This post was originally published for Patrons on 22.07.2023

Hello!

I hope you are doing well this month <3 I was able to finally finish July illustration today! I hoped to do it earlier but packing and cleaning before I move got in the way… I also really struggled with this theme.

I thought I had a clear idea of what I want to draw for it (a seaside scene inspired by ‘From Up On Poppy Hill’) but then I kept changing my mind and redrawing the entire thing. I’m glad I did this though, I’m very happy with the final result and I think it’s much more interesting then the first drawing :D I hope you agree and like it too!!

Here are some sketches/WIPs. First I tried to put the bike rider in a ‘background focused’ scene:

But I switched to close ups on the character, I wanted to show them enjoying the ride instead of a landscape if that makes sense.

The bird in the bushes is Raróg (a fire demon from slavic mythology). I like the concept of putting a slavic creature in modern setting but this sketch just feels off.

At some point I was sketching with a pencil in my sketchbook and after drawing other stuff I spontaneously decided to draw a goblin on a bike. And I really liked the sketch (finally!) so I edited in on my tablet and worked from there.

This is the most convoluted process of any of the Patreon illustrations so far, hopefully it was interesting to you to see it :)

And here’s the finished illustration:

Have a nice rest of the week,

Anna ☃️