The Bradshacalypse is about to undergo an absolute teleological overhaul - a complete and utter revamping, the likes of which it has never seen since its inception back in 2019, that will redefine what this strange little website is all about, and alter its future course going forward... and it's happening soon....
Read all about it here!
The Dual Purposes Are Being Cleaved Apart, For Good This Time
I've detailed my reasoning for making this website in the first place many, many times before in previous posts (here, here, and here) as well as dedicating an entire page to outlining it in acute detail, so I'm not going to reiterate it all again here. Let's get straight to the point, 'cause I got a lot to talk about.
So, which is it? Is The Bradshacalypse a Gallery... or is it a Resource for Creatives who are tired of postmodernist garbage and long for more traditional philosophical views of Art and Storytelling? I can now say definitively, that The Bradshacalypse is, henceforth, first and foremost, a Gallery... and so much more.
Like Oil and Water - Just because both are liquids doesn't mean they belong in the same container
For the longest time now, I've tried and tried to bring these two completely different purposes together under the roof of one enterprise, but the whole time it never quite felt right.
Those that come here for the Gallery aspect likely have virtually no interest in the philosophical underpinnings of the artist when they're plenty enough entertained by all the wacky cartoon art that doesn't even seem to reflect said philosophy most of the time. The sentiment might look something like this:
"What does this philosophical discourse have anything to do with all this wacky cartoon art? Why is it even here? I don't care about any of it, I just want to be entertained with some cool cartoons."
For those that actually do come here for the esoteric pontificating upon the dismal state of Art and Storytelling in modern times and are looking for some modicum of a solution to its continued perpetuation likely have virtually no interest in all the goofy-ass cartoon art and general aesthetic of the website as a whole. Again, the sentiment might look like this:
"What does all this wacky cartoon art have anything to do with this philosophical discourse that's actually really needed in this day and age? It's distracting and annoying, I just want a place to discuss this in peace with other like-minded Artists."
I always thought it would work to some degree at least, as I do honestly believe all the stuff I talk about in the Esoteric About page and the "teleological" blog posts - I do think our culture suffers due to the severance from its roots in imparting Truth by means of Beauty, and has resorted to a masturbatory solipsism with no objective standards beyond the whims of its artists. Our culture's output has ceased to serve any eternal Purpose and has instead resorted to serving the ego of its creators and the basest nature of its unbegun audience.
My reasoning for this working was, because this is what I truly believe, that it would naturally be reflected in my art and storytelling, even if only tangentially. However, it didn't occur to me that my own individual expression of said ideas via my artwork might actually distract from the message itself. Y'know, who's gonna take seriously the guy who draws naked chicks tripping on psychedelic mushrooms, or makes comics about a goofy quasi-topless pirate girl?
Some people can pull that kind of thing off. A lot of comedians, for example, such as Bill Hicks or George Carlin, can masterfully balance the cavalcade of dick jokes with poignant social commentary without the two clashing in any way. That works within the medium of standup comedy, not so much with... whatever it is I'm doing.
Like I mentioned in the previous post, this whole debacle stems from me mistaking my personal Dream of being a successful cartoon artist for my ultimate Purpose, which is playing a role in a cultural renaissance to reunite Art and Storytelling with its own purpose as Consciousness-change technology. One serves the other. One is a smaller part in a larger entity comprised of other smaller parts. While similar, they are not the same - my Dream and this greater Purpose - therefore, they must be separate enterprises altogether.
Here's what I plan to do about it.
Introducing - A Vision for the New Bradshacalypse!
Now then, let's talk about upcoming changes to the site.
Since The Bradshacalypse will be serving a fresh, new purpose, it's going to have to change to accommodate... and by "change", I mean be completely overhauled from the ground up.
A New, Focused Purpose
First off, The Bradshacalypse will now solely be about Cartoon Art, and all that that entails - nothing more, nothing less. Primarily, it'll be about my own cartoon art; my own gallery to showcase my wacky output, but it can also be a place where cartoon art in general is discussed, appreciated, and pontificated on. It will be a fun, silly place that isn't brought down by any needlessly lofty, philosophical discourse on the subjects of Art and Storytelling in general or the lamenting of the fall of Western culture to postmodernism and other satanic ideologies, or the masterminding of a brand new cultural paradigm (all of that will be saved for the next website project I'll discuss in a minute).
Next off, I'll be treating The Bradshacalypse more like a Studio Business rather than like a mere surrogate deviantART page as I kinda have been for a while now. Not only will it be a gallery of my own artwork freely available to enjoy, but also it'll be a kind of storefront for a variety of goods and services I can provide with my talents and skills as a cartoon artist. As far as what specific goods and services I intend to offer remains to be seen, but I've got some good ideas.
Goods and Services in the Works
One thing I plan to do is open up commissions. I'll draw virtually anything you want (barring anything illegal, unethical, or immoral, of course) for a modest fee. Just fill out a convenient form on the Commissions page (when it's done), and I'll get to you as soon as possible. Fee rates will vary depending on the nature of the request - simple sketches will be very inexpensive, whereas full illustrations will cost more, but still be a fair deal. Anything I draw for you will be yours to do with as you see fit: post all over social media, use as avatars, even sell as merchandise, I don't care! ...Though, what you do with what I draw is your responsibility, not mine.
As of now, I'll only be offering Illustration work, but I might in the future offer other options as well, such as Comics or very short Animated clips... haven't decided yet, so we'll see.
And just so you know, Commissions will be open as soon as the Commissions Page goes live. So as long as there's no Commissions page up, commissions are closed. Still getting things ready!
Another thing that's been a long time coming is opening an Art Merchandise Storefront specifically for my weirdo brand of cartoon art. As of this post, I do have a few designs available, but it's only a measly handful of just random-ass designs with no rhyme or reason as far as theme or subject matter goes, so I plan to change that.
I want to make salable art merchandise (prints, apparel, mugs, buttons, stickers, etc.) based around specific themes, such as positivity and optimism, poking fun at modernity, video game fandom, etc., and actually commit to them such that I produce a nice sizable body of varied works for you to choose from (instead of randomly pulling from my previous works like I have before).
Another thing I've been wanting to do for so long now but just never really got around to it yet is to make some Cartooning Tutorials - how-to's, tips and tricks, practical advice, even some weird esoteric stuff about thinking and whatnot. Anyone who likes how I draw can now be able to pick my brain a bit to figure out how I do the weird and wacky stuff I do. This will probably be what the blog eventually evolves into. Hopefully I'll write up posts that aren't all just boring updates and whatnot.
Primarily, though, I'll still be working diligently on building a body of Creative Properties (such as my current focus - Kiki Banana) as well as smaller one-off creative projects that could spin off into creative properties of their own potentially. This will be my #1 focus at all times, everything else will be secondary and serve to fund these original works of mine.
I'll start with smaller one-off projects, such as short-form comic stories, 1-3 minute animated shorts, etc., and slowly work my way up to increasingly ambitious projects as my own confidence in my skills and ability increases with the completion of each little project. And yes, the Kiki Banana web comic and shorts are lumped into all this as well, so they are still on the way. Oh, and yes, the Current Project page will still be a thing, as I still want to maintain transparency with what I'm working on at any given time. I might tweak it a bit thought, we'll see.
Ultimately, though, having The Bradshacalypse liberated of having to be two diametrically opposed things at once will free me up tremendously. I can get as wacky and weird as I want to now without any fear of potentially alienating an entire other, completely unrelated audience for a completely unrelated thing. I can focus on what this place should have been all about all along - fun cartoon art!
As for the other Purpose, fret not! I haven't abandoned it. It'll just go on to be something entirely different, something you might be interested in. Observe:
The New Cultural Paradigm Website - Coming Soon!
I have made the decision to start a brand new website! I can't say for sure when it'll be up and running, but I can tell you definitively that the decision has indeed been made, and plans for it are cooking in my noggin as you read this.
This website will serve the other purpose that The Bradshacalypse is now shedding entirely - to serve as a place for like-minded Creatives to congregate, collaborate, and form mastermind alliances for the express purpose of replacing the current old cultural paradigm (postmodernism, cultural Marxism, nihilism, solipsism, pessimism, egotism, satanic "me above others" mentality, etc.) with a fresh, new one that has its roots in a deep understanding of objective, quantifiable Truth and Beauty, all in hopes of spearheading the first real Renaissance of the 21st Century.
Sounds lofty, doesn't it? I do have my reasons to believe it is entirely possible, though. It would take too long to really get into in this already lengthy blog post, so I'll spare you those details. If you want a good idea, though, I'd recommend reading the Esoteric About page, as it outlines pretty much exactly what I want this website to become.
Here are some brief bullet points of what I want out of this enterprise:
To provide a space for like-minded Artists, Storytellers, and other Creatives who are sick of the current condition of our decadent modern culture and the solipsistic slop it passes for "art" to come together and cooperate under a unified ideal anchored in an understanding of Truth and Beauty to replace the current paradigm.
To propagate the idea of Art and Storytelling as more than just "mere entertainment" but rather as powerful tools of Consciousness change that, when properly utilized, can make a tremendous difference in the way people think.
To provide a safe haven for anyone tired of all the "woke" shit everywhere with a directory of works that are actually good.
To provide the resources necessary for those Creatives who wish to use their work for the greater good to properly integrate a deep understanding of Truth, such as the natural laws, objective morality, the nature of Consciousness, the nature of Reality, etc. such that a deep understanding can be imparted through their work to others.
If you want a brief summation of my reasoning behind this whole thing, here it is:
The world at large is on the brink of societal collapse due to a lack of understanding of how our world works, producing a society that works against the laws of nature instead of with them.
This fundamental lack of understanding is the Cause of all the chaos in our world.
There are many of those who know this, and thus make great attempts at imparting an understanding of that which is (aka Truth) through intellectual discourse... but that alone is obviously not doing the trick.
This is because the conscious intellect alone does not drive human behavior - the Unconscious Mind does.
A cursory understanding of basic psychology will reveal this to you.
This is exactly how propaganda works, and exactly why it's so effective.
One method of bypassing the conscious mind and thus communicating directly to the Unconscious Mind is the technology we call "Art", (aka the suspension of disbelief).
This method has been used since time immemorial, imparting understanding by means of metaphor, simile, parable, morality plays, etc.
However, no one thinks of Art, Storytelling, and other creative methods that utilize suspension of disbelief as anything other than mere "entertainment" to amuse ourselves, which sells short the sheer mind-changing power we as Creatives wield.
If we could convince enough Creatives that their creative works could be utilized to change minds, and thus behaviors, and thus the world, we could indeed reverse course as a self-destructive species, and live in harmony with the Laws of Nature and Nature's God such that we not only merely survive but thrive well into the future.
That's the reasoning behind why I think it is entirely possible to turn this cultural boat around and chart a course for a new, bright and shining future - the tools are there, the knowledge to utilize these tools are there, but they're hidden, obscured, dare I say occulted. That's what I want this New Paradigm Website to be: a method of de-occulting the magical utility of Art and Storytelling to change minds, thus changing behaviors, thus changing society as a whole.
This, of course, can't be accomplished by a single person, which is why this website will be structured primarily as a Group, or Club, or Society, or Magical Order, or some such collective. That's fundamentally what it'll be, just a place for folks with the same basic ideas about the Consciousness-changing utility of their creative output to get together and collaborate, support each other, help each other, hang out, whatever it takes to establish that mastermind alliance Napoleon Hill talks about in his books The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons and Think and Grow Rich (a vital key to success that virtually nobody ever talks about).
This is also one of the main reasons why it felt so off-putting to have this as one of the purposes for The Bradshacalypse, as this needs to be its own thing, divorced from any one particular personality.
That's about all I've got to say about this New Cultural Paradigm website. It's still very, very new, so it'll be a little while yet before it goes live, but it is definitely on the way. When it does go live, I hope to see you there! May it be a boon to all who participate with it, and may it start something good that can't be stopped!
And that just about does it for this post. Hope you all look forward to the New Bradshacalypse and all the craziness that entails, and I hope you all join in on the New Cultural Paradigm website once it's up and running. I have a feeling that's going to be something truly special, it just feels different from any other thing I've ever worked on.
That's all for now, thanks for your Attention. Peace be and take Care!
