Candice Broersma

Fall came out of nowhere and here we are with pumpkin beverages materialized in hand. You’re tired of the overly-processed versions of Fall flavors. You want the real thing! Enter your local holiday markets, fairs, and conventions.

This year I will be vending with ICON for the first time in October, which in this case is a half-season mini con. The vendor hall is at the Masonic Lodge with ICON events the night of October 10 and all day October 11. The vendor hall will be open from 11am-4:55pm.

There will be other locations for events in the surrounding walkable area of downtown Iowa City. October 11 also coincides with the Iowa City Book Festival at Merge! Both events are free to the public, but there are ICON panels and activities that are available with purchasing a con badge ($25 for adult and $2 for kids).

More information on ICON 49.5 here!

I am putting the cart out before the horse a little bit for this Holiday Market. To be clear, the Parks & Rec Holiday Market in Iowa City is definitely happening, but my spot hasn’t been guaranteed yet. This is a great local market with unique crafts and goodies that tend to get buried in online search engines. You should go regardless if you are in the area!

Even Etsy has become suspect for mass-produced items and generative AI that is cleverly marketed to look like artisanal goods. Support your local artists and craftspeople by going out to your local markets and fairs. You will find something truly unique and get to know real people!

 SKETCHES

Here are new animal sketches from the past month to enjoy! I have been spending some time at the Iowa City Museum of Natural History, which has an amazing taxidermy collection open to the public.

Happy Kid Lit Art Postcard day! This illustration is for "A Silver Chord" by Thomas L. Martin that is part of an epic wraparound cover illustration. I was so pleased to illustrate a woodchuck which I have come to appreciate more while living in the Midwest. The novel comes out in September.

Happy Portfolio Day! 

I am a fantasy illustrator for book covers, character art, and games. Open to projects needing a quirky assortment of characters and creatures. I create lush, artful environments from scratch.

Little Procreate process video of one of my Shruman characters based on coral fungi!

Come and join me for this fun evening of gaming! I have the esteemed pleasure of being the inaugural artist for Diversions Tabletop Game Lounge in Coralville, IA. Peruse the art or take part in free game testing. Their standard pricing applies to playing games from their huge game library, but the chill atmosphere and camaraderie is priceless! The event is April 19 from 7pm-10pm. Please also consider visiting Diversions' Grand Opening on April 12!

INTRODUCING STINKHORN SHRUMANS

Shruman Card Game Update

The game testing continues with the Shrumans card game and lucky for me, I have many with friends who are well-versed tabletop gamers! Here is a look at some of the new Shrumans being added as well as a first look at the Action Cards!

I am starting with line drawings with some simple color slapped on. This month I anticipate rendering the details for as many as I can manage!

The more Shrumans I draw, the harder it is to find unique poses and expressions. It's a fun challenge to have, but honestly some real-life mushrooms have fully-formed personalities.

This game has 3 Action cards so far with common card game moves that have a fungi flare. I am working on a 4th one that would add more strategical interest. I am open to feedback!

Other Fun-gi Things

There is a pay-what-you-can screening of Fungi: Web of Life at Iowa City's Film Scene this month, March 25. It will be playing at different movie theaters nationally and internationally. A list of showings can be found here, but not all cities are listed. See if they are playing at a city near you!

My vintage style Shrumans poster.

ONE BOOK, TWO BOOK FESTIVAL FEB 22-23

Iowa City has a children's book festival! I have not attended before, but the Schedule of Events looks super fun and catered towards kids, as it should be. I will have a booth at the Book Fair portion on February 22 from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. With me will be a display of several book cover mock-ups as well as various Shruman merch including stickers and stationery.

Shruman Card Game Update

So far, I have a basic concept for the card design that displays the artwork prominently. It will show the corresponding mushroom common name and scientific name at the bottom. The colors relate to the "utility" of a mushroom: edible, inedible, medicinal, toxic, and so forth. Sets can be built based on utility (color) or variety, which are major appearance-based categorieses like gilled, puffball, bolete, and coral fungi. 

I have about 30 new Shrumans to illustrate and a main "action" card that will end the game when overturned. In all, there will be about 50 Shrumans! There is no shortage of fungal varieties and I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about these crazy buggers.

Above are the Shrumans I have so far! Most of these will make it into the final card art. 

Fungi Inspiration

In anticipation of the new Shrumans I am designing, here are a few images of some amazing fungi that will make an appearance!

Discount Prints

My print store with INPRNT has my vintage-style Shruman poster along with more of my illustrations. Right now, they have an up-to 40% site-wide discount happening!

I have two major self-directed projects year! The first is a card game for my Shrumans and the second is a series called Spindleroot.

The card game will be a casual dedicated deck with light strategy and fun for all ages. There will be mushrooms galore with categories like medicinal, edible, and poisonous that will educate on the sheer variety of fungal species! I start with designing the game play and then illustrate the full deck of cards. Once the art assets are in place, there is sure to be a crowdfunding campaign (most likely Kickstarter) to help with the manufacturing costs of the finished card game.

Spindleroot is the series name for a project I am developing featuring a magical world inhabited by animal characters. For the time being, it includes artwork that is set in the same universe, but there are plans to include other forms of media. I am gradually building Spindleroot with each piece and look forward to sharing the unfolding narrative.

Speaking of Spindleroot, I finished one more illustration in the series this month titled "Beware the Wyrm". Enjoy a few of the progress images below.

Project Support

To fit all these epic illustration projects into my schedule, I need to reduce my typical freelance load. This leaves me a little short on funds, so that's where having more passive income really helps. This can include things like print sales and other items in my shop. Here are all the ways to help:

Share My Art Online

Send links to your friends to my website or print shop or repost my art on social media. Please remember to put my name in the post ( "art by Candice Broersma") for proper crediting. It’s easy to forget, but important to do whenever you post artist’s work online

Subscribe to my Newsletter

It’s free and comes just once a month except for special event announcements

Follow and "Like" Me on Social Media

You know the shpeel. More activity is attractive to the finicky algorithms, which will in turn boost my visibility

Buy My Prints, Stationery, etc.

From my website store and print shop

Donate Directly

Any little bit helps! Donation link here