Happy New Year 2024!
I did not draw as much as I would like to last 2023. However, I can honestly say that 2023 was my most productive year art-wise. While 2022 was the year I doodled a lot and made short comics, 2023 was the year I participated in fanzines and big bangs so I had to finish illustrations. Making those illustrations meant that I had to think more deeply about the details of those illustrations. Brainstorming and researching for those few I did was strenuous but it was also fun!
One of the bigbangs I participated in is the Lanreki bang. I also participated in the Tadashi reverse bang but I haven’t finished my piece yet. A lot of stuff happened in my private life at that time, plus I had to rush three illustrations that’s why I didn’t finish it in time.
Here is the Lanreki piece I made:
As I said in my previous entry, I had a hard time starting that piece. I had a hard time planning the piece but I am proud of how it turned out!
Moreover, 2023 was also the year I started doing and planning projects. In the beginning, I was planning on publishing a fanzine. In fact, I already wrote a lot of scripts for possible fanzine stories. There is one story that I already started planning the pages. Honestly, I already reached page 36! The problem with that one however is I don’t like the flow of the story. It’s so fast-paced. When I revisited it I was wondering if I should redo everything. I was embarassed when I read it because it is obvious that I am an amateur and I think the short comics I previously made are better! I know that I should not beat myself up because I’m still starting out, but I can’t help it. I hope I can overcome this though because I really want to publish it soon.
Apart from it being so amateur-ish, another thing I am worried about is its length. I thought that it should have fewer pages, but I worry that it might affect the story. When I thought more about it, the solution I was able to come up with was cutting it into vol 1 and 2. That could work actually! I’m going to find out soon enough once I sit down and make the necessary changes.
This year, the zine is my priority. I hope and pray that I can at least publish one fanzine this year. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a free one or a for-profit one. Also, I want to participate in artist alleys and start building a shop of my own. I know I need a lot of studying for this. I hope I can succeed.
Compared to 2022, I didn’t have a lot of time to practice. Thankfully though, in the latter part of 2023, I was able to do portrait illustrations using references I found on the internet. My only concern in doing those is practicing my painting skills. I really like painting faces so that was also my motivation in finishing those pieces. Apart from that, I was thinking of making them into a mini book that will, in the future, be a sort of freebie for the fanzine I am planning to make. Or maybe it can be part of a bundle in the future. I don’t know yet. I’m really glad I made those illustrations because I can say that I improved a lot! I don’t know if it’s because the portraits are for my fave characters, but I can see an improvement and I am really pleased about it!
Here are some of the illustrations I did:
I should be stricter with myself when it comes to time management this year so I can finish a lot of stuff. 😀
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