One of my very favorite things, since I started making zines and comics in earnest last summer (following, oh, fifteen or so years of just planning things out), has been getting reactions to my creativity zine. I’ve gotten really wonderful responses to it from people, and sometimes I feel like I can’t hawk it strongly enough at conventions, because I know that anyone who expresses interest in it would get something from it. (Mainly because I recognize their curiosity as being a parallel to the state of mind that led me to write the zine in the first place.)

It’s been reviewed on a couple of blogs recently, which is exciting. Alli Rense included it in a roundup of readables, and Drummbellina had very kind things to say about it as well.

As for me? I am still chipping away at Furlough two. I haven’t started today’s bout of inking, but as of the end of yesterday, 18 of 35 pages were inked. They need processing and all, of course, but generally I’m pretty satisfied with how they’re turning out. ‘

In the meantime, here’s a self-portrait I made as part of an inking test several days ago.

I don’t consider portraits or caricature a strong point of mine (yet), but I find it really easy to draw myself, and apparently pretty accurately at that. I think it’s because I don’t fear my own reaction – I won’t get pissed at myself for making my nose look big or my face look too full or my eyes look beady. I don’t care. And so it turns out ok. I suspect there’s a lesson in that.