Rounds: June 2022

Hey again everyone!  I'm back and doing my best to update. XD  Summertime is always tricky, especially when you have kids and they're out of school.  It's been hot, but thankfully we've actually had a bit of a cool breeze around here.   

I won't lie though--I'd KILL to go swimming right now.  The water levels around here have been dropping for a while though, and the fires we had the last couple of years have done nothing to help with that.  The upside though?  This year, no fires near us this time!   That means no scratchy throat and eyes.  Didn't hear any real emergencies for the 4th either, which is a bit joyous and surprising.  It gives me a tiny bit of hope that maybe more people decided that setting the state on fire isn't a good idea.  Maybe they're being more responsible.  XD

Stillllllll a swimming spot that isn't the local crowded pool?  Would be nice.  But even then, I'd be mosquito chow so I'm not winning either way. XD

Speaking of keeping nice and cool, my tiny desk fan is back out for the summer, and the upside is it lets me be down here in my office without dying!  Hooray!  Keeping the kids occupied though while I'm in my office area is another matter.  We've been slowly updating the boys' room so that they have spots for everything, but they're lego fanatics.  Trying to get two boys to have some personal responsibility in cleaning said legos?  That's never going to be an easy battle.

I think personal responsibility is the theme this month.  More responsibility from me, from the kids as they grow, from people and family members around me, from my community.  I wish more responsibility in people's responses to things. 

As far as IRL goes, that's complicated, but I've been dwelling lately  on a lot of that, and along with it is my own responsibility to all of you and being able to create content that is enjoyable, both in creating it and sharing it.  I'm hoping I'm on the right track everyday, especially since it's difficult finding that work life balance.  It would help if life would stop intruding on my days off so I could breathe for a second.  XD  I think I've only  had one weekend without extra shenanigans going on in the last 3 months.  Time to breathe is coming soon I hope!

Speaking of personal struggles,  I have been LOVING trying out some new things in warm ups and sketches.  I don't always have the luxury of trying something different in paid commissions--after all, everyone's expecting a particular way of things being done, right?  That's part of the trust aspect of the sketches, is being reliable and having the responsibility of meeting expectations.  Getting to test out some different ways of doing things is nice, because I will hopefully get to blend what I learn in my tests with the way I do things now someday.  That's a lot of how things have grown and changed so far!

In particular, I am VERY pleased with how Sakeko turned out last month, trying a new way of coloring and blending for her.  I like how it still had that anime shading look, but also was softer.  I've always admired manga like CLAMP's, and Toriyama's watercolors, and the digital manga and watercolors of Tokyo Ghoul, so it's fun to get to try some different coloring techniques.  Maybe some day I'll be that good. XD

So, I'll keep on trekking!  Hopefully more artwork will grow and change.  I want to be able to keep sharing this journey with you all!  Take care, everyone!

~Abysmal0