I should just... back out this time.

Rethinking November plans...

I have decided to forgo doing Folktale Week this year (innerly crying). As an avid participator, I had all my drafts planned out and ready, but after some reflection… it just didn’t feel like the right thing to prioritize for this month. Perhaps I can come back to it later…

Instead, I’m keeping November open for my Witches & Wine series. The script for Vol. 2 has been gathering dust for way too long and it’s high time I put my foot down, summon some grit, and make some real progress with this comic.

The question is, why did I dawdle around and not work on it sooner?

Most of you will probably find this a bit silly, but I’ve been avoiding my iPad Pro like the plague. Staring at its screen has been giving me nonstop digital eye strain, so I’ve been letting my eyes take a lil break.

That “little” break turned into a longer hiatus than I’d planned.

I don’t think I’ve done any serious drawings on my iPad since May. Then come summer, I got absorbed into Substack and its delightful writing/blogging community. I ended up writing more than art-ing, unless you count some drawing studies here and there, but that was about it.

Somewhere along the way, I rediscovered the world of e-ink.

It was like the long-sought cure for my art eye problem. Now I can cut my iPad screen time in half by doing lineart on e-ink tablet and using Procreate just for coloring.

In my excitement, I drew this character duo from Witches & Wine Vol. 3, the final part of the comic trilogy (if I ever get to it).

This might not sound like a big deal to some, but for me, it was like turning over a new leaf. I’ve worked digitally for most of my art career, but at heart, I’m a traditional artist who still craves that “pen on paper” freedom. Deep down I’ve always longed for something that could balance both digital and traditional art, and discovering e-ink tablets was like a major breakthrough. Plus it’s a healthier alternative, which I need.

And just like that, working on my comic series feels way less daunting. It’s so much easier to focus now.

I already got two chapters down (which is no mean feat)!

[dramatic pause]

But still have ten more chapters to go.😅

Some panel sneak peeks. Thankfully, the Atelier pencil brush is somewhat similar to the Procreate lineart brush I use. I hope my readers won’t notice the slight difference.

I like using the marker brush with the lightest grayscale tone to draw in my rough drafts. I also used my plastic ruler for drawing temporary panels. DO NOT USE metal rulers.

November Plan Overview:

• Draw as much lineart for W&W chapters on November

• Color W&W chapters on December and upload as I go.

• Finish writing my first draft (illustrated) novel by this year!

To all the readers who's been waiting ever so patiently… hang tight! This is a huge backstory I’m working on.