✏️Pencils Complete✏️

A blue line drawing of a slice of Vegemite toast on a plate and a bite taken out of the corner of it. ‘The End’ is written in the Vegemite.

In very exciting news, I’ve just finished and sent in the pencils for the final chapter of my graphic novel, Oh Brother! This is by no means the end of the hard work (I’ve still got take on final edits and then ink & colour the book!) but it’s a huge step along the way to finishing and publishing my first graphic novel.

Because the book deadlines are super tight, I’m not going to be able to post too much here for next few months. So if you want to keep up to date with what I’m up to (and see more sneak peeks of the book), sign up to my newsletter (link in bio). I send out a little update at the end of each month with some behind the scenes looks at my work and links to any upcoming events I’m doing (pssst, I’m sending out my next newsletter tomorrow).

Alright, I’m going to go nap for a bit now so I’m refreshed and ready to start inking next week! 💪

⭐️ Meet Trish ⭐️

An orange starfish shaped monster with one eye is looking out at the night sky through an old telescope. They are wearing blue overalls and a pink shirt and look very worried.

And this is final friend, in our trio of monster pals, Trish. Trish is a worry wort and they are constantly worrying about their and their friend’s futures (and sometimes look to the stars for help). Their worry comes from a place of love, because they always want the best for their friends and they are very good at planning things. But Trish’s worry can also stop them from doing things they love (or at least making it far less enjoyable). I can’t *imagine* where I got the inspiration for Trish.

⭐️ Meet Agatha ⭐️

A blue monster with a triangle head, 3 eyes, 3 noses and 3 mouths. She is wearing a pink button up shirt tucked into yellow pants with a belt. She looks distressed by all the mess around her. She has three arms and three spiky tails holding cleaning equipment.

Hello Friends! This is Agatha. Agatha likes things to be just so. She very much believes in “a place for everything and everything in its place.” Agatha can sometimes get very stressed when things are messy and her friends don’t put things away where they should go but she also loves making things for friends. (Those who know me might see some resemblance between me at Agatha).

Agatha is another monster in Edith’s universe.

⭐️ Meet Edith ⭐️

A happy pink fluffy monster sitting in their bedroom under a tent made of patchwork blankets. The monster has big earmuffs on and rubbing a blanket on their face. They are surrounded by lots of lights and warm colours.

I know a lot of you already know Edith (who is the star of their very own eponymous mini-comic that you can read at my online clubhouse a.k.a website). Edith’s character is inspired by some of my own sensory needs (loves blankets and the quiet) and doesn’t always cope when they can’t get these things.

Edith came about as part of a monster workshop I ran a few years ago now (along with a few other monster pals I’ll be sharing here soon). I fell in love with them straight away and they’ve never left me. I keep doodling Edith in my sketchbooks and coming up with new stories for them (I’m hoping to eventually make a longer comic with Edith and their pals at some point).

🧥Three Kids in a Trenchcoat 🧥

A pink background with a red ink drawing of three kids in a trenchcoat, hat, glasses and briefcase. The two kids inside the trench coat are passing candy to each other.

Here’s a little t-shirt design I made for the Comic Art Workshop 2023 fundraiser. I had a lot of fun drawing one of my favourite tropes, Three Kids in a Trenchcoat. I’m really loving the pink & red colour combo at the moment. I want all my clothes to be pink and red!

🧋Ky & George 🧋

Cartoon Ky + George drawn like paper dolls on a digital sketchbook. They are surrounded by all their favourite stuff, snacks, bubble tea, hats, musical keyboard, sketchbook.

It was my good friend Ky’s birthday a few months ago and I created this silly little drawing of us inspired by one of our video call chats. We’ve been buddies since high school and I miss her terribly (as we’ve not lived in the same state or country for almost 10 years now). 

But Ky always knows how to cheer me up (as demonstrated by the mail I received recently from her, a lovely letter and some french language mini-comics from Canada (current residential location) including one by one of my fave indie artists Cathon. I’d never mentioned Cathon to Ky, she just knows what I would love instinctively. 😌

Ky and I are both pretty different but also oddly very similar. We have on more than one occasion turned up to events wearing the same thing (un-planned) a thing that still fills me joy thinking about. Our differences definitely bring out the best in me, encouraging and supporting me to do things I wouldn’t always do by myself.

Here’s to all the people in my life (and yours!) that are wonderful and supportive and just get me (or you!). You are all very lovely. 💕

🧠 Brains, am I right? 🧠

A borderless, un-pencilled, comic drawn in thick black pen on pink paper. The comic is of my brain and me talking. The brain is saying “You always make the wrong decisions! You are selfish! You are useless! You should work harder.” I grab the brain out of my head and say “Hey. It’s okay. You don’t have to be perfect. You are allowed to rest. Your productivity is not your worth.”

A little comic I noodled out of my noodle a few weeks back. I kept tossing up whether I should redraw it and make it a cleaner, tighter comic. At the moment I’ve decided not to.

Sending love and strength to all those who also struggle with confusing their productivity with their worth.

🕸️Knitting Spider 🕸️

A cartoon illustration of a round grey spider knitting a web and wearing a pink tank top and shorts with a star and a heart patch sewn on. They are wearing red pointy glasses and red sneakers.

Here is my newest addition to my collection of George Rex ‘Cool Creatures’ Stickers. I’ll have the sticker version of this spider (along with all my other vinyl stickers) with me at the @papercutscomicsfestival market day next Sunday (in one week!).

Can’t make it to the festival? You can grab one from my online shop here.

✒️Into the Comics Mines🖋️

An illustration of Gina holding an iPad, paper, pack of pretzels and a cup of tea and wearing a sash of pencils and a cap with a candle melted to the brim. Gina is looking unenthusiastically at a cave made from comics pages. The cave has signs stuck to it that read “Welcome to the comics mines”, “Danger RSI Ahead”, “Turn back and back up your harddrive” and “Beware of papercuts.”

Hello dear friends! This is it. I’m about to go into the comics mines for the next 6 months (approximately). What does this mean? It means that I will be working 5 days a week on the book with 1 day a week aside for admin & running workshops. Because of this fairly inflexible and tight work schedule, until the book is in the hot little hands of the publisher (approximately August) I will be taking a step back from posting online. This is to help me focus on getting pages done, as my brain starts fritzing out if I have too many projects to juggle, and social media posting in particular takes a lot of my brain energy powers.

📰BUT I will still be sending out my monthly e-newsletter to keep you updated on the book and share sneak peeks at anything else I can manage to squeeze into my spare time (I predict these things to be mostly sleeping, many cups of tea and watering the garden). I love sending out my newsletter and it makes me real happy when folks sign up - it’s the best way to let you know what I’ve been up to.