Illustrator
I have three cousins in Georgia and they all have children, so I started drawing their kids this month. It’s a work in progress, so when I’m done, there will be 9 all together. There are 8 girls and 1 boy. It’s been a really fun project, and it’s always good to study kiddos for picture book making.
See you next month!
Another month has passed! Ack! It goes by so fast!
Since my last post, I decided to officially take a month off from work and just be outside as much as possible. I had a long list of things to accomplish in the yard and work just made me frustrated and unhappy lately. A break was needed. I really enjoyed digging in the dirt….
Pulling out weeds…
And relaxing on the rocks under the tree by the flower beds, drinking loads of water.
Until a wasp got into my shirt and stung me MANY TIMES. Luckily I had a steroid ointment for stings and some Benadryl. I had to go to Urgent Care to get checked out the next day, and was given an anti-nausea medicine because I WAS SO SICK. Bugs. I tell ya.
Not long after I got stung, I finished my to-do list of outdoor chores. I felt really good after that. I felt stronger, I lost some weight, and I was happier. It was a much-needed break. And I found myself drawing again, wanting to draw again, and really looking forward to some new storylines. And the biggest lesson I learned in the garden? It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be done.
Hi!! I’m sorry I missed an update in April, but I hope everyone is staying healthy and finding some inner peace these days! I have been busy in the garden cleaning up the flowerbeds, planting grass and lavender and in general relaxing in the sunshine with all those tasks.
I’ve also been learning which birds are causing a racket around the house at 5am every morning. There is a chipping sparrow, black-capped chickadees, carolina wrens, cardinals, robins, red-bellied woodpeckers, blue jays, crows, and turkey vultures and a lot more! There’s a chipping sparrow that lives in a tree above the mailbox and he comes out on a branch and chips at us when we collect the mail. He is very tiny, but very loud.
You’re going to see a little more change in this website. I’m going to add a section for sketches, and update my portfolio more often.
But for now, I am going to sit on the porch and listen the birds holler. Have a great weekend!
Sometimes a project gets put on hold until I level up enough as an artist to take it back out and complete it. Usually this happens when I’m stuck in my head, and I start to draw the life out of everything.
And when it’s time to bring it out, I feel determined. I’m RESOLVED to draw the thing. But I’m also intimidated. I remember how frustrating it was, and I find myself stalling. “oh, I was going to work on that, but I decided to cook bacon! Uh.. I needed to fold towels! I have to run an errand! Oh does that need cleaning AGAIN? Just a few more chapters in this book, and I’ll get right to it.”
Procrastination is sneaky.
Before I know it, I’m completely stressed out because I’m not taking charge and I really WANT TO FINISH THIS, but now it’s a BILLION TIMES HARDER because it has grown teeth while I ignored it and keeps making threatening chomping noises.
Enter the drawing studies and the silly sketches. Above is a study of child. I’ve been leaning a lot towards drawing toddlers lately, and I wanted to get familiar again with bigger kids! Kids who run and play, hug their toys, get embarrassed, and grin when they figure out tying their shoes when 5 minutes ago IT WAS SO HARD AND THEY WERE NEVER GOING TO GET IT RIGHT.
*lightbulb flashes above my head*
Huh! I guess some things don’t change. Next time I want to shout “It’s TOO HARD I CAN’T DO IT! I’ll remember I learned to tie my shoes and just get to work instead of being a peeved pickle like below. 😀
I love grouchy characters.
Hi there! How was your week? Did you meet any interesting people? Did you try a new ice cream flavor? Was it delicious?
I was pretty busy this week working at the library, and I didn’t have an opportunity to finish any drawings beyond the rough sketch stage I’m pretty excited about what I’m working on because it’s very silly. I like silly.
Story Time is wonderful, and I’m starting to find my stride as a Youth Services Clerk. It really helps that the children and their grown-ups are so darn AMAZING. They make the job easy, and I’m really glad we have this time together.
Cheesy? Of course, it is, but still true.
This dragon came to visit me a while ago and wanted to say hello. Keep your distance though, unless you want to get a cold. But we both (dragon and I) would like to hear more about the ice cream you ate this week. We’re all ears!
Sometimes I feel sad, like there’s a hole that can’t be filled.
But then someone from my family and friends shows me kindness, love, and compassion and it’s like a light. And even though I still have a hole, I have my own light of compassion to share. And no matter how many times that compassion is shared, it doesn’t seem to diminish, but grow. So I did some sketches, and I wanted to share them with you. Have a nice weekend. 🙂
You don’t have to choose if you want to be a prince and princess or a superhero! You can be both and still enjoy a nice tea party.
Hi everyone! How are you doing today? I’ve been busy working on some projects for clients, but I missed you all so I thought I would take a break and share with you a personal project in progress.
Remember this bear from #inktober? Yup. My dad loves bears. He’s got a lot of bear qualities to him. So I drew this, thinking of him.
But then I thought “I really like this bear, and I would love to really give him a HOME, y’know? So one day, I just sat down and started drawing cave ideas for our bear friend. Being a grandpa bear, he would definitely have a picture of his kids and grandkids, and some bear prints of his grandchildren. Also, some honey cookies, and a Bass on the wall seemed like a good idea. I tried to utilize objects that would be found by a bear, but eventually just went with “Let’s have FUN and put some furniture in there.” 
Some of the dimensions felt weird to me, so I scanned the background sketch into Photoshop and just did some messy cut and pasting. The chair needed to be bigger, and bear needed to be in there to! I moved around some of the background pieces and you can see how messy it is right now! Isn’t this part fun? I also changed a little bit of Bear so he looks a little more expressive and has a good Bear Belly right now. Bear Bellies are happy bellies! 
I still have some client work to finish up, but I am enjoying the process of creating Bear’s Cave and after sharing this with you, I have some more ideas! I’ll try to remember to keep saving points in the progress so you can see how I get from here to the finished piece.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving to the US folks, and if you’re not from the U.S., have some pie on Thursday, anyway and give someone you love a bear hug. Have a wonderful week!
Bored cat is totally bored.
Something is afoot! (rabbit humor! I make no apologies!)
These goats. I relate to these goats.
I often post sketches like these on Instagram. Here’s a link to follow me!
Autumn Seybert 