Admin Post: Community Check-In for November

[goss]

Tomorrow's the last day of November, and we'd love to have you check in and chat with us. How have things been with you this past month?

Did you sign up for or take part in any fandom activities in November, or have you been working on any personal art projects? Are you currently trying to meet a deadline? Feel free to share upcoming challenges that have got you excited, any frustrations you've been experiencing, possible goals for the next month, and so on.

---------

Some Community Activities to look forward to:
(1) December - Holiday Card Exchange:
It's quite casual, where you can choose to send out one or multiple cards to our community members. So if you'd like to join in, you can always leave a comment in this post, and I'll add your mailing info to the shared listing.

(2) January - Group Project:
We took a poll back in August, and January came out on top as the month that most people would prefer to do a Group Project. If you have any suggestions or ideas for a group project, please chip in, we want to hear from you. :)

Comments

[mekare]

Somehow November has been superbusy at work. Like last year the aftermath of Inktober was a bit too much as I did many challenges. But as of now I am done with all my big bangs.

poi_fanworks

my art John/Harold rated G
Watercolour and ink

marvel_bang

A post Inifiity War Steve/Bucky piece And a couple of dividers
Rated PG, watercolours

Apart from these main commmitments I haven‘t done much art which was too bad because I had hoped to keep a bit of the Inktober daily spirit.

Next: Due South Secret Santa which I am looking forward to so much, and not much else. I have decided against artyuletide because I need a breather.

Our card project is something I am very excited about though! I think it‘s the perfect thing to wind down the year.

[jainas]

November have been very busy as well.
I
- scanned, cleaned and archived my Inktober drawings : https://www.deviantart.com/jainas/gallery/67376219/Inktober-2018
- sold a few drawings (yay) and so had to procure cardbords enveloppes, figure out shipping, get appropriate stamps and so on. And I took the time to draw thank you doodles to the people whou bought the art. :)
- bought and started listening to a course on creative Live : How to Build a Business While Learning Your Craft https://www.creativelive.com/class/how-to-build-a-business-while-learning-your-craft-megan-auman It's very interesting but also quite long, and I'm not done yet.
- set-up a mailing list and it's landing page, and sent out a first email : https://mailchi.mp/5306da90757d/artofclem
- started to set un an Etsy shop (not done yet)
- started a cat-themed silk-screen printing project : https://www.instagram.com/p/BqnJjA7BrKu/, https://www.instagram.com/p/BqnV9mUBATz/ (with an actual cat), https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqt0XIcB2GQ/
- expanded on the Solitude skies serie I started last inktober : Starry solitude II https://www.instagram.com/p/BqUch75hayS/, Starry Solitude III : https://www.instagram.com/p/BqU9iCSB6RY/, Fiery Solitude : https://www.instagram.com/p/BqVHJuAh0wE/
- Did a new "Fire" with a salamander for the Elementals series I started last inktober : https://www.instagram.com/p/BqvUcamhLk6/
- Received a huge amound of art supplies for my birthday : https://www.instagram.com/p/BqvEffMh8-Y/ :D
- Entered on a whim a black & white contest on Displate and so spent some time editing the drawings : https://displate.com/artofclem


For December I have a Yuletide fic to write, the Drawsome challenge, the silk-screen printing to finish and the Etsy shop to launch. As you can see I have my fingers in way too many self-imposed pies, and I really need to tone it down, stop to try to do all the things, and focus a little bit. :)

[syntheid]

You really did get to a lot of things! The silkscreen is looking neat already, and I really love Fiery Solitude. Good luck with all your business setup!

[jainas]

Thank you!
My boyfriend did get a bit overboard with the paper... :D But I have loved L'Orange Bleue's sketchbooks since I was a student, and their inks looked very pretty, and it was my birthday, so... :)
And I finally managed to stop procrastinating and finished to set up the Etsy shop tonight... so now it exists! https://www.etsy.com/fr/shop/ArtofClem I just have to fill it up and "launch" it officially! :)

[mekare]

Mon dieu! You have been insanely busy! Those inks look very pretty, maybe you could do a review of them some time?
I really like how you have so many themed series!

[jainas]

I have! But I really need to focus a bit, or I won't be able to sustain the pace! :)
Actually it was a really usefull point in the class I'm taking, about knowing where you're at, and knowing where you need/want to be. Right now I'm in experimentation phase and I can afford to stay there a while, playing around, seeing what I like and throwing stuff at the walls to see what sticks... But even then I can't do ALL THE THINGS and so I have to do a bit of focusing. The series are part of that in a way. I did a lot of different things during Inktober, and now I'm going back and digging a bit deeper in the styles/themes/techniques I liked most.

I'm not sure what you mean by revieuw... Like a special post on my blog to talk about them?

[mekare]

Yes, that‘s what I meant. How do these colours compare to others you have used in the past, are they lightfast, etc. I have never seen these before.

[jainas]

Ho, I realise I posted my post in answer to yours instead of as a distinct reply... Sorry about that.

I bookmarked the POI fic for future reading, and I'm very intrigued by companion!John. I find your black and white sketch even more expressive than the colored illustration, and I love that you can see music notes through the paper, it really adds something to it!


Also, the DCU link leads to the POI post!

[mekare]

Whoops, here‘s the proper link: https://mekare.dreamwidth.org/106511.html

Thank you! I like that the sketch has more expression than the finished drawing...

[olivermoss]

Fandom Stockings has it's timeline up for this year. Sign ups will be soon!

For those unfamiliar: people comment using a form saying things they like and the community Elves hang 'stockings' for them. People spend a few weeks filling them with reccs, recipes, photos, and drawings. It's a great chance to do a bunch of custom doodles for people. Tags will let you find stockings of those with common interests and fandoms. I always take on some 'low fill' stockings and help those out.

It's a fun no-pressure event in it's 12 year.

[mekare]

I‘ll definitely sign up. :-)

[mific]

The Marvel link also goes to the POI art, just so you know! :)

[mekare]

Whoops here it is: https://mekare.dreamwidth.org/106511.html

[minoanmiss]

January group project! \o/

[mekare]

YAY!!!

[syntheid]

I finished up this bird I started ... originally for a Skillshare class and then kinda. Veered off course and did a more elaborate/graphic background.

And I did some work trying to design my half-orc druid with snake companion for a D&D campaign. I want to do similar stuff for the whole group, but this took me so long so I need to rethink the way I'm working on them.

Started brainstorming ideas for cards and for a couple friends, too, and since I signed up for the exchange I actually have to do the cards next!

I keep finding I'm frustrated with how I feel like I'm either too sketchy and nothing I manage to do feels 'finished', or lean too far the other way and end up spending much too long on single WIP projects for months, and I want to find better middle ground with a mix of sketches, studies, and 'finished' stuff. Part of which, as I mentioned above, is going to be trying to figure out a way to work faster and still end up with something I like, so I think I'm going to try to experiment with some simplification over the next month.

[jainas]

I saw the bird, I really like how it turned out, the balance between the realistic bird and the more stylised background is great.

Good luck with the experimentations! I tend to love the "sketchy" style, but I do agree, the balance can be difficult to find.

[minoanmiss]

After writing fanfic and dealing with my life all month, yesterday I drew two images I hope to make into my Cards For the Drawesome Card Exchange!

(Obvs, they need a lot of work first, and my life is a wee bit crazy.)

[mekare]

Yay! I am starting my cards this weekend too. I‘m trying not to be too perfectionist about them...

[yhlee]

Now that there have been reveals, I did two fanart pieces (X-Men/Marvel 616) for trickortreatex:

I Am Halloween Incarnate! (Cyclops/Phoenix, G)

A Phoenix for a Phoenix (Rachel Summers)

Still working on some personal ink/watercolor things as time permits.

I am very curious as to how group projects work?

[goss]

I am very curious as to how group projects work?

I was part of an art community on LJ (drawmelot) and they did lots of group projects creating a series based on a theme, such as a tarot deck, zodiac signs, mythical creatures. And then the one we attempted last year here was putting together puzzle pieces: Community Puzzle Patchwork.

Hope to come up with something equally fun for the following month. :)

[jainas]

Ho, I like the tarot or zodiac ideas... And I'm always up for some mythical creatures!:D

[eller]

Tarot? *perks up*

[goss]

If we have enough interested persons, that's definitely a good option to consider for January. :)

[mific]

A very quiet 2-3 weeks, since last month was so busy. Still busy, but with big RL work changes due in 10 days. Have only managed to plan two pieces and collected refs. They’re for due South Seekrit Santa, and art-yuletide.

[mekare]

Yay, Due South Secret Santa!
A bit of quiet is a good thing right now, I believe.