atelier assay #04

July 2025

My July went by fast. I did a lot of creative stuff this month, but also procrastinated a lot on creative stuff, which I think created a funky little feedback loop of small side projects and little updates here and there leading to major crunch time on bigger projects.

Still, I feel good about this month. I learned a lot of new skills and had a lot of fun doing it, even if it was tiring. That sounds astoundingly simple to say, but somehow the realisation feels refreshing to me. The active sensation of learning purely for interest’s sake wasn’t something I realised I missed so dearly until I had a taste again, playing with things outside my comfort zone. Eat your veggies and do things you like.

Well. Here I think it becomes obvious that I write these over the course of the month, because I'm definitely not feeling as chill as I was when July was young. Still: we're here. We make things. We will continue both these things.

Carmilla Contemplations

This cover was a lot of fun to design! The Gothic and vampire fiction in particular are two of my all-time loves, so combined with the chance to dig into some hand-lettering, this was a really fun project. Figuring out how to freehand the curves I wanted in the arch was tricky, but I’m very pleased with how it all came out. Some details I really enjoyed:

• The ogee arch has a pair of women reclining on their stomachs and reaching towards one another, inspired by this illustration by D. H. Friston from the text’s original serialisation in The Dark Blue.
• The outer edges of the arch and the points of the inner tracery also curve slightly to mimic the shape of fangs, perfect for leaving a pair of small, round puncture wounds like two needles. Or opening a can of broth, condensed milk, or other canned good.
• Carmilla’s waves and the arch’s inner tracery also shape out a cat’s face over her forehead!