work in progress Testing, Tweaking, Still Not Quite There Went back to Spudnik today to test one more layer on the tree print. Better… but still not quite right. Next week: redraw!
work in progress Heartbreaking but Helpful: Risograph Lessons Printed my Halloween card and attempted the Christmas tree risograph… and learned the hard way what not to do. Ouch, but okay!
work in progress Print Day Eve: Separations, Layers, and Surprises Tomorrow is the first Osusowake Club print day! I did the color separations today—and finished in just 30 minutes!?
work in progress No sad postcards allowed I fixed some distracting snow and resized the artwork so it’ll fit in frames and envelopes around the world. No sad postcards here!
work in progress Snow Tweaks and Dancing Warmth Got the OK on the colors, so today I made some layout tweaks and tried to bring more movement to the snow around them!
work in progress Snowman Dance: Color Test Still working on the snowman dancing illustration—tried some colors today! Might let it sit overnight and look again tomorrow.
work in progress Snowman Dance Time (And a Custom Thank-You Card!) This week I’m starting the second Osusowake Club piece—snowman dancing time! Also making a one-of-a-kind thank-you card on the side.
work in progress First Osusowake Club Design Complete I added yellow light, simplified some shapes, and adjusted the colors—and now the tree makeover illustration is done!
work in progress Marine Red Saves Christmas (Maybe) I repainted the Christmas tree today—swapped florescent pink for Marine Red and layered teal with federal blue. Better? I think so!
work in progress Color Crisis: What Happened to My Tree?! I thought I’d finish the final illustration today, but after coloring… something felt off. Time to rethink tomorrow!
work in progress Tree Makeover Auditions: Which Angle Wins? I picked the Christmas tree makeover idea and tried drawing it from different angles. Can’t decide! But tomorrow is final art day!
work in progress Snowman Dance, Tree Fashion, and Too Many Presents I picked three ideas from yesterday’s sketches and started working on making them move or into little comic scenes.
work in progress Holiday Anticipation Sketches for Charlie Yellow’s Osusowake Club Working through the first round of illustration ideas for my Osusowake Club holiday postcard set. Excitement is definitely in the air!
work in progress Introducing: Charlie Yellow’s Osusowake Club! A new project begins! I'm launching a seasonal postcard series inspired by the Japanese idea of “osusowake”—a gentle act of sharing joy. Here's why I'm doing it, and what it means to me.
inspiration Pretty Good Fest Recap I dropped by Pretty Good Fest in downtown Chicago this weekend! Between connecting with artists and picking up table display ideas, it was a pretty great afternoon.
work in progress Halloween Risograph Printing Day at Spudnik Press Printed my Halloween postcards today at Spudnik Press! A few surprises, a few mistakes—but all in all, a colorful success!
work in progress Halloween Risograph Prep I spent the day getting my Halloween postcard ready for risograph printing at Spudnik Press. File separation, ink planning, and some last-minute masking tweaks!
work in progress Visualizing Fear with Scissors and Glue: Picture This exercise This week, I tackled a collage exercise from Picture This—using just four sheets of colored paper and scissors to convey fear. Turns out, cutting shapes is a pretty sharp way to learn visual storytelling!
work in progress October Projects Begin! A new month, a fresh start—Peachtober, postcard prep, and a surprise project all kick off today!
monthly recap Monthly Charlie’s Playground: September 2025 It’s already the last day of September! Whether you’re new to the blog and not sure where to start, or just too busy to catch every daily post, this monthly wrap-up is the perfect way to catch up on all the September highlights from Charlie’s Playground! Top
work in progress Shark vs. Swimmer: A Picture This Exercise in Fear This week, I stepped away from my usual illustration assignments to try a visual storytelling exercise from Picture This.
What I Learned from Picture This While working on my AI-themed illustrations this week, I also started reading Picture This—a book recommended by my academic advisor, ChatGPT-sensei. It’s exactly what I needed.
work in progress Final AI Illustration: A Week of Obsession and Adjustments Still on the AI-themed illustration! After lots of redrawing, zooming in, and tweaking binary-code faces, I think I’ve finally reached my personal best—for this week, at least.
work in progress AI Illustration Woes: Trying All the Angles I tried every possible angle but couldn’t land the right vibe. Why is drawing AI so hard—and not in a cool way!?
work in progress How Should I Draw AI? The Challenge Begins! Still working on my AI-themed illustration! Today was all about figuring out how to draw something that doesn’t really exist...
