Today is the day Reader!

Finally, after month of work, we reached the biggest milestone for the book yet 😊 I'm super excited for this week issue, so let's dive in without keeping the suspense!

All the illustrations are finished ✨

But before, I’ll do a quick recap on what this project is about, since you might have joined us recently :)

(I’m working on an archive to give you access to the previous issues!)

To catch you up to speed: since October, I’ve been working on my first ever illustrated book!
It’s called “Susie & The Blue Roof Witch” and the story follows a little girl who, while trying to complete a school survey about people’s professions, encounters a mysterious woman with a quite unusual job title…

I’m working on it for fun, and to finally tell a complete story instead of the standalone illustrations I usually do.

Now that we are all on the same page, let’s go over this week of work!

First off, I started the weekend quite panicked: I didn’t have the time to do any progress during the work week.

I started the weekend with basically no progress :(

I work full time so I'm often busy, but it’s rare that I really don’t do anything before the weekend arrives.

But thankfully, with a bit of focus and the drive to finally reach the finish line I managed to blast through the last illustration I was still missing. Hurray!

On this illustration above, I realized too late that I completely forgot the witch's bracelet!

It’s not the first time I forget about these kinds of accessories, which helps me think about what I would improve next time:

• First, make a proper character sheet. That would be super helpful for referencing details, but also colors. I wish I had taken the time beforehand!
• And second, I’ll also focus on simplifying my designs and focusing on the memorable; if it’s so hard to remember drawing a specific detail, maybe it wasn’t that important after all.

On that very last illustration (the one below), my laptop was struggling so much to handle the total of 255 layers, plus the recording, that I sometimes had to wait 5 seconds to see my paint strokes appear on the screen 💀

That was a very tedious finish line I can tell you that. But I pushed through!

Both as a programmer (my day job) and as an artist this laptop is getting a bit tiresome, but I’m not making any changes until this book is fully finished! It’s my top priority at the moment.

But speaking of priority, what is coming up now that the inside of the book is done? Well, I’m glad you asked, because now I’m happy to show you…

Next step: Let's vote for the cover!

Not only did I finished those 6 illustrations this weekend, but I also found the time to sketch a few ideas for the book cover!

This is something I have never done before, and I have to admit it was a bit intimidating. Looking at references on digital store shelves (where hopefully my book will end up) didn't really help, as there is such a big variety of style, subject and composition that I couldn't find clear guidance on how to do it.

But in the end and after selecting the best ideas, I now need your help!

As promised last week, I want to ask for your input before moving forward :)

I selected 4 variations amongst my sketches, and I'm very interested not only on which one you prefer, but why! I have a small google form setup, where you can leave your thought freely; anonymously or not.

​https://forms.gle/4AZKjei1ZwE22YhJ7​

I'm excited to hear what you have to say! This would help me tremendously make a decision.

And that's it for this week! Thanks again for following this journey with me, some of you since the very beginning :)

I'll see you again next week with more art and a release just right around the corner! But in the meantime,

Take care,
- Nighten

PS: This was supposed to be sent this morning, but it somehow got stuck in the draft 😔 Mea culpa!