Sep Secret Sketches - WIP Palooza 😵‍💫 + a throwback

Greetings from my new home in the Chicago area!! Sitting down and writing this makes me feel like I'm officially feeling like I'm back to some semblance of a routine. I'll save the extensive details and nitty gritty of what it's like to be in a new part of America (for my followers outside the US, I moved an 11-hour-drive away from my last place) for another post. I can't wait to catch up soon!! 

Mainly what I've been having to focus on lately is strictly work-focused. I haven't even been doing my hobonichi daily drawings 😵‍💫. Any chance I get to draw it needs to be spent on the two books I'm working on, or tattoo work. I'm pretty much okay with this (or at least have come to terms with it) because I know that once I'm over the hill in 2023, I'll have the chance to get back to drawing for my own pleasure.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

Image 1: Since most of what I'm working on is just graphic novel page sketches, I thought I'd share a screenshot of my camera roll, featuring all old work from college! I recently got a new laptop and had to transfer some art files to my ipad to back them up. I only saved the stuff that was really transformative for me, or projects I really enjoyed from college. I'm thinking since I have all these images in one organized place, I might do a video of me reacting to my old work and talking about how/why it's evolved! 👀

Image 2: Border illustration that I did a couple of months ago for a book I'm working on, but decided to touch it up a little because I wasn't liking the previous visual flow. I wish I could show more from this project but I was asked not to show anything on social media.

Image 3: Two tattoo customs for upcoming clients! I hand picked these requests (out of a lot of awesome requests) because they excited me so much. 

Images 4-5: Arden High KING CHEER cover in progress--this cover went through a few different renditions, but every time I tweaked it, I liked it more. Revisions like these aren't a bother at all, since I really enjoy working on the covers and hearing feedback from people who know what they're talking about!

Image 6: Just a screenshot of my procreate folder with my page sketches for KING CHEER. Nothing super revealing here, just wanted to show where I'm at out of 158 pages. 💀

Images 7-8: Not many outdoor scenes in Arden High, but King Cheer has this extensive snowstorm scene and I've had a lot of fun with it so far. I also really enjoyed how this page didn't have any dialogue. In image 8 I'm showing how I take/use reference! I honestly don't take reference as much as I should, and I always forget how helpful it truly is. Like, overhead bathtub boys?? I was stumped on the camera angle and anatomy. So I asked my roommates if they'd pose for me and then the drawing FLEW out of my hand! It saved me a half an hour.

That's all I have for now, but I'm dying to talk to you more about all sorts of things. I missed you all, and I'll see you very soon. 

-JG