in better news, though, i just illustrated an entire children's book, 14 2-page spreads with full backgrounds and an average of 5 characters per spread! i'll post some of my fave bits on my art account once i get around to ensmallening the files lol.
i had to pull 60 hour weeks through most of july in order to finish it on time, but i did! the author will handle printing and selling, and my payment is half of the profits forever - and her main small business is bustling so i trust (lol) that she knows what she's doing and i'll eventually make more than i would have if i'd charged my illustration rate up front. it was soo much work though, but i made it! and i'm actually feeling really artistically inspired, i'm sick of drawing in that exact style but otherwise it was really nice finishing a huge project and getting so much practice in over just two months. i've notably improved so much, especially in efficiency of my process!!
now i'm switching to an entirely different sort of busy, cleaning and organizing and setting things up, now that my roommates are gone! threw out three trash bags of their expired food from the fridge, went to sams club and got a whole van full of food (and toilet paper and paper towels) for my family. finally retrieved all my music class instruments from the woman i bought the business from. brushed tons of dog hair out of a couch a roommate left behind for me. soon i'll go through craft supplies with the other roommate to decide who gets what, since it and my partner have had their supplies pooled together for years. lots to do, but in the best way possible bc, it's all making amazing, obvious improvements in the usability of the house!