la_belle_laide | Sketches by Hwei

So, lately I have not been my usual happy self, because of this endless stream of ridiculous disasters, some public, some personal, and all out of my control.

I did mean to post this sooner, and then midterms came along, and all these papers I had to write, and then all of this nonsense I was blogging about. I wanted this to get its own post because it deserves it.

A few weeks ago I wrote to one of my most long-term internet pals, the stunningly talented

tongari, Hwei to her friends. Hwei has long been one of my favorite artists, among a few others that I'm privileged to know. I love her fluid style and how she can define an entire character often with one line (usually the mouth, or so it seems to me.) I love the dreamy look of her art, the watery colors and all. But I really especially love that way she evokes every emotion with that one line. That's sort of how Hiroaki Samura (Blade Of The Immortal) won me over – by making simple lines that say it all.

ANYWAY. So I wrote to Hwei and said that I would absolutely pay her for a drawing for Qualia. Hwei said she would absolutely do one for free. I peed my pants, ran around in circles, jumped up and down, etc. Hwei also started reading Qualia, which actually thrilled me even more. :)

So, I share these sketches with her permission. This has been making me very happy over the last few weeks!