A few months ago, I was writing on my Substack about starting a graphic novel and about the struggles of not knowing where to start. Well, I followed my advice. I started, and then I carried on.

I now have a full story of about 60 or so pages planned out and about 20 pages already drawn.

I am having so much fun with this project. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had with my work. This is probably linked to multiple reasons.

1. My style is progressing as I am exploring new techniques (like mixing traditionnal and digital techniques). I’m feeling more free and I’m playing around with more textures and colours. It’s soooo much fun! I’m loving it.

2. Another reason is that the inspiration for this book is a musician, and a friend, whose vision and life have always been a great source of inspiration to me. I’ve combined his story with my own experience and most of my favourite subjects to draw (like landscapes and birds). This means that I enjoy drawing every single part of this book because every single part of the story has been created by me, for me.

3. The trickiest part is then putting all of this together in a book that makes sense and that other people want to read. This can be done through an intelligent scenario, a strong layout, good characters, good colours and beautiful atmospheres. This is fun, but also quite daunting. There’s so much to do and it’s incredibly difficult to know how to do it ‘right’. For this part I decided to get some help.

4. I go to an art class twice a week. This means I can get other people’s opinions on my work. This often allows me to have a fresh look on my work and to be able to work out difficulties. A change of scenery is also good and is helpful to find new ideas!

5. Last and not least: I didn’t give myself a deadline. Deadlines are good sometimes. I’m all for them. It gives you motivation to get the work done. However, in my case, the weekly art class is enough of a motivation to get work done. If I want feedback I need something new to show every week! So having no specific deadline means that I just give this project my best and there is no pressure. It’s very freeing. It also gives me time to do more research, read more books, draw more and just generally: make better art!