This challenge was a lot of fun. My IDEA theme was challenging too but I put it out. I had the chance to make new friends, struggle with old and new friends and create a habit of working daily and faster. It was also a great opportunity to revive my Youtube Channel from the dead and it was very appropriated doing it during Halloween. 

You can find sketchbook tours, long videos and the process of drawing, inking or even coloring it.

November is already here. So let's say Hi to a new challenge, full of color this time, only makes sense that I make it with Polly and the Black Ink project.

I will be posting daily art on the @pollyandtheblackink instagram account and one video in the middle of the week with the entire process of one of the watercolor paintings, and the usual sketchbook tour of the previous week on Sundays.

Now speaking of winners. As a way to thank with your constant comments and likes on my posts, here are the three winners for your loyalty to my art, lot's of activity and support. I might do the same with #huevember and Polly. : D

Our little pig made to the newspaper! What a proud pig mom I am. This was a great collaboration with my mother in law Lisa Marling to celebrate the love for the theater. And our little oinker raised $500. Isn't that awesome?

Taking a break from work this October to participate in the challenge #inkotber

I needed some excuse to make ink exercises. So I'm combining character design, humor and will be sharing what I've learned during these past years on HOW TO have IDEAS. 

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I'll be loyal to the #inktober2018 prompt list but I'll keep the same theme for all entries, making the words adapt to IDEAS and how to have them, find them, cultivate them or catch them all! Let's get it started! See you tomorrow on instagram @vanessabettencourtart!

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👻For those who don't know what #inktober is: 

.

Quoted from his site:

"Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. Created by Jake Parker.

Inktober rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online

3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2018

4) Repeat

Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. Whatever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better."

🆓 Get your FREE e-book sample by SUBSCRIBING to www.thevioletwest.com 

Never Give UP! is a How To... book about 150 pages to be released at the end of this years, with lots of tips and activities to help you start, continue or finish a project, have more ideas, keep you productive and organized.

Subscribe and don't miss a thing.

I would like to share my experience in fighting my ups and downs, and how I got to a method that keeps me creating daily.

I hope this will reduce your time of research and trial and error to search for valuable tips by giving you a sum of actions and activities that I've gathered over the years. 

As my students would say: "Warning comes with homework and positive results from it."

Something you don't know about me. I love school and homework.

It's back to school time. I loved it when I was a student, then when I became a teacher. I was inspired and then had the opportunity to inspire and again to be inspired, it was always a win-win for me. 

Homework was the best way to teach me discipline and create the habit of practicing immediately what I just had learned. 

It was also a collection of challenges that pushed me forward. 

It taught me to acknowledge work in artWORK. 

Research, writing and executing all those activities became steps of a quest and there was only reward at the end. I became more knowledgeable in the subjects or got used to set daily goals and practice enough to see a quick evolution. 

Diverse activities taught me to select the right classes or to take none at all and become self-taught in some subjects. Because I had the tools that allowed me to quickly search, research and find the right book, tutorial or lesson in books or online, it pushed me forward. 

It taught me that taking action is moving forward.

18:01 Tuesday ...

Sometimes I just start to listen to all my playlists on shuffle and take random notes of all possible ideas, the ones that look the silliest, or ready to erase are the ones that I pay more attention too.

They can be inverted, transformed and reinvented in the next best idea. The more you let them out, the easier it is to have more and better ones.

Keep those dialogues with your thoughts going and your sketchbooks closer.

Working from home allows me to wear comfortable clothes, but it does not mean I do not put the same effort and working hours during the day as other jobs.

I just have the option of sometimes working more hours than a regular job while wearing my pajamas. :D

So many thoughts become ideas at the end of the day.

I keep my notebook around so I can dialogue with my thoughts and don't forget a thing.

Something I see, something I think, something I need to rethink, a sketch here, a sketch there. Get a little memo pad and keep it in your pocket. Ideas generate ideas and bad ideas generate even better.

Keep those thoughts flowing.

Stay close for news on the next project "Never Give Up!" a How to... book just for you. 

Visit www.thevioletwest.com and subscribe so you won't miss a thing.

The anthology is a final nominee. I'm delighted to be part of the theme with one of my notfrombrazil exclusive episodes (for the Magic Bullet) This portraits the time that we expected an inspector from the immigration to knock on our door for a surprise visit to check out if we were married.

Unfortunately, he didn't appear, but I tried to bake fresh cake every day... just in case.

Think outside of the... tablet!

Think you didn't do much the past week? Take your little notebook from your pocket or bag and check out the intense and pages full of good ideas, bad ideas.

The worst ideas are my favorite because they challenge me to search for a solution and come up with twenty other ideas - to prove the first bad one was not a dead end. Start those dialogues with your creative brain.

@vanessabettencourtart

Subscribe to the new website, all my books, and news coming soon.

www.thevioletwest.com

6:30 mind is full of ideas for a new story.

It's my brain fighting the 42 chapter illustrations remaining.

I have a schedule to keep, a focus and a goal to accomplish.

Let's stay in that path.

Working from home requires discipline.

You put your personality to the test and intensifies some of the weakest traits one might have when you are developing a project for yourself - when you are your boss.

It took me some time to adapt to a schedule that made sense to me.

August always makes me stumble. However,  it's also impossible to keep the same one hundred percent perfect energy and creativity going daily.

Art is not about doing something relatively just ok every day.

It's about evolution, process, struggle, failures and the sweet rewards that come after it. 

So let's do that five minutes a day or 10h of little steps forward... towards success. 

Thank you for keeping up with this blog. Don't miss the next events, projects or book releases. Subscribe to The Violet West.

7:30. Have my water and oatmeal bowl.

Sitting at my desk, shoving demons and disappointments away from my mind.

Warming up for a day of full chapter illustrations.

The deadline is close and my high expectations of the quality of my own work makes it harder to get it done quickly or have fun. I'm still proud of it.

I just can't look at the total of illustrations required to finish the book without panicking. 43 chapters and 4 to 5 illustrations each. Instead of doing math... I have to look at small steps. Small goals to reach the larger one.

Set the limit for maybe 2 or 4 a day, maybe a chapter in the morning and another after lunch. That's about 8 to 10 full drawings. The journey is a lonely path but so are the rewards. 

Start small... One little goal at the time.

Maybe today I'll do one illustration in the morning and another in the afternoon. After all I was the one who set the impossible and short deadline to start with. One month for all? Let's see what happens just today.

I'll let you know...

For news or events, new projects and book releases subscribe to The Violet West.

I'm still trying to catch up with everything. We didn't have much time to plan and execute, so settling down and restarting will take a bit more than I expected. 

All seems new and sort of vacation and not at the same time. Different sounds, smells, temperatures and people. It's exciting and the adrenaline of it exhausts me and makes me want more at the same time.

Taking a lot of notes and saving all the inspiration to start creating soon.

It's so much that makes completely sense to start sketching and outlining a third volume. Who hasn't experience the stress and hilarious moments of moving into a new house? 

Check out Not From Brazil official site from now on, I will post some of the episodes as I outline the Not From Brazil volume III - Nesting: the art of moving without... divorce!

Today we celebrate more than the beginning of a new chapter. I am blown away by your kindness and generosity. Everyone has been so lovely.

It's been three years in a new country and new city, but I already carry so many friends ( close and virtual) with me to my new location. It only makes me grow as a person an artist even more. 

Thank you so much to those who donated and in a few hours made my goal possible. 

To those who donated $20 or more, I will mail a personalized copy of NFB volume II ( first copies and edition). 

We met the goal, but you can still use this app to make pre-orders of Notfrombrazil Volume II ($20)

I will be publishing it July and shipping your books in August.

I can't wait to make more and share more with you.

Thank you for the Holy pony moment today between the coughing, the medicine, the packing, the checklists, the dust, the running away from spiders, the packing of all cutely before time ( we still need for the next six days...) making this goal was a great start!

So... Yeah! Thank you! ! You know who! Yes you!

"Buy me a coffee!" because there is no app for "buy me an ice cream" instead.

I have to thank the team of "Buy me a coffee" for giving artist and fans a secure and easy way of supporting out art. With just a simple button have the option of sending me $3 to my PayPal.

This motivates me and shows I deserve a coffee for my efforts so far : D Thank you!

A special thanks to the people who since last Friday used the app and helped me to come closer to my goal.

If I meet my goal soon, I will publish Notfrombrazil Volume II earlier than Summer. YAY!

All with your help I can also continue to post longer free episodes on notfrombrazil.com official website. A good way to celebrate 3 years of 500 free webcomic episodes so far.

All orders and thank yous are packed and ready to send. For more personalized signed books or portraits contact me directly : vanessabettencourtart@gmail.com

Here is a treat! Free Polly and the Black Ink 

free printable stationary... because I love snail mail.

Write to your friends or write to me I would love to get to know Polly's fans better. (subscribe and answer to the newsletter to request my address).

Nothing like getting unexpected mail with fan art to brighten my day. 

I was just about to announce my new space on my official website for a gallery of Polly and the Black Ink when I got these beautiful drawings!

Notice how the young artist made a draft and planned the work first, this is too precious!

Thank you so much! 

See all the art I got today... click to enter gallery.

When I am not making cartoons for Notfrombrazil, I create funny flyers and posters for individuals or companies advertise their events.

The next one is for the Cinco de Mayo Party event hosted by the theater.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How do you design the flyers?

A: I gather all the clients information and list of needs for the event.

Usually they already know my Notfrombrazil cartoon style and humor and they trust me to come up with a composition that expresses all their needs. Then, I send them the draft and they suggest changes if needed. It's a team work and my goal is to make the best end product. 

The more information I get from the client the easier it is to come up with something that pleases everyone.

Any other questions contact me: vanessabettencourtart@gmail.com

We had a great time talking about our process of construction worlds and characters for novels and graphic novels.

Thank you so much for coming to see us and for all your input. And Alexandria Library for having us. (Some of you made into the funny pages - click cartoon)

Next event will be at Awesome con - check the event section for more detail.

Notfrombrazil climbing the ranks!

It's an official best seller graphic novel in Humor & Entertainment Category!

Looking at this past weekend's reports. This feels awesome. Thank you so much! Got your copy? Free with Amazon Prime.

Não do Brasil a escalar os tops! 
Ao olhar para os relatórios deste ultimo fim-de-semana. Muito obrigado a todos!

Ja tens a tua cópia?  Leitura grátis para quem tem amazon prime.

Collect and Organize. What do you collect for your work? Are you keeping those favorite recipes organized?

Build your library to quick access and get inspired.

I have lots of notebooks and sketchbooks with relevant information that saves me time from searching online for the right and appropriate term.

Today I am updating my onomatopoeia collection so I can use it while I create my graphic novels and comics.

Visual sounds are always funny and give a lot of motion and action to the graphic novel panels and pages.

For those who are not creating art, keep a journal of your memories and thoughts.

What are you working on?

15 #Colors  (What if I'm color blind?)     #dreamuary2018

I never liked colors.

I liked to draw characters and object in black and white from a flat piece of paper and show it to no one. I would not go to fancy stores to get my supplies. There were no such stores where I lived. I used the coal from the fireplace or my grandmother's morning coffee to paint.

I created only for myself.

Years later I became a teacher for the first time. Only then, I learned the value of colors. 

Every morning I would have different hues in front of me that changed with mood or life events. It was my first year as a teacher and some of these children were taller than me and had never learned to spell their names, but they were versed in ways of life that no one their age or my age or any age should be. 

They had no interest in the beauty of our language, poetry, literature, grammar rules or following the syllabus... Why would they? Mostly the exercises in the textbooks asked them to write about their life... to confess, to make it real, to leave proof on a sheet of paper and sign it at the end.

I began to see their colors dim. 

Every day a little bit more monochromatic and dull. I put the textbooks aside and I brought art and music into the classroom. I reached for each one of their doors. I fought to open it one by one and visit their worlds. I showed them new words, grammar rules, poetry, taught some to spell their name for the first time and gave them tools to express their true colors. Behind my classroom door, we built a safe world where they could be. I had to break a few rules, but I'm sure I've learned from them as they learned from me.

And then the police came and took one of them away. 

I stopped being a teacher for almost five years. I came back to a class of six-year-olds years later to find some vibrant innocent colors, some... not so much... 

More doors to open... I accepted the challenge this time armed with colors, art and hope. Hope to be amazed by the promise of greatness that some already showed, and to be able to fight horrible secrets that were already there to unveil in some of the children...

Always with the understanding that good work had to be done besides teaching: I am, You are, He is... 

Titcher "how do you say banana in English?" 

I dedicate Polly and the Black Ink to all my students.

#fightingdepression #forabetterworld

To participate: doesn't have to be a drawing, post anything you want to share that relates to the daily themes that might inspire you, be part of the community and say hi - Make it kid-friendly, please.

Facebook group: Dreamuary 

Instagram hashtag dreamuary2018 - everyone is welcome