Hey there Reader!

I hope December is starting off great for you :)

Winter isn’t my favorite season, but I admit the holiday spirit is contagious! 🎄

This week I’ll give you an update on my current illustration, the shop and a little question for you at the end!

Let’s get started, shall we!

But before that, quick reminder that since this is the beginning of a new month, one of you has been picked to get a free print!

This is the first time I’m doing this giveaway while having my print shop open, and they all have the same quality that I care deeply about :)

So remember to check your inbox for extra emails today! I’ve had a few cases of people missing them, so don’t hesitate to double-check just in case. Cheers!

Seeking new illustration challenges

Last week I showed you a rough idea for my next illustration: a character relaxing next to a pond in the park.

I really liked it, but I have to admit that it was well into my comfort zone. Nature on a bright sunny day, a city with blue roofs and a lone character or two… that’s a format that I loved to use a lot in the past.

So I was wondering: what have I never done in an illustration before?

That’s where I started to look outside for inspiration:

I don’t know how the weather is where you live, but here in Krakow a massive amount of snow fell these past few weeks. Well, maybe not massive by Polish standards, but it sure was impressive for me! And the winter barely started!

That’s where I realized that I have never really drawn many different types of weather, including snow. So now is the perfect time to try my hand at it!

This weekend I was also visiting a friend in Łapanów, a small town to the east that had a lot more snow than in the big city. It was really great to see, and thankfully I had my camera to gather some more references!

And you know me, I couldn’t stop myself from also photographing the electrical infrastructure. What can I say, I just find those things fascinating!

I went back to work fueled by this little trip, and here is my progress on the illustration!

The sketch is not quite done yet, I didn't had that much time for it. But hopefully the ink should be straightforward after I’ve resolved the important questions and details :)

Sketch: various colorful box outline all stacked on top of each other in order to rotate a inclined plane in perspective — I don't usually use perspective tools, but here I needed some help haha

I hope to show you more progress next week ✨

Snow would not accumulate a lot on the solar panel since those probably have a self heating functionality. I don't know how common it is but that makes sense to me!

Time for a shop update!

We are now two weeks in since I first opened my own online print shop! Time for a little update for those of you who are curious about how it’s going!

3 cardboard box are sitting on a desk with a enveloppe, a pink coffee cup, a tape dispenser, earbuds and keys. It's a big mess. — The chaos of packing orders :D

First off, I’ve managed to catch up with all the orders and sent them all out. Some have already arrived, which I was super happy about!

This really put my organization skills to the test — for example, by getting forms in advance from the post office to fill out beforehand. It also made me a bit more confident about sending packages in Polish (which I’m far from fluent in, haha, so I’m grateful for the extra practice!).

However, something I didn’t anticipate came up, and it was a bummer to deal with! :(

You see, the US recently added extra tariff regulations on imports; I’m sure you’ve heard about it in the past few months. This shouldn’t theoretically be an issue for me, as my packages are light enough to be sent as letters, and tariffs are not supposed to apply to art.

But despite this, the Polish post office made the decision to halt all package shipment to the US for the time being. I was hopeful that the restrictions would be lifted by now, but sadly I got confirmation that they weren’t.

And sending packages through a private company was way more expensive: of all the ones I looked into, the price range was from 70€ to 140€!

So I sadly had to refund the order with an apology and disable shipping to the US entirely. (It’s such a relief that it’s easy to refund an order when something unexpected happens!)

This was a big disappointment, but thankfully other European countries have reopened shipping in recent months. I have hope that this will be arranged soon!

4 other cardboard box are on an orange couch, along with a black backpack, plastic sleeves and art prints of my illustrations — So much for the organization skills haha, I'm doing my best with the space I have

And finally, as I alluded to in my last newsletter, this shop will be closed for the holiday season!

You have until the 14th of December to place your order if you want to have your print arrive before Christmas. After Sunday the 14th, it will not be possible to order until the end of the month.

So if you’ve been on the fence about getting an illustration for you or to give to someone, now is the time! :)

https://studio.nighten.fr/

This is only so I can guarantee to fulfill all the orders before I leave to see my family for Christmas. So keep it in mind if you are looking for a last-minute gift!

I need your help! :D

If you remember, last month I told you about my idea to turn my Inktober project (a tour of my fictional city, where all my illustrations take place) into a little booklet.

I really wanted to have it printed professionally, and have been contacting a few local and national printers. But things didn’t go exactly as I expected:

It turns out that even for a small size, printing a small quantity of books is very costly!

Some of the quotes I got would make me pay more than €20 per copy! I leave it to your imagination how expensive I would have to sell this tiny book to barely break even :(

So I changed my plan: instead of printing it for now, I want to make it available as a PDF for you guys to see and maybe print at home. And I want it to be free! :)

But here is my dilemma: I want it to be something special, something more than a simple printed version of my website, and I’ve been thinking about bonus content I could add.

That’s where you come in:

Q: What would you like to see in a deluxe edition of this book? More locations? In-universe character interviews? More flavor text? Polished illustrations? A map of the city?

Please send me your suggestions, so that I can know what kinds of things interest you the most to explore :D

Just hit reply to this email and tell me what you think!

I’m a bit sad that I will not have the physical object to hold in my hand, but I hope the extra bonuses will still feel special for you guys!

And that’s where I leave you for this week!

Thanks again for your support. This means the world to me :)

So, quick reminder about important info:

My print shop closes in less than two weeks on the 14th, so get your orders beforehand!
Let me know what you would love to see in a deluxe edition of my fictional city tour! You can just reply and tell me what you’re interested in ↩️

Alright, have a great rest of your day now! Stay warm, stay cozy, and as always,

Take care,
- Nighten