Hello March!
COMICS
In case you missed them, here are my comics from February!
Both are available now at INPRNT!
ART
Last month…
I think I did a decent job for once, of working on ALL. THE. THINGS.
First, I finished an illustration! The Scifi Girl!
It’s so frustrating though — I got so hyped about anime-style drawing and then I still fell back into my “CalArts” cartoony ways. And it just makes my heart so dang happy anyway. I started thinking I would do this piece anime-style, since I’d been so excited to practice it. But I really struggled with it (still). It wasn’t even necessarily the technical side, actually drawing. It was that it didn’t feel very “me.” So, I switched it to be cartoony and it just started to click and the illustration worked so well. And I think it’s super cute and fun and I love how it turned out! So, yay! …but also, dang it.
So I don’t know what I’m going to do. Probably stick to anime-style practice in my sketchbook only. Keep playing with it until I can make it start to feel like my own…
But on the flip side, more confidence boost in cartooning, yeah?! It was starting to feel more intuitive in the last few months, I guess, and this just reinforces that all my sketching practice is paying off. Who knew?!
Second, I’ve actually been doing a decent job of sketching this last month too…
Largely because of Super Secret Project #2, which I hinted at in my last newsletter. And I can now reveal that Super Secret Project #2 is starting my own Patreon!
I know, I know. I hate paywall and subscriptions too. (I’m a soccer fan…of course I hate subscription services…) But. I also love being able to support and engage with artists I admire on Patreon! (Carles Dalmau and Exocomics are great! I’ve also followed Loish, Simone Grunewald, Ellie vs Bear, Monkeymintaka, and Cat’s Cafe, in the past!) It’s a goal I’ve had for years to be able to start one myself, and why not now?! After a lot of consideration I’ve set up Patreon to be a complement to the work I do. Nothing I already share is going on Patreon, it’s just extras! (And a great way to support small artists, like me!)
One of the extras is a monthly art theme — this last month was action! (to go with our annual action movie marathon tradition for February). I tried to focus on sketching a lot of action poses! It was so fun to challenge myself, since I tend to default to a more static pose for characters. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, and something I’ve wanted to improve on for a while! Lots of study of super cool action poses!
I don’t think I’ll have a ton of need to draw traditional action sequence stuff in my work. But it’s already helping me to consider how to add more movement to my posing — even if it’s just like going from standing to walking… which I got to put into use on The Scifi Girl! A little movement makes a big difference!
Admittedly, being the first month on Patreon, and building that extra routine, I didn’t sketch much outside of the theme. But I still did! And probably as much as I would have normally, I suppose. It was just interesting how much having a focused challenge helped me sketch more often!
For this month…
I definitely want to do another illustration, as always! And again, a shirt! I would love to design another shirt!!
The art theme for March is Poscas/paint markers. So I’m looking forward to working with them more in my sketchbook! (Maybe that practice will help me come up with something cute and fun for a shirt?!) And again, I want to do more anime-style and cartoon sketching.
I should be able to keep up with my comic strip, as usual too. This weekend is a single-panel comic, which is always fun! It’s not done yet though…
And finally, Super Secret Project #1! It was announced at Super Secret Project #2 (Patreon!). Surprise — it’s a graphic novel!
…I feel like any time someone is working on a secret project online, like an influencer for yoga, travel, dogs, or whatever, is suddenly like “omg super busy! shhh! 🤫 ” it’s almost always a book…
Anyway. I’m not an influencer, obviously. But I am a cartoonist. Or comic artist? Or whatever. And I love to write too. So yay! Graphic novel! (The script is done! yay! And Patrons get in-depth updates!)
ALL. THE. THINGS. All good stuff! Time to get back to it! (I gotta finish that comic for Sunday! Eek!)
Thanks for reading!
P.S. – You can support my work (and get cool stuff!) by shopping prints, shirts and more at INPRNT and TeePublic! And can you tell I’m on Patreon now? Because I’m totally on Patreon!
Bee Sauls Art 