Rupees Over Ramen : The Solo Animation Podcast · James Candland

Episode 60 : The 60th Episode Starting A Band & Writing A Novel

December 3, 2024·1 hr·5 clips

He shares his dream of being in an indie band, and within days, friends step up as drummer and guitarist.

This solo episode from the podcast "Rupees Over Ramen" marks its 60th installment with the host reflecting on recent creative projects and personal goals. The host, a solo animator and writer, shares updates after a recording break, focusing on artistic growth and new ambitions. He is currently participating in NaNoWriMo, working on a story called "Uptown Wars Anthem Knights" and has written about a thousand words so far. A recent visit with a cousin who is knowledgeable about webcomics provided advice to lean into a personal art style and incorporate detailed panels. The host discusses ongoing work on comics like "The Grateful Ghost" and "Tanuki Hiro," acknowledging a need to script them more thoroughly. He mentions reading comics such as "Séance Tea Party" and playing in multiple Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, with a new Fate campaign starting soon. An interesting segment involves the host sharing a long list of desires he compiled when a friend asked what he would do with $10 million. This list includes wanting a cabin with chickens, an iPad Pro, GoPro cameras, and goals like starting an animation studio, publishing a book, and traveling to Japan. A notable development is that the host is now actively forming an indie band with friends, having secured a drummer, a bassist, and a guitarist. He explains that many of his original characters have been in bands, and he wants firsthand experience of being in one. The host recently completed a 30-day digital declutter, abstaining from social media and most YouTube, and lists activities like making music and reading as replacements. He reveals he has considered renaming the podcast, brainstorming ideas like "Art Over Ramen" or "Wizards of Ramen." To address listener questions from Discord, he offers thoughts on combating artistic discouragement by sharing work in person and reframing projects to make them feel fun and easy. For skill development, he identifies key artistic fundamentals as shape, anatomy, perspective, composition, color, and light, noting his own strengths and weaknesses. The tone is reflective, conversational, and meandering, as the host thinks aloud about his creative process and personal journey. This episode would appeal to independent artists, writers, and creators interested in the mundane realities and motivational struggles of a solo creative practice. Listeners seeking highly structured, topic-focused interviews or narrative storytelling might find this introspective monologue less engaging.

As heard by us

A plainspoken maker's log about writing, comics, and the hard part of getting art seen.

Episode 60 keeps things close to the desk. It follows a writer moving from a Marauders scene in a Harry Potter fan fiction project to a steadier run of work, a NaNoWriMo push, and the small satisfaction of getting near a thousand words on the Uptown Wars Anthem Knights story.

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Why you'd press play

You want a calm, personal check-in about writing, art, and getting yourself back to work.

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