June's calendar piece: Fun in the sun~ (Patreon)

Welcome back to my Patreon! Today I have another calendar piece to share with you because guess what? We made it to another month. Yep, that's right, May's over and June is in session. Where did the time go? I don't know, I just work here. 

Anywho! For June I wanted to capture one of the epitomes of summer imagery: going to the beach. I also tried out something new with this piece and drew multiple characters. Yeah? What do you think? :D To bring new patrons up to speed, I'm working on a calendar for 2018 and this is the piece that I've made for June! To see pieces from previous months check them out here: January , February , March , April , May . 

I always look forward to creating these pieces because they really push me to try new things and practice environments, a department in which I still have a lot to learn. I think it also speaks to change because when I had drafted these pieces at the beginning of the year, all of them included a single character and a relatively simple background. But I've found that these drawings have changed over time and in the moment as I'm working on them to fit my taste and interests. It's really cool to see how in just 5 months my vision has changed so greatly and that makes me excited to keep going forward and experiencing continued evolution in my work. 

I've learned that when it comes to trying out new techniques, it's always best to focus on one or a couple at a time. For instance, in this piece I really pushed myself to focus on background and lighting. I was tempted to do something new with the perspective, but I know if I try to do too much at once it's easy to become discouraged when it doesn't turn out quite the way I wanted it to. If you've wanted to try new things with your work, but feel overwhelmed by ALL the things that you could POSSIBLE change, try sticking with one or two new techniques and go from there! It's a lot less intimidating that way. ^^<3

I really enjoyed working on this piece. I think out of all the calendar pieces I've completed thus far, this one was my favorite to produce. I know I've talked about this before, but recently I've had a lot of trouble with making art that I want to make. Sounds silly, I know, but I think ever since freelance art became my full time job I felt this pressure to make art that to a certain degree reflects what I think other people want to see. It hasn't been particularly beneficial to me, in fact its been limiting the things I create and leaving me frustrated with the work I do make. But I feel like in the past month or so and with this piece I've been making a conscious effort to draw the things I want and to make the things I want to make. It feels oddly liberating and it goes both ways! I feel better about it and all of you get to see better work that more clearly reflects my passion! ^^

I hope you all like this piece and enjoy your summer! Here's to a season filled with wonderful experiences and lots of love! Thank you all so much for your support, I am endlessly grateful for this opportunity to share my work with you. 

Also, I want to make this clear, if you pledge to a certain tier you can see ALL of the posts I've made in that tier. For example, all you $5 patrons? You don't only get access to my new posts, you get access to ALL the $5 and $1 posts I've made up until this point. If you're interested, I have a ton of sketchbook drawings, wallpapers, and process photos from the past available for you to enjoy! Just scroll through the feed and you'll see them. I feel like Patreon doesn't make this clear, so the more you know! <3 

I'll see you in a couple days with more art and musings about life. Have a great week! 

Love,

Vicki