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Zara Gonzalez Hoang Illustration
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RECENTLY

I’ve been working through replays of live drawing sessions from @emmacarlisle_ Patreon. This one with apple pickers was really fun. What’s this? Two sketchbooks in a row? And yellow?! Yep, but this one is a little different. (And yes, i color-code my sketchbooks - anyone else?) I took some time off of book work and spent the last month working through sketchbook challenges from @emmacarlisle_ and @sarahdyer_illustrator Patreon. As someone who normally draws from imagination it’s been a fun challenge to draw mostly from reference and figure out how to make it interesting to me. There is a lot more in this sketchbook I’ll share later (and in the other sketchbooks I’ve been working in) but I have to say im so inspired and energized by this month of working in my sketchbook, I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned and bring it back into my book work. I started this book on January 1st. Didn’t think it would take me 6 months to finish it. Lots of good memories in it though. A comic workshop I took with @comicsworkshop and @robrosmo making an ode to my new hair. A sketchbook workshop I took with the Smithsonian museum that was very fun. Doodles and doodles and doodles. Ready to start a fresh book tomorrow. I’m always looking for decent paper to mess around with that isn’t ridiculously expensive (like the watercolor paper I use for books) but still acts enough like it that I get the effects that I’m going for and can try things out. I’ve tried non-cotton watercolor papers but I just don’t like them. I found a cotton mixed media paper from Strathmore and tested it out today - a roll of it is 1/4 the price of a roll of watercolor paper and it’s not bad. A bit more texture than I’d prefer but definitely workable, especially for the price! I’ve been doing a lot of live and recorded zoom drawing sessions lately as a way to play, get loose and not really think about what I am doing. Yesterday, I did a hilarious one with @sarahdyer_illustrator which featured images of cats and people “dancing” together. It was bizarre and hilarious and a whole lot of fun. The poses were timed and none of these are particularly amazing as a drawing but as an exercise in trying to get a feeling or a pose or the feeling of movement I feel like I did alright. I am a bit embarrassed by how horrid my cats look (especially after spending months drawing them for a picture book!) but I’m going to chalk that up to the panic of not knowing when the timer was going to go off. The last one is my favorite because it was truly ridiculous. Thanks @sarahdyer_illustrator for such a silly and playful time! Doodling characters while listening and watching @sarahdyer_illustrator draw characters and talk about character design on her Patreon. I rarely draw with graphite pencil but have been inspired lately and it’s really fun.

Monthly(ish) ramblings about illustration and books





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