Category: Sketches

A New Blog, A New Rhythm

It has been a while and a blog away since I wrote a real post. Since then, I have switched my blog and website over to WordPress, and am now starting with a new plan for posts. I already have some great ideas including a new project. Writing this, I feel like a broken record.  So what is different this time?

Routine! Yes, such a simple but effective thing: a set time slot every day for me to write.

However, to make this happen, a few other pieces had to fall in place first.

Believe it or not, after having my baby last February, it took me just over a year to find a good rhythm for my day. There has been some letting go of schedules and plans. That was the hardest part. Nobody likes to part with their expectations.

But suddenly it hit me: I need to find routines. They say children need routines to be balanced and happy, but as much as I love the idea of spontaneity, if I am really honest with myself, I also need routines to be balanced and more productive. OK, I probably knew this one a while. Have I not read and wrote about a book to form habits? Silly me!

And finally I have implemented a writing routine. Of course it all has to change again soon with kindergarten and other activities. But now I know I need to find a routine quickly to make things go smoothly.

I am very lucky to have a baby that likes to sleep in, which she has definitely learned from her father, who is a stay at home dad. And instead of trying to force an early breakfast onto the two, I have decided to use this time for some alone time, and to write posts for this blog. I am actually really excited and look forward to this time.

My New Project: Wolves

Last but certainly not least, I want to talk about my new project. It is a fan art side project I am doing to

1. Express my love for a great video game, and
2. To exercise my drawing and painting skills.

The project is a comic about a famous NPC in the game The Long Dark. The character has been nicknamed Fluffy, and is a wolf.

The game, The Long Dark, is a survival game against the harsh coldness of Canadian winter after apocalyptic events, and wolves are one of the main living enemies in the game (although the wildlife is certainly not THE main enemy of the game).

Fluffy is a wolf that seemed to be a glitch in an earlier sandbox release, and would re-spawn in an indoor location previously thought safe, making it a particularly big nuisance. It turned out, this was no glitch, but intention. The strong reactions in the user community were where she got her unique name. Despite the annoyance people expressed, it was still an endearing name: Fluffy. This seems to speak a lot for what a great fan base this game has.

Liz, one of my Twitter friends (@wabbitstewed ), and also lover of the game, is collaborating with me for this fan art project. It was actually her idea. She wants to do the writing and story board, and I will do the artwork. Likely we both will end up contributing to each other’s side of the piece. The story is a fictional back story for Fluffy the wolf as imagined by Liz.

If you want to find out more about the Long Dark, and I can highly recommend this game, check out their site: http://www.thelongdark.com/

And for a little more info on Fluffy, here is her page in the wiki: https://thelongdark.gamepedia.com/Fluffy

As a preparation for this project, and while waiting for more story details, I have started to draw wolves in different poses. Today, I had the idea to start a little sketch series for myself called “A Wolf A Day”. This shall be my personal challenge to keep drawing every day and be ready for this project. I have already sketched a few wolves, but as you can see there is still much to practice.

I am starting today. Isn’t Valentine’s day a perfect day to start my series? I will post my sketches on my Patreon every day, and then release them on Instagram and other social media the day after.

I hope you will enjoy. And please, let me know your thoughts and questions.