Week 4: It’s Hard To Put Things In Perspective / I’m A Little Sad Today So I’m Introducing All My Stuffed Animals

(The egg is as intact as my mental state right now) 

Week 4, everyone, aka the last week before I begin officially working on my set of illustrations! I spent this week researching the main setting of Jane Eyre, Thornfield (Rochester’s big old fancy dark mansion). 

This week has been particularly rough on me for some personal reasons. So in Part 2 of this blog today, I’m taking a little step back from the grind to talk about some topics that make me happy. But first, let’s look at some more drawings I did. 

Designing Rochester’s House 

In the 2011 movie adaptation of Jane Eyre, the scenes at Thornfield Hall are actually shot at Haddon Hall, a  famous historical house that has also starred in movies like The Princess Bride and Pride & Prejudice. Since I liked how it looked, I based my own sketches off of it. Here are a couple thumbnails I did to get a sense of its grounds:

Then, I suddenly felt the urge to return to the simplicity and timelessness of pencil and paper sketching. So I pulled out my 9 x 12 trusty old faux leather-covered Canson sketchbook and my rulers and did a traditional rendering of the gardens behind Thornfield. 

Drawing buildings and scenes in perspective are two of the things I struggle the most with, but I’m actually quite happy with how this one came out! 

That’s all my drawing for this week! Next time, I’ll have some actual illustrations to show so look forward to it. But now, I’m moving into the more fun half of this blog.   

A Good Desk Set-up Is Like a Comfy Hoodie 

Since I’ll be drawing nonstop for the next 5 weeks, I thought I’d talk about my art set-up. This is a picture of the tools I use for digital art. The numbers correspond to the descriptions below.

1. XPPen Innovator 16 Drawing Tablet — Got It On Sale For $219 Dollars After Waiting 2 Whole Agonizing Years For The Lowest Price (Retail Price $400!). Patience Quite Literally Pays Off.
2. MacBook Air — Overheats With Every Single Drawing Application Except MediBang Paint, So That’s The One I Use.
3. Post-It Cat — My Love.
4. Cheap Monitor — Awful Resolution, But It Gets The Job Done.
5. Peanuts Calendar — A Cherished Gift From Mrs. Bhattacharya. Thanks To It, I Never Have To Check My Phone For The Date Anymore.

Of course, that’s what it looks like when it’s all laid out neatly. Here’s what it usually looks like when I actually draw:

1. Drawing Tablet Power Cords — The Darn Thing Needs THREE Power Input Sources (1 HDMI, 2 USB) To Even Turn On, So It’s Always A Tangly Mess To Plug In.
2. My “Getting Into My Dream Colleges” Spotify Playlist — Didn’t Happen, But I Need The Positive Energy Anyways.
3. Unplugged Monitor — Since The Drawing Tablet Is Taking Up The Adaptor’s HDMI Plug, I Can’t Actually Connect My Monitor.
4. Post-It Notes Of Motivation — Little Mantras I Write To Keep Myself From Falling Into A Pit Of Darkness And Despair.
5. Tablet Stand — Improves My Drawing Posture By 20 Degrees.

I’m exaggerating my complaints a little. The truth is, I love my set-up. It enhances my workflow and always gets me in the mood to create.

Also, a Big Thank You to My Emotional Support Pillars Through These Tough Times 

From left to right, top to bottom: Plue, Manggae, Lactose, Weenus, Fao Schwartz, Lord Mallard, Lord Ball. You can probably tell who is who with your intuition. 

And that’s it for this week’s issue! If you’ve read all five of my blogs — I applaud your dedication and appreciate your support. Next week, your patience will be paid off when I show you my first finished illustration! See you then.