Kinder To Myself Holiday

May your holidays be merry, but if this is a hard time, I hope you find the comfort you need. 

Thanks for reading. I am taking extra care of myself.

[3-panel comic of a girl with a braid looking a little bit melancholy. Text reads, "Holidays make me feel sadder than usual - even if I'm fine and nothing's wrong." In panel 2, she gives herself a hug. Panel 3 zooms out to show an elephant in the frame. Girl, still hugging herself, says "Let me be kinder to myself today." Elephant adds that "All is not lost. Maybe somebody you know made pie."]

Stronger Cartoonist (Tinyview #26)

I want to be a better, stronger cartoonist, but it's hard to know if I'm on the right path...

This is episode #26 from my comic series on Tinyview Comics app. 

https://tinyview.com/connie

It helps me a lot if you follow on Tinyview for my weekly strip!

[5-panel comic of a girl with a bun at a drawing table. Panel 1, overhead shot: "I really wish I were a better cartoonist. It's so hard." Panel 2, medium shot of the girl at her desk, looking mildly stressed. Text reads, "I don't know if I'm strong enough to do this." After a beat, panel 3 shows her determined face: "I can't give up! I have to try harder!" Panel 4 is a humorous illustration of the girl in shorts, lifting pink dumbbells. Text reads, "Must get stronger!" Panel 5 shows her "later," back at her desk, with bodybuilder arms, drawing pensively. Thought bubble: "Am I doing this right?"]

Thanks for supporting!

Seasons, Come As You Are

Fall foliage was at its peak in Central Park over the weekend. When the wind blew, it looked like it was raining sunlight in reds and golds. 

Seasons are never boring. Thanks for reading. 

[4-panel comic of a girl with a braid sitting, melancholy with her head on a table and a cup of tea. Panel 1 text: "I should get some fresh air." In panel 2, she is jogging in the park with fall leaves raining down brightly against a simple drawing of a city backdrop. Text reads: "I should exercise more." Panel 3 is a splash of color, the reds and golds of peak fall foliage. She is a tiny figure walking behind globs of bright color. Text reads, "I should live each day to the fullest." In panel 4, she is walking over fallen leaves with her hands in her pockets, head down, looking pensive. Text reads, "I should not feel sad." Title of strip: "Seasons, come as you are."]

Relationship Needs

I don't think I'm asking for much ;)

Thanks for reading and supporting

[3-panel comic of a girl with a braid, fantasizing about what the perfect relationship looks like for her. Panel 1 text reads, "I don't need much in a relationship..." In panel 2, she is being hugged tight by a figure with huge arms within a thought bubble and lifted a few inches off the ground. Text reads, "...just a guy with humongous arms - who will hold me until the world ends." In panel 3, there is a giant ferocious-looking monster (resembling "King Kong"), baring its teeth and towering over a dense cityscape, holding the girl in one of his hands in a tight grip. She is calm and expressionless: "I mean - this works too."]

Emotional Dictator

If my heart could talk, it would complain of a brutal dictatorship. 

Connie on Ko-fi

[3-panel sketchbook comic without panel borders. Shows sullen girl with a braid, arms crossed, her back to a forlorn-looking red heart that is locked in a birdcage. In panel 2, she turns to the caged heart and scolds, "Don't even think of coming out until you're ready to behave." Text reads: "My creativity is closely tied to my emotions...When I can't express myself openly, it blocks my ability to draw and write." In panel 3, Elephant comments, "That's not very nice to your heart," to which Heart echoes, "Yeah." Girl says dramatically, "HEY! This is really cutting into my productivity!" There's a flashing arrow pointed right at her that says "TYRANT."]

Room For Milk

May all your needs be acknowledged :)

Thanks for reading. 

[4-panel comic strip of a girl with a braid, ordering coffee. Panel 1 text reads "Current level of single desperation." In panel 2, she orders coffee from a bearded barista, with the caption "Imagining a future with anyone who acknowledges my needs in any way..." In panel 3, the barista asks, "Would you like room for milk?" In panel 4, there's a beat, as he waits, right before she responds with "marry me."]

Draw Anything (Tinyview #24)

Some days are extra hard and this is all you can do. It's something. 

Creative Notes #24 from my webcomic series on Tinyview. #25 is live on the app this week.

Thanks for liking and following - it helps! https://tinyview.com/connie

[6-panel comic about having a hard time finding the motivation to draw. In panel 1, a girl with a bun stares at a blank piece of paper taped to a wall. In panel 2, she doodles on the wall, everywhere but on the paper itself. Panel 3 shows white clouds. Panel 4 shows the girl sitting on a white cloud with a blank expression on her face. In panel 5, she's staring at a blank piece of paper again, with some empty thought clouds behind her. The final panel shows her drawing a "single dot of emotion". Text reads: "Sometimes the only way through a creative block is to go around it, to doodle in the margins and go somewhere wordless that can't be expressed verbally. Just draw anything and start there."]

Happy Homebody Halloween

You can be as creepy as you want to be. Who's sheet masking with me?

Connie on Ko-fi

[Single-panel illustration of a girl with a bun, wearing a sheet mask and gripping a paring knife and apple, looking creepy as all hell. Text reads "Happy Homebody Halloween."]

Elephant Gives A Hug

Elephants mean well. 

Hope everyone gets all the hugs they need. Thanks for reading. 

[3-panel comic of a girl with a braid, remarking that she "needs a hug." In panel 1, elephant looks on. In panel 2, elephant calmly shuffles closer, back first. Panel 3, elephant backs right into her with a "PLOP!" and asks, "How's that?" as her eyes bulge under the weight of an elephant hug.]

Emotional Block (Tinyview #23)

This is comic #23 from my weekly series on the Tinyview comics app. 

#24 is live on the app today: https://social.tinyview.com/5SnhNVR7Gkb 

Read new episodes every Wednesday. It helps me out if you follow and like on the app.

Thanks for all your support. 

[4-panel comic of a girl with a bun, experiencing "emotional block." In panel 1, she assumes "the drawing position," seated with cup of tea and a sketchbook open to blank pages. Frustrated in panel 2, text reads, "Ugh. Can't feel. Can't draw. I'm blocked." Panel 3 shows signage that reads "road closed," "do not enter," and "detour." "No feelings beyond this point!" Panel 4 shows girl at her desk, sketchbook closed, discouraged. Text reads: "Sometimes I don't have creative block as much as I have emotional block."]

Not A Better Person

Grieving is a hard process to go through and the experience is different for everyone. I'm learning that it doesn't make me a better person, but I should probably forgive myself for that. Still going through it. 

Thanks for reading.

[4-panel comic of a girl with a braid, experiencing unexpected symptoms of grief. First, that "patience is thin." In panel 2, "compassion is low" and she twitches in irritation. In panel 3, "willpower is GONE" and she is inhaling cookies and snacks like a crazed muppet. Panel 4 zooms out and girl is shown talking to a neutral elephant, back to her, but head turned. Speech bubble reads: "I'm disappointed to learn that I'm not a better, kinder person in grief." The elephant responds, "I forgive you...but maybe let's practice some social distancing for a bit."]

Central Park Double Rainbow

Double rainbows really ARE amazing to see. 

I was running in the park yesterday when I looked up and saw it, just as I was passing the fountain. It only lasted a few more minutes before it faded into the clouds. I didn't have my phone on me, so I had to try to draw it. 

Blessings abound. Thanks for reading. 

[4-panel full-color wordless comic of a girl with a braid jogging in Central Park, as it's starting to rain. Next panel in sequence, she is shown hunched with a scowl as the rain falls. Another beat and she looks upward again with surprise. Final panel splash, she has come to a halt in front of the Bethesda Fountain, at sundown,  sky lit up in golden hues and the arc of a double rainbow brushed across the last sunlight coming through the clouds.]

--

Update: This is a new version of the comic! I learned from my friend, cartoonist and author Brian Fies, that I got the rainbows backwards on my first try. (I drew them as identical rainbows.) The colors of the outer rainbow are a mirror of the inner rainbow because sunlight makes one more reflection inside the drop of rain, which is also why the outer rainbow is lighter, since light loses intensity with every reflection. Grateful to Brian for the correction! Here is the updated drawing:

October in New York

Sorry I haven't been posting new comics. Someone important to me died and it has left a hole in my heart. Taking time to grieve and remember. 

Thanks for reading. 

Additional note: A friend of mine just commented, saying that cardinals have some symbolism, which I didn't know when I drew this. I had just seen one and put it in the comic. I just googled cardinal symbolism and found this: "They say the vibrant red bird is an uplifting, happy sign that those we have lost will live forever, so long as we keep their memory alive in our hearts. As cardinals sing their pleasant song, people may recall cherished memories of better times. The beautiful birds are a reminder that  loved ones will never truly be forgotten."

[4-panel diary comic of a girl with a bun leaning against a tree, grieving the loss of a friend. "I lost a dear friend...and it hurts a lot." Panel 2 is a rough sketch of a Central Park path under a crescent moon with a cityscape in the background, drawn from memory. Text reads: "Time is so short." Panel 2 shows a cardinal bird sitting on a branch. Text reads: "Let me love and cherish every moment." Panel 4 zooms back in to the girl leaning against a tree: "It's all that matters."]

Long Live Artists

Trying to be kinder and gentler to myself, as a cartoonist who wants to keep making comics.

This is episode 20 of my weekly webcomic series about the creative process! 

Check out → tinyview.com/connie for new comics every Wednesday on the Tinyview app.

Thanks for following / liking / sharing on Tinyview — all of it helps keep the lights on and food on the table. 

Squid Game Nightmare

If you haven't heard of it, "Squid Game" is a new Korean survival drama that has become a mega hit on Netflix worldwide. 

It looks so good that I had an elaborate nightmare just from seeing the previews. 

I can usually lucid dream my way out of intense nightmares, but I couldn't escape this one! Anybody else??

Thanks for reading. Connie on Ko-fi

[4-panel comic of a girl recounting a nightmare she had after watching a preview of a survival k-drama. Panel 1 shows her sprawled on a bed. Caption reads: "I had a nightmare I couldn't wake up from this morning." Panels 2 and 3 show a character crouched tightly in fear and then running from imminent danger. Text: "It felt like being trapped in a psycho-thriller movie. Danger everywhere and every escape attempt foiled by an unseen force." Last panel cuts to present with a caption that reads: "This is why I can't watch 'Squid Game.'" Elephant appears and says sternly, "Don't...do it" while girl coos at a laptop screen, "Oooh, but it looks so good."]

Sketchbook: Morning Cup of YOLO

Okay, okay, I'm up :)

Also, work is now my YOLO, so it's all good :)

Thanks for the support on Ko-fi, it means a lot.

[Single-panel comic of a girl with a brain and a hot cup of tea, in a sweater, fluffy slippers, looking not quite woken up. Text caption pointing at mug: "Morning cup of YOLO." Thought bubbles: "Wake up" and "Get to work." Heading: "ADULTHOOD."]

Very Natural Pep

I don't half-ass anything (though results may vary).

Have a good weekend and thanks for reading. Connie on Ko-fi

[2-panel comic of a girl with a braid, pondering: "What if I tried to be a peppier person??" In panel 2, she holds up a small mirror and shouts at it emphatically. "Hey!" "DON'T BE SAD!!" "YOLO, amirite?!!" Comic titled: "Very Natural Pep"]

Life Goals Plus Depression

Life is full of jokes that write themselves. 

Happy mid-week. Connie on Ko-fi

[Two-panel comic of a short girl with a bun, shackled to a ball-and-chain weight around her ankle. Panel 1 caption reads: "So hard to chase life goals with depression..." In panel 2, she has a carrot dangling in front of her and is strenuously dragging the weight along. Text reads: "And yet -- life goals are also what keep me going."]

Mooncake Holiday Rituals

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival, a season of plenty and gathering together. 

For the lonely and struggling, may you feel seen and loved. Have some mooncake. This is an unnecessarily long pandemic, but I hope there are clarifying moments of grace for everyone. 

Thanks for reading. Connie on Ko-fi

[5-panel comic about Mid-Autumn Festival and mooncake rituals]

Panel 1, full color, shows a lonely girl, wearing a mask, looking at a bright moon over a Central Park cityscape. Text reads: "It's almost Mid-Autumn Festival, a major lunar holiday, celebrated in parts of Asia to mark the harvest season, a time of plenty before the winter months."

Panel 2 is a flashback in grayscale, in which there are two figures comically fighting over gift-giving in the form of boxed mooncakes. Text: I used to think the competitive gift-giving rituals of mooncake exchange were over-the-top..."

Panel 3, text continued, "...but the older I get, the more I miss the shenanigans of having people to share mooncakes with." Shows a solitary figure, standing next to a tree, in an empty park, in full color. 

Panel 4 is another grayscale flashback of people eating wedges of mooncake and drinking tea at a holiday gathering. Text: "This has been harder to come by in pandemic times."

Panel 5 mirrors the first full-color panel of the lonely girl, present day, looking at the moon over a city backdrop. Final panel text reads: "At least there's still the moon."

Single Introvert Energy

I wish I had more social energy to spend. Even when I feel lonely, there's a limited supply.

Hope everyone gets a chance to recharge over the weekend. 

Thanks for reading and supporting

[3-panel comic about recharging introvert energy. Panel 1 shows a zombie-eyed girl with a bun and a low battery icon hovering over her, thinking "uh-oh." Panel 2 has her hunched over, yet walking with purpose: "Must hurry." In panel 3, she is lying on her side, plugged awkwardly into an electrical outlet. Thought bubble: "You know...I bet this is why I'm single."]

Friend Therapy

I've been struggling with some lows lately and my good friend, Waj, a busy dad of three, gave me a single-text therapy session, which inspired today's comic.

Everybody I know is very, very tired. I think we can acknowledge that things are still not easy. 

Take extra care and thanks for reading. Connie on Ko-fi

[3-panel comic of a tired, sad girl with a bun, curled on a couch, phone in hand. Panel 1 text reads, "Me to friend: ugh...I don't know what's wrong with me :(" Panel 2 text shows an "immediate response." Girl sits up, looks at her phone: "pandemic + nyc + single = no joke". Girl sits upright in panel 3 and says, "That is SURPRISINGLY validating." Comic titled "Friend Therapy."]