The Clarity of Ideas
Making art is not easy, but pep talks help me through
This is an unedited warm-up page from my sketchbook, in which I quickly jotted down the pep talk I needed to hear this week. There has been a lot going on and I haven't had time to make more polished artwork. Just trying to stay afloat, work at my own pace, and give myself the permission to do so. It's not easy, but pep talks help me through. Sharing some of my process, in case it offers you relief too.
Thanks for reading and stay well.
Description: 3-panel sketchbook comic about the clarity of ideas and developing a personal style to express them. In panel 1, cartoon eyes glow in pitch dark. With a click, a light bulb comes on and the whole face of a cartoon girl with a bun appears. Text reads, "It's less about skill than the clarity of your ideas and your personal style of drawing them. That's all your own and no one can take that away." In panel 2, there's a drawing of the inside of the character's head that is an erupting volcano, spewing molten lava, with an anguished expression on her face. Text reads, "Even if it takes a long time to get clarity, it's okay. Grateful to process emotions on paper, so it's not a lava pit in my head." In panel 3, the girl is calmly painting a volcano on an artist's easel in front of a window. Text reads, "Giving myself permission and the time and paper I need to figure things out at my own pace." Titled "The Clarity of Ideas," by Connie Sun, cartoonconnie, 2025. Watercolor and ballpoint pen on paper.