big sketchbook dump (+stuff from my "ugly" life drawing sketchbook) apr 19th-may 3rd: life doodles, y2k witch, print thumbnails, rarity concepts, and more plein air

hi patrons! here is a absolute crazy silly amount of sketches, doodles, and life drawings from the past couple weeks.

I've been feeling so much more inspired lately, feeling more connected to what I'm doing, and my excitement has been growing a lot for my current projects. It feels like I am truly connecting back to my old creative self :')

Y2K Witch

The initial draft of the story is currently in progress! Included in this sketchbook dump are some lil sketches inspired by my writing as well as concepts of a shorter hair Fiona??? hmmm. My goal was to finish an initial draft of the plot and script this quarter and it's been going steady, and I would love to be able to draft some concept work, character sheets, and scenario sketches sometime this month. I might make this a Y2K Witch concept/art heavy month so I can really make progress on their story and start working on pages again. I will keep you all updated!

MLP X DnD Rarity concepts

I finally started some initial sketches and brainstorming ideas for the next design of Rarity! So far, my concept for her is being a graduated sorceress from an Arts and Magic School (same school that Twilight currently attends in the universe), and now runs a successful boutique in Ponyville. During the Great Fire of Ponyville, the same one that destroyed most of Sweet Apple Acres, her own family's residence caught fire. She ended up severely burning and scarring her hands trying to save an heirloom dress from her late grandmother. Currently she always wears gloves to cover her hands and maintain her clean cut, cool, and "perfect" appearance. She sees her scars as a failure to protect and uphold the traditions of her family, and she always finds herself coming up short against their extremely high standards. Her main motivation to join the adventuring group is to be a part of something greater than herself and prove her artistic and magical capabilities are destined for more than just the same fashion styles and cycles throughout Equestria. VERY MUCH inspired by Infinity Nikki (magical clothing items) with this character, and hoping to up my fashion taste, knowledge, and draftsman skills with this character.

Plein Air Contd.

Giving myself a new goal to shoot for after Plein Air April: 100 sessions of plein air by the end of 2025. I will be counting my already established 30 paintings from the challenge, so if I do at least 2 plein air paintings per week, each week, I should hopefully reach my goal! (right now I'm at

Why the heck would an aspiring comic/illustration artist want to do plein air?

1) I like it cause it's just fun :))

2) Plein air has taught me a lot of important art mindsets that I can take into my regular studio work.

I have a video about my plein air April experience coming soon to the channel (I share a lot of my initial thoughts in this post) but as hard as the process of painting outside was, I always came out of it feeling calm, present, and fulfilled in my muddy little paintings. It's shifted my mindset so that I feel so much more confident, relaxed, and creative with my normal studio projects.

It's also just fun creative hobby that helps me get out of the house, challenge my painting skills, and capture my life through a more interactive way. Kind of like a visual diary of sorts!

My "Ugly" Sketchbooks

Okay, these aren't actually ugly. There just rougher life/figure drawing work. I mainly said that to get your attention (sorry it's the content creator brainrot in me). But I approach these pages as a free area to be really loose, less exact, and mainly as an area to warm up before a longer drawing session. And sometimes I like them more than my other more intentional sketchbook work.

They've been immensely helpful in building back a figure drawing and life drawing routine to aid in my more character focused work these past couple weeks. I also forgot how much fun people sketching in town was so that's included as well.

But yeah it's been fun getting through a cheap sketchbook through some quick drawing mileage. Here are some playlist links to some free figure drawing videos that I have used if you're interested!:

New Masters Academy Figure Drawing Videos

Friday Evening Figure Drawing

Alright that's it for me! A long post, but there's a lot going on these days in my sketchbook and projects! I am really wanting to make progress on the Y2K Witch story and vis dev work this month so hopefully you will see more fleshed out environment and character work pertaining to that world.

ALSO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for showing support for the print tier! We are almost completely sold out (one slot is currently left as of writing this), and I just want to say thank you all so much for the support for my work and channel. I surpassed $2k in monthly revenue from Patreon with the addition of the print tier and it's made me feel so grateful in getting to do this everyday. I feel so privileged and lucky to work on my projects, and I really want to make you guys proud and deliver the best work to all of you.

Thank you all so so much<3

love, shay<333