«Back then I was suffering from a creative block, I was unemployed, and my self esteem was nonexistent because of it.»
Linda Sejic
I have already recommended the «Sunstone» comic by Stjepan Sejic (NSFW, the comic is available on deviantart, all five books are available on Amazon (see links on his deviantart-page), and he’s working on the next series, «Mercy»). Recently I stumbled upon the work of his wife.
For a layman like me, Linda Sejic’s “Blood Stain” comic has a similar style (i.e., strikingly beautiful) and she also draws about … rather normal situations (like being out of a job, or desperately trying to hold onto one). Also, her characters are sympathetic (if in first impression a bit cliché). And, yeah, there are those little things of sparkling creativity in the story.
You find her work on deviantart, and the first three volumes (= first book) are available on Amazon (again, see her deviantart-page). BTW, her works are more or less SFW (and cute ;-)).
What is also interesting is the add-on to the first book, at least from a creative point of view. She writes about how she started the comic, and her creative block (see quote above). And also, she has this gem regarding creativity:
«Now, creativity is an amazing thing.
It is a perfect and most effective way of escapism.
It can turn all your negative thoughts into something wonderful that will not only keep you occupied, but will also give something to show for that time invested.
It is also an incredible healing tool.
Well … sadly for me, that part was out of the question at the time. A tool I loved and used to effectively so many times before, was suddenly no longer available.»
Linda Sejic
She then describes how her creativity was rekindled … and dang, she has skill. Even when she was down:
So yeah, highly recommended. And BTW, putting the comic online for free, on deviantart as images, and as PDF (download link on the right top side when you select a volume) — kudos (I still prefer to give something, after all, value-for-value, plus the quality is better, and there are the extras :-)).
Oh, and BTW, if you want to see an artist drawing, Stjepan Sejic has a twitch channel of him drawing (e.g., this work) — which is very interesting to see (not like I would have imagined drawing).
P.S.: Hmm, that drawing of him did not turn out that well in his mind. Another aspect of how you spot an artist.
