Progress shot of Corveil from a longer painting. I have a few personal work paintings/illustrations that have been hovering at this ~90% progress state for a while. I keep telling myself I’ll finish them after I make some progress with the comic, but I’d like to try and figure out a way to work them alongside the comic, as I am becoming impatient with how long they’ve stayed in this not-quite-but-almost-finished state, haha.
Personal Art
“Impale” Work-in-Progress | March 21, 2025
There seems to be a theme between this and the last post. Haha.
This was a sketch idea I wanted to jot down yesterday. I started trying out some vague decorative background ideas. Still deciding which way to take it. Other than the general pose, I didn’t plan the rest out. It felt nice to just scribble-wander for a bit. Backgrounds are secretly one of my favorite things to paint – but I oddly don’t end up showing too many here. Maybe that’ll change this year!
There are some things about the sketch I like better than the current version – mainly the angle of Arquel’s head. The way it was changed probably reads slightly more clearly – I think – though I like the intensity of the sketch. That might also just be by virtue of being a sketch, though. That sketchy energy! Why sketching is still probably my favorite part of the drawing process.
Geissler Concepts (In-progress) | March 11, 2025
I’ve been meaning to try some different designs for Geissler for a while – here’s a recent attempt! I’m not sure if I’ll finish this one, but it felt good to draw him again. The “in-progress” of the title refers to the design – he’s meant to have an accessory by his wrist, and probably sandals with some sort of leg wraps. But, since I’m not certain whether I’ll finish this drawing or do another one with the design, I wanted to post it as-is for now!
Geissler’s previous design was much more monochrome – essentially dark hair, dark or gray eyes, pale skin. I have a lot of characters with darker-toned hair – including the character Geissler is meant to foil – which is another reason why I wanted to explore a potential redesign. So, here I tried adding more color to him. In the image at the top of the post, I brought back some of that monochrome aspect, by darkening his hair and subduing the color contrast – which I’m not sure whether I like yet or not. Hopefully seeing it here on the blog will help me with deciding which fits him best!
Looking at him now, I sort of lean toward going with the lighter/redder tones.
Corveil Color Sketch + Enviro Thumbs | March 6, 2025
Had a potential idea today for the Corveil sketch from February 20, 2025.
And a rough thumb of a vague idea I had one of the mornings earlier this week, and forgot about until this morning. Only this time, I sketched it down quickly before I could forget it again!
It’s probably difficult to make out to anyone other than me – it’s Corveil and Arquel on a boat, floating down a river in a misty mire.
Illustration Work-in-Progress | February 27, 2025
Wanted to post some progress on this illustration I’ve been fiddling around with! Corveil and Arquel again here.
The loose idea behind this one is, “Not your voice, not your vision.” This is also another of the ideas that I sketched a while back, and didn’t add to in a while – though not as long ago as the previous “Don’t Listen” illustration. This idea looks like it was first sketched last year, in May 2024. I think this was another one that wasn’t turning out as I liked at the time, and I set it aside to prioritize other things.
While sometimes that results in a pile of ideas which risk remaining untouched and unresolved, for this and “Don’t Listen,” these paintings surprisingly benefited from being set aside.
Here’s how the full composition looks – haven’t added clothing yet. Or more hands, haha. There will be both! I promise.
And one more detail crop that’s more narrow.
Edit: February 28th, 2025
Added a few more thoughts.