sketchbook - the illustrious client part 4 (and some other stuff)

Wrapping up the Illustrious Client with this comic!

"I was nearer him than anyone else, and yet I was always conscious of the gap between."

"Observations of the case of James Dodd" refers, of course, to the Blanched Soldier.

Housekeeping: No hand lettering today because I'm trying to be nice to my wrist...the font is 'Neucha'. Also, Volume 2 of the sketchbook (and a restock of Volume 1 as long as all my other books) will be available August 20 if all goes well. I'll share more specifics as we get closer to that date!

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And more:

I posted some paintings I made on Bluesky. These are for an in-progress YA graphic novel about 19th century art and queer history.

As AI allows mediocre content to assume a veneer of finish and polish, I find myself getting more and more interested in the process of what went into a piece of art.

What do we lose when we jump to the end of creative work? What can we only learn by doing, what can be discovered through process, what cannot be replaced by a shiny mimicry machine?

One of the characters in this graphic novel is an artist, and he spends the book working on the below piece. Through researching and executing it, I was able to place myself in his head and discover new traits about his character and how he experiences the narrative. The book will be better because I took the time. Also I loved doing it!

Here’s that piece in context of a WIP page (needs color!). I’m excited to see how it all comes across in the finished book and more than excited to share it!