Finding Joy

Friends,

I find I put too much pressure on myself (it never feels like I’m doing enough!!), and often it can kill the process for me. I do it everywhere; in my art, in my life, and even in this newsletter. I feel pressured to make it topical each month, forgetting that I said it be a mix of that and quick catch ups 😅.

So here's a quick collection of things that brought me joy the past month.

TCAF

First and foremost (and also the reason this newsletter is late) I went to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. I'm used to typically exhibiting there, but I took a break this year and went just as an attendee for the first time in 5+ years.

Despite not tabling, it was still exhausting (but fun!)-- bumping into everyone and catching up. And I was delighted to learn a person whose work and vlogs I admire actually watched and looked forward to my vlogs 🥺

Below are my hauls from the show:

My tattoo

I also had the 2nd session for my 3-session tattoo. This is by far the largest tattoo I've ever gotten and took a lot of talking into to get because I have trouble spending so much money on myself, but I talked it over and went for it (plus it helps to think of it as spending money supporting an artist I like). I've got a couple pieces from the wonderful November Rush and saw her post an idea for a mermaid sleeve on TikTok and jumped on it. I didn't have an arm to offer her, but we went with my leg.

Working on my comic

I promise I've been working on my comics, despite not sharing too much of it here. I wrapped up the revised outline some weeks back, and now I'm working on the script. It's a process very different from the initial draft done during National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo was just about getting something and hitting that daily word goal, so I just spit a story out without stopping to think. And then I slowed down creating an outline from that and revising the outline and trying to fill in the glaring plot holes.

Now, with this draft, it's a slower more methodical process. I write a bit, I pace some, I write a little more. I go back sometimes and edit it, but only a little because otherwise I'll never finish. I read some great scripts for inspiration (like the script for Children of Men).

To keep my visual brain happy, I've been doing some visual development on the characters and such. In bouncing ideas around with a pal I also decided to take this from being a typical medieval fantasy, to a weird west/gothic western.

Recommendations

Something I read : The Green Bone Saga

The first book of this series is Jade City, but I'm already tearing through book two of this series!! Amazing urban fantasy that is Godfather, with martial arts and magic thrown in. Lots of interesting reflections on power, the transference and retention of it, and who ultimately is allowed to have Power.

Something I watched : Godless

I'm honestly surprised at the middling reviews Godless got. It is a great (anti) Western, with absolutely phenomenal cinematography. The 7-episode mini-seres from writer/director Scott Frank (Logan, Queen's Gambit, Minority Report, etc).

I guess some people didn't like that the ending was predictable, but that's very in line for westerns, where it's less the outcome that's important, but rather the character studies along the way.

Something I listened to : With a Hammer

The new Yaeji album is filled with some solid chill bops as always 👌.

Something else I wrote : Scroll

I've never mentioned it here, but I run a whole other newsletter with a fellow co-worker at my dayjob. It's design oriented, though really we just grab a random assortment of articles on a particular topic pulling from various industries, etc. This month's issue was on the concept of Engineering Control, but our past gaming issue is a favourite of mine too.

And that’s all, folks!

Sorry for the delay, and you should be hearing from me again in about two weeks 😅