Hello dear readers,
and happy Halloween to all those who celebrate!
Last Friday was my birthday, and I was fortunate enough to celebrate it over a long weekend this year.
I saw family, friends, watched some spooky films, played another session of the Carnahan Collection, and even went to the cinema. I did also find some time to do some drawing.
The Gezelligeon, Revisited
So there I was on Tuesday morning, trying to think of one more suitably spooky thing to draw before Halloween.
I was looking back over my Halloween creations from the past few years’, and remembered… the Gezelligeon!
Two years ago, just before going on a short break in a cabin in the woods for my birthday, I did a fairly niche creative project and made a video about it. To date, for reasons I still don’t fully understand, that video is still my most popular.
The project was designing and drawing a pantheon of cosmic deities inspired by cosy autumnal and winter themes. The name Gezelligeon comes from the Dutch word for cosy, “gezellig”.
The initial concept was born during a previous stay in that same cabin, but at new year’s eve. My wife and I were having fun imagining a kind of benevolent eldritch being who would watch over the cabin while we slept. So was born the first member of the Gezelligeon, the Cabin Keeper.
Pictured above: the first four members of the Gezelligeon. From left to right: the Cabin Keeper, the Leaf Reader, the Scuttling Hug, and the Soup Hag.
After drawing the Cabin Keeper, three other deities, and publishing the video, I was overwhelmed by the reception it got. I had never received so many views and comments on something I had made before. Even though the overwhelming majority of comments were positive, it was genuinely kind of scary, and it took me a while to get over it. I wrote more about the whole experience in issue 77 of this blog/newsletter.
A lot of comments were from people who were hoping I’d make more designs for the Gezelligeon and make them available for purchase. At the time, I wanted nothing more than to move on from it, so I shelved the project and kept the designs unpublished.
The Gezelligeon, Completed
Now, two years later, I guess I felt comfortable enough to return to the project.
Inspired by my daily hikes up the hill, through gnarled bare trees and slowly rolling fog, I designed two more cosy cosmic horrors. The Bramble King (& Thicket Prince), and Grandmother Fog.
In addition, I decided it was finally time to publish them as art assets.
You can find the completed Gezelligeon art assets on my website, RPG Trader and itch.io. They are available for both personal and commercial use, with attribution.
A Very Special Birthday Card
Something else I drew recently, nowhere near as spooky, was a birthday card for my Nonna.
She turned 99 on Wednesday, so I thought I’d draw her something special. When she was younger and still able to walk unassisted, I’d go with her and my dad to a large monumental cemetery in Turin. There’s a lot of green there, and she’d always be on the look out for wild rabbits and hares hopping around among the gravestones.
Rabbits and hares are still some of her favourite animals, so that’s what I drew. She was very happy with it.
Some Thoughts on Self-Promotion and Community
Cezar Capacle published his third video on making a living as a full-time indie TTRPG designer. In this episode, he goes over the various ways indie designers can try to get eyes on their work.
It’s an almost hour-long analysis, with various pros and cons discussed. Speaking for myself, it made me pause for thought and consider if how I am currently going about getting my work out there still feels right.
A you may already know, I rely almost entirely on this newsletter to let people know what I’m up to.
I make the odd video or post on YouTube when I have inspiration, and I mostly lurk on Bluesky. However, I’m almost exclusively making promotional posts on social media and not interacting more with other creators. I just don’t want to get sucked up into that machine again.
Discord was a place I used to hang out on a LOT, but I decided to leave that platform too earlier this year. I have set up some group chats with friends and peers on Signal, which are invaluable.
However, I would like to find a way of interacting more with other creators – as Cezar suggests – that feels right for me.
To that effect, I’m going to make another push at promoting my forum.
It has been very quiet, and I feel like I need to do more to promote it as a better alternative to social media.
I have revamped it a little so that it feels like an extension of my website. If you haven’t already, please do consider checking it out, especially if you want to chat about art, games or other creative things.
A Film Recommendation: Wildwood
Before closing with the usual list of links, I wanted to recommend a film.
If you are a fan of animation, dark fantasy, or even just cinema, I strongly recommend you see Wildwood. The latest opus from stop-motion studio Laika, I consider it a triumph for the animation medium. It’s a testament to the dizzying heights animation can reach.
I was lucky enough to see it at the cinema this Monday. I encourage you to do the same if you can, it’s absolutely worth it. It would also go towards supporting the animation industry, which has been in dire straits for years now. In a way it was a bittersweet coincidence for me going to see this film on same the day I learnt about the tragic passing of one of animation’s greatest recent champions, Eric Bauza.
Please note: this is not a film for very young children. It definitely earns its PG-13 rating: it’s pretty brutal, which is in keeping with its Grimm fairy tale feel.
Media Showcase
- Do you like strikingly evocative and creepy art and graphic design? Strega Wolf needs some help with some sudden emergency expenses. Check out their amazing work and support/commission them if you can!
- Looking for something more cosy, romantic and cartoony? Hannah Lee Stockdale did an absolutely wonderful art commission for my wife and I, which brings me joy every time I look at it. She’s also in need of work, so check out her work and hire/commission her too if you can.
- Check out Peter (a.k.a. JimmyShelter)’s bundle of OSR/NSR adventures over on itchio!
- Have you ever dreamed of being a little alien in a flying saucer, drawing crop circles? Well, now that dream can become a reality, with Hairic Lilred’s delightful latest game: Alien Art!
- Do you like crafting, sewing and painting? Then check out these two excellent channels on YouTube: Hazariel Atelier and Wizards Keep.
- Do you like mice? Do you like watching mice do cute things in cute dioramas? Then you should definitely check out the channel George Mouse. Absolutely adorable videos.
That’s all for this issue!
As always, thank you so much for reading.
One last reminder that if you feel like supporting my work, you can buy something from my website or itchio, join my Patreon as a paying member, or commission me.
If none of the above are doable for you, please consider spreading the word about my work to your friends!
Want to try a space to hang out and chat that’s not a social media platform?
Check out my forum, PennySpace!
Until next time,
– Penflower