THE ASSEMBLY LINE - JAN. 2023

Jan 10

Written By Aaron Sherman

IMPORTANT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome back to The Assembly Line! Let’s start with some overall news!

Welcome to 2023! Let’s get started.
Featured Throwback Model 25% OFF Flash Sale! (LINK BELOW)

CATCHING UP WITH AARON

2022 is gone, long live 2023!

And long live all the serious personal changes I’m making in my life right now. New Years goals always feel icky and cliche to me, but I think that’s just the nature of it being a very popular concept. I like to view it more as a universal time for reflection. So here’s to the quest for better, new, and different!

Outside of PDS this is taking the form of new daily routines, fundamental shifts in dietary and healthcare behaviors, and a rigorously organized set of lists that helps me keep my busy life straight. It’s a quest for elegant order in a shapeshifting schedule- and so far, it’s working.

Within the bounds of PDS itself though, my 3D model work, and my time and dedication to creating new and inspiring things- more thoughtful and inwardly focused changes are occurring.

In 2022, I worked on A LOT of models.

I released a good handful (or two, or three), but I probably left just as many half-finished designs on the table. I know- it’s crazy!

I got scared of failure, ran when I should have walked, and walked when I should have ran. Ultimately I got pretty deep in the weeds in terms of forgetting to keep my work fun, light-hearted, and personally meaningful. I often felt like a dog trying to chase 5 cars in different directions all at once- ideas I was excited about pulled me in all different directions and left me feeling unfocused, inconsistent, and honestly, pretty lost at times. So, as we enter this new year, PDS is again going to go through a small metamorphisis.

So here’s my renewed view of where I personally want Pocket Dimension Studios to be, now and moving forward:

Consistent releases.
- Not necessarily X number of models per month, but more so a concerted effort to see a single idea through from conception to completion.
- No more WIP that collect dust in my digital catacombs
A focus on meaningful social media useage that is fun and actually interesting!
- Social media is an energy drain for every living person I know, even when its fun and rewarding.
- I’ve tried many different community moderation styles, methods of engagement, and outreach over the last two years in an attempt to experiment, learn new things, and make new friends!
- As this year begins I want to reflect more heavily on the social media activity for PDS that is both fun for me and interesting to you, and let the rest grow quiet (at least as an experiment)
No Ideas Left Behind.
- I am legitimately haunted by the models I’ve shared to social media or talked with people about and never completed. I remember every single one, and I know the names of the people waiting for them- even if we haven’t talked about it in a year.
- I’d rather only share complete, fully done and released models. WIP and test print images are fun, but they need to be backed up by a consistent level of focus and effort so that it can be trusted that they will be released before I die.
- Also, carrying around half finished models leaves me feeling like Marley with all his chains and weights.
FUN.
- We’re here to have fun and make new friends! PDS has always tried to foster a community of friendship and kindness, and I’m actually really proud to say that we (you and I) make a pretty good team! Thanks for sticking around and cheering me on!

And here’s how we’re going to get there:

X number of actually active projects at any given time.
- This X value will very likely be less than or equal 5.
- A model doesn’t leave this list until it is completely done and posted to the store.
- This will give me the flexibility to chase new ideas without building up an unholy backlog of half-done projects and sad customers (and a sad me).
A renewed focus on the aspects of running PDS that bring me joy.
- Making things I love and want to paint is the key to keeping me motivated and excited about my work.
- Creative burnout is really common for artists and designers and it’s important that I fuel my love for this sort of work, rather than worry it’s some kind of monster that’s not being fed enough. It’s all of my favorite hobbies rolled into one, for goodness sakes.
Capping my hours per week I can work on PDS (Currently at 10)
- This has many benefits, and only a few drawbacks:
- Benefits: Less creative burnout, a healthier balance for me outside of my full-time job, avoiding the terrible cycle of GO GO GO and then crash/rest, etc.
- Drawbacks: Straight up less time per week, which in some ways is a benefit in that it will force me to choose social media outlets wisely, work in a more efficient manner, and really challenge my priorities each week so that I can focus on the tasks at hand that matter the most.
Choosing social media engagement wisely.
- I’ll probably run some kind of survey soon that helps me learn where you want to see my content the most and why. (with some kind of fun reward for helping, of course!)
- If I had 4 brains and 8 hands I’d dedicate one set to just run social media so I could spend all my time crafting and making silly cool stuff.
- Getting on a schedule for social media content, or something like that is probably the route I’ll take. I’ve tried a lot of different things at this point, I’m sure I can pick a few I liked the most and just stick with them :)

Thank you for being here!

Legally, PDS is a business. But, to me PDS is really just me and you! That sounds cliche, but for those of you who I’ve had the pleasure of talking with, hopefully that rings true.

PDS is made up of some of my favorite hobbies (photography, design, painting, sculpting, creative writing, etc.) and it’s a very personal endeavor that I work on in the spare bits of my free time. And through PDS I’ve gotten to make so many friends who have supported me, cheered me on, and provided needed feedback. We’ve raised nearly $2000 for my local children’s hospital in only 2 years and hopefully this year we’ll raise even more!

So here’s to year number 3 in 2023!

-Aaron

RECENT RELEASES

Time flies! In case you missed it, here are the most recent releases from Pocket Dimension Studios in November 2022!

Click any of the product images to visit the Gumroad page for more images and a checkout link!

The Cache Crate Bundle
The OnlyCrates model from December has made its way to the Gumroad! A bundle made for re-enacting certain heists on certain planets rhyming with Bald Donny. **WINK**

OnlyCrates is my $1 a month Patreon that delivers monthly sexy STL files of sci-fi crates for tabletop gaming!

Our January Crate-of-the-Month is actually 3 Crates- The Tropical Crates [Set 1]! The Tube, the Ammo, and the Gas Can.

I’ve been working on a ton of tropicaI terrain the last couple of months ahead of a larger release and I’m excited to get these models out on OnlyCrates! I hope you’ll consider supporting this ongoing project, I would love to see you there!

Join the club now at www.patreon.com/OnlyCrates!

FEATURED THROWBACK MODEL

Every month I’d love to feature an older model of mine and give you a little more information on its creation!

The Giant Generic Shield Generator

Modeled after the real prop used for filming in the movie! (Picture in the slideshow to the right; second image) The biggest hurdle with this design was deciding on a scale/size. There is NO reference that I could find that states just how big it is. For me, as a kid (and now), I always imagined it as this massive thing- so, I made it real in that way! (It could of course be printed at a smaller scale though!)

I did my absolute best to capture the shape and visible details in the original prop, while also adding some smaller, high density areas of details to make it seem more grounded in reality, as well as visually interesting.

I don’t think I’ve seen any 3D prints of this model besides my own, so if you’ve got one out there, I would love to see it!

AND IT’S ON A SPECIAL 25% OFF FLASH SALE THIS WEEKEND UNTIL Monday, January 16th!

Just use this special link here:

https://pocketdimstudio.gumroad.com/l/GiantGenericShieldGenerator/JanNewsletter