Monthly Art Newsletter: October 2026

This month had been such a grind for finishing the script for Birmingham Legends project. Not only I had to transfer the original script into film screenwriting format, but I also had to lay down more details so the story flows better. There were some scenes and storylines that had to be merged, rewritten, or even removed. I was striving to write a good story. I was just focused on laying down all of scene, editing the script, and checking it to see how I can make it better. My brain is tired, but at least I'm ready to move forward to thumbnailing the scenes in October. I'm looking forward to have a printed final script in my hands.

Amid the screenwriting, I managed to finish a couple body construction sheets for Boulder. Boulder's model sheets would be displayed for portfolio, but I plan on putting rest of model sheet behind membership subscription or some form of paywall down the road.

On the other hand, I felt a little overwhelmed just being new to art business. Even trying to start the first income stream felt a little overwhelming, but that's where I strive to start. I'm still learning business skills as I work on this project. I'm not a fan of social media so BlueSky is my lone social media for posting my art. Also, I just couldn't care about SEO. SEO had been changing so much yet so specific that it's so annoying to get ranked on Google. I don't use Google much anymore since DuckDuckGo had been my preferred browser recently. I just want to write like an old school blogger. I recently opened Tennessee Climate Shift on Substack to write my thoughts and observations of impacts of climate change in East Tennessee and navigating climate change adaption. I am passionate about climate change and sustainability, so I was working towards how to make this art business as sustainable as I can make it, including prints and packages later down the road.

Body construction model sheet showing Boulder's size compared to a 1.83 m / 6 ft human male. Created by Ivy MacDaniel for Birmingham Legend project.

Digital drawing of Bombshell for commission sample. Created by Ivy MacDaniel.

As I was writing the script, I have some thoughts on swearing since there are two potty mouth characters. Since I was aiming for adult audience, I figured that would eliminate the problem of having to think about audience age. However, I didn't want to come off as forced with swearing. Not everyone likes constant swearing, so I have to think about how other characters feel about such sheer amount of cussing from Duchess and Bombshell. Some reactions can be just like rolling their eyes, shaking their heads, or being annoyed. I also want to imagine how would a person who swears so much in real life speak for those two potty mouths, and they're surrounded by characters who typically keep their language at G or PG level.

I'm comfortable with swear words. I grew up with them, and I cuss sometimes. I'm not ashamed of swearing sometime. I allowed them to have some varieties in response to different situations and emotions. Even clusters of 'fucks' in intense moments. I honestly feel it's up to each writer and character when it comes to swearing. Some writers feel uncomfortable writing out swear words, but in that case, they often would state character is spewing obscenities instead of writing out swear words in novel. Animation is another matter because it cannot be just written off as just spewing obscenities.

However, swearing can come off as forced in some writing, but there are plenty of situations when swearing do work. No one would say "crud" if they find themselves scrambling for shelter in a tornado warning. On the other hand, just putting down swear word everywhere just doesn't work. I don't want my characters to swear constantly unless it's part of their personalities as potty mouths. That's my personal opinion as a writer for stories.

In the meantime, I am getting some samples together for making art commission. I managed to finish one on the right, but finishing the draft of script and editing the script became top priority. My hope is get commission sheet finalized in October that script is finalized and out of the way. However, I'm also starting to make thumbnails of scenes.

Right now, I'm not in the best top shape for blog writing since it had been a while, but I am working on making better monthly blog for readers. I'm just kind of finding my footings. I also plan to get to work on and improve this website in October.

A commission page will be on the site once everything is finalized.

Title page of my draft script for Birmingham Legends made in Studiobinder's screenwriting software.