, make some money, forget tinder and laugh your hearts out. How can you not laugh when your superhero is as cute as Bat-Manta!
THIS IS OUR COMMUNITY, MAKE IT YOURS TOO