I was heartbroken to find myself too sick to attend ALA this weekend. I DID, however, have enough energy to sit and work on a bookmark for an upcoming school visit. It cheered me up to take an old sketch and paint it up.
Just how did I work while sick with body aches and lethargy? My new cintiq! With so much book work lined up, I decided I could finally make a big investment. How big? I got the 27HD. OMG. I know. I blame the holiday sale and my husband's good tech advice. I was so worried that I wouldn't really adapt to it after years of happily painting in gouache, but begrudgingly using a tablet. It sat lightly used for a few weeks at the holidays. I was enjoying drawing on it, but quite honestly, I was still really intimidated by it.
Fast forward to last Monday. I buckled down, worked for a few hours on a final piece, and decided I was in LOVE with my cintiq. This thing is AMAZING to work on. It feels just as natural as working up at my drafting table with paint and pencils. I can dive straight into color without doing a study, or cleaning palettes, and setting things up. I can sketch direct to screen instead of doing it on paper, scanning, cleaning up.
My new year's resolutions have always revolved around pushing myself. And while working with a totally new tool feels like a solid push, I'm declaring something different this year. I've worked REALLY hard for a long time to have what is finally before me - great book jobs. I've been working on the first one for several weeks and it's been so fun and truly satisfying. I want to savor working on these wonderful projects (and all the ones to come, because working on what makes you happy is the best harbinger of work.)