Day 15: spotted hyenaThese guys are so underappreciated. They’re such interesting animals!

Day 15: spotted hyena

These guys are so underappreciated. They’re such interesting animals!

This one’s a bit late, I know. With having only recently started drawing again, I’m not at a point yet where I can consistently crank out a new piece day after day after day without fizzling out, and over the last week it’s become more like a chore and I’ve been losing my energy and enthusiasm for it. Last night after staring at my blank sketchbook for an hour I finally just closed it and set it aside, and I was surprised at how much it helped — simply giving myself the permission to take a break and do something else for a while.

Sorry to those of you who look forward to seeing a new drawing each day — I’m still going to try and carry on with Inktober in spirit and finish the 31 day set I have planned — but I’m going to relax my schedule a bit so I can do some self care and work on some other projects, even if that means not finishing the set by the end of the month. Inktober isn’t worth burning myself out over. (I made it half way after all, learned some new things in the process, and for a first-timer I don’t think that’s too shabby.) Most importantly, I never want to get the point where drawing isn’t fun anymore.

Remember: always be kind to yourself!