Hello! I hope you are doing well as we reach the end of summer. I am definitely looking forward to more mild temperatures.

I find myself continuing to be burnt out this month, as I continue looking for work. I have found that it is much easier to be creative when I have some stability, which I have yet to find since graduating. I’m about 75 applications deep at the moment and hoping that soon the job hunt will come to an end.

While I have no output to report, I thought I’d share a few inspiring things I’ve been looking at:

1. Pokémon cards: My partner and I have recently taken up the task of curating our collections, and I’ve fallen in love with the illustration work. It’s fun to look at so many artists approaching the same brief in different ways! Some favorites include Sekio, sowsow, and Shibuzoh.

2. Creative Pep Talk podcast: Recommended by a few artists at talks I’ve gone to, this has been one of my new favorite background noises to have on! Love the neurodivergent lens the show often takes as someone recently diagnosed.

3. Reading: I technically haven’t read it yet, but I picked up The Language of the Night, a series of essays by Ursula K. Le Guin on writing sci-fi and fantasy. I want to become more knowledgeable about my preferred genre from a craft perspective, but I’m super excited to give it a read! Will report back.

Also this month marks my annual birthday itch.io sale! From now until September 28th, all of my paid projects will be 24% off! Alternatively, you can purchase everything in a bundle for only $24! Please consider checking things out here.

I hope you all have a wonderful month, and I will talk to you again soon,

- Buddy

Coming Soon

I will be at Portland Zine Symposium in October! I’ll share more details next month, but come say hi!