"Artsume Shae" Abdon, Digital Artist, Comic Creator, Content Creator

00:00
I always tell people that you should do something for the first time, but then like the first time is gonna suck.

00:14
Welcome to another episode of Chewing the Fat. I'm your host, Big Robb. Thank you so much for tuning in, downloading the podcast. I certainly do appreciate that. I thank you for your support by buying me a coffee at ChewingtheFatBR.com. It helps the podcast to keep rolling and it lets me know that I'm doing something that you want to hear. I'm trying my best to get some just quality, quality guests for you that have those beautiful, messy, human stories that we love to tell here.

00:42
on the podcast and maybe give you some hope to find that there are ways to keep the darkness at bay. One of those people in a shining, shining light in my life is a friend that I met working in retail. Please welcome Shae Abdon. Shay! Woo! Now you may know Shae by her moniker ArtSume Shae. She is an artist. She has her own.

01:08
digital comic that you produce, which is amazing, Space Ultima, and then like I said, we met working in retail in the pits, in the retail, and but you know, we, I think just as creatives, we kind of had this camaraderie instantly in some of the stuff that we would do in creating, so I just loved getting to know you, and I can't wait to get to know you more. Yeah.

01:36
Thank you so much for being here. Worth. Yeah. So Shae, are you from the Augusta area? No, not originally. I'm what they call a military brat. Okay. So the occupation of my father definitely took us. Most places are a lot of places around the world. I think 2011 is when we moved to this area.

02:04
It's kind of wild now thinking about it has been so long and probably the longest place I've ever lived. Oh, wow. But I think that going through that, a lot of people, there are some pros and cons. I definitely feel like I'm probably an anomaly because I was not only a military brat. I was also an only child. But I think just having such like a rich inner mind.

02:32
kind of keeps you occupied. So, and then also being able to see like different places and whatnot. But I don't know, I feel like in my time being here in the area, I've come to get another extended family. Yeah, for sure, for sure. Yeah. And I guess, you know, you're a youngster, you know? So I mean, you know, you've been here for 13 something years. That's a, that's almost half your life basically. I know.

03:02
So I mean, I think that, you know, that early travel, I always tell bugs, if you can travel, travel. I mean, you get so many different perspectives, living in different places, even just visiting different places. Get outside your comfort zone, you know, and explore. Yeah. And I feel like I still, I mean, listen, I definitely have that travel bug still, but you're right, like, something that I think I get now that I didn't get back then,

03:32
is like that kind of home base. Oh yeah. It's like, you know, you have people, places, things that are like familiar to you that you can return back to. Oh wow. Whereas like people who, you know, I met throughout my life who they have a hometown, they have like, you know, like their family is like, maybe at least a maximum hour away, you know, things like that. So yeah, like.

04:01
came here, end of high school, all my college, and now I'm 30, and it's like, oh yeah, definitely some pivotal life moments have happened here in the area. Yeah, yeah, I know that's great though. Where did you go to college? I went to college at Augusta University. Okay, now being an artist, did you go for a fine arts degree? Is that what you were? Yeah, I definitely did. It was interesting because anybody...

04:31
from the area, you know, their dream is to go to SCAD, whether it's the Savannah or the Atlanta location. And, you know, don't get me wrong, they definitely give you the golden platter. Yeah, it's kind of the Ivy League version of a fine arts degree, right? Exactly, even people from out of state are always just like, oh my gosh, SCAD. And so I went here, and I'm really glad that I did.

05:01
You know, I had like the support of like my family. I was able to like live at home throughout all of that. And I still feel like I was able to get the learning that I wanted in this area. They actually have a lot of like enriching like cultural things. You know, your art galleries, you...

05:26
you're really able to meet people within the art community versus in maybe like a bigger city like Atlanta, you can be like in a packed city, but it's really hard to meet people in that sense. So yeah, I think that it was great being here. I will say, and not to drag any entity, but I look at the art program now compared to when I was in school, and I'm just like, man, I wish.

05:55
They had the funding that they had. Right. But was it now back then? But, you know, I'm always a self-learner. Most of the stuff that I currently do, I've, like, taught myself, watched YouTube videos, like, learned how to do things. So that's always a plus, especially if maybe you're in a program, school program that doesn't have everything you need, then being able to be resourceful has got me through. So. Yeah. Now.

06:22
Were you always like a doodler when you were like a child and traveling and, you know, going into different military, but that type of stuff, was that always a passion of yours? Was that always an outlet? It was always an interest of mine. I definitely credit, like both my parents, my mom's very creative and my dad, he's also creative. And, and I think from an early age, I saw him, you know, he was in the military, but he still was drawing. He still was.

06:50
And he was often taking his art and putting it into his military career. So I was able to see what they kind of cultivated. And yeah, like I was, I was that kid who, you know, had her notebooks and all the kids were like, oh my God, draw me. And it's like, you know, I kind of, that kind of became part of my identity. And I think I was always kind of like torn between two things. Cause I.

07:20
also really liked film and TV and storytelling was always a big part of my interests. Even though I was drawing, I also was like, oh, but I wanna be an actress. And so I think that once I got to college, I actually was going to be a communications major. Then I switched to arts, but I wasn't like, I didn't stop.

07:49
I was still doing short films and doing video work. So I wanna say my love of video and my love of art kinda like paralleled throughout my life. Yeah, and I know that we've worked on short films together. You did a shot for shot of, was it 10 Cloverfield Lane? Yeah. That you had me in. I appreciate that. That was a great experience. It was. And then just other, you know.

08:17
being a part of the Black Cat Picture Show film festival. And just, you know, it is amazing to think that, you know, little Ol' Augusta, everybody knows it for that golf tournament. Yeah. But there's so much other stuff that's here if you just kind of, you know, lift the blinders a little bit, to expand your vision, to see the other stuff that is here. There is a pretty thriving film community here and it's trying even more so to.

08:45
to get out there. There's an amazing art community, some world-class, like marketing companies that are here that have amazing artists that work for them, and then solopreneurs that are creating logos for the Braves and all this other stuff. It's just, it's amazing that the community we're in. And I agree with you. If you were in that larger pond where more of those fish might be, sometimes it's harder to connect with them.

09:13
As opposed to here where it is very much a community. I don't find a whole lot of Gatekeeping as it were You know as far as like knowledge and how and what you're working on and stuff like that Obviously if it's like NDA stuff, but I mean like, you know for just been like, oh, yeah No, we've got this gallery open and come on down here or would you have you thought about putting your pieces in this place? Or that type of stuff, you know, I just think it's amazing Do you have a like

09:43
I mean, I know you've got Space Ultima, if you don't know Space Ultima is a digital comic. I feel like that's a great blending of those two sides of you, the storytelling and the art, right? Yeah. So how did that come about? Yeah, so I've always liked comics and I've always read like graphic novels, manga, those different types of things. And so I think for a while I was like,

10:13
drawing art, putting it on social media, get a few clicks and likes, and then it's over. And Space Ulta actually isn't even my first venture into digital comics, which that's a whole other part. We can talk about that later. But ultimately I was like, I think a comic building an expanded universe, building something that can have a community like,

10:42
around it, where people are engaging with it, engaging with my art in a different way that's not just like a few likes. And like you said, storytelling, I was like, I have so much visuals in my brain and I just want to get them out of there. You know, VFX, that is, it goes through years of development.

11:10
animation, while animation is great at the same time, there's a lot of obstacles to overcome with that. I was like, I have a story I wanna tell, I wanna tell it right now. And that's when I decided to start developing my idea for Space Ultima. Yeah, like the storytelling, often when I'm writing my webcomic,

11:40
kind of like writing episodes of a TV show. Like your episode ends with like a cliffhanger or like revealing some type of information to get people hooked to tune in for that next week or something. So that's kind of like where I saw my two interests start to converge. And it's been like really, really gratifying to be able to kind of like, I know the story from beginning end.

12:09
But then to see people actually reading it and being like, guessing exactly what I intended for them to understand. Now I'm like, okay, this is fun. It's a lot of fun and I can see my ideas unfolding. And you know, I know for me, I don't wanna limit myself to just web comics. So I'm hoping that in the future, once it's all of a sudden done,

12:36
definitely want to have it in print and then, you know, maybe take the story to some type of motion media. So. That's really cool. So if folks are unfamiliar, what's the 15 second elevator pitch synopsis of Space Ultima? Yes. So it's about a girl who is discontent with her life. You know, she doesn't know what she wants to do. She wants to be doing something more.

13:03
but she's kind of held back by her responsibilities and duties to her family. And what better way to get out of a comfort zone than to be physically taken out of a comfort zone. So in a chance meeting with this guy who is from another planet, some hijinks happen, and she gets in a accident that involves this space gem.

13:31
that then gives her some super abilities. And not only is she now helping serve a greater cause, but she's serving another cause, which is to kind of discover what she's made of. So, yeah, that's kind of, that's the space adventure aspect of it. And so she has to like defeat this great foe, but then once again, she kind of has to like overcome.

14:00
herself in a way. I love that. Sounds like there might be some internal parallels that maybe you've drawn from for this character. Yeah. I mean, literally putting yourself out there just in a different kind of way. Yeah, like there's definitely a lot of self insertion in the story. I'm trying to remember when, but I know that there was a time where I was like,

14:30
I was working my job, and I was like, I don't know what I wanna do. I don't think this is leading anywhere. I don't, it was like a lot of uncertainty. Yeah. And it was also kind of like a low point. And that's when I guess I kind of flipped it and translated into just like a scene. Like it really started with just a scene.

14:59
of this girl, she's working at a convenience store and she's like working the night shift. It's like, oh, whatever. And then this like alien comes in wreaking havoc and then this guy comes in and she partners with him to like take the alien down. And then she's like, whatever you're doing, I wanna be doing, take me with you. Yeah. So that one scene was kind of like a representation.

15:29
of what I was going through. I was just like, I need something to take me away. And that's kind of what happened. And then with some other things that were kind of unfolding in my life, like I was going to therapy, I was realizing some things. And I think that all of the elements in my real life, I was somehow kind of putting them through this filter and then turning it into a story.

15:58
Yeah, I love that. But you know, I think as creatives and especially storytellers, you know that we that's how we create the stories We draw from things we've either experienced whether it's someone you saw an event happen or you were a participant in the event and that's what draws people to the story is the They can see themselves in it. They can feel that type of like I've been there before I've been behind the the counter and wish I was doing something else and you know

16:27
I love that. You said you had a webcomic prior to Space Ultima. So which one was that? It was a comic called Underdog. And it was interesting because that was when I made the decision to go from like, I'm not gonna just make art, I'm gonna make art with a story to like, add people on and create engagement around my stuff. And I don't know, it's like.

16:57
I always tell people that you should do something for the first time, but then the first time is going to suck. It's not going to go well. I had realized the things that I could have done better, the feedback I gave myself. I felt like I rushed into the project. All of that understandable criticism.

17:27
aside, I am very surprised I decided to do it again. See, that's the thing. I felt like I was really hard on myself for quote unquote failing at that first comic because I had a lot of fans, had a lot of likes and subscribers to it. Like I was building an audience and then all of a sudden I just like kind of, I feel like I kind of like left without a trace. And I think that

17:55
I kind of felt guilty about that. Like I felt bad, like, oh my gosh, if they see that I didn't handle this first project well, how am I gonna expect them to come back for my next one? Yeah. Which I think for like being online with what we do creatively, mostly being online, that is like a very big fear. That's my fear because I have like tried to do things and then maybe they don't pan out and I don't do them anymore.

18:25
That's literally my entire career on YouTube so far, where I have different eras, I guess you can call it. And it's like, okay, well, I also learned a lot of things. You know, and I think everybody learns more from failures than from successes. Yeah. Because when you have the success, you kind of feel like, all right, well, I got it. I'm on a coast. Whereas when you fail, you're like, oh, God. You're gonna go down, but you're like, all right, let me take that lesson and...

18:52
stand on it and then go higher the next time or do something different. I think that's normal human life. It is. And I think it's hard to sometimes because now what you have that's like normal is now like out for everyone to see. I mean, it's scary when you're, especially when you're talking about its web, it's global.

19:20
It's as soon as you get published, it's global. It's not like, oh, I printed a copy and I put it down at the book tavern for, and I only had five copies, so five people are gonna see it, you know what I mean? Yeah. It's out there and it's forever, whether you pull it down or not. Somebody may have downloaded it and they have a copy or whatever. That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself when you start thinking in those terms. But I think that's what it takes. It's like, you know, that's...

19:50
I'm gonna take a piece of myself and I'll put it out there for good, bad, whatever, to figure out what's the lesson from this for myself. People are gonna like it, people are not gonna like it. Maybe they have some decent criticisms of something that I hadn't thought about before. Could be that they're trolls, because those suck. And that's the mindset to have now. I think that, like you said, you put that out there.

20:19
You almost have to be ready for any outcome. You, the hate comments, the this, the that. And I think it's hard too, because with me, I guess my brand is like, I try to be as unproblematic. I'm just peace, positivity, fun. But then you're like, oh, I put that out there, but you're still gonna write something?

20:47
kind of weird, so it's like, that's just the way it is online now. And I think that I did, you know, overcome the, and I did get, I actually got a comment. It was kind of surprising because the comment was from not someone I knew personally, but someone who has kind of like followed me online for a while. And I put out a video and it was just.

21:13
kind of talking about my story development process and my excitement for my upcoming project. And I guess I was kind of surprised that they commented something that felt a bit nitpicky and almost like, I think the word was, because I said in the video, kind of joking, like do as I say, not as I do. I was completely open and transparent about how

21:42
my previous project didn't pan out how I thought it was. And they kind of were like, well, that's kind of an understatement and da da da da. And I kind of looked at that and I was like, I did not think that somebody who I assumed would be on board with anything that I put out there, would kind of like come at me like that. So it is a mixed bag, but that's...

22:07
not gonna stop me from still doing these things. It's not gonna stop me from creating. And that is kind of like the blender concoction of everything that you end up putting out. And I think that's great that you've learned to like, okay, all right, some people are just, I mean, some people are just miserable.

22:30
And they're not happy unless other people are miserable. So that's the energy they put out. So as long as you're putting out your positive energy, your, you know what I mean, that I think you can take that with a grain of salt and be like, okay, all right, that person, you know, all right. But then you- Because maybe they were hurt. Or maybe, you know, whatever they have going on. Because you never really know how people perceive you.

22:58
people who are completely faceless. Oh yeah. Maybe me disappearing for a certain amount of time, maybe that hurt them or they're like, where'd you go type thing, which I also joke about too. But. Do you do a lot of, and I know you've talked about the YouTube a lot, do you do a lot of live stuff on YouTube or on Twitch or stuff like that? Do you do like where you're.

23:27
just talking, is it like an AMA type thing or is it, all right, I'm sketching this panel right now and then we're talking about the sketching type thing. How does that work? Yeah, so outside of the YouTube and outside of the actual comic, I do stream on Twitch. I stream the live process of me working on my panels. Honestly, I treat that less of like a teaching moment and more of just like a hangout.

23:57
You know, like I think something that, along with like the pandemic is something that we all like to just have somebody on in the background. So I think I'm like talking about my day, talking about the show I watch or some goofy nonsense most of the time. And I'm like, you know, drawing, I've got music on in the background. And it's just a place that people can like tune in, chime in.

24:26
A lot of people also will be drawing while they're watching me. And then also too, if someone does chime in with some curiosities about my processor, I've had people ask, how do I use this in Clip Studio Paint, the program that I use? Oh, can you tell me about this character of your comic or something like that? So yeah, it is a really fun time. And I think that's something I've kind of learned in...

24:55
branding on social media is that you have to kind of bring people into who you are, then they will kind of like support you even more. And you support them too, like everything that I get in the comments, I'm always commenting on. And I mean, the bad comments, quote unquote, are rare, but even still, I'll like read them and acknowledge them at the same time too.

25:25
Yeah, I think that's... When people can see that you're human, you know, it's different. It's like, oh, there's this digital product that I downloaded. And it's like, well, no, this is the full project of one person that created the storyline and all the art and all like that. You know, I think that just people want to see and want to know the person kind of behind the curtain, you know, behind the panel, behind the pod.

25:54
behind the whatever, you know, I talk about that a lot that I'll get a lot more people that want to say follow me as a creator as opposed to the podcast itself. You know, they're both running about the same number on both, but I'll get, I seem to get more people that want to follow and see what my life is. Because then it's the human side of it. It's not the quote product side of it.

26:23
because I can see the product because that's, they download the episode, thank you for listening. But then it's like, okay, who's the human behind that? And I think we all kind of crave, it's some point in our life, that human connection, especially with things that we love. Yeah. It's like, you love Winnie the Pooh. I wanna know about Jim Cummings.

26:48
who's got the voice of Pooh. I want to consume all of the content. Right. I want to fixate on all of it. Right, right, exactly. Yeah. Exactly. And you have a pretty cool job now that allows you to do a little bit of travel and seeing some things and stuff like that, right? Yeah. As you are a, are you considered a personality, a reporter, a...

27:18
What is the... That's a great question. And I'm sure if you... What do you do? If you get it wrong, then it'll like, maybe you can either make more money or less money because you're like, hey, if I'm actually a reporter, I mean, so you're over at 1226, right? Yeah, so there I am a creative services producer, which means that I'm either filming a video,

27:46
taking that video, editing it into promos or packages that air on typically our lifestyle show on the, was it, Mori Mix, Mix at Three. So that, and then also I wanna say a kind of like, I guess, side part of that is then doing reporting for that lifestyle show anytime they need me to whenever something is like out on location.

28:15
But yeah, I would say it's like a lot of like videography work, which is which is great because You know working while I don't work in News necessarily. I still work in that kind of fast-paced environment Yeah, and there's a lot of things that I Have taken away from that job to implement into you know, my own work, you know Just kind of like that speed being able to

28:44
take something and have a quicker turnover for it, working with a team, management of my time, things like that. Whether it's this job or my last job, it's like at the end of the day, you exchange your labor for funds, but you also wanna get a little extra something out of it. So that being my new skills that I've been taking away from it too.

29:14
It's really just try and be a more productive person, I guess, so. So, aside from creating your comic and your passion for film and storytelling and things like that, what's bringing you joy, Shay? I think what's bringing me joy is definitely the people around me. That's great. They are keeping me.

29:41
Same. That's great. Well, they're keeping me sane while simultaneously not. Every day I get off of work and I don't think there's been a single day where I've seen my dog after work and I haven't just been goo goo gaga like, oh my gosh. It's like I see her for the first time because she also practically is seeing me for the first time. Yeah, yeah. Like. Been gone all day, so yeah. Dog brain. Yeah.

30:11
You know that I think that, you know, you know, my boyfriend, my family shout out. And also just like also the things that I like I'm doing with them. I'm not gonna lie. It's a little hard out here. So my, my travel and seeing things is not what it, I guess, used to be. But I've always been into like experiences like I want to, I want to do.

30:39
things, I want to see new things. And even if that means, you know, seeing and trying new things right here in my own backyard. And I'm always watching things. I'm always like, trying to consume just as much as like I'm like creating. Even if it's like maybe a show that I've watched for like

31:04
the 11th time. You know, it's that comfort content. But yeah, I think that those things are bringing me joy. And then also trying to be better about being mindful, looking at the drive to work, actually looking at it, versus just going, going, going. I think that seeing things and really seeing them.

31:33
Kind of gives you like a moment to like kind of stop and be like, oh, that's cool. That's something new that I've like I've consumed and I've digested. But yeah, that and then also the small things like I have a complicated relationship with social media. It's like on one front, it's like I like seeing like funny videos on TikTok and like looking at pretty things on Instagram.

32:03
Then I also remember, I probably should be not spending all my time doing that. But it's like, it's the little things. I mean, I think that we have like such a strict, there's been like a strict routine given out to everybody. It's like, if you want to up your productivity, if you want to be the best in this area, be the best in that area. But then at the same time, it's like, you just got to take the guardrails off every now and then. So.

32:31
Yeah, it's just kind of been like little things like that to kind of get my mind off of some of the things that I cannot control, which is very hard because I am a control freak. So if anything, that's kind of my double-edged sword.

32:56
Shay, this is the second segment of the show. We dive a little bit deeper into your mental health journey. I'm a big believer that the more we talk about it, the less scary things like discussions about depression or anxiety or those things that just feel like they weigh on us are because I believe that, you know, depression wants to tell you you're alone and when you hear other people it's like, hey, I've been through that too. It takes that power away. So for you, how do you keep the darkness at bay?

33:28
You know, it's kind of funny. It's like a perfect time to, I guess, talk out that plan, mostly because I think lately it has been, it's been a different type of, I guess, darkness where it's like, in the past, it's kind of been my direct environment versus now, and maybe call it growing up.

33:57
It's things that are, you know, external. And like I said earlier, you know, spending time with, you know, my family, spending time with my boyfriend, I will tell him, like, if I have the day off and he's working, I'll just be like, okay, when you get off of work,

34:22
I need to be out of the house. I need my out of the house time, touch grass, breathe air. Cause I do think that it's like, take for example, social media, it's like so much, it's the world, you know? But at the same time, it's also gives you kind of this like tunnel vision. And I think for me, my issue

34:52
has always been less about comparing myself to others and more of just comparing to weirdly like myself, feeling like I could be doing better. I could be doing this. Why aren't I doing this? Why isn't this out quicker? Well, first of all, you're a team of literally one person. And you can't.

35:18
you can't prevent that in the near future. You can't, I'm not in the situation yet where I can add other people to what I'm doing. So I have to give myself that grace. So I think that is kind of like, like I just said just now, it's like really trying to give myself that grace. I'm definitely a recovering perfectionist. And I think that part of the problem

35:47
Part of the thing is now I'm just tired. Like I kind of joke, there's this kind of joke about like gifted kids, kids who are in talent and gifted. How at a very young age, now granted, I'm not taking anything for granted, but at a very young age, you're told you are superior, you are at an elevated.

36:13
knowledge compared to your other peers, things like that. So I think that mixed with the kid's personality kind of like fast tracks them to being like, oh, I have expectations on me. I need to be on. If I am a bad pupil, oh, no, that's my identity. So now therefore I am a horrible person. And like I said, I

36:42
you know, you can't change the past. But I do know that like, that goes into understanding how to heal your younger self, because that's all we are. We're all just a bunch of kids in big kid clothing. And we're all just doing things for the sole purpose of hoping that we are taking care of. So I think recently recognizing that, that that's who I'm doing all of this for.

37:12
has really kind of helped me be kinder to myself and not beat myself up so much when I don't reach a deadline that is already arbitrary or at least a deadline I've created for myself. And it's, you know, you just gotta kind of take things how they are, like in terms of my current situation, you know, I'm not saying that life is terrible, but

37:41
I think at 30, I didn't expect myself to be where I am right now. And did I have like maybe grander visions? Of course. But at the same time, I can't like shoo-poo-poo what's currently going on and what's currently going really well for me. So I think that's kind of some of the pieces of cake that I'm like, okay, this is going well, that's going well.

38:10
And when you go take a moment to look at all of it, it's like, oh, okay, that's not bad. Yeah. You know, and that's one of the things they say, self-care is not selfish. And sometimes that's a hard lesson to learn when you've, again, if you're one of those kids that feel like you've pushed yourself to like, oh, I have to meet expectations of others. And you get to adult and you're like, no, actually I don't have to meet expectations. I need to meet expectations of myself. Yeah.

38:40
And sometimes that midday nap is the self-care that you need. Gosh, yeah. I'm sorry. Sometimes it is. I don't know why as a child I thought taking naps sucked because they do not. I feel like my body is catching up. It's like, you could have been taking naps. We need it back. Yeah. And I think it's a maturity. It's as you get older, you see these things and you start seeing them more plainly.

39:09
And the more that you see them, the more that you see those, because you're a very giving person of your knowledge and you see that kind of next generation or those people that are coming up and you're like, hey, by the way, let me go ahead and tell you this now. Cause it took me, I wish I had learned it 10 years earlier. Do stuff for yourself and don't be so hard on yourself.

39:40
It was like, you can also burn out on the things that you enjoy. And I was like, ah, because that's so true. I think that's my biggest thing is that I'm like, and I like to draw, obviously. And I wanna say that web comic work is the most time consuming hobby. And I say hobby, because you,

40:09
you don't get paid for it out the get-go. Like there are ways like Patreon and things like that, and that's down the pipeline, I hope, but you are kind of doing a lot of work for an outcome that's going to present itself, but later. So I think for me, I definitely can be very workaholic when it comes down to that. And...

40:39
It's funny, like my boyfriend, if I'm type A, he's definitely type B. And when he, on his day off, mows a lawn or does something house related, I'm like, yay, good job. But when I decide to take a nap when I could have been doing something else, he's like, yay, good job. Because he's like, you need, I think that that's our balance, is that like, I help him do a

41:08
more in the areas of productivity and he helps me do more in ways of like chillaxing. And yeah, that's the give and take. It's like, okay, I could, I already did so much. I mean, maybe it's time blindness, but sometimes I will like literally work on my web comic a whole day and still feel like I didn't do enough or still feel like I could continue doing it.

41:37
And I think it's interesting when you're doing something creative or just doing something that you're kind of like sat, you know, you think, oh, I'm not doing physical labor. I can keep going. I can do a few more hours of this. But no, because what I'm going through now, like, oh my gosh, I have so much tightness. You know, people have, there are creative and art related injuries.

42:05
And I keep trying to warn myself, just be like, okay, remember, like you don't want to end up like that. Because if I dislike being unproductive now, I'm going to, if I, God forbid, hurt my hand, I'm going to hate it because I won't be able to work, do any work towards it. So just trying to like take my time and, and just like learn from what I have done and know that nothing's ever gonna stop me.

42:35
You cannot, you cannot, I'm always going to be doing something even when I'm only at 10%. So having that self-awareness I hope will make me realize, okay, if I just take a day off, we're good. And that's the thing though, like, you know, if you only have 10% to give and you gave 10%, that's 100% of what you had available. And coming to that realization,

43:04
that every day is not 100%, that I don't have 100% to give. I may only have 70%, but if I give all 70%, that was 100% of what I had. Yeah. And realizing that that's okay. Yeah. And not beat yourself up for the 30% that you didn't have to give. Right. I mean, nobody would know that. Right, right. Except for, yeah, me. Except for you, you know? And that's the thing is to...

43:32
Give that kindness to yourself. Be like, hey, I'm running on 10% today. I'm gonna give it all I got, and then I'm gonna recover, and I'm gonna let myself recover and give myself that grace. Yeah. I remember one of the things I keep reminding myself, because I was seeing a therapist for a good, like, maybe nine or so months, I think, before I discontinued my meetings with her, and...

44:01
Within the first session, she was like, oh, I know exactly what you need. And one of the things that she continued to tell me is just, she said, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. And I'm like, ah! I keep hearing whenever I'm doing the most, I keep hearing her in the back of my head, like that little Jimmy Cricket, I'm like.

44:30
I'm just gonna say Stephanie. I'm like, Stephanie, I need to honor you. I need to listen to your words. And yeah, it's definitely true. Because it's always going to be there. It's like I said earlier, nothing's gonna stop me from continuing to produce and create. I just kinda gotta pace myself.

45:01
when it comes down to that. Yeah. It's fun, but at the same time, like they say, well, they say if you do something you love, you're never gonna work a day in your life. That is bull crap. That is not true. You are going to work and you are going to cry and stress because it's your baby. Like it's something that...

45:28
you are, it's like if you took your arm and like gave it to somebody, it's like this is a part of me. So I think it's kind of like that balance, like we care about these things so much, but at the same time we have to realize that you know, you're, you're, people are gonna like it. People are gonna like it. You're gonna put it out there. Whenever I'm like, I remember showing my boyfriend a drawing and I guess maybe the shading.

45:58
wasn't quite right or it didn't make sense with how the sun was hitting the character. I was like, hmm, this looks kind of weird. And he was like, what are you talking about? He was like, because I said, I didn't tell him what I saw. I just showed it to him. I said, I was like, what do you think? And he was like, oh, that looks great. Thinking it was done. Thinking I was fine with it.

46:24
And I was like, I don't know. But he was just like, I don't understand. I don't see what you see. As creatives, we get so in our head that it does take that like napping or stepping away or getting fresh air to actually level our own expectations.

46:51
This is a third segment show. It's time now for the That's not powered by pod decks. It's an app created by my friend Travis Brown And if you go to chewing the fat br comm slash pod decks I'll take you a link where you can download the app yourself on your favorite mobile device

47:14
It's great, it's great for podcasters, but they're great like icebreaker questions and stuff like that. So it's five questions, no wrong answers. Whatever first thing comes to the top of your head. You ready? I'm ready. All right, question number one.

47:30
What did your 15-year-old self imagine you'd be doing right now? Ooh, 15-year-old self probably thought that I was working in maybe like TV, probably at NYU. Well, yeah, I was gonna say, different kind of- Oh, you're working in TV. Oh, I'm working in TV. She worked her way up. I remember, I wanna say it was around the age of 15, my parents took me to New York.

48:00
I got to see NBC, I got to see SNL, all this stuff. And I was like, oh my gosh, I want to be here. Now I couldn't stomach living in New York. It's like, I love to visit it, but that city is so packed and it's like.

48:23
I think from Hercules when they talk about Thebes, they're like this place is chaos, there's something terrible happening every day. But I think that 15 year old would be satisfied with what's going on right now. That's awesome, that's awesome. Alright, question number two.

48:43
When is the last time you cried? I think I'm due for one. Due for a cry? Yeah. No, I think it was like probably about like two weeks ago maybe, but it was like one of those like suppressed, like don't do it, don't do it. I love a good cry. It's so.

49:12
satisfying because then I feel like at the end of it, you don't even kind of remember what you were crying about. Right. But yeah, no, I remember I used to have kind of like, I used to actually be able to kind of schedule it. It was during college and I kind of knew and it was like almost every three months when I was like a really big one.

49:39
I'm like, okay, here he comes. Yeah, it's like, no, can't hold him back any longer. I'm saying too, oh god, oh god. I don't know, I think for me, I kind of hold it back. So I think maybe if I kind of accepted it more often, I wouldn't have them be such big events. I am a cryer at the drop of a hat. Like I'll watch TV commercials and cry, you know. It's just like, single tear rolling down. It's like, hmm.

50:09
and Val would be like, are you crying? I was like, shut up. Why do you know me so well? Oh, when I, the thing that surprises me is when it's a movie trailer, not even the movie. And I see the movie trailers already giving me emotions. I'm like, oh, this is gonna be a good movie. Yeah, love that. Question number three.

50:35
Where is one place you hope to visit before you die? Ooh, definitely Japan. Mm. I am, I'm getting closer. I can feel it. Yeah, yeah. I've always wanted to go to Japan. Such a beautiful place and such a like diverse like ecosystem.

50:57
You've got the beaches of Okinawa, then you've got the city of Tokyo. It's just a very fascinating, cool looking place. And I really wanna make it there, hopefully sooner than later. That's great, that's great. And I mean, like you said, although you're talking about not liking crowded places, like New York, and you're like, yeah, let me go to the place that has more humans per capita in the world. I know.

51:27
Yeah. No, I love that though. Hopefully the food makes up for that. Yeah, yeah. All right, question number four.

51:38
Seeing as you have a webtoon, cartoon, do you prefer live action or cartoon superhero shows? Ooh.

51:49
I would say cartoon. I have been so impressed lately with the production value of like, you know, you've got like into the Spider-Verse. Something that maybe a lot of people have probably been sleeping on is like, you know, anime. The fight scenes are so dynamic, so colorful. It's almost like you are watching live action.

52:18
I will say that first few phases of Marvel, those are my, I stand by those. So I do like the live action ones. I will say a little asterisk, little caveat. My least favorite is when they make a live action of a cartoon. I'm not a huge fan of what Disney's been doing lately with the live action adaptations because

52:48
It's you have the expectation you already have. I mean, if you're as old as me, I've been watching those movies since I was a child. So I already have like that expectation in my mind. So I feel like they kind of have to like replicate that. And I don't really know if the live actions do the cartoon's justice. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I was very disappointed. Like they said they were going to do in a live action Lion King.

53:18
I'm like, that's not live action, that's just 3D models. That's just all CGI. It's a different type of animation. And you're calling it live action. And I don't understand. It's actually not. It's absolutely not live action. Yeah. I don't understand what you thought you were doing here. No, you kind of are like, kind of confusing the words. Right. Because.

53:44
VFX is... Photorealistic, maybe. They call it, it's a photorealistic, you know, adaptation. A CGI Lion King. That's what they should have said. Exactly what they should have said, but yeah, yeah. No, I can definitely get that. There's some that have been, that I thought have been done well, you know, like, aside from certain singing things. Like I thought they did a great job with the Beauty and the Beast live action. I thought it was...

54:11
I thought it was fun. It was well done. But yeah, I agree. I want my cartoons. I want my cartoons. Alright, question number five.

54:23
Sweet or salty? Oh, I have to have my sweet treat. Yeah. Yeah, I do. Yeah. It's, it's, it's just something that like earlier we talking about self-care. It's just like one of those like tiny, tiny things that just like make you feel good. What's the go-to? Oh, I like, I like a good boba. A boba tea.

54:50
That's pretty good because I can drink it while I'm doing errands or things like that. Do you have a flavor that you go to for flavor for bubble tea? I like... I do like the mango ones. I like the fruit centric ones versus like the chocolate or the caramel or things. Like usually I'm kind of like, give me a mango, give me a strawberry, pineapple. Have you had taro?

55:19
I have. See, taro is my favorite. I actually, I've tried to go outside of taro and I always come back because, because this kind of goes back to the Saturday morning cartoons things. I think the taro boba tastes like Captain Crunch milk. You're absolutely right. And so it's like core memory unlocked when I drink a taro boba tea. There is, you've heard of it. Was it foraminal? Yeah, yeah. I haven't been in a minute, but.

55:48
They have a really good, it's a spiked taro milk tea. And like you said, it's that cereal milk with like a little bit of spicy. Oh wow. Yeah. That's awesome. Taro is good. And it's interesting, it's like, those are the types of flavors that have been kind of like seeping into like US culture more. And I'm happy about that, cause those are good flavors. It's like that in between. It's not the super, super sweet. It's not savory.

56:17
Right, right, or like, um, ube has been, it's had a huge, which is purple sweet potato, you know, and it's, it's had like a huge insurgence of like things. Matter of fact, I've got a pack of ube crisps. I'll let you have a taste. Just treat for you. But anyway.

56:35
That is our Fast Five and that's the show Shae. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. I love this. If people want to keep up with you and Space Ultima and all the stuff you got going on, what's the easiest way for them to do that? The easiest way is probably going to be Instagram. So it is at

56:53
A-R-T-S-U-M-E underscore Shae. S-H-A-E is ArtSumeShae. That's my, like you said, my moniker online. And that's where I'm always posting updates of when I'm going live, when a new episode of my comic is dropping, and links to my YouTube channel. But if you look me up on YouTube and Twitch under ArtSumeShae, you'll be able to find me in the search results.

57:23
links in the show notes for this. And again, thank you so much for being here. I love you and I wish you nothing but success with everything that you've got going on. I cannot wait to see what you have coming up. Thank you so much. Same to you. And if you would like to support this podcast, I'd appreciate it if you bought me a coffee at ChewingTheFatBR.com. But until next time, I look forward to the chance we have to sit a spell and chew the fat.