Chapter 1: Sprinting Your Personal Projects

Created by Sarah Choi (prompt writer using ChatGPT)

Sprinting Your Personal Projects the Agile Way — Vehicle Concept Art

Why Agile helps solo artists (and why it isn’t crunch)

Agile isn’t a license to sprint until you burn out; it’s a way to make small, shippable promises to yourself that compound into finished bodies of work. For vehicle concept artists, this means building tangible slices—silhouettes, measured orthos, kit & hardpoints, material maps, and LOD policy—that can be reviewed, shared, or added to a portfolio without waiting for the “perfect” hero render. Agile gives you rhythm, not speed addiction: short planning, lightweight ceremonies, visible goals, and honest rest.

The solo backlog: a portfolio in list form

Your product backlog is a living list of outcomes that move a project forward and a career upward. Write items as reviewable increments, not vague tasks: “Design 3 silhouettes for hover‑interceptor with wedge/canopy/spine anchors,” “Measured orthos with gameplay metrics,” “Exploded kit with hardpoints and tolerances,” “Materials/ID page + trim map,” “LOD survival rules page,” “Variant matrix (civil/police/military/racing).” Include reusable infrastructure tasks: brush packs, trim sheets, decal atlases, and template slide decks. Tag each item with type (Design, Production, Infrastructure, Study, Health), energy (deep/medium/light), and estimate (points or minutes).

Designing sprint cadence around energy

Pick a cadence you can keep while working or studying: 1‑week sprints for momentum; 2‑week sprints for deeper slices. Anchor the sprint to your highest‑energy windows (mornings, late nights). Plan no more than 70–80% of your capacity; leave the rest for surprises and life. Protect one recovery day per sprint with gentle, low‑stakes study or reference sorting.

Estimation that respects creative uncertainty

Classic hour estimates punish artists. Use relative points based on effort and uncertainty: 1 (quick), 2 (half‑day), 3 (day), 5 (multi‑day). Calibrate by looking back, not guessing forward. Mark “spikes” (research experiments) explicitly so they are safe to end without deliverables. If an item hides multiple skills (design + modeling + presentation), split it at the seams.

Definition of Done (DoD) that stops scope creep

Write a DoD for each artifact so you know when to stop:

  • Silhouette plate: three reads (front/3‑4/profile), value grouping, anchors labeled, passes the squint test at 25% scale.
  • Measured orthos: declared units/axes, key dimensions (door width, ramp angle, wheelbase), collision guides.
  • Kit & hardpoints: exploded view, socket names, tolerances, banned swaps, pivot notes.
  • Materials/IDs: ID list ≤ 6–8, trim map, decal plan, shader parameters with ranges.
  • LOD policy: side‑by‑side LOD0/1/2 with survival statements.
  • Variant matrix: role × trim, IDs unchanged, batching rationale. DoD keeps you from polishing beyond usefulness and makes rest psychologically safe.

WIP limits: why fewer open files ship faster

Work‑in‑progress (WIP) limits cut thrash. Cap yourself at 1 design slice + 1 production slice + 1 infrastructure slice at any time. When a new idea hits, log it to the backlog—not your canvas. Finish, then pull.

A realistic two‑week sprint for a hero vehicle slice

Sprint Goal: Produce a portfolio‑ready “production‑ready kit” page for a police interceptor variant.

Sprint Backlog (13 points planned, ~80% capacity):

  • 2 pt — Silhouette/value comps (3 options; anchors labeled)
  • 3 pt — Measured orthos with gameplay metrics (units/axes)
  • 3 pt — Exploded kit & hardpoints (dictionary + tolerances)
  • 2 pt — Materials/ID panel (≤ 6 IDs, trim map, decal plan)
  • 1 pt — LOD survival rules (LOD0/1/2 statements)
  • 1 pt — Variant matrix (Patrol/Pursuit/Riot from same kit)
  • 1 pt — Health: two 30‑min walks + one sketch session with no output expectations

Buffer (3 points unplanned): Spike on emissive cadence for lightbars; reference shoot at a parking structure.

Daily stand‑up (solo version that feels human)

Keep it to three sentences in your journal or notes: Yesterday (one tangible outcome), Today (one commitment), Risk (one obstacle + mitigation). Example: “Yesterday: finished kit sockets and banned swaps. Today: materials panel and trim map. Risk: perfectionism; mitigation: timebox to 90 minutes and publish whatever is done.”

Timeboxing that respects attention

Use 50/10 or 75/15 focus blocks. For deep design (silhouettes, composition), stack two blocks; for production chores (naming, pivot notes, unit captions), single blocks suffice. Park ideas at block end: write a 2‑line next action so restart is painless. Stop on time—even mid‑stroke—so your brain craves the next session.

Energy‑aware task selection

Match work to energy, not mood. High energy: silhouettes, layout, major proportion changes. Medium: orthos, kit tolerances, material ID planning. Low: naming, captions, export hygiene, change logs, reference sorting. This keeps momentum on low days without raiding tomorrow’s focus.

Review: make Friday count

End the week with a 20‑minute review: export current pages into a lightweight PDF; check DoD boxes; post to a trusted peer or private forum. Focus on what shipped, not what almost shipped. Archive WIPs to a dated folder so progress is visible across months.

Retrospective: the two‑paragraph habit

Write two paragraphs: What helped (rituals, tools, references, sleep) and What hurt (overcommitment, unclear DoD, distraction triggers). Choose one change for the next sprint (e.g., “Cap social scroll to 10 minutes before blocks,” “Draft DoD before painting”). Over‑tuning kills momentum; single changes stick.

Health safeguards baked into Agile

Schedule recovery like deliverables. Put walks, stretching, and non‑art play on the backlog. Use a simple Energy/Mood/Focus log (1–5 each). If your median drops below 3 two days in a row, downgrade scope and switch to light tasks (reference, captions, decal atlas clean‑up). Sleep debt and pain are blockers—treat them as such.

Slicing scope to finish more often

Break epics into shippable slices: Epic: “Hover truck family.” Slices: silhouettes page → orthos+metrics → kit+hardpoints → materials/IDs → LOD policy → variant matrix → hero paint render. Each slice is portfolio‑worthy and teachable. Shipping slices builds resilience and recruiting momentum.

Spikes: experiments without guilt

A spike is a time‑boxed experiment with a question as its output. “Which trim cadence reads best at LOD1?” Limit to 1–3 hours. Deliverables are notes and a choice, not polished art. Record the decision in your change log so future you knows why.

Templates that eliminate friction

Prepare reusable files: PSD/CLIP vehicle sheets with type styles for captions, smart guides for units/axes, and placeholders for ID legends; vector kits for sockets and bolt circles; a slide template for portfolio decks; and a one‑page SSOT text block you can paste into any project. Templates turn courage into clicks.

Gentle accountability: partners and public logs

A buddy check once per sprint (15 minutes) multiplies follow‑through. Share your sprint goal and the PDF export. If public posting helps, use a weekly thread with one image and three sentences; keep it low‑pressure. Accountability must never punish health—missed sprints reset, not compound guilt.

Negotiating with your future client (or studio) self

Write acceptance criteria like a teammate: “Pass if IDs ≤ 6; LOD1 preserves wedge/canopy/spine; sockets HP_* named; UVTD 512 px/m (body), 1024 px/m (cockpit); variant swaps don’t add IDs.” Future you will thank present you when that portfolio page is ready to send in an afternoon.

When to pivot, pause, or kill a project

Use three questions at each retro: Is the vision still exciting? Can I state the next shippable slice? Is the cost reasonable for the outcome? If two answers are “no,” pause for one sprint. If still “no,” kill with ceremony: export a “what I learned” page and release the slot for a fresher idea.

Lifelong practice: compounding over intensity

Treat art like strength training: small, consistent, technique‑true reps. Keep a Practice Backlog of drills—edge families, panel cadence studies, trim‑friendly vents, RCS thruster layouts, turret ring standards. Pull one drill per sprint. Skills compounds with projects; projects compound with habits.

Example: a 6‑sprint arc to a portfolio case study

  1. Sprint 1: Silhouettes + value; anchors locked; DoD met.
  2. Sprint 2: Orthos with metrics; kit map drafted.
  3. Sprint 3: Hardpoints/tolerances + exploded view.
  4. Sprint 4: Materials/IDs + trim map + decal plan.
  5. Sprint 5: LOD policy + variant matrix.
  6. Sprint 6: Hero presentation + acceptance criteria PDF + change log. At each step, ship a page. At the end, assemble a deck that reads like an art test packet.

Common pitfalls and recoveries

Endless exploration. Fix with DoD and timeboxes; pick one anchor and move on. Overstuffed sprints. Plan 80% capacity and reserve buffer for spikes. Tool thrash. Standardize file naming and templates; limit plug‑in changes mid‑sprint. Invisible progress. Export weekly PDFs; maintain a change log.

Closing: design the work, not just the vehicle

Agile for solo artists is a kindness wrapped in clarity. By planning in small, reviewable slices, limiting WIP, protecting energy, and inspecting your system weekly, you turn ambition into a sustainable practice. Vehicles ship, portfolios grow, and your health stays intact—because your process is designed with the same care as your machines.

Appendix A — One‑page sprint planner (text you can paste)

Sprint Goal: Cadence: (1 or 2 weeks) Capacity: (points) Backlog to Pull: (IDs) Sprint Backlog: (items + points + energy) Buffer: (spikes/unknowns) Definition of Done: (per artifact) Acceptance Criteria: (QA list) Health Plan: (sleep, walks, recovery) Review Export: (file path) Retro — Keep/Change: (two bullets)

Appendix B — Kanban columns (solo)

Backlog → Selected → In Progress (D/M/L) → Review → Done → Archive (dated)

Appendix C — Energy/Mood/Focus log (1–5 scale)

Date | Sleep hrs | Energy | Mood | Focus | Notes | Scope change?

Appendix D — Change log snippet

2025‑10‑01 — Added adapter ring tolerances; moved screws to trim; updated DoD; impact: reduced IDs to 6.