A diary comic about triumph and worry as I finish my graphic novel:
Over the past year, I spent so much time thinking I wouldn’t be able to reach my deadline that I couldn’t quite believe I actually finished coloring everything. So I went through the book to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything big—and it turns out I didn’t (phew!)
It reminds me how the anxious mind is a powerful thing—I’m more comfortable feeling worry rather than triumph. And finishing a 240 page graphic novel which took over 1200 hours is indeed a triumph!
Behind the scenes
Now that I’m in the final push, I printed out the whole book at its actual size (6.5” x 8” ) onto printer paper since certain mistakes are easier to catch on paper rather than looking at it on my iPad or computer screen. I marked up the pages where I notice mistakes or things I want to fix.
Amongst other things, I learned that I seem to frequently get windows wrong, accidentally adding them in or subtracting them.
To make most changes, I go into Photoshop and edit there since that’s much less time intensive than watercoloring the whole page again. This stage is a tedious, but I think details like this can elevate a book, so I steadily work through it.
Join the Inchie Challenge
Artist and friend Amy Maricle, of the Mindful Art Studio, puts on a creative challenge every year to make tiny art everyday. I’ve found working small and consistently has really been a game changer for me—especially with freeing me up from perfectionism.
I wanted to share Amy’s free challenge with you with you although I’m not affiliated with it—I just love Amy’s mindful and nature-based approach to art making!
Leif love
Leif used to be pretty miserable to go running with while he was on lead—he’d stop abruptly to sniff something, lunge at squirrels, or pull like a husky. But in the past month, thanks to my spouse’s efforts, Leif’s finally becoming fun to run with and these are photos from our first enjoyable run together!
