July Doodles [3] + Admitting It Might Be Burnout (Patreon)

In which:

I study muscular female forms + the musculature of the armpit, for unknown reasons :^)

I'm not fond of the new neighbor

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Some of y'all may have noticed that this month, despite being busy in other departments, has been a little slow in the "completed, fully rendered art" department! I have a unique and refined skill to promise myself, "I'll have the energy tomorrow," or "I'll have the energy next week," and then that's what I end up promising to my Patreon. However, the diagnosis here might be burnout, and I'm starting to think my pacing over the last couple weeks might be exactly what my body and brain are needing: A little slowness, a little more simplicity, and returning back to basics.

Generally the best thing I can do for myself in this situation is to rid myself of lofty expectations so I can shake off the guilt of Not Doing Enough, a mindset that monetizing your art can trap you inside of. I pivoted halfway through this week away from a larger-scale piece into anatomy studies, where the only expectation is to explore & build my skills. All I can really say is, that felt good, and I want to maintain that mindset, wherever it ends up taking me. The artistic spirit is generally pretty unpredictable, so for all I know I could whip out 3 paintings next week, do nothing but dirty loose sketches, or go quiet for all of August. I guess we'll all find out together. :^)

For the record, I feel the need to spell all this out because a perpetual worry of mine is that my patrons don't feel as though they're getting what they're paying for, and I want to set expectations in the right place. I know my August plans are currently pretty up in the air, but I at least have a rough idea of what my schedule looks like over the next couple months:

Now - 8/21: Goofing off, studying, writing the next comic

8/22 - 8/29: Taking a road trip down the PCH with my darling dog (taking suggestions for roadside attractions!)

8/30 - 9/9: More writing, preliminary comics work, ref sheets for comic characters

9/10 - 9/14: Dealing at Furry Migration in Minneapolis!

9/15 Onward: Starting the new comic, Stretch & Sniff (A shorter romp starring Constance a'la Regular Orders)

With all that being said, August will be slow. I say this now in case anyone would like to suspend their patronage for the month, but I'm keeping the Patreon active since I don't honestly know where the little fickle winds of art might take me. If you'd like to just keep your membership active, I'll just consider it some much-needed PTO. :^)

But that's all from me for now! Once again, huge thanks for helping make the book launch a big success, and I hope to have it back in stock as soon as I can! x)

♥Glo!