The animal

does an animal choose?

I spent a month away from my newsletters. It was Carnaval, which kept me busy for two weeks, and I also had a lot of work to do for the new book, which will still keep me busy at least for the rest of the year. My notebook was filled with whale sketches, and studies of how mechanical things work, and I thought about colors a lot. I managed to return to the beach this past weekend, and it gave me more inspiration for my color studies.

The preceding two hours before the sunset at the beach, I was at my table, coloring an image I have to send my editor this week. A big part of me wished I had spent that entire day swimming in the ocean, but I had peace and quiet and it helped me do my job on the image, and I still managed to stand up and go enjoy the sunset for half an hour before going back to the computer.

Balancing many projects at the same time isn’t always easy. One of the hardest things you have to learn as an artist is how to say no to things you’re offered, and to choose how you will spend your time. In the last few moths here at the studio, my brother and I have already said no to two international festivals and an adaptation of a classic author of Brazilian literature.

We have an invitation to talk at a book club and another international festival invitation to put on the balance and see if it makes sense at this time.

While I was away from the newsletter, Netflix announced the release date for the forth and final season of the Umbrella Academy show. August 8th. You probably saw it online, but I’m putting these promotional images in here as well.

As I resume the newsletter, my intention is to continue alternating between English and Portuguese letters. If I send it out on Mondays, it will be in English. At the end of the week, it will be for my Brazilian readers. If I don’t send letters for a while, you can assume I’m working on new comics.

Or I might be stepping away from my table for just a bit to catch a sunset.

Be safe. Be kind. Be curious.
Pa-ZOW!

Fábio Moon
Moon Base, São Paulo
March 4th, 2024