SHOP UPDATE
“The Bunny” is available now at INPRNT!
ART UPDATE
In the last newsletter I mentioned wanting to revisit working in gouache, and adding ink. I actually tried it this last month and I LOVED IT. I had so much fun with each step! It was great! And I love the way it turned out!
I also started working a little bit with acrylic paint markers, for when I want to work in physical media, but would rather draw than paint. It’s not quite the same as gouache, but the results are similar so I like having options now!
The island is basically from the Titans Tower in Teen Titans Go. 😀
I’m really really excited that working a little differently made the work so much fun again. I felt like this time I wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself and not taking my work (or subject matter) too seriously. I can be serious about my art career AND make art that’s fun, right?! Right.
So I’m doing a lot better with my art block. I’m back to wanting to work on my cartoony characters again, and have a small list of illustration ideas I’m tinkering with to come up with interesting compositions. It’s the hardest part for me, but at least I have a starting point…
Interestingly I’ve noticed none of my ideas include characters. I think for so long I’ve been like “I can’t draw people” so I just don’t think about it. I’m not super confident in it yet, but I feel like it’s definitely an option now, so I’m hoping I can also start to push myself to include characters in my illustration work, not just in my comic. I had talked about wanting to draw cartoony buildings last month, and I do, but the thought of taking on a full composition with characters and buildings is like…a bit overwhelming! But I want to try! …maybe…
BOOKS
I’ve got a stack of books I’m working through for like a summer reading list of sorts. I haven’t gotten very far in any of them, so I don’t want to recommend any yet…
But I have started reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic. And I can whole-heartedly recommend it! It’s so good. I’ve read it before, but I started reading it again when I was just so upset with feeling art blocked. I definitely credit it with helping me be excited about the creative process again. It’s just so charming, fun, and brilliant. Also super encouraging. I love it!
THE REST
I finally left the house! Woohoo!
But really though… we took a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains for a vacation with my parents. We stayed in little cabin, played lots of games, watched cartoons, soccer, and old movies, ate a ton of junk food, and went on hikes! So basically everything we do at home! It was perfect! 😉
It really was a nice trip. We hiked up to a waterfall, walked along a really pretty creek, and the mountains — oh, the mountains were absolutely amazing! If it kinda felt like summer before, it definitely feels like it now!
Thanks for reading!
Summer Child Designs 