Less Quantity, More Quality

With my released-projects-per-month quota gone, I can focus on projects that demand more of my attention. I'm way too scatterbrained to take in the number of roles I used to work on at a time like previous years... Trust me, I had to be working on a LOT of projects to "coincidentally" get 1-2 projects released a month.

I finished lines for a LOT of projects during winter break that I owed for a long while and I'm working on a just a handful of projects right now... And those projects require a lot of dedication to complete (several games, one of which paying), so I'll have to turn down even more roles and opportunities until I get those done. I wanna talk about some of them, but I can't for now~

RE: Professional Pursuits - Finances

HAHAHAHA NG's revenue system is funny~ I get paid very VERY little (10% or less; I'm at $3.43 as of this post), which is understandable since animators put in so much more than I do, but I always appreciate whatever share I can get, especially from the really nice producers~ I don't charge money for my voice acting services (the most I want is respect, like space and time for me to get things done), but it's nice to get some support every so often. Friends and supporters (or fans, if you must call them that) have helped me by providing me better programs, or at least some funding to get them ($50-ish), so my recordings can be even higher quality (LESS PEAKING, YAY). Good feedback from those with sharp ears helped me give my sound quality an insane overhaul, as I put together a portable booth ($30) to eliminate the echo caused from bad room acoustics whenever I do screaming lines.

I'm saving up to take all kinds of voice acting classes and consultations. I took a few during my winter break (total: $445-ish; this is actually cheap compared to classes taught by higher-end voiceovers), thanks to the money I saved up from my birthday and Christmas. I plan on making time to write up scholarships for my university to save money on books and tuition. The money I'll be getting from some paying projects will also be used for more classes.

I'm eternally grateful for all the help and support I'm getting. I can't thank everyone enough, so the least I can do is make the most of what little I earn!

RE: Professional Pursuits - Voice Acting

No obligatory link to my 2009 AVA Demo this time. If you wanna check it out, it's in my earlier posts, but I feel it's definitely obsolete right now. My sound quality overhaul is so vast that it's almost nothing like the only demo I have (which I threw together in 4 hours during the summer) since, for one, the quality is just better, and for another, fewer technical limitations allow me to do even more with my performances.

My vocal and acting range just keeps improving and the reason why my new demo STILL isn't done yet, even after working on it for 4-5 weeks, is because I want it done right. I keep getting the samples/performances checked by my peers and mentors with professional experience to know for sure if they can get me booked or not and each time they find something that's not gonna work (in spite of my vocal-acting range), I end up making great improvements in my skills until it does. I just keep learning instead of growing stagnant and complacent. I'm very active about getting feedback instead of waiting for it, as I DO have 5 more professional peers and mentors I'm gonna have check out my demo before sending it to agencies.

I'm hardcore, yo.

Meanwhile, if I ever mention myself being subpar or less awesome than any other voiceover, it's primarily out of admiration and a sense of realistic self-assessment than low self-esteem. I always have room for improvement and the fact of the matter is I'm very much overlooked despite being overheard relatively often enough. Folks who take Internet recognition too seriously are missing out on just enjoying the company of their talented peers and the excitement that comes from taking on skilled competitors. It can be a downer whenever you're beat or whenever you can't stand someone, but things'll get better soon enough once you get over it.

Art Hunt

My collection just keeps growing... 'Cause I keep on collecting art.

One important thing I learned about using art to promote oneself is to properly "brand" yourself. If you have a sexy voice that can be used to advertise shampoo, chocolates, and scented candles, have shampoo bottles, boxes of chocolate, and candles on your business card, demo CD case, and website. Most of my cute characters get harmed in some way (comic relief through violence) and not all my older characters sell (I can sound older, but that's different from having the right vibe). However, more insane, high-energy characters are up my alley-Tell me to die violently with a spine-tingling death or go spastic and I can get those lines done no problemo (should time permit; one time I terrified my family doing death screams, so I try to record them when they're not around as much) and apparently, bossy or sarcastic characters are my thing too.

So... I wonder how am I supposed to portray my strengths?
Have a picture of me making a "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF--" face with overwhelming, restrained rage?
Or have a picture of me in a straitjacket, fighting off men in white?