West! or The Dream List

So, THIS Freaking Place

Hello, humans!

As seems to be the pattern, it's been a while since my last post- but I am back once again!
And most recently, I am back from San Francisco. A city which, due to the hype that has been laid down by many of my west coasty friends, I was totally prepared to be disappointed in.
Well. I wasn't. It was magical. It was won me over for California- though I am no fan of the palm-tree-ey bits that look like saved by the bell and trapper keepers- the northy bit is neat!
I also happened to be in town on the exact evening that a Beauty and the Beast singalong was underway (after which I proceeded to get lost in the Tenderloin with no money and no ID at midnight, but that is a much longer story for another time). And my very wonderful best brony Liz Mooney's family whisked me away into the hills of Petaluma to smell all the flowers (they do actually have flowers there! LIVING PLANTS, NEW ENGLAND!) and basically drive windingly through a giant Eyvind Earle painting.

But that was not why I was there! No no no, dear reader- I was there on business!

Business indeed- because (and it only just occurred to me that most people don't have a clue this is the case) I am now an employee of EA Games!

Fancy!

I am a character concept artist working a remote contract from my home base in MA. And I got to fly out to the left side of the country to meet my colleagues and see the project first hand. It is a great gig, a fun project, and a team full of excellent folk!
I can't tell you anything about it (and sadly it will mark a return to the making-almost-entirely-secret-work lifestyle of those employed in pretty much any creative industry) but I can at least show you the art test I did that got me the gig- 

Fun!

It is a timely gig, and one I don't have to relocate permanently for, which is a blessing I cannot do justice in words. God is good, and merciful. 

Regrettably, this comes on the heels of the first round of Jellybots graphic novel pitch not-quite-working-out with publishers. Which was, frankly, kind of heartbreaking- I really really want to  make this book happen. I'll be looking into what to do with that whole thing, and in the meantime I'll at least be able to feed myself and maybe take a nip out of the crushing college debt that prevents me from taking bigger risks.

Still, all this got me thinking about art and life and God and hopes and dreams and what is it that I actually wanted to do with my life, again? 

So I made a list. 

And I'm going to publish it here in the hope that somehow the internet will hold me accountable to having some dreams and hopes and maybe even one day achieving them. SO, help me not give up, internet! And if you happen to be one of the people who could actually help me do one of these things, then fiiind me!

Without further ado (and in no particular order):

The List Of Things I Want To Do (Mostly Art Related, But Not Exclusively) Before I Die:

Write and create my own graphic novels

Work for Disney on an animated feature

Work for Dreamworks as a character artist

Do color-design for a movie

Work with That Game Company

Do any kind of story for First Second Publishing

Travel to warm places, far away
Work on something unabashedly adorable

Work for Laika

Teach Art

Make watercolors of things and be paid for it

Design Pokemon for Gamefreak
Design absolutely anything for Skies of Arcadia 2
Ditto for Jet Set Radio
Oh, and anything Myst related

Be paid for actual voice acting

Be involved in story meetings on an animated feature

Work on Avatar/Korra

Be involved in adapting Redwall for...anything

Harry Potter graphic novel

Spider-man

Work in any capacity on an animated musical (please please please)

Develop dream projects and contribute to the vision of a small company at its outset

Work on something for actual kids. Not grown-ups who have the minds of kids.

Work on Tinkerbell (yes.)
Work on anything remotely as rad as Gravity Falls

Be surprised by something not on this list

Do something non-art related in a beautiful place

Give professional hugs

aaaand eat all the cheese.

So that's all I got right now!
It's really cathartic to get that out there- It's not a comprehensive list, and what's neat about dreams is that they change and grow and die and return. But sometimes it's hard to remember what it is you're even shooting for, and then it's easy to get stagnant and stop trying. SO LET'S NOT DO THAT!

I'm curious, wonderful and patient readers- what are your hopes and art-dreams?

I hope you are better than me today. I came home from travel with the 24 hour death-flu. I will be ok soon. Or I will be dead.
Either way, have some Pokemon!

Much love!

-n

Voices

I'm just gonna...leave this here...

https://soundcloud.com/nicholaskole/nicholas-kole-vo-demo-2013

>.<

lol

-n

Permission

Hi all!

I am coming to the end of a lull in work. Things have quieted down, and that affords me an opportunity to blog before it gets all crazy again.

I'm going to attempt to keep it brief this time (HA!).
But if you'll indulge me, I need to process something I've been grappling with: Art-fear.

I feel like I've been going through (a second) art-puberty for the last several months. I've been experimenting with style and trying to find ways to get excited about making pictures again. I've been doing the same thing for a while now, and in order to get away from it all I started taking long bike rides and watercoloring- which I found was just about the only thing I've wanted to do.

It's therapeutic. I do a lot of art for other people- to see their reaction, to get a paycheck, to feed my insatiable approval-hunger. But watercolor I generally do for me.

The thing about watercolor is: It doesn't do what you want it to.

Watercolor does what it wants. It arrives when it arrives and it's more or less up to you to get on board. The less control you exert, the better it will be. It's permanent, unforgiving, and you have to take a leap of faith with your precious drawing.
If you let it surprise you, it will give you better gifts than if you assert your control.
It requires trust.

Photoshop, on the other hand, is all about control- what color would you like? Have you adjusted the contrast lately?  Are you sure about that pixel, sir? UNDO UNDO!

So I started to play. And I did a sketch (up top) that I really liked. The thing was- between pen and watercolor, there's no way to erase, precious little control, and no time for second thoughts.
I didn't know who that kid was going to be when I started- he just happened. Does he have anatomy? pffff. Is he a "Great Design"? naw. Will people be impressed? probably not.
But something surprising occurred and I was holding the brush when it happened and I liked it. So naturally I wanted to do it again.
Womp Womp.
Man plans. God laughs. Watercolor does what it wants.

The blank page can be totally paralyzing when you bring expectations to it.
"I don't know what I'm going to draw, but it's got to be amazing!" is a pretty sure guarantee you're going to make stiff, awkward, insincere garbage. Fear makes me a terrible artist.

So I sat down and I froze up and awkwardly tried to put pen to paper and wound up with this mess:

NOPE.

Maybe you like it fine. Maybe the shirt turned out alright and the watercolor was gracious with me, but that face is a turd (at least it wasn't what I was hoping for/what I felt I was capable of) I was afraid, and by the end of sketching I was SO FRUSTRATED.

I left the coffee shop I was sitting in and went to see a friend in a cloud of art-angst.
During our conversation we got to talking about fear and expectations, and I vented about my unsuccessful sketch. And he reminded me of something I've told people, students, myself...time and time again...

"You have to give yourself permission to suck."

To make god-awful, un-viewable hot-garbage. You have to go there. You have to make your worst art. TRY to make bad sketches. Stop being afraid of it- leap into the blank page and make a mess. Break the seal. Look that giant boss-monster straight in its terrifying red eye and then throw your sword away, put on your most ridiculous hat and do your most alarming dance. You might not kill the monster, but you might make it so uncomfortable that it just leaves. It doesn't want to eat your kind of crazy.

I forgot that. And fear makes me seize up and I make no art at all.
If I want to improve I have to remember- bad art is better than no art. Always.
At least you're moving.
In high-school theatre the director could shape the performance of that one girl with the loud voice who would sing anything at the top of her lungs, out of key. You could work with that.
But good freaking luck pulling anything out of the wallflower who's too shy to make a peep. It's like pulling teeth.
God can help direct you once you start moving.

So I sat down and I made some hot garbage.

Hot Garbage. 

Maybe you like it, maybe you don't. That is a terrible cup. And what even is that underneath it?
I can promise you all of these looked heinous before watercolor. But I would submit to you that each sketch here is better than the stiff, awkward attempt at a mustachioed fellow above. They all turned out better, stranger, more alive.
I did this so fast and so frantically. And once the dust cleared, I didn't feel paralyzed anymore.

Nobody yelled at me. Nobody was "disappointed, son". The world didn't fall apart, and now I have two pages full of raw material. New experiments!
So if you're afraid, I prescribe making a mess. Go a little crazy. Draw only what you want, as fast as you can, let it be awful...like, really awful and unrecognizable. And let Control-Z take a flying leap.

It's weird, and I hope you'll allow me to wax poetical- but I feel like watercolor is teaching me things about God, about love, about decisions and life. "Let go- trust. Move. Make work, don't fear." God is (once again) speaking "art" to me because he knows I'll hear it when he does.

Praise the Lord for grace like that.

Breathe.

As the experiment continues, I've been trying to find ways to combine my love of watercolor with the colors I get digitally. I may even break out more colors than Prussian Blue eventually! Who knows? Baby steps.

I defy you, perspective.

To keep moving, practicing and experimenting I started painting Pokemon (because that's kind of all I want to draw these days) and then decided to join the Pokemonathon! I'm gonna draw em all! :)
You can follow my progress at pkmnathon.tumblr.com and nicholaskole.tumblr.com!

But since you're all so lovely and have listened so far, here's a look at the set so far (with a few I haven't posted on tumblr yet):

That's it for now.
I wish you the very best and God's blessings in chilly, icky winter!
Much love,

-n

Goodbye, 2012.

"I have no Plan B" has been a phrase that's been doing laps around my head recently.
But writing it down I realize I'm not even sure if I've got a plan A.

As a friend recently phrased it: "You know how I was seeing the new year as this big...cliff? Where I didn't know what was past it? Well. I'm here!"

I feel the need to eulogize 2012. If only to put it behind me.

Many years come and go and sort of blend into eachother as they pass, but 2012 was a year that I think I will always remember.
My little life was turned quite upside down. At the start of 2012 I was in love, employed, and living in Providence. We had just had a beautiful Christmas, and the upcoming weeks of winter meant there was more time during the week and on the weekends to sneak away and have adventures. Work was wearing on me, and I was dreaming about what I'd do after the game wrapped up and launched. Within the company the tension and anticipation was growing: we were entering what we thought would be a long crunch-time before the game's (seemingly) inevitable release.
But my heart wasn't in crunch- I was feeling reluctant and contented. No adventures, thank you. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things- make you late for dinner.
Change was not the plan- I had a good thing going.

But getting your dreams- it's strange but it seems a little, well...complicated.

There's a kind of a sort of...cost.

There's a couple of things get...lost.

There are bridges you cross you didn't know you'd crossed until you've crossed. 

-Thank Goodness from Wicked. 

This part always wrecks me. Getting what you think you want can suck. 

Over the course of 2012 a lot changed- in rather spectacular fashion. Fireworks, Gandalf.
In the course of a few months right in the middle of it, I broke up with my girlfriend, lost my job (along with 300 coworkers as the company hit an iceberg and sank slowly under the fiscal sea. "Too-big-to-fail" took on a new and sinister meaning), I moved out of the city and home to my folks, and both my dog and my grandfather passed away. The silence that followed it all was deafening.
I wasn't enjoying this adventure anymore.

"O!" said Bilbo, and just at that moment he felt more tired than he ever remembered feeling before. He was thinking once again of his comfortable chair before the fire in his favorite sitting-room in his hobbit-hole, and of the kettle singing. Not for the last time."

And in the middle of all that, a dear friend's sister was in a car accident. The crash paralyzed her from the waist down and limited the use of her hands. If I've ever needed a slap in the face to stop feeling sorry for myself, it was then- and there it was. I will try not to over-romanticize it, but the bare facts are these- I don't know what all her plans were, but they all certainly changed.
And somehow, through it all, with the church rallying around her and her family drawing in near-  it would never be the same, but somehow it was going to be...good. Because there was love. you could see it: God was there.
It was tragic, but it was also one of the most hopeful things I've ever seen.

Her story is bigger than this, but it got me thinking.
There was a moment, driving down the highway and into Providence, when I realized anything -anything- could be taken from me. At any time.
My plans had been shipwrecked, but not as much as they could have been. And even if they were- God is still good. There is love in the world. A story is being told and it's NOT ALL ABOUT ME GETTING WHAT I WANT.
And my plans? They were never much good to begin with.
All my dreams I had built on my own ambitions- on my artistic skill, assuming it would always be there.
I could lose my ability to draw in a split second!
And in light of all that had happened I suddenly, strangely felt like that was ok. There was peace there.
I would be ok. God is still good.

In 2012 my sister was married by the sea. And the gathering of friends and family, there to celebrate her and her husband and praise God with us all was one of the most joyous I can ever remember. It was perfect.

In 2012 I went to North Carolina and I saw my best friend in the world, John Epling, just before he left for Afghanistan. I met Susanna, his then-fiance (now Mrs. Epling) for the first time. We went to an aquarium, and I sat under the glass wall of an incredible tank of shifting, silver fish with my watercolors and I knew that God loved me, and that is was going to be alright.
In 2012 he returned safely home.
Last weekend he was married and I passed him the rings.

In 2012 I saw two of my favorite people, Alex and Peggy, who I had the joy of introducing to eachother (one from Austria, one from RISD) get married in Canada. We shared a gorgeous weekend together that mixed all the sweetness and sadness of the year together as we caught up again.

Then I flew to Seattle to see another one of my best friends (and Jellybots collaborator) Peter Lefferts marry his sweetheart Esther in a sunlit park.

I found new friends in 2012, and felt more held and more part of a family in my church community than I ever had before. When I was most up against the ropes financially and emotionally- there they were.
I will not easily forget a morning when I didn't want to wake up, and Steve Caroll called to walk me through brushing my teeth.

I spent the summer on my bicycle, rediscovering the world outside and the simple joy I have in a little watercolor.

In 2012 I grew a moustache.

Everything is not magically better. I will not whitewash over the whole thing-

I've been trying to pitch Jellybots for so long I can barely remember why I was trying to do it in the first place. It feels like I no longer recall the taste of strawberries.
The plan was not to sit in silence for several months, second-guessing myself, but here I am.

I am looking ahead at 2013, and I realize more than any time before in my life- I have no idea what I'm going to do.

Meditating on this past year, the words of John the Baptist in Matthew ch. 3 stuck me hard-

"The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire" 

I'm a melodramatic soul, I'll admit. But that's how it has felt...like my tree is being chopped down. I know that's bleak, but this advent season another scripture struck me even harder. In Isaiah ch. 11 he predicts the coming of Jesus:

 "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit."

What struck me particularly hard was that, without having read this scripture, I doodled this about a year ago:

I am sure there will be more trial, more pain, and more struggle. 2012 has certainly held its share. Maybe the chopping isn't done, but when I consider Jesus and that image of a shoot coming up out of a stump...it doesn't matter how long or what is lost along the way. "whatever was to my profit I now consider loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ". (Philippians 3)
There is hope out of the darkest winter and this past Christmas reminds me that hope does not come from the fruition of my plans and ambitions- God has something better in mind. The world hoped for a savior and got a baby. Weak and small and unexpected, but everything they needed and more.
There is hope and it is Christ.

I have no idea where 2013 is going- but I'd rather have God's surprises than my plans, anyway.

-n

Robots and Cottages

Robots and lady-dudes! He must be watching anime!

Hi All!

I've been spending the last few weeks in the waiting room. It feels like everything is about to happen, for good or ill, but nothing is actually happening. I've started to step my work back up while I wait- taking on some new freelance and trying to keep myself sketching. 

I don't have much to report or say, but I thought I should show you all what I've been working on for the last few weeks/months...at least a peak at some of it. Above is some watercolor work I've done recently- I just finished rewatching the whole series of Escaflowne...which I remembered vaguely from my childhood- I had caught several episodes, but never got to see the story play out. It made a really big visual impression on me at the time. 

Watching it again was a real trip- I had forgotten how important giant robots were to me as a kid. Between that and Gundam Wing (and then every other Gundam anything I could get my hands on) I was a pretty big mecha fan. 

So suddenly I was seized by the strong desire to draw one (which is MEGA rare for me) and what watercolor does really well is force you to care less about the specifics...drawing something like that more gesturally was really freeing, and it made me think that some day, before I shuffle off these mortal coils, I'm going to have to write something for myself to draw with mecha in it :) For my 15 year old self.

Otherwise I've just been doing a commission here, an art-test there and trying to find work and keep floating while I wait to hear back. God is using this time to teach me patience and reliance on him...which I am learning...reluctantly. It is good to have friends- whether near or far- to encourage and challenge you. I've been reminded in this season of waiting and anticipation of how many blessings I already have to be thankful for.
If you're reading this, then you count as one of them :)

Anyways- below is a quick art test I recently threw together to prove to myself and others that I can, in fact, do what the kids are calling 'environments'. :p

It was a really fun exercise in technique (though the subject matter pretty generic...which is my fault for not thinking very hard). But I'm pleased with how it came out and I wanted to share it (and some stills of my process) with you guys so you can see how something like this happens. 

I still mean to upload a process video of some sort- but in the meantime, I hope this is of interest: 

This is the palette that happens every time I don't know what I'm doing :P

Not much more to report! When there is I will certainly let you know. I'll leave you with this dump of some highlights from my watercoloring over the last 2 months or so! 

Much love and may God bless you guys!

-n

Nickelberry CreamsiKole!

Portrait of the artist dressed as his blog.

So, here's the deal - I loved Wreck-It Ralph. 

And I especially loved that we got to spend as much time as we did in Sugar Rush because I loved that world with every candy-coated, girly-pop-listening, my-little-pony-watching bone in my beardy, beardy body.

So I saw some of my best art friends were all getting on this fun bandwagon and Sugar Rushing themselves...so I thought I'd join in! Especially because this is pretty much the first 'thing' I've done in a week. 

So I present you with the result of whole minutes of thinking about candy-puns, and a few hours of my Wednesday evening: Nickelberry CreamsiKole!!

I listened to that new Carly Rae Jepsen album so much while I drew that...I think I might throw up. :p

In other news, I am still in a major waiting room regarding...well...everything else in my life. But God has been merciful in dealing with me, my impatience, my lack of faith, and desire to know exactly where everything is going. I don't. And that's awesome, because adventures are awesome. Even for reluctant Hobbits.

In the meantime, I have discovered a few things worth sharing! 

An incredible article, assessing the broken priorities we have as artists in the creative professions:

A Short Lesson In Perspective - by Linds Redding

All that picture needs is a little more Jesus. But it outlines the problems gorgeously.
It really spoke to me as an artist coming out of a 3 year stint in the games industry. I've been really forced to take a hard look at what I've believed about art and success- and I've realized that not everything we were taught at art-school was good or healthy. 

I particularly loved this quote of his: "It is a universal truth that all artists think they are frauds and charlatans, and live in constant fear of being exposed"

Which is never truer than of waiting to hear back on a pitch- it's a rollercoaster (like so much of this vocation) of "this doesn't suck- it might even be good!" into "THEY'RE GOING TO FIND OUT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING" 

(and to that I say EAT PHILIPPIANS 4, INSECURITIES!)

Speaking of feeling out-of-control...yesterday I discovered Ze Frank for the first time, because of this video about Crushing Words. And it's beautiful and true and sad and hopeful all at the same time. Which is where I like to live- so it was like finding a new friend :)

And for something that's NOT a downer! Maybe have a video of one of my favorite acapella performances of all time? The Dartmouth Aires' Queen Medley!

Or perhaps you're just here for the art and you want to see bunches more? Then head over to my Deviantart sub-gallery where I've been posting a bunch of the work I had been keeping secret for 3 years on Project Copernicus!

(or, y'know, just check out my tumblr if you're one of those people)

Oh yeah, and Happy Thanksgiving!

How are your days, bloggerfolk?

Much love!

-n

"But Not This Time..."

Hi guys!

I can hardly believe how long it's been since I last posted. 2, going on 3 months!
And I thought I had a pretty good rhythm going here :p

As usual, I'm not dead! In fact, so far I've kept up a pretty good not-being-dead track record.

The fact is, I haven't posted much because I haven't had much to post.
I've done some artwork, granted- but nothing that I'm allowed to show-

2 months, kids...there's a lot to tell...

I picked up a month-long gig at a local animation studio called CloudKid, where I worked on a project I can't tell you about :p (But it's you'll have to trust me that it's going to be kind of amazing, and I'll blab about it bigtime as soon as it launches!)
Picked up a little work for Hasbro I absolutely can't show :p
Took a 1-day deadline gig doing illustration for...a basketball team I can't talk about
Worked on storyboards for Puma (yes, the shoe company)
Played chauffeur to and Indian woman and her daughter for two days- taking them from college interview to college interview across New England
The police confiscated my car because the registration had lapsed (and I had foolishly parked in someone's driveway)
I sprained my ankle on the last beautiful bike day in the dumbest of circumstances when I fell of my bike
I also got in my first ever car accident! (everyone's fine...and even the damage to my car is smallish. Still. ugh)
I dressed as Porco Rosso on a night when I went to three consecutive halloween parties!
I gave a digital painting presentation to a full house of local artists and interested friends!
I went Apple picking for the first time ever!
On a whim I drove to see Beluga whales again! (They are just as amazing as ever)
I watched Wreck-It Ralph! (eeeee!)
I discovered Gravity Falls! (EEEEEEEE!)

Ahhh, the life of a freelance cowboy :p

And, in the meantime, I was just impatient to be working on Jellybots!

Today is the first day I've really allowed myself to sit long enough to blog.
Generally, in the spare time I have taken in the last few months, I've felt the pressing need to be working on Jbots in some capacity. The killer thing about writing and sketching is that you can do it anywhere at any time...which means it's really hard to make excuses or tune it out.


The last two months have been kind of rough- only in the way that the best parts of the creative process are always a bit of a rollercoaster ride up to the peaks of pride and inspiration and down into the valleys of your worst fears and insecurities. SO THAT'S BEEN FUN :)

Most mornings I wake up thinking like "If I rearranged the sequence of events on page 3...I'd...wait...no...I'd screw everything up!" And often come to conclusions like "What am I doing? I don't know how to write a book-length comic...this is ridiculous. Who am I kidding?"

But every now and then you catch a ride on something...some wind of inspiration, and the same work that seemed miserable and hackneyed is suddenly exciting and full of potential. That's what keeps me going- the hope that maybe somebody out there might get to see it and they might not hate it as much as you sometimes do :p That maybe the moments when you see your work with different, less critical eyes are the truer moments.

It's been more clear to me than ever that we believe the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves.
And that I mostly believe the worst stories.
From the same set of facts we derive totally different narratives-
I could tell you the story of my last 2 months and focus on all the negative aspects, or I can tell you the story of my last two months and focus entirely on the positives. But the fact is, both were present (and showed up in force).

For me, the most important thing is coming back to the question: "what story is God telling through my life?"
Because; guaranteed  it's going to be the best one- the truest. I've been really struggling through the idea of 'identity in Christ' these last few months...what does that even mean? And what does it mean for my work?

SO much comes down to what we believe about ourselves- if we believe we are worthwhile, then we will act as if we were. And if we believe we are worthless, we also act accordingly. If you believe the worst about yourself, or your work, you will look for every single confirmation that you suck and hold onto it. That's what I do.
It doesn't matter how many compliments I receive- they pass pleasantly like the sound of little bells and I am left staring the one negative remark right in the face- solid and unmoving. Because that's what I believe is true. And that sucks.

But God tells me I am his beloved son. A friend, a lover, justified, redeemed and loved unconditionally.
Unconditionally loved means, for a perfectionist and an artist, loved no matter what you accomplish. Whether it's any good or not. If you're doing what you're doing trying to earn love or give yourself a sense of worth, then you're moving in the wrong direction. It's here, back where you started, held out unconditionally.

The work from here is learning to believe that-  to chase out the lies about how crappy and worthless and unlovable you are. I should say I am, because I can really only speak for my own experience. It's hard, and I forget often and start to believe the worst about myself.
I hope that hearing that is hopeful for someone out there- because I'm finding we all struggle through these things, in one form or another. And it sucks to struggle alone.
The creative process can be a lonely and painful place to be. But I think there is SUCH hope, if God is allowed into it, when we stop trying to go-it alone.


To that end, I have to recommend (at least the first parts of) Anne Lammott's Bird by Bird! A fellow artist and Christian loaned it to me and I'm currently reading through- so far it's a really insightful and honest look into the process of writing that has a lot to say about art-making in general. You can even read a big chunk of it right on Amazon! (the link above).












I mentioned an digital art demonstration earlier! It was a really great time- I gave a demonstration of my techniques at the Plymouth Center for The Arts a few weeks ago. Some of my old friends and coworkers showed up, and one buddy of mine- Adam Hunter Peck- even made his own poster to advertise the event. I was so tickled (especially by the prominent moustache iconography) that I wanted to post it here :p I meant to advertise this earlier so that if anyone was nearby they could actually go...but...whoops...

So, then...the big news: last night I finally finished my pitch package for Jellybots as a graphic novel. O_O I can't say much more than that...but it's exciting, and now it's sent off to the interested parties. So it's a waiting game- wish me luck/keep me in your prayers? 

My soundtrack to feeling good about getting that done has been...predictably...a mixture of dancey electronica :p Have some Owl City! :p

For the time being- I'm looking forward to taking the weekend a little easier. I want to get my watercolors back out...it's been too long.

I hope this post finds you well- if you'd like to see a little more artwork, I've been slowly releasing some of the back-catalogue of my 38 Studios work over on my deviantart page, here!

Thanks so much for reading- I really appreciate your constant support!
OH- SPEAKING OF WHICH- We just exceeded 600 followers here! I cannot believe that 600 people actually maybe want to read what I write and see what I draw. You are all the best :D

Be loved,

-n