Industrious Illustrating #28 – Character Concept Sketching 2

Truth be told, I’ve been having a hard time maintaining a regular regimen of drawing at least partially because I feel like I’m clocking in to a day of grueling work every time I sit down to draw. It’s a feeling I have to continuously deal with if I want to continue developing and monetizing my art as an illustrator, but I haven’t found a good remedy aside from drawing self-indulgently and not worrying too much about what the final drawing looks like. As a result, this week I have more quick character concept sketching to share.

The above character, Wenet Tozawa, is another character in “Blade of Seafoam”‘s post-apocalyptic world. I still need to develop her backstory more and draw out her full design, but here’s the character description I currently have written down for her:

“A traveling medic known for her ability to regenerate the sick and injured almost to the point of giving them new life. She’s apparently close friends with Rashida, though the history of their relationship is unclear to outsiders.”

I’m planning on developing and showing off more character designs from “Blade of Seafoam” soon, so look forward to that if you’re interested in seeing my character designs!

Relaxation

With final exams around the corner, now is the time of year that students are the most stressed.  There seems to be no free time during exam season, and the little free time that you do have is spent studying in the library.  There are some easy and fast ways to relax that will also destress you, which is perfect for exam season.

One easy way to relax that you can do in between studying, or even if you take a 10 minute break from studying is to create a pattern to draw all over a page.  You pick one design (bubbels, diamonds, spirals, etc.) and you fill the page with it. This allows you to focus on one thing while you take a break from studying, so your brain is not swirling around thinking about everything else you have to do before the end of the year.  It allows you to put all of your focus on this one task, which can be very relaxing because you are not stressing about anything else. This is also a great relaxation task because you don’t have to finish in one go. You can continue the doodle everytime you take a small study break.

Meditation is also a great way to relax and de-stress.  It is a great way to clear your mind and to make your body less tense.  Meditation can also be done during a study break, or it can be done in the morning when you wake up and at night right before you go to bed.  This way you start and end your day relaxed and on a positive note. There are many ways to meditate and different ways work for different people.  A popular tool is the mindfulness app, it is great for beginners and will walk you through many different medications. It also has meditations for different situations, like not being able to fall asleep.