Art blog;
Sir Oinkus and Pig Charming
05 February, 2024
Sir Oinkus and Pig Charming is a lovely children’s book written by the amazing Holly Ham. It’s about the special bond between a knight and his steed – in this case, a charming and very brave Pig!
The Process
We started with a simple concept sketch for the two main characters of the story and then went to work on getting the overall vibe just right for the layouts and story blocking. We went through a couple of versions before we found just the right one. We ended up with a format and style that captured a storybook feel while also really emphasizing the cuteness of Pig Charming.
Holly was so fun to work with, and I felt so honored and excited to be working with her on a project that was so full of charm. You can really tell when someone is working on a project they are passionate about. They always bring that creative zest to a story that makes it come alive.
Working on a commission can be tricky because I have to interpret someone else’s ideas into something tangible that can fit on a piece of paper. A lot of the time, people don’t know what they’ll like until they see what it looks like for the first time and give feedback on what to change/ adjust. This can mean a lot of rough drafts, but that’s half the fun for me! Holly had so many great ideas and so much great feedback, working with such a creative person to breathe life into her vision was a rare treat.
I’m super proud of my work, especially considering this is one of the first children’s books I’ve ever finished! But as always, I have things I want to improve for the future. I think I want to be better at testing colors and seeing how the values will play out before submitting the final pics. Also in the future, I hope that since I’m familiar with the process now things will go faster in the future next time I work on a project like this. Finishing this book took much longer than I would have hoped. Part of that was due to how much time I spent really getting those details perfect. (I wanted to do a great job!) Part of that was due to my Terrible Tendonitis.
Terrible Tendonitis
One of the biggest problems I ran into while working was Tendonitis. I was working on illustrating this book as well as the My First Havamal book my uncle and I worked on together. I had a LOT of pictures to get through. (26 from Sir Oinkus and Pig Charming, and 24 from the Havamal.) I was waking up, drawing for eight+ hours, and then going to sleep and doing it all again the next day. Thanks to a combo of not taking breaks and hypermobile joints, I began to have soreness pretty quickly. Also unfortunate, I have a pretty high pain tolerance, so I didn’t really think much of it until the problem got really bad. My hands were constantly sore. I tried to take breaks but honestly, I just didn’t know the basics of what my muscles and joints needed to maintain hand health. I am in much better shape now, and I do regular workouts, heat therapy, and massage to keep my fingies limber and strong! Since then I’ve learned a lot more about exercise routines and therapy that helps. But I was in pain for almost a solid year because I was really pushing myself haha. Let this be a lesson to you, fellow artists! Take care of your handses!
Also, if anyone is interested in what I do to maintain my hands/ my routine/ what I’ve learned, let me know! Maybe I’ll make another art blog post about it.
My feeeeeeelings
I think the biggest things I felt while working on this project were;
- Imposter syndrome
- Panic
- Absolute thrills of joy
- Imposter syndrome
- Delight
This and the Havamal project – which were both my first children’s books, were happening at the same time. I had been working on the Havamal for a bit longer, but there was a bit of time when they overlapped and I was just swamped with all kinds of new things I had to learn, fast. I had worked on many, many commissions before, but never a full children’s book. I was feeling so excited at the prospect of a future working as an illustrator. I also felt like a tiny, tiny ant person praying to the gods to bless my project with good fortune and success. I had many anxious afternoons working and maybe a couple of very late nights after I submitted drafts for review hoping that I did well. Now that I’ve finished two projects like that, I’ve noticed I have a lot more confidence in my abilities, so much so that I’m already working on bigger and more serious projects.
I don’t think it’s accurate to say something about working on a project like that transformed me into a professional, even though I have improved and learned, as I always do. I think I always was capable of completing a project like this, but, like with many things, I had to prove to myself what I was capable of. It’s easy for things to feel a lot harder than they should for me. Challenging myself can feel VERY SCARY. But the more I do the more I feel like I’m going to be able to accomplish some of my biggest dreams as long as I keep trying, and take breaks. Who knows what I’ll be able to do next?
Where to find it
If you’re interested in this very cute and very wonderful story, you can check out the link below, or it’s also on Amazon. I would love for you to support it because more copies sold means Holly gets to write more children’s books in the future, which I think would be absolutely spectacular! She’s a wonderful author, and her work would be a charming addition to any bookshelf.
https://mascotbooks.com/mascot-marketplace/buy-books/childrens/sir-oinkous-and-pig-charming/
