A.C. Esguerra
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blueludebar.com
A.C. Esguerra
@blueludebar.com
580 followers 120 following 390 posts
comics artist + writer in LA. probably inkstained. EIGHTY DAYS (GLAAD nominated, YALSA listed). they/them. blueludebar.com
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A.C. Esguerra @blueludebar.com · Nov 21
cemetery drive ♦️ concept art from a comic i may or may not draw, about a reckless punk and the lolita-fashion seamstress who loves them. enjoy
an illustration of an androgynous anime youth with a disaffected expression, dressed in an elaborate beribboned top over baggy, slit pants and combat boots. they hold a dagger and lean on a white marble tomb in a Romantic or gothic style that's been broken into halves; a bright red light is shining through the crack behind them. one of their shoes rests on a carving of a cartoony snake coming out of a skull crowned with roses. other imagery on the tomb include more skulls, a transgender symbol and a partially eroded crown that looks suspiciously similar to a certain fashion designer's logo. there is also text etched into the tomb, i wont type it out here but suffice it to say that the bulk of it is a German translation (accuracy not guaranteed) of the lyrics to Famous Last Words by My Chemical Romance. framing the piece is a border of stained glass, its complex panels shining with the colors of many jewels.
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
samthielman.com
As told by the late dancer and choreographer Agnes DeMille.
The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 after the opening of Oklahoma!, when I suddenly had unexpected, flamboyant success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha. I remember the conversation well. It was in a Schrafft's restaurant over a soda. I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly: "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. As for you, Agnes, you have so far used about one-third of your talent."
December 20, 2025 at 2:10 AM
blueludebar.com
sorry if it looked like i was painting blond Howl. dark-haired Howl all the way, man.
January 12, 2026 at 12:47 AM
blueludebar.com
warmup. really like how the lace came out on this one
a fountain pen ink drawing in my sketchbook of a disheveled youth in a lolita fashion coord (mostly Metamorphose temps de fille). they are squatting on a rickety metal balcony, their arms raised and casually clinging to part of the railing
January 11, 2026 at 7:37 PM
blueludebar.com
today's jam session 🎶
a series of loose, fountain pen ink drawings across two pages of my sketchbook, mostly gestures and one closeup, of a disheveled youth in lolita fashion outfits playing an electric guitar.
January 10, 2026 at 1:09 AM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
foxmanrox.bsky.social
My favorite how to draw
January 9, 2026 at 1:38 AM
blueludebar.com
warmup 🎀
a fountain pen ink drawing in my sketchbook of a disheveled youth in a lolita outfit from the mid 2000s. details include a tiny top hat with a large ribbon, worn askew. a collared blouse fastened with a double layered tie that has a stuffed toy bear's head as the knot, and a skirt with large ruffles at the hem and flower-lace trimmed panels. three fountain pen ink drawings in my sketchbook of a disheveled youth in a lolita outfit from the mid 2000s. the feature is a long, knee-length coat with fluffy fur trim at the cuffs and hem, delicate lace ribbons running down vertically on either side of the buttons and from each pocket, and a lace-trimmed hood with floppy bunny ears (also bordered with lace). they wear Vivienne Westwood rocking horse platform shoes.
January 8, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
lestatuskuo.bsky.social
Falling Stars
January 8, 2026 at 7:16 AM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
oldfriend99.bsky.social
(daft punk One More Time voice) Auld Lang Syne
December 26, 2025 at 3:39 PM
blueludebar.com
watercolor sketch day
two preparatory watercolor sketches on Arches paper; on the left is a couple standing under a lamplit bridge in gold and grey-blue tones, on the right is a couple waltzing against a fiery and starry sky in red, orange, black and deep blue
January 5, 2026 at 10:47 PM
blueludebar.com
sometimes i still see people tag my comics or characters with "crush" or "gender envy" and all i can say is. it's an honor to serve 💁🏻‍♂️
January 5, 2026 at 5:38 AM
blueludebar.com
first events of 2026 coming up: Little Tokyo Zine Fest (LA🌴), Pride In Panels Fest (SF🌁)
screenshot of the Schedule page on my website. info reads: Little Tokyo Zine Fest, Saturday January 31, Terasaki Budokan, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, 9AM -4PM. paragraph break. Pride In Panels Fest, Sunday February 15, San Francisco Public Library - Main Branch, 12-5PM, Free Admission. at the bottom is a very loose drawing of Jay Corvidae from EIGHTY DAYS lying on his back and smoking a cigarette.
January 4, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
tshirt.bsky.social
okay behold the lyric zine walkthrough..... it breaks everything down to just the necessities to make something for the first time longposter.neocities.org/MY%20FIRST%2... (holding my hand outstretched) would you like to make something with me this weekend?
January 3, 2026 at 7:49 PM
blueludebar.com
things i made in 2025, despite it all. thank you for your eyeballs and money and comments and care. may the new year be kinder to us 🖤
a screenshot of my desktop with almost all the art i made in 2025 spread out on it: nine watercolor / ink commissions, 20 watercolor travel diary paintings, 10 gouache paintings for a gallery show, a 30 page comic, a couple illustrations of my characters just for myself and one piece of stained glass art.
January 1, 2026 at 2:54 AM
blueludebar.com
OMG HELL YEAAAAAH 🪩
aliciahaddick.com Alicia Haddick/アリシア @aliciahaddick.com · 19d
Y’all, the Castlevania: Awakening In The Moonlight musical by Takarazuka Revue is available legally on VOD with subtitles starting today until the end of March, this is a great adaptation and the women in this show are so good, PLUS this is a rare experiment globally

Please see it if you’re curious
Takarazuka Revue “Castlevania: Awakening in the Moonlight" Worldwide streaming／『悪魔城ドラキュラ』全世界 動画配信実施
YouTube video by 宝塚歌劇 公式チャンネル Takarazuka Revue Company
youtu.be
December 31, 2025 at 5:18 PM
blueludebar.com
farewell year of the snake 🐍
blueludebar.com A.C. Esguerra @blueludebar.com · Feb 24
the poison is the cure / tell me there's still time
a disheveled youth dressed in dark blue-and-red ouji style lolita clothing stands inside a broken and tarnished antique pocketwatch with a chain. a black snake with iridescent diamond patterns encircles the watch and regards the youth. the background is a vivid red. the linework was traditionally inked with a pen nib, the painting was colored digitally in Clip Studio Paint.
December 30, 2025 at 12:35 AM
blueludebar.com
ink, pencil and collage comic panels from THE PRINCE (AMERICAN* FUJO* Literary Journal, 2025) 🖤⛓️
a 3x3 square grid, each square being a crop of a panel from my black and white, mixed media short autobio comic THE PRINCE, published in AMERICAN FUJO Literary Journal in 2025. drawings include elaborate framed portraits and illustrations of Laurent of Vere and Damien of Akielos from CAPTIVE PRINCE, myself as a kid browsing the internet on an old computer with a speech balloon saying "What's 'lemon'?", myself at an anime convention table, myself playing a game of chess against Laurent of Vere and losing spectacularly, a pair of Looney Toons-esque "awooga" eyeballs and a hand holding a whip mid-strike.
December 28, 2025 at 10:05 PM
blueludebar.com
i found this hidden on a bottom shelf in the very back of the most unlikely shop imaginable (think like, minimalist home goods and ceramics): embroidered Tintin slippers. sick!
my hand holding a largish light grey box with a rather beautiful illustration of Tintin receiving a winged emblem medal from a man in uniform on it. the contents of the box in the previous picture: a pair of wooly grey slippers, trimmed in burgundy, with framed comic panels embroidered on each. the slipper on the left has Tintin in a blue shirt, the slipper on the right shows his dog Snowy, a white Wire Fox Terrier. the side of the Tintin slippers box: more illustrations of Tintin, Snowy and cavalrymen in uniform and large feathered hats riding alongside an elaborate yellow, red and blue carriage shaped like an acorn.
December 27, 2025 at 2:43 AM
blueludebar.com
i forgot to post this here. i did indeed get a left hand commission at con. here is my friend's dog
three pen sketches of my friend's alaskan klee klai, drawn with my left hand in my sketchbook at Comic Arts LA 2025.
December 21, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
ryannorth.ca
*walking in a winter wonderland*
ME: where's bluebird?
BIRD: gone
ME: w... who are you?
*bird looks around shiftily*
BIRD: I'm new bird
December 16, 2023 at 4:33 PM
blueludebar.com
*just con prep thoughts* if you drink black tea because you need caffeine and then a couple hours later drink herbal tea to calm down does it cancel out or
December 12, 2025 at 10:14 PM
blueludebar.com
left hand drawing practice (feat. Paella)
three drawings of my tortoiseshell cat Paella, in grey-green fountain pen ink, in a sketchbook. the sketches have a wobbly and unstudied quality because i did them with my non-dominant left hand. to the right my actual cat is gripping the edge of the desk trying to see what all the fuss is about
December 10, 2025 at 6:32 PM
blueludebar.com
penciling day 💫
an in-progress pencil drawing for a patron-level commission on 12x16 arches watercolor paper. it depicts Howl and Sophie from Studio Ghibli's HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, framed by clouds, airships, feathers and treasure. scattered around the drawing is a Blackwing pencil, a Tombow MONO eraser, a transparent fabric ruler, a brush for sweeping detritus off my desk, a cup of black tea and my computer with screenshots from the movie pulled up on it for reference. also in the lower left corner of the frame is my hand making a peace sign.
December 9, 2025 at 11:26 PM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
stevelieberart.bsky.social
1 Art books thread
I thought I'd write about some good how-to books for aspiring comics artists who want to acquire some academic, foundational drawing skills without spending tens of thousands of dollars.
December 2, 2024 at 12:36 PM
blueludebar.com
CALA 2025 catalog! see you at table 14B 🌴📚🕶️ #cala #comicartsla
a screenshot of my desktop, which is a cropped portion of an oil painting of a huge cloud at sunset, covered with thumbnails of the various artwork i'm bringing to Comic Arts LA 2025. title text reads: "A.C. ESGUERRA @ CALA 2025 TABLE 14B". comics prices are as follows; EIGHTY DAYS: $30, AMERICAN FUJO: $25, WITCH CROSSING: $15, BESPOKE: $10, AMELIA EARHART: $8. print prices are as follows; large $20, medium $10, postcards $5. enamel airplane pins are $10 each, or a set of all three for $25.
December 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by A.C. Esguerra
celechii.itch.io
last week i remembered that macOS lets you set your own icons and that *I* have the power to delegitimize the professionalism of the software that runs on my machine, so here's a thread of the 16 new icons i've made so far

i really forgot how fun it was to just sit down and make art for myself :')
comparison between apple's finder icon and mine. apple's is the split blue and white smiley face, mine is two blue and white anime girls making out comparison between discord's icon and mine. mine is like a screaming cat on a blue/purple slimy background comparison between celsys's clip studio paint icon and mine. mine is similar but rotated with some comic styling and pink and blue highlights comparison between mozilla's firefox icon and mine. mine is similar but looks closer to the old firefox icon and brings back the little arm and gives the fox a cute little smiley face
November 29, 2025 at 1:48 AM