What crowdfund sends out rewards before the campaign is done? We do!
Spent all day, cutting, printing, cutting again, scoring, folding, and packing the 2025 little Drummer Bird Christmas card set for earlybird backers! And several cards didn't print properly so there will be extra pictures to give the other backers.
You can still back to get cards for next Christmas, art, sculptures, and of course the picture book that will be made! The campaign page is here.
So, five sweeping towers were a distinctive feature of this royal season's abode. The living sculptures that hung along the delicately patterned ice brickwork were too beautiful to be called gargoyles. Of course there were hollows and overhangs for those beloved creatures of the Queen, the white as snow polar bats and their far larger cousins the polar batters.
...
Here and there wide bridges weaved themselves between the towers over the palace gardens in the palm. The Queen even when she had been more twisted than a funhouse mirror adored sledding and sleighs so naturally her palace castle had routes throughout to play with, indeed having no need to keep her abode warm, grand wide passages meant that if she desired she could ride her sleigh everywhere within and without the grounds. Naturally many of these routes ended abruptly in the sky, for she loved flying and spreading snow only slightly less than sleighing and sledding.
Finally finished, an illustration for The little Drummer Bird by Snowyteller, an Advent/Christmas story which we are crowdfunding to make a picture book!
This is the fourth illustration I've finished and will be part of a set of Christmas cards we're sending to backers for this Christmas; the rest of the rewards will come with the book itself for Christmas of 2026.
This is the values-and-temperature marker layer for The Snow Queen's Palace Castle, an illustration for The little Drummer Bird by Snowyteller. We're making a picture book of this beautiful Advent/Christmas story; back the campaign here!
I'm sharing this in-progress work before the finished picture because it's taking me longer than planned--I blame the stars! This is the last illustration for the set of Christmas cards for this year; that reward is no longer available since they now need to be printed and shipped as soon as possible.
But there's still the chance to get Christmas cards for next year, which will have many more pictures to choose from, and of course to get the book itself next Christmas, original art, and sculptures!
Tomorrow at 7 p.m. Central Standard, Snowyteller and I will be on the Superversive Fiction livestream to talk about The little Drummer Bird! They might even let me draw!
Back the campaign soon to get Christmas cards for this Christmas!
The marker under-layer for "The Soldier and the flame", an illustration for The little Drummer Bird by Snowyteller.
We are raising funds for a picture book, there will be over 30 illustrations, and if you back it within the next few days you can get four of them on a set of greeting cards for this Christmas!
On one occasion, he saw the flicker of light in the dark, peeking through the trees, like lit wick of caged lamp. So, he flew closer towards it, and there sitting by a waning campfire was a figure.
Somewhat of a giant, a soldier whose skin was white as snow and coat was red as blood.
"Hello, Mr. Bird, just for you I'll build this fire up again, you should last a little longer in this long night, even if I don't."
Another illustration for The little Drummer Bird by Snowyteller, one of the pictures that will be on the set of Christmas cards you can get for this Christmas by backing the campaign to make a picture book by Nov. 25!
If you're looking for fun Christmas presents, several Paper Doll Veronika images have just be added to my Redbubble shop, including a set of stickers I've wanted to produce since the beginning:
Also available are many objects bearing the image of the Princess Oto doll, which I'm told is the prettiest paper doll of them all:
And Veronika herself makes an appearance!
Not to mention the most recent chapter cover artworks, some of the best so far in my opinion.
And best of all, the religious drawings I did for this year's Inktober:
Finally, if you're seeking a wonderful Christmas present not for this year but next, do take a look at the campaign for a picture book of The little Drummer Bird, a beautiful Advent tale.
In The little Drummer Bird, two of the main antagonists are none other but Cold and Dark themselves. So for the illustrations, what could be more crucial than light and dark values and color temperature?
The first layer of coloring, seen above, is all about temperature and value, laid down in marker.
The local color goes on top of that in watercolor pencil and crayon:
And for unity, I'm going to use the same markers throughout the book for this foundation:
From bottom to top:
This base is the same I used a year ago for the spontaneous fanart that providentially led to this project:
*Though Mepxy seem only to be available now shipped from Australia so hopefully I won't dry out the Light Wood!
The crowdfund is live for an illustrated book of The little Drummer Bird by Snowyteller!
It's a beautiful Advent/Christmas story in the vein of Hans Christian Andersen. You can read it here, and just imagine what a gorgeous book that will make! We aspire to have it made for Christmas 2026, and for THIS Christmas you can get greeting cards of some of the art! If you back before November 25, that is!
Other rewards include sketches, original art, and polymer clay sculptures! With stretch goals of more rewards like felt ornament kits, Advent calendars, and even, possibly,...plushies!
This book will be a wonderful Christmas gift for children of any age. I truly believe it's a story that deserves to be treasured for generations.
Bonus art for Chapter 26 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika, which is now posted on Arktoons!
Now that Ocean is complete on both my site and Arktoons, I can say that this conclusion is a moment in the comic I have been working towards with particular fervor for several years. I hope it shines through as a high point of the whole story.
You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
Chapter 25 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika concludes on Arktoons!
You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
My subjects: Religion, Paper Doll Veronika, Ace Attorney/Professor Layton, Spooky
Upon determining I wasn't going to complete this year's challenge, I picked three last ones for which I had clear ideas, and this is the last of all: my Paper Doll Veronika heroine and antiheroine Veronika and Skarlezza respectively.
And this makes ten drawings, the most I've ever done for an Inktober so far! My goal was to be cured of perfectionism and I think it did help in that regard. Happy Hallowtide!
Second-to-last of the Inktober prompts I'm gonna do since I shan't complete them all this year; I hadn't done any under my subject of Ace Attorney, and this is both that and Spooky.
Great Spoiler of what is possibly the most crucial moment of the series, an unfortunately timed graverobbery, leading to several violent deaths, but also pretty much everything else including the existence of Phoenix Wright.
Happy Halloween!
It's pretty clear at this point I'm not going to complete this year's Inktober challenge, so I'm just doing three more for which I have clear, definite ideas.
Falling under my subjects of Spooky and Paper Doll Veronika, this character has already been in it, just far in the distant background.
Bonus art for Chapter 25 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika, which is now being posted on Arktoons!
Tried out a wax-resist method with this piece: the spider, water ripples, and edges of the ribcage are outlined in Crayola crayon, which I then painted over with ink wash.
You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
Paper Doll Veronika character profiles of folks from the recently-concluded Part III- Ocean. I try to scan each character before disassembly, but sometimes I forget.
Chapter 24 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika concludes on Arktoons!
You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
My subjects: Religion, Paper Doll Veronika, Ace Attorney/Professor Layton, Spooky
Falling under both my subjects of Religion and
Spooky. And October seventh (you see how far behind I am) is the feast of Our
Lady of the Rosary/Victory, closely connected with her title Star of the Sea,
since it's two naval victories which are particularly commemorated.
Paper Doll Veronika has updated; Chapter 26 of Part III,
"And All that are therein", is posted!
Chapter 24 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika continues on Arktoons!
You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
The Transverberation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by the hand of St. Longinus. This is something I'd like to approach as an oil painting, if I ever have sufficient time and skill.
Who else but the Deer Queen from Bovodar and the Bears!
And for anyone who has been awaiting more of that comic, we hear that Arktoons was undermanned but now has a new dev, so we hope the conclusion of Issue #3 may go up soon! And even if not, we have big plans approaching, so watch this space!
Paper Doll Veronika has updated; Chapter 25 of Part III,
"Have passed over me", is posted!
It updates on Fridays on my site, Sundays on Arktoons,
Mondays on Substack, and
Tuesdays & Thursdays on Deviantart. (Substack
and Deviantart are at much earlier points in the comic). I recommend using bookmarking
or the "Save your place" gadget on my site, even once you catch up,
because the site starts at the beginning and updates are several pages.
Veronika Bosch, who's never left her father's estate, has to go on a journey
when envious animals kick her out. Half collage, half puppetry, a fairy tale
adventure made with hand-drawn paper dolls.
My subjects: Religion, Paper Doll Veronika, Ace Attorney/Professor Layton, Spooky
I always tried to keep calling it "Corona" rather than "Covid" because the latter is an ugly word and the former is a beautiful word.
I never drew Corona-chan back at the time, but I liked the idea. Well, to be honest I had a sketch going, but by the time I would've finished it had gotten distasteful. Maybe it's still distasteful. But we shouldn't forget.
The one idea for her I really wanted to draw was giving her bound feet. Which might be the most triggering thing about this drawing. For variable reasons.
Heavily inspired by the work of Bob Moran.
Bonus art for "All Thy Billows and Thy Waves", Chapter 24 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika, which is now being posted on Arktoons!
Foreground is ink, marker, water-soluble crayon, and washi tape; background is a color-adjusted photograph taken by me. Did this one in a rush because it was almost time to post when I realized I was working on the cover art for the next chapter!
You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
A quick and gruesome scene.
Paper Doll Veronika has updated; Chapter 24 of Part III, "All They Billows and Thy Waves", is complete!
It updates on Fridays on my site, Sundays on Arktoons,
Mondays on Substack, and
Tuesdays & Thursdays on Deviantart. (Substack
and Deviantart are at much earlier points in the comic). I recommend using bookmarking
or the "Save your place" gadget on my site, even once you catch up,
because the site starts at the beginning and updates are several pages.
Veronika Bosch, who's never left her father's estate, has to go on a journey
when envious animals kick her out. Half collage, half puppetry, a fairy tale
adventure made with hand-drawn paper dolls.
My subjects for this year: Religion, Paper Doll Veronika, Ace Attorney/Professor Layton, Spooky
These are Paper Doll Veronika characters. And I clearly know nothing about the mechanisms of spinning wheels and looms.
My first Inktober drawing for this year, a quick study of the Veil of Veronica, roughly based on Claude Mellan's engraving. Because Our Lord does have a moustache.
I cheated by starting back in September, and I've already broken one of the other rules I set for myself of: following the official prompts, using a fountain pen with no underlying sketching, and confining myself to the subject areas of Religion, Paper Doll Veronika, Ace Attorney/Professor Layton, and Spooky. (It's the no-underlying-sketch rule that I broke).
And now that October has begun, I'm beginning to think I probably won't make it every day... will I ever complete this challenge?? Ah but, I'll do as much as I can.
Chapter 23 of Part III of Paper Doll Veronika concludes on Arktoons!
The latest episode is here.You can also read it on my own website. (I recommend my site for PC and Arktoons for mobile.)
Paper Doll Veronika has updated; Chapter 24 of Part III, "All Thy Billows and Thy Waves", continues!
It updates on Fridays on my site, Sundays on Arktoons,
Mondays on Substack, and
Tuesdays & Thursdays on Deviantart. (Substack
and Deviantart are at much earlier points in the comic). I recommend using bookmarking
or the "Save your place" gadget on my site, even once you catch up,
because the site starts at the beginning and updates are several pages.
Veronika Bosch, who's never left her father's estate, has to go on a journey
when envious animals kick her out. Half collage, half puppetry, a fairy tale
adventure made with hand-drawn paper dolls.
