Hello friends,

Writing this newsletter is one of two important things on my to-do list today. The other is creating a Bumble BFF profile in the hope of finding friends who also make art.

I’m a digital product designer by trade, but somehow I’ve never really surrounded myself with other designers. Maybe I’ve always wanted to keep work and friendship separate. Maybe I just didn’t want to talk shop in my free time. Who knows.

Art feels different, though. The deeper I get into making it, the more I want to know other people who are doing the same. People to draw with, learn from, exchange ideas with, and generally become more creatively entangled with.

It feels like following that impulse could lead to a more interesting, engaging, and fulfilling social life.

I’ll let you know how it goes. But first: this week’s comics!

Monday

It’s not always easy to focus only on your own progress, especially when suddenly everyone around you seems to be running a 10K at a 5:00 pace.

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I like this painting, even though it’s simple: just two people sitting at a table. I think I managed to add enough visual interest and dynamism to keep it from feeling boring. I also remember wondering whether it was okay not to tell the literal truth and to paint the scene as something that didn’t actually happen this way. In the end, I decided that this is art, and shaping it into something that’s roughly true but a bit more entertaining than real life could be a good idea.

Tuesday

One of the first things I printed was this picture of Millimeter's paws. Immediately worth it.

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I like this drawing too. It’s a classic four-panel comic with a bit of storytelling. What happened that day was simple: I clicked “Buy” on Amazon. But this diary comic isn’t about that moment itself, it’s about the story surrounding the decision. I think want to make more comics like this.

Wednesday

Speaking of slightly exaggerating moments: Millimeter did not, in fact, react this way. She could not have cared less about my shoes.

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Drawing those shoes—and shoes in general—took me forever. At some point, I really need to focus on learning how to draw them properly. It always feels like a complete guessing game, and for this comic, I had to redraw them about a dozen times. I still don’t like the result.

Thursday

It happened. I started to repeat myself. I’m apparently officially out of ideas now. Tough. That being said, this drawing is far better than the one from 11 weeks ago, at least everything except the facial expression. (Speaking of shoes: These ones look alright.)

Friday

I'm currently reading We Need Your Art: Stop F*cking Around and Make Something by Amie Mcnee and this paragraph stood out to me:

A study by Girija Kaimal from Drexel University found that people who created for as little as forty-five minutes reduced their levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Most importantly, the skill of these artists didn’t matter. It was the process of creation, not the product or the outcome itself, that lowered their cortisol. Similarly, a 2020 study by Senhu Wang, Hei Wan Mak and Daisy Fancourt found that people who participated in the arts more than once a week or who attended cultural events at least once a year had significantly higher life satisfaction. This study was conducted with tens of thousands of people, allowing for variants in lifestyle, economics and geography.

This explains why Mareen, Nils and I felt so good after our drawing sessions in the park. I hope we'll repeat "Paint and Yap" soon.

Saturday

Selling my digital piano made space for a dedicated art desk. One of the best additions to my flat since I built a shelf for my art supplies. Not having to clear off the dining room table all the time is such a delight.

Anna finished the book that The Sheep Detective movie is based on about an hour before we had to leave for the cinema. By the way, I just noticed: the original title is Three Bags Full. In German, it’s called Glennkill, and in English, the movie is called The Sheep Detectives. Confusing.

Sunday

I mentioned last week that posting that comic made me practise not caring about winning arguments with people. This is the comic I drew about that day. I’m a bit more nonchalant here than I was in real life. Anna had to sit through some of the dumbest arguments before I decided I didn’t actually care.

That's it for this week! Thanks for reading!

If you’re expecting my usual spiel about how free subscribers are leaving here while paid subscribers get to read on, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise! I’m trying something new: the subscriber-only section will now be its own newsletter. It’ll be out on Sunday! We’ll figure out together whether this is a brilliant innovation or a step in the wrong direction.

I'm off writing a Bumble BFF bio for myself.

xoxo,
Marcel

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