#trying to organize myself so i can have time for art outside of comms

[echonidae]

aand the last piece of the september round, a lineart portrait of Sam for @onewhoturns!!

the pipes are probably-most-likely-definitely not up to code, but in any case, climb, sam! climb!!! \ ;0; /

but anyway xD thank you again for commissioning me!! :D

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Viridian Vanguard (Part 1)

Summary: It’s a brand new day in the Viridian Valley, and Weiss has got a packed year in front of her:

Alongside getting a handle on her recently empowered and even more out-of-control magic, she’s also got to venture outside the safety of the Bastion’s walls, try to hunt or tame animals more akin to the monsters from fantasy holos, and just learn how to live full-time in the Fae terriotires now that she’s one of Avalon’s Most Wanted, as far as the humans are concerned.

Luckily, she’s got her older sister Winter back, friends new and old, and a recently mended relationship with her girlfriend Ruby, all of whom are ready to support her however they can!

Meanwhile, ancient conspiracies are being exposed, human civilization is rapidly unraveling and devolving into anarchy and civil unrest as truth and lies spread like wildfire, and the rapidly expanding and strengthening Heralds of the New World Order are only too happy to pour gas on the ever growing inferno.

That’s not really Weiss’ concern, though.

Notes: Sequel to the Keeper of the Grove, part of the series of the same name.

Alternate Universe, set in the Avalon Universe.

Updates once a week.

“Hey Weiss!” Ruby said via comm-crystal. “Don’t freak out or anything, but I’m pretty sure your sister and my uncle are going to try and kill each other! Okay, going back to trying to stop them now, bye!”

Weiss blankly stared at the space where Ruby’s holo had just been.

“I’d go look into that as quickly as I could, if I were you,” Taiyang said, gently nudging Weiss towards the direction of the training grounds.

She bolted off, weaving around the freshly planted crops and saplings, vaulting right over the fence, and tearing up the well-worn path. She was sweating, panting, and red-faced by the time she came to the entrance, found Qrow and Winter warming up some distance away, and everyone else by the benches on the side.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!” Weiss screeched.

“Your sister and Qrow‘re going to fight.” Blake explained.

“To the death?!”

“If neither of them decide to yield before that point, yes.” Ren replied calmly.

Weiss struggled for words. “I—how—what happened...?!”

“I accidentally killed Jaune while I was sparring with him, and things just got worse from there...” Ruby replied, her ears drooping.

“You killed Jaune?!”

“Don’t worry—Penny brought him back!” Nora said, thumbing to the side.

Weiss looked, and noticed that Jaune was laid out flat on the ground, dangerously pale and dead to the world around him, Penny kneeling over him as she slowly ran her glowing hands up and down his body, Zwei watching over the both of them.

“His brain activity only ceased for a very brief moment, before any serious damage or organ failure could occur!” she chirped. “He’ll be perfectly fine, and the emergency menders are already on their way.”

Weiss turned back to the others. “Then why are they fighting if he’s alive again?”

“Yeah, that’s mostly Uncle Qrow’s fault,” Yang replied. “He made a crack about how humans can’t match up to the Fae, even a Queensguard like your sister. They argued for a while but didn’t really get anywhere, so now they’re finding out the definitive way!”

“And you’re all just going so sit here?! Why aren’t any of you stopping them?!”

“I’m really sorry, Weiss, we tried our best, but it seems neither of them will be moved...” Pyrrha replied.

“And before you ask about forcibly stopping them, the power level differences between all of us plus Winter’s magic would make that really messy.” Ren said. “I’m also rather sure they’ll just decide to have a duel anyway at a later date.”

Weiss scowled. “So what, you’re all just going to sit here and wait for them to finish going at each other’s throats?”

“Affirmative!” “Yep!” “Pre’ey much.” “It seems to be the only thing we really can do.” “Woof!”

“Try to look on the bright side, though, Weiss!” Yang said.

“What bright side?!” Weiss snapped, her voice now growing hoarse.

“Now you can watch and cheer on your sister in a fair fight with Uncle Qrow!” Yang said. “To be honest, it was really humiliating how easily she fell for that trap, especially with the suit.”

“And now we get to see an actual Queensguard in action, live and up close without the risk of getting killed by them!” Nora cried. “This is going to be awesome!” she cried, throwing her arms up in the air.

Nora started to bring them back down as freezing cold mist spilled out of Weiss’ mouth and nose, the surrounding temperature dropped dramatically, and the runes of her gauntlet started to hum and whine at an ominous frequency.

Everyone slowly began to take cover behind the solid wooden bench or Zwei, except for Ruby who stood up and calmly walked towards Weiss.

“Weiss…?” Ruby said as she carefully held her hand out.

The mist and the humming stopped, Weiss spun around. “I need to stop this...” she grumbled as she stormed off.

Ruby watched her go, hand still out, before she sighed, and sat back down on the bench. Yang got out of cover and sat beside her, putting her arm around her shoulders and pulling her in for a hug.

Weiss headed to Winter first, slowed down and came to a stop a good distance away from the dirt circle where she was warming up. She was mostly just practicing her acrobatics and footwork with a practice sword, but the dummy she was attacking was still rapidly coming apart at the seams, losing limbs and gaining grievous injuries faster than Weiss could see the strikes that caused them.

Winter dashed forward with an upwards slash!

The dummy shot up into the air, splitting in two as it hit its peak, the halves falling apart into even more neatly sliced chunks.

Winter lowered her sword, turned to face Weiss. “You should really rehydrate and relax, Weiss, you look terrible,” she said calmly.

One of Winter’s summons appeared, and handed Weiss a water bottle from the case in the corner. “That’s not really my top priority right now, but thank you...” Weiss said as she took it. “Moving on: please don’t fight Qrow!”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Weiss,” Winter said as she sheathed her sword, began to set up a new training dummy. “I will admit I lost my composure earlier, but I have still put the honour of the Queensguard on the line, and I feel obligated to defend it, even if I am a deserter now.”

“And is it really worth the risk of getting killed?!” Weiss snapped, her voice cracking.

Winter gave her a stern look, pointed at the water; Weiss groaned, cracked it open, and gulped down a good bit of it.

“Better?” Winter asked.

“Slightly...” Weiss grumbled, before she put on a pleading look. “Winter, please: just forfeit the fight! I don’t want to lose you again!”

“And you won’t, Weiss,” Winter said warmly, stepping up and putting her free hand on her shoulder. “I know it feels like this was all just an impulsive reaction to Jaune getting killed earlier, and I’ll admit part of it is, but believe me, my reasons run deeper than that.”

“And would you care to explain…?” Weiss asked testily.

“I don’t feel I can say it right now, Weiss,” Winter said, her eyes turning up to Penny and Qrow in the distance. “I’m still not aware how far they can hear, and how much those chronicles of theirs can pick-up—just trust that your big sister has got this, alright?” she asked, smiling at Weiss.

Weiss scowled at her, before she sighed. “Alright...”

Winter kissed Weiss on her forehead. “Thank you, Weiss. Now just go on back to the benches and relax; if this duel is going to be anything like Qrow is saying it will be, I don’t want you getting overexcited,” she said as she gently coaxed Weiss off.

Weiss shot her a look, before she turned around, and walked off to where Qrow was training. Unlike Winter, he was just rapidly going through a series of stances and maneuvers with his practice sword.

“You need something, princess?” Qrow asked, still training.

“Yes, actually!” Weiss replied. “if you could please not fight my sister to the death, that would be much appreciated.”

“No can do, Weiss!” Qrow said as he stabbed the ground, spun around and kicked his weapon back up to his talons with just his legs. “I know you aren’t too well-versed in Watcher culture, but forfeiting a duel is a really big deal, especially when you were the one that asked for it, and it’s a fight between equals.”

“How is this a ‘fight between equals’ when you’re a veteran Watcher, and Winter doesn’t have the magitech that help give the Queensguard their edge over everyone else, nor any real mastery over her magic?!”

“When it’s a Tooth and Claw Duel.” Qrow replied, throwing his sword up in an arc. “No martial arts, no magic, standardized equipment!” he cried as he leaped up and caught it. He landed, neatly spun around to face Weiss again, and said, “It’s about as pure skill and innate strength as we can get.”

“Just please go easy on her, Qrow...” Weiss muttered.

“Yeah, not a snowball’s chance in Sekhmet for that,” Qrow replied, shaking his head. “Ice Queen over there is insisting that all her Queensguard training and mods will put us both on even ground, in spite of the guy who really can accurately remember the last time he or anyone other watcher has gone toe-to-toe with ‘Avalon’s best.’

“It’d be an insult to her, the Royals, and the Watchers if I don’t give her everything I can within the rules and restrictions.”

“You’re not going to intentionally kill her, are you?”

Qrow shot her a look. “Do you think she’ll surrender at any point before I have to, so I don’t get murdered myself…?”

“...”

Qrow nodded. “And there’s your answer.” He turned around, resumed training. “I gotta finish warming up, talk to me later, princess.”

“If you’re still alive by then...” Weiss grumbled.

“That’s what Penny’s for.” Qrow said calmly.

Weiss sighed, turned around, and trudged back to the others, now back on the bench, minus Jaune, and plus some emergency menders setting up supplies and equipment nearby, no doubt for the duel.

“How’d it go?” Ruby asked.

“Take a wild guess...” Weiss grumbled before she plopped herself down on Ruby’s lap, nestled her head against her chest.

Ruby frowned. “There, there, Weiss...” she said as she hugged her, started soothingly stroking her back.

Beside them, Yang sucked in a sharp breath and scowled.

Ruby shot her a dirty look.

Yang groaned, she got up and walked away, muttering something in Actaeon under her breath.

Ruby turned back to Weiss. “How are you feeling, Weiss?”

“Angry! Upset!” Weiss snapped, before she sniffed. “Mostly just resigned that things are rapidly going to shit all over again, and yet I was still surprised! I was having a good day, damn it!”

“There, there, Weiss...” Ruby said soothingly. “Do you need a tissue?”

“No...”

“Cookies?” Ruby said. “I can go run back to the house and get some, or maybe someone else can!”

“Maybe later...”

“Want to just stay here and snuggle for a while?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.” Weiss said, before she sighed and looked up at Ruby. “This is going to be a regular part of my life from here on out, huh?”

“Oh, definitely!” Taiyang said as he came up to them, several baskets worth of food and snacks hanging off his arms and in his hands. “In case you haven’t noticed, violence and combat is a very big part of Fae culture, especially when you live with a house full of watchers and the Keeper!”

Weiss looked at him, and frowned. “What are you doing with all that food?”

“Snacks for the audience!” Taiyang chirped.

Before Weiss could ask, she heard the makers and weavers doing construction in the Grove streaming into the area, chattering excitedly among themselves as they found grass and comfortable tree branches to sit themselves on.

“That’s our cue!” Nora said as she got up off the bench.

“What cue?!” Weiss snapped.

“Our cue to set up the borders of the dueling arena, and officiate it,” Ren explained as he, Zwei, and Blake followed suit and headed to the equipment shed.

“...”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it eventually!” Taiyang said. “It’s like living in a house full of kids who like to roughhouse all the time, except with live weapons and possible death and dismemberment.”

Weiss scowled, mist starting to pour out her nose once more.

“Snacks?” Taiyang asked, unfazed as he gestured to the baskets. “It always tends to go fast, just warning you!”

“Dibs on the popcorn!” Yang cried as she ran back to the bench, grabbed a bowl and took a seat again.

Ruby reached out for the cookies, before she hesitated and looked at Weiss.

Weiss sighed. “Don’t let me stop you...” she said as she slipped off Ruby’s lap, sat with her elbows on her thighs, her chin in her hands, and a resigned look on her face.

“Are things always this eventful here…?” Pyrrha asked.

“Absolutely!” Taiyang said. “It’s more surprising when something isn’t up, in the Grove, in the Bastion, or anywhere else in the Valley! Last call, sure you’re not hungry?”

“No thank you, Tai,” Pyrrha said.

“I’m off, then!” Taiyang said as he picked up the baskets and made the rounds with the rest of the audience, the baskets rapidly emptying.

And so Weiss’ life began its latest downhill slide into hell.

[therewasabrowncrow]

New Year Update! Lockdown #2:

Last July we moved to a new place in Leith-- this is literally the second place we saw, the first we couldn’t visit- it had a virtual tour option only. We stood outside that building and speculated about our lives inside, our future room facing a freshly excavated burial site nearby where the tram line would go, and thus, we bounced.

This second place faced the tram line too- the main road and shops (now almost all shut) but we were at least indoors looking out.

This north facing room is my home studio for now. I have imagined this to be a working studio for at least two people so consider this an open invite

I am very happy with it, I came here in January with a motherboard, power supply, a fan and a flatbed scanner --Don’t buy an expensive laptop they said, assemble a desktop--it’s so much fun, they said-- I don’t regret the decision to not get a laptop now

Since the entire room was built during lockdown a lot of it depended on delivery and it took more or less 6 months. I still need to add an overhead rig to attach a camera so I can make more Earthsea fan art! Unfortunately my cheapo tripod broke and my Earthsea feed is stalled. Now that we enter proper lock down 2 I’ll wait and see until March what happens. 

I was not able to pay towards any rent this year and my partner had to manage from his first full time job at the university but I was able to save and pay towards internet and utilities for all of next year (still not enough to half the rent yet) I also have enough to pay off a debt finally.

I got my first paid project before I moved here, from a classmate-- a short animation! I remember sitting in Calcutta with no equipment trying to figure how to put it together but I had a self initiated project from summer 2019 that I pitched to them and it worked! I could buy enough time for me to travel end of the year to the UK. My partner had already managed to find a place for us to house sit while the owners were away on sabbatical.

Luckily one of the owners of the house is a professional sculptor so I had access to art materials but I already had a portable mono print kit with me and I was able to put together at least two frames per scene in loop.  By now I had the CPU case  and Monitor in place (thanks to the owners who let me use it).

The film was done! It also made it to a few selections this year, thanks Helmie!

During this time I was working with Nia Thandapani on a STEM facilitator manual for Quest Alliance. She was making a workbook designed for girl students that look into representation, goals, dreams, and coding basics. She approached me after seeing the icon work for A Cloud Called Bhura and another illustrator on this project.

Pages from the book:

During this time Amphan was raging in Bengal and Assam. The little veranda garden I made for ma before I left was washed away.

Now it was summer. I had the opportunity to work with Numbi Arts on a more or less retainer until end of the year. I knew about Numbi before I left UK three years ago when I volunteered to document some of their live events. The Numbi projects were a blessing

This year Numbi were working to build a Somali Museum and they were able to successfully raise the funds. I am excited to see how it shapes up. I made visual comms (posters, insta ads etc) for their events-- mainly for Your Mother tongue is Gold. Thanks to Numbi I got referred to another community project which will start shortly.

I had a few projects with Storyweaver. One was in the works since 2019.

Written by Yamini Vijayan Your Body is Yours has been a really interesting project -- in the middle I was fully giving up because I didn’t think I had enough maturity and knowledge to visually interpret consent and boundaries. But reading up and questioning oneself during lockdown helped. I am actually looking forward to seeing more books on consent and personal boundaries by others.  When I made my zine about periods I was told that there were more than enough projects on periods. I see literature and art about periods that I failed to address in the zine-- so it’s never enough!

The other was also based on body and anatomy art directed by Snigdha Rao who is my NID animation classmate. I really enjoyed our brainstorming and I am quite happy with the way we interpreted the texts

Towards the end of the year I got to work on a very simple book about anatomy again..this time a chilli plant written by Radha Rangarajan

I had a few quick editorial projects with Current Conservation:

The first one of the year was made with Clip Studio. As you can see I used every brush in the arsenal to show off -- this was me saying fuck you to Photoshop forever so I spent a lot of energy to perfect this. Rookie mistake.

Later in the year, I use another technique where I locate a theme in the text and try and find organic materials that best compliment it. I then scan or mono print the objects/material and use them as a digital collage. This direction works very well when timelines are tight and usually foreground the main theme of the story quite well.

I have been building a library of these textures and scans. They are free to download and remix from my Gumroad account.

I used this technique for Moo Dunnit by C.G. Salamander

The story is a case of missing vegetables so the mono print of corn, peas, strawberries, dhaniya, as base of the illustrations really helped.

By this time I was going in and out of it with the pandemic and the Lockdown both here and in India. So there were lots of apology emails to the editor and finally I just sat down and finished in one go. I don’t think I have been able to relocate myself fully from the anti CAA-NRC protests in Calcutta. Some scenes will remain.

I worked on two documentaries. One was Crutch and the other was Moving Upstream: Ganga.

Crutch had been in process for the last seventeen years! I met the directors Chandler and Sachi when I was in CA back in 2017-- the time I dropped next door to borrow a lighter from Chandler :P and told him that I do animations that “explain complex stuff” which fit the bill on what they were looking for: Someone to animate the insides of a pelvic joint.

I had a small tester project with them before I got signed up on this project. We had a sit down with the team and I had the chance to meet the artist Bill Shannon on whom the film is based. I will share more scenes from the film shortly. A large chunk of my studio costs came from this project, so yay

The other documentary was with Veditum about their river walk. This film also took some time to happen and I was approached when the team were already finishing up with their edit. I met Siddharth when I was in Calcutta-- we had been in touch via Insta for years. It is always exciting to meet your social friends IRL and I was thrilled to be part of this project.  They were very clear about the direction so it was easy to put my bits into the film--Mostly animated overlays. I will share the trailer shortly!

We contributed my bit from the project to Association SNAP for Ramzan Ration Kits and the WB Emergency Relief Fund.

End of Autumn I got approached for a few projects-- one was for Story Museum with my classmate again. They were making small online storytelling sessions on popular fairy tales. I made a few illustrations for them that my classmate animated. It wasn’t extensive animation work, as the budget was quite small but I had a lot of fun exploring different styles for each fairy tale

The first one dropped on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXTL6tkQRzk&feature=youtu.be

She also gave birth towards the end of the project--this meant that our project needed to be planned thoroughly ahead of the deadline.. and we did it!

The other project running parallel right now is due to end in February. This is another collaborative project with Falana Films based in Bangalore. We have a bunch of deliverables -- a series of films on STEM awareness for girls and I am doing the animation direction.

It took a while for me to come up with a specific look but by the time the script was written, it helped massively with the visual direction. Initially I found it quite hard to build a visual language that would explain STEM thinking without us explicitly pointing an arrow at things. So we decided to focus on the assembling and dissembling of objects, compositions etc. I am quite happy with the direction now:

I appreciate the commitment Quest took to be inclusive and get as many different participants on board, thanks to Falana

---

I wanted to make animations for a while and this year I had quite a few. I hope to make games next year. I made a bunch of fan art and WIPs and protest art and sketch notes this year, a lot of it made through bouts of different kinds of mental states.

I also joined local mutual aid and volunteer networks even though our socialisation was all online.

Ohhh did I mention the experience of applying for a visa in Brexit UK with an ongoing pandemic!

I wanted to make a living wreath for a family member and many who couldn’t make it during this pandemic -- out of all the projects, this took the longest and went through many iterations. This was in December and by now I felt tired and worn out.

[womenwithpencils-blog]

Robyn Flannigan

• hi robyn, can you tell us more about you ?

I live in Newfoundland, Canada. I taught myself to draw at the age of twelve, and by the time I reached high school I decided I wanted to make a career out of it some how. There was a Graphic Design course offered at a local college and, though I didn't know much about design, I decided to enrol. There were only a few illustration courses through out the program, but learning other areas of art helped me create a stronger and broader creative foundation. I spent the past four years working as a Graphic Designer. During my evenings and weekends I practiced illustration as much as I could. May of 2016 I finally got up the courage to post my work on social media. The positive feedback from my followers have been a source of motivation to keep creating and keep learning. Je vis à Newfoundland au Canada. J’ai appris seule à dessiner à l’âge de 12 ans et depuis que je suis au lycée je sais que je veux travailler dans ce domaine. L’université locale proposait un cours de design graphique et même si je ne m’y connaissais pas vraiment en design, j’ai décidé de m’y inscrire. Il y avait seulement quelques cours d’illustration prévu dans le programme mais apprendre d’autres choses en art m’ont aidées à me créer une base créative plus large. J’ai passé les quatre dernières années à travailler en tant que Graphic Designer. Pendant mes soirées et mes weekends, j’ai travaillé l’illustration autant que j’ai pu. En Mai 2016 j’ai finalement eu le courage de poster mon travail sur les réseaux sociaux. Les retours positifs de mes followers ont été une source de motivation pour continuer à apprendre et à créer.

• what medium do you generally use ? (ex: acrylic, digital etc..)

I like to make digital illustrations, as It's much easier to adjust colour schemes and details late in the creation process. My architecture illustrations were made using a mouse and Adobe Illustrator. I picked up an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil a few months back, and I've been drawing everything on it since. J’aime créer avec le digital, c’est beaucoup plus simple pour ajuster les couleurs et les détails. Mes illustrations d’architecture sont créées à la souris sur Illustrator. Cependant, il y a quelques mois j’ai acheté un iPad Pro et un apple pencil et je dessine absolument tout avec.

• do you have favourite subjects ? with which one do you prefer to work the most ?

My favourite subject has always been people. Mainly women. It comes very organically for me to draw them. Chances are, if you see me mindlessly doodling, I'm drawing the beginning features of a face. Second to people, I practice drawing a lot of buildings and scenery as a sort of art study.

Mes sujets préférés ont toujours été les gens. Principalement les femmes. Ça vient très naturellement pour moi, de les dessiner. Lorsque je dessine sans réfléchir, les chances sont grandes que vous me voyiez dessiner un visage. Après, je dessine beaucoup des bâtiments et des décors, c’est comme un genre d’étude.

• do you have any particular method to work ? a planning, rituals, a playlist ?

My concept creation is very inconsistent, but undoubtably the most enjoyable part. A lot of my more meaningful work was thought up while under the influence. Everything I make starts out in my sketchbook. I think better with a pencil in my hand. Once I have a solid line drawing, I scan it, and trace over it digitally. During most of the process, I listen to music. It helps me get lost in the creation process. New Wave, synthpop, and shoegaze music are my preferred genres.

La partie où je conçois mes idées, mes concepts est très irrégulière, mais sans aucun doute la plus agréable. Tout ce que je créé a d’abord été dessiné dans mon carnet de croquis. Je réfléchis mieux avec un crayon dans la main. Une fois que j’ai une bonne base de dessin, je scanne le tout et je le redessine sur la tablette. Pendant la plupart du temps que je travaille, j’écoute de la musique. Ça m’aide à me perdre dans mon processus de création. La new wave, le synthpop et le shoegaze sont mes genres de musique préférées.

• can you describe your work space ? do you work in any other place sometimes ?

I have a little home office that I do most of my drawing in. I share the space with my lion head rabbit, who keeps me company while I work. The room itself contains many shades of green. I live on an island in the Atlantic, and we don't get much sun here, so having a lively office keeps me sane. I like keeping books on colour, design, and illustration close to me while I work. It's very windy where I live, but occasionally, it calms down and I get to sketch outdoors.

J’ai un petit bureau à la maison où je fais la plupart de mes dessins. Je partage cet espace avec mon lapin à tête de lion qui me tient compagnie pendant que je travaille. La pièce en elle- même a beaucoup de teintes de vert. Je vis sur une île dans l’océan Atlantique qui n’est pas très ensoleillée. Donc avoir un espace de travail vivant m’aide à garder un esprit sain. Parfois le temps est clément, alors je vais dessiner à l’extérieur.

• where do you find your inspiration to create ? (internet, books, nature..)

I've always turned to the internet as a source of inspiration. It's an endless pool of talent with so many styles to admire. When I first started getting serious about illustration, I was influenced by the beauty of the old buildings downtown. I had seen flat illustration styles online, and I wanted to apply that style locally. My recent work is taking me down a new path. I'm trying to create more work based off of my own life experiences and things that fascinate me, like horror movies, nature, mystery, metaphysical ideas, and my own personal reasons for needing feminism.

J’ai toujours cherché sur Internet pour trouver de l’inspiration. Il y a tellement de gens plein de talents avec des styles complètement différents à découvrir et à admirer. Quand j’ai commencé à me mettre à l’illustration de manière sérieuse, j’étais influencée par la beauté des vieux immeubles du centre ville. J’avais vu des illustration en flat design sur internet, et j’avais envie d’essayer. Mes travaux récents m’emmènent vers un nouveau chemin. J’essaye de créer plus de contenu basé sur mes expériences de vie et des choses qui me fascinent, comme les films d’horreur, la nature, les énigmes, les idées métaphysiques et mes propres raisons pour lesquelles j’ai besoin du féminisme.

• do you think that women artist should be more represented in general ?

I read a few articles recently on sexism in the art world. I naively hadn't even considered the sexism in my own industry until reading about it on a broader scale. My post-secondary class was composed of mostly women, my first boss in the design industry was a woman, and the majority of artists I follow online are women. So, it wasn't until I started stepping outside my own experiences that I could see the big picture problems. To answer your question, I think women artists should be represented more in general. I also think that women, like myself, owe it to themselves to raise their expectations for better treatment in the art industry, and do whatever they can to help each other become better represented. Much like what Women With Pencils are doing.

J’ai récemment lus quelques articles sur le sexisme dans le monde de l’art. J’ai, naïvement, jamais fait réellement attention au sexisme de mon propre milieu jusqu’à ce que je lise dessus et que je m’interroge à ce sujet de manière plus large. Mes classes en études post-secondaires étaient composées presque uniquement de femmes, ma première cheffe dans l’industrie du design était une femme et la majorité des artistes dont je suis le travail sur internet sont des femmes. Donc, ce n’est pas avant que je commence à me sortir de ma propre expérience que j’ai pu voir le problème de manière générale. Je pense aussi que les femmes, comme moi, se doivent d’élever leurs attentes pour être mieux traitées dans l’industrie de l’art et doivent faire ce qu’elles peuvent pour s’aider à être mieux représentées. Un peu comme ce que Women With Pencils fait.

• the colors you use are always really soft and harmonious, how do you manage to keep this harmony in your illustrations ?

I'm pretty sensitive to colour, so try to pick palettes that are not overwhelming to the viewer. Soft colours like pastels and muted tones are my go to. My favourite art movements to draw palette inspiration from are probably Art Deco and Impressionism.

Je suis très sensible aux couleurs, donc j’essaye de choisir des palettes pas trop vives. Les couleurs douces, pastels et assez éteintes sont mes favorites. Mes mouvements artistiques préférés pour les couleurs sont probablement l’Art déco et l’impressionnisme.

• what architecture inspires you the most when you draw buildings ?

I really like old buildings, and particularly, I really like squares. It's an odd thing to say, but that's what I like about capturing buildings. Drawing architecture has taught me to reduce everything down to it's most basic shape, and then add from there.

J’adore les immeubles anciens et particulièrement les carrés. C’est bizarre à dire mais c’est ce que j’aime le plus lorsque je dessine des immeubles. Dessiner des bâtiments m’a appris à d’abord les réduire un maximum à leur forme basique puis à rajouter des détails à partir de là.

• do you have any plans, projects, dreams for the future ? (if you can talk about it)

I have some pretty big dreams for the future. I started taking ceramic classes recently. I'm trying to combine my illustration with home decor. One day I'd even like to have my own small studio and shop. I really want to create beautiful, functional art for the average person, and maybe take illustration jobs on the side. In the short term, I'm working towards developing and defining my personal style. I hope someday, my work can be easily identified among a sea of global artists. At the moment, I'm working on a new print that's themed around a very meaningful song to me. I've been wanting to make more music-inspired art for a while now, so the fact that I'm finally getting around to it is exciting. J’ai de gros projets pour l’avenir. J’ai commencé à prendre des cours de céramique récemment. Et je commence à mélanger mes illustrations avec les décorations d’intérieur. Un jour j’aimerais même avoir un petit studio et une boutique. J’ai vraiment envie de créer de jolies choses, de l’art fonctionnel pour les gens et j’aimerais aussi, pourquoi pas, faire des petits boulots d’illustration en même temps. À moyen terme, je travaille surtout à développer et à définir mon propre style. J’espère qu’un jour mon travail sera facilement identifiable parmi celui d’autres artistes. En ce moment, je travaille sur de nouveaux prints qui s’inspirent d’une chanson qui veut dire beaucoup pour moi. Ça fait longtemps que j’ai envie de créer de l’art inspiré par de la musique. Donc le fait que je m’y mette enfin me rend vraiment contente.

• can you tell which women artist inspires you the most ?

Emily Haines is my biggest influencer among illustrators, designers, ceramists, actors, musicians, etc. She is my favourite female artist. I've always felt that her music gives a voice to our gender, and on a more personal level, she's validated a lot of the uncertainty and discomfort that comes with being female in an unequal society.

Emily Haines est ma plus grande influence parmi les illustratrices, designer, céramistes, actrices, musicienne etc.. C’est mon artiste féminine préférée. J’ai toujours eu le sentiment que sa musique donne une voix à notre genre, et à un niveau plus personnel, elle a prouvé beaucoup d’incertitudes et d’inconforts qui sont présents lorsque l’on est une femme dans une société inégalitaire.

• most of our audience are beginners in illustration, do you have any messages/advice for them ?

It's easy to get caught up in comparing yourself to other creatives. Learning to admire different art styles without becoming consumed by them will lead to a healthy relationship with your work. I'm not exactly sure who said it, but when I'm in doubt about my abilities, I remind myself of the following quote. "You have to be willing to be bad at it in order to get good at it." C’est facile de se laisser aller à se comparer à d’autres créatifs. Apprendre à admirer différents styles artistiques sans être « consumé » par eux vous aideront à avoir une relation saine avec votre travail. Je ne suis pas sûre de qui a dit ça mais quand je doute de mes aptitudes, je me souviens de cette citation «Vous devez être enclin à devenir mauvais pour devenir bon. »

Thank you Robyn for answering our questions ! Follow and support Robyn Flannigan : Instagram | Etsy | Website | Facebook

[jshuey]

Here are the details of how I prepare for, engage and follow up with a TweetJam.

This is from a CollabTalk Tweetjam held on Jan 31st 2017.

The Tweetjam was all about the “Evolution of the User Group”

The questions, responses, key points and challenges are listed below.

Check out the InfoGraphic below. Click on it. It’s a live link to an interactive graphic. There are 6 active pages … look for the arrows on the bottom of the live InfoGraph.

This is a live and interactive InfoGraphic. It is powered by TyGraph.

  Details can be found on the 7th page or here. Also, please contact John Patrick White for more details. He can be reached via email or Twitter.

I have two parallel write ups to this post. You don’t need to read thru all of them, but to get the whole picture it might be helpful. The point I am trying to make it that Tweetjams are an art form and when done right can be very beneficial to a community.

1. Tweetjams Done Right

2. How I Prepare for Tweetjams

The details of the Tweetjam, including the participants, the ground rules and a bit more are posted to Christian Buckley’s blog - Will Groups Impact Your Organization?

Below are the details I create and track in a OneNote page.

The questions will include:

Have the needs of your user group community changed? If so, how?

What does your user group get right?

What does your user group get wrong?

What should your user group do to get more members / better engagement?

What is your preferred format for user groups, and why?

What is the role of the user group board, or its leaders?

Besides “I’m busy” what is keeping you from getting involved in your user group?

Key Points: Culture, Distance, Philanthropy

Note: I use key points as a framework for some of the points I want to align to during the Tweetjam. You may not want to use this model, but it works for me to insure a theme is carried throughout.

Challenges: Value for the time and money

Note: Again, this is somewhat of a key point or a theme.

Questions with the Responses:

I list all the questions separately, then my 140 character (or tweetstorm) response. Note: I leave space for the preferred hashtag. This is important. Otherwise your response will not be logically associated with the Tweetjam.

Also, note that the responses all start with A(n) – where n is the question number. This is spelled out in Christian’s blog post, but for clarity it is to insure people reading your reply can associate it with the right question being posed.

Pro Tip: You can ALWAYS answer questions out of order. If you see someone’s response and it spurs and idea or you want to RT or otherwise comment on it … that’s OK.

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1. Have the needs of your user group community changed? If so, how?

A1. The needs have changed because people have changed. People have less time to commit to a cause. #CollabTalk

A1. Overall people want to contribute and the will. It just needs to be easy for most to get started. Then the #CollabTalk

A1. I'm involved in a several groups. Some are very tech oriented and some are more social in nature. Balancing is key #CollatTalk

A1. The biggest change has been to NOT get sucked into every new tech that comes out. Video is not for every community. Same with chat #CollabTalk

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2. What does your user group get right?

A2. We get the Philanthropy right. People do want to give back. Which is not always money. It can be time, expertise and more. #CollabTalk

A2. We get the vocabulary right (for the most part). We always try to speak "their" language. Otherwise we lose 'em. #CollabTalk

A2. We also are working on getting the format right. Making sure people know what they can expect - before, during and after #CollabTalk

A2. We've done right by ASKING what people want to see. Then working like crazy to deliver it … every time. #CollabTalk

A2. We've done right by getting people involved. Sometimes by pushing them outside their comfort zone … because we know they can do it. #CollabTalk

A2. We've done right with a shared leadership model. Let everyone have their chance to "run" the meetings. It's hard, but worth it #CollabTalk

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3. What does your user group get wrong?

A3. We've gone wrong by trying to be everything to everyone. (full stop) #CollbTalk

A3. We've gone wrong by not doing proper before, during and after setup. Consistency matters. #CollabTalk

A3. We've gone wrong by settling. Settling into our comfort zone. Settling by not including others. Settling because it was easy. #CollabTalk

A3. We've gone wrong by not trying to include new tech --- dial-in meetings, webcasts, unproven (to us) tech, etc. #CollabTalk

A3. It's easy to say where we've gone wrong. It's harder to put the measures in to fix them. We're trying and we ask people to hold us accountable. #CollabTalk

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4. What should your user group do to get more members / better engagement?

A4. The number one thing is being respectful of peoples time. Everything cannot always be perfect, but we need to provide value #CollabTalk

A4. We encourage new members / attendees to speak. Even if only for 30 seconds to get them "into" the group dynamic. #CollabTalk

A4. We encourage follow up. We recommend people get each others contact info. We also send out a list (with their permission) of all attendees. #CollabTalk

A4. Food and Beverages can get more members, but often it's different members to engage. It's another channel of comms. #CollabTalk

A4. Reaching out via multiple means --- email blast with a personal follow up call. It works well for #Toastmasters --- use it! #CollabTalk

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5. What is your preferred format for user groups, and why?

A5. My personal preferred format is irrelevant. It's what works for the group. Hence we are trying webcasts, skype, and more #CollabTalk

A5. The preferred format is the one that works. I know … it sounds cliché. But, it's true. #CollabTalk

A5. With that said … Try New Things! Even something simple like … "An All Standing Meeting" (Take the chairs out) changes things up. #CollabTalk

A5. I'm seeing a "preferred" format pop up of … "On Demand" --- where people can catch up when they have time. #CollabTalk

A5. One preference I'm seeing more and more is … Make the content available online. Then I will consume it when I can. #CollabTalk

A5. I've seen a 3 to 5x increase in consumption of "On Demand Content" --- meaning, we are reaching a bigger group. That’s a win! #CollabTalk

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6. What is the role of the user group board, or its leaders?

A6. The role of the leaders hasn’t' changed much over time. But, there is a shift towards inclusiveness. #CollabTalk

A6. The leadership sets the pace. And, also is open and asks for guidance. Then, as needed, re-sets the pace. #Servant #Leadership #CollabTalk

A6. The role of leadership is … Get out of the way. Allow the group to form, change and morph. #CollabTalk

A6. IMHO … the biggest role of leadership is to have a succession plan. And, to follow it. #CollabTalk

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7. Besides “I’m busy” what is keeping you from getting involved in your user group?

A7. LOL. For everyone that knows me … I have a hard time saying no. #CollabTalk

A7. My biggest challenge is not getting involved. It's sharing the workload. Slack, Groups, and OneNote (on SharePoint) help a lot here. #CollabTalk

Last Tip

I always thank the host. In this case it's my best good friend Christian Buckley. As I noted on this blog post Tweetjams Done Right he KNOWS how to create a great Tweetjam.

I realize this is a long blog post. However, several people asked for how I use and interact with Tweetjams and thought it was worthwhile to spend the time and show you exactly how I set myself up for Tweetjams.

If you have another model or method that works for you please share it in the comments. I look forward to seeing you on the next Tweetjam.

Liked this article? I would appreciate it if you'd share it with a friend, family member, or colleague! Better yet … with a Tweetjam Enthusiast

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image credits: Christian Buckley, Beezy, CollabTalk, TyGraph

This is cross posted on Medium and LinkedIn

I have contributed 200+ articles to Entrepreneur, Elite Daily, Yahoo, US News and to the #1 Career blog for Millennials, the Personal Branding Blog