This year’s non-prompted drawings (I never do prompts; my muse refuses to comply) would follow a rough theme: “Shit Comics.” The idea is to allow myself to get really loose and dirty, to avoid being overly critical of my art. Just scribble out some quick lines and see what comes out of it.

I also generally just wanted to practice funny expressions and linework. Here is what I came up with in the first week:

Day 1 - Bard in a Scarf

Program: Procreate / Brush: Real Inker by @ittaimanero on Instagram

Day 2 - Big Fat Baby

Program: Procreate / Brush: Gel Pen (preloaded brush)

Day 3 - Mina Jumpscare

Program: Procreate / Brush: Textured Line Art by Olguioo

This is an actual scene in my book.

Day 4 - Lil’ Guys

Program: Procreate / Brush: Textured Line Art by Olguioo (I’ll probably use this one here on out)

This piece didn’t come out as good as I’d hoped. I was going for something akin to those silly Tumblr meme drawings you find floating around that convey relatable feelings or scenarios. I can never get the “generic stand-in for artist” to look quite right.

Day 5 - Moe Moe Moe

Program: Procreate / Brush: Textured Line Art by Olguioo

My sister’s cat Moe is just a silly lil’ guy.

Day 6 - バーム

Program: Procreate / Brush: Textured Line Art by Olguioo

I used to live up the street from an owl cafe in Japan. They made a post about their feral little woodland resident バーム (Bomb? Balm? Not sure how it translates to English) and I simply had to draw him.

They are @owlcafe_paradise on Instagram.

Day 7 - Tax Evasion

Admittedly, my brain has been in writing mode this past month. I’ve finally gotten a fully-cohesive draft for a story I have been absolutely circling the drain about for 6 years. It has undergone several major revisions, but no matter how many revisions it goes through, I will never not include the part where the MC passionately insists on doing another character’s taxes. Like, look at him, he will NOT stand for tax evasion in THIS HOUSEHOLD.

Links to brush sets I used:

• For the undersketches, I use a modified version of LineBeinkampDraws’ Line Detail brush from her brushpack on Etsy.
• Real Inker by Manero Brushes on Gumroad
• Textured Line Art by Olguioo on Gumroad