process: working through a bad art day

Hi y'all! Happy Wednesday~ today's been.. a DAY so iI wanted to share the struggle with you guys – I've been vlogging today too but that video won't be going up till next week, and I wanted to walk through it here with y'all <3 

So! I've finally gotten my restock of stickers in, meaning that I'll be able to reopen my shop this weekend! It's gonna be on Sunday at 12pm PST — idk if you've seen on instagram, but I've made the decision to not offer international shipping until the global postal systems have a chance to settle down a bit. I know that things are calming down (a bit), but I don't want to risk losing a lot of product and y'all not getting your orders :( I know this sucks, but!! I'm hoping it'll only be for like, a month or so, and I'm planning on putting up some fun new digital downloads in the shop to make up for it 💕I'm grateful for your patience and understanding!! 

Speaking of printables (smooth segue, right), that's what I'm working on today. Yesterday and this morning were both really crummy artwise — nothing I was drawing seemed to be working out, and I was feel just BLEH about everything I was making. I did an instragram doodle request session this morning to try and work my way through it..

The pair of lesbian queens on the bottom was my fave request, i wanna make that into a full illo, ALSO wow my first two isabelles were so ugly, rip

I got to draw my first ever cow! And it turned out way cuter than I thought it would :> I do also love the kitty and mushroom pair, and the trio of dancing fairies. While I was drawing these, I felt so gross and uncomfortable and like nothing I was drawing was decent or getting the feelings across, but looking back on them now (even just a few hours later) I realize that they weren't as bad as I thought! They're not super elegant or masterful, but I was definitely being way too hard on myself while it was happening. Also, ppl seem to really like the little "lifeguard lemon" on the left page lolol even though I think I drew his glasses way too big haha

I kept drawing on past these requests, cause I was still feeling weird and anxious about my art:

a few of these sketches are heavily referenced from Sophie McPike, whose ease and movement and vibrancy I really admire!! Her work is so bright and powerful, so I was trying to channel those fluid shapes and playful proportions

I really really like this character — I like how crooked they are? I just feel like I was really spontaneous with the lines and it made for an instant communication of character in a way that I'm trying to get better at capturing. Again, I'm trying to play more with shapes and proportions!!

I also took that hunched mermaid and fleshed it out into a proper sketch that I'll hopefully be able to color before the end of #mermay. It took several hours but it felt amazing to work through the weird uncomfortable space I felt trapped in and emerge with a sketch I really love:

The next page I filled with random frame shapes and then filled those with various floral vignettes —

These little vignettes are surprisingly soothing and relaxing to draw. I decided I wanted to make a printable full of them!! I think that some small painted ones would make a really cute postcard set, and a fun phone background set too. I'm planning on uploading some cute phone backgrounds to the shop as well, to give more options to international folks during this brief shipping hiatus~

I think these make for a great printable cause they're not as finnicky to cut out as the florals would be without the frames. I want to make two more printable sheets, but I'm having trouble figuring out what I want them to be...planner oriented? a printable page of stickers? a stationery type page? I'm not sure! 

So that's been my day!! It's been a doozy, but I'm glad that I pushed myself to work through this weird art funk even though all I wanted to do was play Persona. Having an art deadline while also having an art block/slump is really weird and stressful, and I was nervous that I just wasn't gonna have anything for this weekend, but I'm proud that I worked my way through it and came out with some stuff that I'm really happy with and excited about. The process is not linear! We just gotta keep muddling through. That being said, it's right about the end of my workday so I might just treat myself to some Persona. :> 

What kind of printables do y'all think I should put up in the shop? Planner stuff? Journaling type things? Cute stickers? I wouldn't be doing the printable recipes I put up here on Patreon, just cause I wanna make a bunch of them and bundle them into a zine one day. SO besides recipes and mini art prints, let me know what you guys like to see on printables! Either from me, or from other creators you like. 

I love you so much and I hope your week is going well!  🌈☁️