inspiration A Gray Day with Audiobooks and Manga A gray, quiet day in Chicago. No art-making, just manga, audiobooks, and Danmitsu’s mysterious menagerie.
work in progress DePaul Zine Fest Recap A joyful day of zines, trades, and Horse Omikuji at DePaul University’s lively zine fest!
monthly recap Monthly Charlie’s Playground: January 2026 A slow start turned into a gallop: from zine fest prep to risograph submissions, January was full of fiery horse-powered creativity.
work in progress Fire Horse Submission Complete and Poster Print Day! Submitted my Fire Horse art to Riso Pop and printed a fun new poster for my horse fortune zine—production’s almost done!
work in progress Final Test Print for Fire Horse! I did a test print of my Fire Horse illustration before sending it off to Riso Pop. Despite some ink issues, I think the horse's charm still shines through!
work in progress Test Print Day for Uma-kuji! I did a test print of my Uma-kuji project on my home risograph machine today—it's looking great! I'm making both a zine and fortune slips from the same designs!
Resting with a Good Audiobook After a vaccine weekend and some much-needed rest, I slowed things down and let myself enjoy an audiobook I've been meaning to try: Kokuhou.
work in progress Test Printing the Uma-Kuji! I test printed my Uma-Kuji today using my inkjet printer—and it turned out better than I expected! The size and layout feel just right.
work in progress Designing the Layout for My Horse Omikuji Started laying out the horse omikuji today! Tested a few designs for printing and finalized the size based on the prototype box.
work in progress Prototype Box for My Horse Omikuji Today I finally made a prototype for the horse omikuji box using a clever design inspired by a Japanese snack package. It works!
work in progress Refining My Fire Horse Illustration Making edits to my Fire Horse illustration and preparing the color separations for risograph printing. Time to get technical!
work in progress Making Progress on the Horse Omikuji Taking a break from Fire Horse sketches, I worked on the illustrations for my horse omikuji today—and it’s starting to come together!
work in progress Striking My Quiet Fire – A Fire Horse Moment After some back-and-forth and a creative boost from my husband, a fire-lighting horse might just be the spark I needed for this illustration.
work in progress Still Sketching the Fire Horse Still searching for the right Fire Horse concept! Cute is easy—but how do I balance it with the power this mythical creature deserves?
work in progress Drafting the Fire Horse Illustration Today I finally started sketching out my fire horse idea—but something still isn’t clicking. Maybe it just needs a night to settle.
work in progress My Logbook Habit 2026 've kept a nightly logbook since last year—and this year, a mix-up in planner size gave me a hilarious start to 2026.
work in progress Brainstorming Fortune Messages for Fire Horses I may be shifting directions on my Kakuji project—because these fire-wielding horses are just too cute (and perfect for 2026)!
work in progress Sketching Out Fire Horse Ideas A playful sketch session for the Fire Horse illustration! I let my imagination run wild with all kinds of silly, fiery horse ideas.
work in progress Brainstorming for Fire Horse Warming up for the Fire Horse illustration by writing down every little thought—because even the silly ones might spark something useful!
work in progress Researching Horsey Facts for My Omikuji Zine Gathering fun facts about horses, donkeys, and zebras for my new zine project—perfect for the Year of the Horse!
work in progress Kicking Off January Projects! Starting January with two horse-themed projects: a “horse omikuji” and a submission for RISO POP’s Fire Horse illustration competition!
news Back at Quimby’s to Spot My Zine! Returned to Quimby’s to see our zines on the shelf—one of mine had already sold!
work in progress Sketching at My Favorite Cafe I asked my husband to take me to a café today so I could break free from my lazy YouTube habits and get some sketching done.
inspiration More Pigeons and Some Color Magic I continued reading the pigeon zine today and found myself moved by the stories—plus totally charmed by the riso color chart on the last page!
