2023 Year in Review
Today is the last day of 2023, so it's only right that I do the usual year-in-review post!
This year has been incredibly fulfilling for me...!
On the Live2D modeling side of things, our studio has grown beyond just my own projects. Naturally, that means I've had to spend a lot more time on management, communication, and coordination. Everyone has their own feelings and ideas, and every client has their own standards for what makes a project perfect. After all, the clients who come to us for commissions are the ones with really high expectations. It's definitely been putting my management skills to the test! Thankfully, my current colleagues are absolutely stellar and have been stepping up to cover for me time and time again. Thank you all so much!
When it comes to teaching, I'm so grateful for all the support from my students. Enrollment has been growing steadily cohort after cohort, which is exactly why we've been able to successfully partner with artists for class materials and collaborate with companies. Going into the new year, I'm going to keep pushing myself to improve so I can bring fresh material to every single class. Additionally, this year we launched a standalone class for A-Zhe from the studio. His animation skills speak for themselves—he even took home the grand prize in the animation category at the biggest official Live2D contest this year! The first cohort of his Animation Concepts class is wrapping up soon. If you're interested in his classes, registration for the second cohort should be opening up shortly, so keep an eye out for that!
As for the VTuber side of things, A-Guang is about to hit 10K subs, so huge congratulations to him! I pretty much leave the V-team entirely in the hands of Liv and SODA-zi, so I don't really interfere much. However, starting this month, our very own Liezhima made her debut, so I've started learning the ropes of VTuber management from the ground up alongside her. While my initial mindset was just to help her fulfill a dream, she is taking this incredibly seriously—and anyone who has caught one of her streams knows exactly what I mean.
In the new year, I hope SODAART continues to thrive. Thank you all for your ongoing support, which allows me to provide even better perks for everyone on our team. SODAART has quite a few collaborations and plans lined up for 2024, so please look forward to those announcements!
Finally, I just hope our little one continues to grow up happy and healthy! They're over a year old now, getting close to two, and listening to their everyday babbling is just way too cute 😋
