Comics and Concepts
Is it just me, or is this year picking up speed towards the end?? Usually, winter feels so slow and quiet, but for some reason, my November was a blur! I have a lot of stuff coming up in December, and it feels like Christmas is just around the corner!
But despite the craziness of producing a comic, I’ve also been making time to do little watercolor studies in my sketchbook. I picked out a few of my favorites to share!
Continue reading “Watercolor Sketches”
Today in the humanities class I’m teaching with my sister, we discussed “Delight.” If I had to choose a single artist who best depicted the combined feelings of joy, peace, and love in a single moment, it would almost certainly be Norman Rockwell. He’s well-known for his ability to depict variations of joy and happiness, and there are lots of paintings to choose from. But out of all his works, I decided that this somehow fit the theme of “Delight.” I liked the idea of simplicity, the sense of warmth, and of course the upcoming feast. It seemed so straight-forward and “easy.” But after looking at it and discussing it in class, I kept on thinking about it and I slowly unpacked why this image specifically seemed to resonate with me and my own perception of delight.
As I plug away at my comic book, one thing I’m really proud of is my growing ability to finish stuff. I never realized how important it is to develop this skill (or that it even was a skill), but if you want to take on anything big… you need to know how to finish! For a lot of artists (including yours truly), our ability to finish is hampered by our fear of failure. After all, if we’re going to finish something, we want it to be worth our time! But fear of falling short and disappointing ourselves and others often keeps us actually seeing projects through.
In my own work, I’ve definitely started building up a tolerance for finished-not-perfect work. I still die a little inside when I finish a drawing or a comic page, and I see a way to make it better… but the feeling of seeing 10 imperfect-but-finished pages is pretty special. I promise you: getting used to finishing things is one of the most important skills you could possibly develop.
There are 3 main elements to a “finish or bust” mentality: don’t sweat the small stuff, work no matter what, and finish before it’s too late. If you accept these 3 things, finishing becomes a lot less intimidating. Below, I wrote 3 practices that can help you hone your finished-not-perfect attitude and let you move on to bigger and better things!
Give yourself quantity (not quality) based goals. 5 3-minute drawings, 100 head studies, etc. The purpose of this practice is to build up your ability to do lots of work in a relatively short amount of time. This prevents you from being able to focus too much/too long on a single piece. Obviously, you still want to put in effort and try hard, but get used to quick, efficient work as well!
Doing work on your project needs to be a regular, consistent part of your routine! Maybe it’s the same time everyday, or perhaps the same amount of time everyday. Your personal project needs to be such an integral part of your day that you miss it when you don’t work on it. Start small if you need to: just 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at night. Work your way up to an hour (or 2) a day. You’ll be surprised how far you get working 5 hours a week!
Is it possible to finish a personal project “too late”? Yeah, actually: never is way too late. It’s like not turning in a school assignment because it’s not A+ quality. If you never turn it in, it’s automatically an F, regardless of your effort or skills. There comes a time when you just have to take the B-, and try to do better next time. With your personal project, maybe you want it to dazzle a million people. But if you never finish it and share it, you’ll never even dazzle 1 (no matter how lovely the product is.)
I haven’t finished the comic yet. But chapter 1 is completed, chapter 2 is well underway, and I know that I can do it. I cans start a project and work past the pitfalls and the potholes. It has become a daily habit for me, even if it’s just itty-bitty steps each day. Maybe I draw one rough panel, maybe I draw a whole page.
And often enough, I can’t use what I draw. But I draw it anyway. It’s like learning an instrument or a sport: you develop the muscles and callouses you need to keep going. It certainly hurts and causes stress in new ways, but learning to follow through on something I truly care about has been the most worthwhile lesson I’ve learned so far.
Hello, everyone! We’re quickly approaching the end of August, and nearing the end of chapter 1 of my comic! I’m working like a crazy person on chapter 2, and I thought I’d share a brief look into how I ink a page. Enjoy!
My local library has the most lovely location, and the nicest little café, AND it’s within walking distance, which makes it a favorite hang-out of mine!
This time, I tried out Lefranc & Bourgeois’ Prussian Blue for the first time, and I’m not gonna lie: I fell in love with that paint! I use it in almost everything I paint!
I enjoyed some not-oppressive weather by painting outdoors at a picnic table in the park! It was so quiet and serene!
Where did July go?? It’s been a crazy summer so far, but I’ve really been enjoying myself and getting tons of work done! In this video I’ll share what I’ve been up to, and a brief tour of my workspace!
