Solemn Rumination

Time to reflect.

Following the decision to update the theme for Moggie’s Proclamations earlier in the year, I’ve also decided to revisit (and update) my personal site to better reflect how my approach to things has changed. These updates are, for the most part, aesthetic changes that affect the formatting and design, but leave the majority of the content on the site intact. These follow on from the most recent updates that I made, and continue to develop the site towards the same idea from which it was conceived. That of exploring the wondrous creative journey that I’ve been on.

And how my work has developed over time.

Work that, admittedly, and regrettably, hasn’t been forthcoming in recent months. Or recent years. Not that I’d (entirely) intended that to be the case. It’s just something that happens with my creativity from time to time, as I often meander through my different interests at my own pace.

I’m not known for making haste, either. As I rarely feel obligated to indulge any particular interest. I just do whatever seems to be appropriate at the time, and at this time it seems appropriate to ignore Neverwinter Nights 2 (once again) to inspire creative feelings in my brain. Something that began with Creativity (Or The Lack Thereof) (Pt. 1) and Creativity (Or The Lack Thereof) (Pt. 2), but didn’t advance any further than that due to a lack of creative content, as evidenced by my Instagram account, which is becoming increasingly gaming-orientated. Not that video games haven’t always been a significant interest of mine, and one that’s unlikely to change any time soon. But that doesn’t mean that I need to exclusively create either kind of content. I could do both. I used to do both. I just need to make time to do both again.

Each new iteration offers a fresh perspective to consider.

I’d forgive you if you thought those words hollow, as I’ve repeated them throughout numerous creative posts and they’ve amounted to nothing tangible yet. But I’ve been digging through folders and unearthing creative content. Which I’ve then been trying to translate into content for posts on Instagram. I’ve also had a rather fortuitous change of circumstances recently, and that should noticeably reduce the constraints on my time for the foreseeable future. So I’m hopeful that I’ll finally be able to make good on those promises that I’ve made (to myself) in recent months.

I have missed indulging my creative interests.

This is arguably the best time for it, too. I’ve had such an odd year. But it’s been a pleasant year. One that has been as perplexing as it has been inspiring, with recent First Impressions posts perfectly demonstrating how opportunities can be seized if you’re willing to take a risk with them.

Given that I’ve been hesitant to deviate from established practices in the past, but easily ignored those same practices without a second thought. And I’ll need to do that again if I’m ever going to rekindle my creativity. Not that breaking habits which have been steadily reinforced is ever easy. But it’s a necessary change. One that I’m actually excited about, as I’ve got a few concepts that I’m eager to revisit and I’m curious as to how they’re going to present themselves now. I doubt that I’m going to struggle to reacquaint myself with familiar processes. It’s hard to say, though. It has been a while and my motivations have changed in that time. But I won’t know unless I do just that and, after writing yet another post about my creative aspirations, I think that I owe myself that much, or at least the chance to try.

Have a nice weekend, all!

Moggie

Sprucin’ Things Up

Not as you may remember it.

While it is accurate to suggest that Moggie’s Proclamations is in a constant state of change, there have been few changes as significant as those that have occurred in recent months. Notably, and for the first time since its conception, I’ve decided to update the theme, which I’d been deliberating over for the last twelve months. This isn’t to suggest that the previous theme was in any way unsuited to my needs or content, but simply that I wanted to freshen up the blog. Something that (as you would expect) has fundamentally affected the formatting and layout of my posts.

I can’t really avoid that, though.

As my content is formatted and laid out to fit the constraints of the theme displaying it. This bled over to the Creative and Gaming pages, too. They’ve both been subject to formatting updates to reflect the introduction of new categories, and (hopefully) to make them easier to navigate.

Following the decision to recategorise MMORPG posts in Massively Multiplayer Moggie, I’ve also added The Atelier Series and The Yakuza Series to the parent Gaming category. This was mostly in response to recent purchases, as I’ve finally begun my adventures in the Atelier series with the wonderfully wholesome Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout. While the PC release of Yakuza 3 Remastered, Yakuza 4 Remastered, and Yakuza 5 Remastered means that I’ve got five entries in the Yakuza series to experience. Five entries which I own, as I apparently don’t have any concept of restraint. But that shouldn’t be too surprising to those who regularly frequent Moggie’s Proclamations. If there’s a way to surpass my limits, or to face greater challenges, I’ll find it. And I’ll do it.

Content on Moggie’s Proclamations has always existed in a transitory state, though. It’s unlikely that I’ll ever fully commit to one iteration. Which doesn’t mean that I’m unhappy with previous content, as I’d suggest that the posts from the last twelve months are among my best, but that change shouldn’t be feared, and that simply doing something because you’ve always done it is no reason at all. And that comfortable consistency is boring. I enjoy seeing how my writing style has changed- and how I’ve changed- over the years that I’ve been writing, drawing, and painting.

Hence why my personal site is as it is.

Progression is just as important, if not more so, than the end result, and that’s why I embrace everything that I do. Every attempt, every mistake, every post- it all contributes to the proficiency (or lack thereof) that I now possess. It all contributes to furthering that proficiency should I wish to.

I’ve certainly implemented less updates in recent years than in those that came before, but I’m still regularly tinkering with things and updating them as necessary. I wouldn’t deny that I’m happier with things as they are now. The last few years have been difficult for various reasons, and I’m glad that I can feel like I’ve achieved something in that time. Something meaningful. Even if it’s going to require even more work to be something that I’m truly happy with. I’ve already been considering ways to improve my personal site, to make it more accessible and easier to navigate, and I’m still committed to regularly sharing creative content again. I’m not sure what form that will take, or when that will be, but I’ve been thinking about how best to approach it, and I hope that through that rekindled creativity I’ll find even greater satisfaction.

Have a nice week, all!

Moggie

Further Integration

The decision was finally made.

I’ve always been bothered that certain creative content (especially that of Material Studies) was never available on my personal site. This was mostly due to not knowing where best to fit them into the existing layout, but also because Moggie’s Proclamations lacked integration with the site in any meaningful way. While it has always been available via a social media icon it isn’t necessarily present elsewhere. Which is more or less what the recent updates to the site have aimed to rectify, as they’re now inescapably linked. I’ve even removed the WordPress social media icon from the site. Opting instead for a text link.

Which, hopefully, is just as identifiable as the social media icon.

The Instagram social media icon is still there, though. The solitary social media site that I actually frequent. Not that I’ve been nearly as active there as I would’ve liked, but that’s the only reasonable outcome when the flow of creative content stops almost entirely and you’ve shared nothing new in over a year. That said, I’m still working on things.

Hence the recent focus on Moggie’s Proclamations. I’ve taken the time to update both the Creative and Gaming pages, which resulted in a new layout and improved categorisation that better reflects the diversity of content available on the blog. I’m eager to start writing posts more regularly again, too. Not that we’ve been short of content in September. But none of that is creative content. Which is the (for lack of a better word) problem, but that extends further than just the blog to myself. I need to make the time for my creative pursuits. I need to have the ideas and the motivation for them. I’ve been taking some time out purposefully as, due to certain things that happened last year, I lost my way, but I’m ready to find my way again.

I’ll upload a new piece any day now. Just you wait.

As with all of the updates I’ve ever made they’re not entirely finished. They’ll never be entirely finished. As both the site and Moggie’s Proclamations are perpetual works in progress, and will change as I change. But this is the happiest I’ve ever been with everything that I do. It’s also the best and most accurate representation of what I do that I’ve ever had. Which, when you consider how long the site has been in existence, and the number of iterations it has been through, it’s not really surprising. If you keep changing things you’ll eventually happen upon the layout, design, or content that best represents your intentions.

I’ve also been updating some of the older content on the blog.

As before these updates are simply alterations to presentation and the original content remains (mostly) intact. It’s staggering to think that there are nearly three-hundred posts on Moggie’s Proclamations now, which illustrates the amount of content there is to work through and why these updates are implemented over several weeks.

It would take me a few days to read through all of the content available on the blog. Let alone update it. But I’ve grown accustomed to this process, and I’ll often be updating something without being entirely aware that I’m doing it. Editing a few tags or categories here or there certainly helps to eventually standardise them all. Adding new posts to pages eventually builds a comprehensive library. I guess that’s the funny thing about Moggie’s Proclamations. I’ve always enjoyed working on it, which means it’s never felt particularly laborious posting new (or updating older) content. With that said, if you notice that anything looks different, or isn’t where you remembered it was, I probably tweaked something for some reason or another.

Have a nice week, all!

Moggie

Season of Change

It’s better than a The Times They Are A-Changin’ pun, right?

I’ve spent some time updating my personal website recently! You should head on over to David Wilkshire.co.uk and check it out. I promise it’s pretty neat. If this surprises you- it surprises me, too! I wasn’t expecting to work on that particular element of this (increasingly complex) formula. Especially when you reflect on my ill fated attempts at trying to update the thumbnails for the umpteenth time, however therein lies the reason that I finally decided to change the site around in the way that I did.

While the thumbnails remain the same not much else does.

You’ll probably notice that the sections have changed drastically and that we’re a few shy of the number we used to have. I decided that it would probably be best to remove any which leaned on certain materials, as I may not be using those materials as much (if at all) in the future. It didn’t seem to make as much sense as it once did. Not that I disagree with the original idea, either.

It was a pretty good idea. I broke everything up into sections based on their particular materials, which does have merit and does help you find the particular things you’re looking for but it’s also rather convoluted. As, if you like my pencil illustrations, it’s reasonable to suggest that you’d enjoy my ink illustrations. Or marker illustrations. Or even digital illustrations. So it didn’t really seem to fit, both for the outdated concepts and the fact that I’m not going to be the one to use this site to find my work. You are. If I want to find various things I’ve done I’ve got myriad directories to explore. It’s also built a little more around HTML and CSS than around graphical elements now.

Pretty neat, no?

There’s no particular reason for that change, though. I just felt it would be nice to be able to create the same thing but without having to rely on a singular large graphic to do it. Now I get a relatively similar effect- but this one is built from many different things. I’ve also got a thing for horizontal rules, now. Damn those sexy lines. That said, it’s quite an extensive change and now I’ve got the task of updating various links in various places. Thankfully these updates only need to happen for the two sections I’ve removed.

The other two are pretty much as they were.

Actually changing a link can be done in a matter of seconds- it’s just finding the sneaky buggers. Once this post has been published most of the major links on Moggie’s Proclamations will already have been changed, but I will be updating more over the course of the next week or so. But, in case I do miss the odd one here or there, I’ll be leaving the old directories up for a while.

So I doubt that things will break too badly. If at all. I’ll admit- it’s a pretty ambitious change. But it’s one that I felt was necessary for the betterment of the site and my content as a whole, which hopefully will not only mean it’s better presented but easier to find in the future. Apologies for not sharing more creative content recently. I’m still working through a good few things and it might be a little while longer before I’m able to share things. That said, if you’re interested in a recent creative effort or something I dug out of my archives you should head on over to Twitter. I’m always sharing various bits and pieces over there. In any case, I hope you like the changes and that the new site is not too confusing.

Have a nice weekend, all!

Moggie

Art, design, and the like found herein (unless otherwise specified) is drawn and owned by David Wilkshire (also credited as Moggie) from 2006 to present date.

New Approaches

Every day the list gets longer.

I’ve spent the last three months (on and off) working on various updates for the collection of sites. This started as a small project to improve the quality of older posts for Moggie’s Proclamations, that led to developing new teaser images for art posts, updating my personal site, working on a new social media site, and is a list that gets longer with every passing day. Every time I start to work on one thing I think of other improvements I’d like to implement!

The good news is that I’m ready to share these updates. First and foremost I’d like to unveil my new Google+ page which filters through updates from Moggie’s Proclamations, as well as tailored updates, and (some) posts from Twitter. It also features a collection entirely focused on my creative efforts. You can follow one (or both) if you’d like to get updates via Google+, too.

I’ve been slowly adding updates and content to my Google+ page since late last year.

You’ll also find a link to the Google+ page on both my personal site and in the sidebar to right. Additionally I’ve been making some changes to Moggie’s Proclamations in the form of new teaser images for the art posts over here. You’ll find all but the oldest content (from 2012) have new thumbnails, updated layouts, and other minor changes. I’ve been working through many of the older posts trying to keep the quality and formatting as consistent as I can. For the most part the content has been left as was and you’ll still be able to go back a few years, browse old posts, and observe how my writing style and/or approach has changed in that time.

You’ll also find that both the Gaming and Creative pages are now updated with some newly discovered posts that slipped through my initial sweep of published content. These are now closer to being concise, well organised, high quality lists of previously published content that you can use to find anything (and/or everything) that I’ve got to offer. My personal site has also seen a few small changes to heighten the level of quality you’ll find over there, too.

Twitter has seen a lot more activity recently and some of those updates will now be mirrored to Google+ which should allow a much higher level of exposure for certain things. Best of all this allows people who may not use Twitter but use Google+, or vice versa, to access the content if they want to. I’m pretty pleased with how these two sites are currently progressing.

This doesn’t conclude the range of updates, though.

I’ve still got a few things that I’d like to update for Moggie’s Proclamations along with a few ideas for my personal site. But, for the most part, I’m quite happy with how much work has gone into- and how much difference it has made to- the various sites. Besides the aforementioned changes I’m actually at a loss as to what I’d like to work on next. Obviously either creative or video game content is always a welcome addition, which, if you’ve been following recent posts, you’ll know there’s already something nearing completion there. I’d like to do a post or two about Grim Dawn (and likely a full review) when that fully releases this month as well.

I apologise for having a few text heavy, explanatory, less interesting posts recently but I hope you’ll agree the updates were worth it.

Have a nice weekend, all!

Moggie