Quick sketch of my reaper to test some brush settings – I tried to digitally recreate the feel of using my favorite ink in my fountain pen, haha (Pilot Iroshizuku’s “sui-gyoku” – “emerald green”).
Landis playing the tin whistle | March 17, 2026
In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, I was reminded this year of the time I drew my sylvari reaper playing a tin whistle (which is also known as the “Irish flute”).
The original painting is from 2019, and was part of a collaborative project organized by Angelique van der Mee. Several artists drew our own characters in support of the “#Love4ArenaNet” hastag, which to my memory was a spur-of-the-moment way to show a little support for the devs at the studio who were laid off at the time. It was a rough time for the studio, and a very sweet idea by Angelique and everyone else who was involved with the idea. Angelique then made a lovely composition involving everyone’s contributed artwork.
For this 2026 paintover warmup, after I drew the musical notes (which aren’t in the original), I idly thought perhaps I should have drawn “Fear Not This Night.” But for the holiday, I wanted to draw one of my favorite tunes I enjoy playing on tin whistle, instead. I would be very impressed if anyone can recognize it from the music notes, and I mentioned on socials that if anyone does guess it, I’d do a sketch for the – because it’s such an esoteric bit of knowledge, I would marvel if someone could recognize it!
Tin whistle is my favorite instrument, though sadly I rarely play it now since moving into an apartment. It’s why I moved more into practicing guitar – I’ve always liked guitar, too, but used to play tin whistle more often. Guitar has the benefit of being able to play at quieter volumes, as necessary!
In the original 2019 version, I drew my reaper, though this paintover is only showing a crop of the full-body art. I did add more to the full-body in today’s paintover, but it’s not really presentable. Maybe if I have a chance, I’ll add it to this post at a later time.
2019 version in the full post below because I’m not keen on how it looks when I saw it again today, haha:
Reaper Sketch | March 10, 2026
At the tail-end of formatting the Duskbirds zines – indulged briefly earlier with some imagination-drawing anatomy-practice with my sylvari reaper. I think I’m slightly more comfortable drawing torsos from imagination now.
I need to do more neck studies in the future.
Duskbirds Diorama Illustration (WIP) | March 7, 2026
I was chatting about PLCAF with my friend, and remarking about how my table is likely going to be more bare than the average. She then suggested I bring a few prints, which I hadn’t considered. I’d only been thinking about potential books/mini-zines I could bring, since this is an indie comics convention.
I then went looking in my files for potential considerations, and remembered I have this Duskbirds-related illustration I’d started a while back. It’s about 90% finished. I could likely take it to a polished state this weekend if I carve out the time for it.
I also realized among the many Duskbirds comics I have noted down in sketch form, I had started 2 a while back that are about 70% of the way there. Contemplating finishing these for the mini-zine – as I tried out using color for these two, and I think they went in an interesting direction for the comic. But I also have to by wary lest my ambition reach further than the reality of my capabilities (or of logistical time constraints).
Anyway! Need to format the books first – that’s the main priority. Aiming to submit the print order this weekend!
Duskbirds Volume 2: Cover Layout | March 6, 2026
I recently learned I will be at another convention next month! (Early April) This one is smaller than Manga Ichiba at Fanime. In my focus with getting The Harbinger’s Path ready for Manga Ichiba, I forgot that I applied to this second convention. Similar with Manga Ichiba, I applied to this one at the suggestion of my indie comics friend. It’s very likely I wouldn’t have applied to either if it wasn’t for her encouragement. Many thanks again to Theresa! :D (Who recently finished her successfully-funded Kickstarter for her comic memoir – which I think you can still support as a late backer!)
For this second convention, I was surprised last month when I learned I was accepted. I had a brief few days where I was scrambling to see if I could finish the print version for The Harbinger’s Path in time for this early-April convention. After looking into logistics, I decided I did not want to rush Harbinger. I planned Harbinger’s print schedule around Fanime’s timeline. That’s in late May, compared to the second convention in early April – nearly a two-month difference in time.
After mentioning my concerns to my friend, she mentioned Duskbirds might be a better fit for for this convention. This is specifically a small, indie comics con, compared to Fanime, which has a much stronger emphasis on fanworks. While learning this was a relief – in that I could continue with my original timeline for Harbinger – it created the new situation where I now had to format an entirely new comic I hadn’t been planning to. ‘
I started layouts last month, but finally had a chance to really dig into it today. I was surprised how many comics I had to sort through – I have 42 finished comics for Duskbirds. I culled most of the early ones – many were too messy for what i want to show – but even after doing this, a single document ran up to around 40-45 pages. About 5 of these were due to a “bonus illustration” section I was considering adding.
This was too unwieldy for what I essentially want to print as a small “zine.” Today, I decided to try splitting these comics into 2 volumes – one for the more “lighthearted” comics, and the other for the more “slightly more serious” comics. The latter which I’m currently referring to “introspective” comics. This is similar to how I categorize them – I have a notebook full of Duskbirds ideas which are separated into “fun ideas” and “serious ideas.”
It gives me a good excuse to use this artwork of Elsium as the cover for the second volume, as I’ve always been bemused by how distressed he looks in this image, haha. I’m also amused by how retro this font looks with this cover. It’s the same font I use for The Harbinger’s Path cover, which doesn’t give me this feeling at all. I’m guessing it’s the combination of the dark background and larger font size.
So, which convention is this second con?
It’s the Peninsula Libraries Comic Arts Fest (PLCAF) this April 4th! If you’re in the area, please feel free to stop by and say hello.
Okay, now back to book layouting for me!