Freelancing and fatigue
The month of July was my birthday month. You’d think I’d do something crazy with it, especially when turning 35 (you know, fives and tens are special, no?). No, dear friends, I’m not one to go crazy anymore. I spent my days playing and eating good food with my husband, it was quite lovely.
Besides that, I’ve had quite a lot of work from my linguist services. This, as we know, is a blessing, even with the value of the dollar trying to make things more difficult than needs be. I have no idea if it is the work, or the heat we have experienced in the latter half of the month, but I’ve been fatigued beyond belief.
Thankfully, despite my tiredness, I’ve made some progress on DA!. The Lineart cycle is done, and I am nearly finished with the Flats. The ribbon at the end is getting ever closer with each stroke of my digital pen.
WIP: DA!
As I mentioned, the Lineart for this first episode/chapter is done. It was quite fun to learn to let go of that perfectionist mentality, to just draw the darn line and worry about polish later. The most important thing is that I get something on the canvas, after all.
The Flats, greyscale as they may be, are well on the way. I will be moving on to page 6 in my next session, and that means there are only two more left! I’m very excited about how this thing is starting to look — I almost can’t believe I have been the one to make it.
If you’d enjoy seeing random behind-the-scenes screenshots, feel free to visit me at my X. That’s where I post all my updates in real-time!
Why grayscale?
Some of you may have questioned my choice to go greyscale, since colors are easy enough to do in the online environment as well. Well, friends, I happen to like the more traditional and clean look of the greyscale. It fits my style better with the aesthetic and simplicity.
It’s also great practice. You do know that if you know your values, you can color pretty much anything, no? There are so many viral TikToks and other clips of people testing it out that it would surprise me if you hadn’t seen some.
Either way, knowing values is a basic skill in the toolkit of artists. I would rather master this before moving on to some more advanced color theory. That is, if I ever do for these comics. Maybe for games and illustrations?
Next in line
When it comes to art, my eyes are peering at the abandoned Pixelart project, Pond Guardian, as well as the Rimworld assets I was making for my husband. I’m hoping I can do those as a sort of relaxing practice while fiddling with code, you know, when I finally begin the SCaN development. That thing should truly be a doozy!
So, look forward to more updates on X about the progression of DA!, and feel free to drop me your suggestions of where to publish it and why.
Have a great end to the summer,
Mrs. V