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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cooldown, ouji style
a fountain pen ink drawing in my sketchbook of a disheveled youth in an ouji style lolita fashion coord. they wear a blouse with a large circular ruffled collar, a jacket and breech-style trousers with buttons at the cuffs, striped black and white socks and strappy mary jane platforms. they sit on a bed, head tilted to one side to hold a landline telephone receiver in place against their ear, its spiral cord stretching to a nearby dresser. on the floor, but upright and balanced against their leg, is an electric guitar.
January 12, 2026 at 6:16 PM
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second wash 🎻
a crop of an in-progress watercolor and ink painting of Howl and Sophie (from the Studio Ghibli adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle). the characters waltz as sparks of fire fall and Howl's coat turns into dark wings. strong blues fade into lavender, peach, and white highlights, with accents of bright pink and orange in the embers and Howl's coat, and solid black feathering into teal in the wings.
January 12, 2026 at 12:29 AM
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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
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first wash 🎆
a closeup of an in progress watercolor painting commission of characters from Howl's Moving Castle, showing a white star shining against a blue background.
January 10, 2026 at 7:11 PM
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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
blueludebar.com
cooldown 🎸
a fountain pen ink drawing in my sketchbook of a disheveled youth in a lolita outfit sitting on a truck with an electric guitar. a fountain pen ink drawing in my sketchbook of a disheveled youth in a lolita outfit sitting on a truck with an electric guitar. above it are two books, open to the photos i referenced for the clothing and pose: Gothic and Lolita by Masayuki Yoshinaga and The Strokes: The First Ten Years by Cody Smyth
January 9, 2026 at 12:39 AM
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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tort to tort american fujo delivery complete 🤝
a tortoiseshell cat peeking out from behind a copy of AMERICAN* FUJO* anthology on the floor. a badly lit photo of a tortoiseshell cat somewhat warily regarding the copy of The Making of AMERICAN* FUJO* zine i am holding out to her.
December 18, 2025 at 3:36 AM
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i had a good CALA, it felt good to get a lot of comics out in the world again 🖤 thank you to everyone who visited my table and all the cool cartoonists for existing. credits in alt text
a picture of what i purchased or traded for at Comic Arts LA (CALA) 2025 including (clockwise from top left corner): bird stickers and a crow risograph print by Kris Mukai, a Snoop of Finland patch by Lonnie Garcia, a sticker of a riso printer with an unsettling face that was given to me by an attendee whose name i didnt catch (sorry), a David Byrne sticker and SOLACE COUNTY volume 1 comic by J. Marshall Smith, CRIMEHOT comic by Alec Robbins, MYTHOS IN GLASS accordion fold risograph zine by Tiffany Wei, THREE STORIES comic by 51 Personae Project and PASSENGER SEAT comic by Sunmi. also a bunch of artist business cards i collected
December 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
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CALA day twooooo restocked and ready 📚💥
a closeup of my table at Comic Arts LA, including my graphic novel EIGHTY DAYS, a mini sketchzine printed on ivory washi paper, and enamel airplane pins my hand holding up a paper explaining that i am offering left hand commissions
December 14, 2025 at 6:59 PM
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more left hand (of darkness) paellas 🥘
two more fountain pen ink sketches of my tortoiseshell cat, Paella, shakily drawn with my non-dominant left hand. in the upper drawing she is rolling around on her back, in the lower drawing she is curled up on a blanket and sticking her tongue out.
December 11, 2025 at 5:52 AM
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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
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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
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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
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back when i used to do 6-8+ conventions a year, i dreamed of having more comics and published books to show. now that i have those, i wish i still had all these notebooks and washi tapes and etc i made...! they're old, but i still think they're lovely items.
an A5 fabric notebook cover i designed in a soft beige canvas with a cord closure. the cover is printed with scattered, small watercolor paintings of antique airplanes and skies. rolls of washi tape i designed. this type is stamp washi, which looks and detaches like postage stamps. the individual stamp art shows different scenes of airplanes and skies in watercolor. more rolls of different washi tapesi designed. the top left features planes and birds flying over fields of pink, green and purple. the bottom left shows the same pattern against a starry, black night sky background. the washi tapes on the right show ink drawings of airplanes and various instruments and tools of flight with gold foil accents. four blank sketchbooks whose covers i designed. the two on the left have watercolor and pencil drawings of fantastical cities, their architecture inspired by Moroccan and Italian cities, respectively. their band closures and bookmark ribbons are a bright blue. the sketchbooks on the right are square format and show elaborate square-within-a-diamond designs covered with bold, colorful ink drawings related to Victorian aesthetes and punk rock, respectively. the former has a white band and bookmark ribbon, the latter's are black.
December 2, 2025 at 9:21 PM
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last but not least: special character + clan cards. thanks again for having me help illustrate the official ROOK & ROSE oracle deck @macarrick.bsky.social !
ten cards from the official oracle card deck based on the world of fantasy novel trilogy ROOK AND ROSE by M.A. Carrick. this batch depicts special animals symbolic of the clans in the books and some of the main characters. imagery includes a white horse on a cliff surrounded by crashing waves, black owls with white faces on a nearly-bare tree branch, a group of rats climbing strands of red woven rope out of a fire, a spider weaving a geometric shape against a jewel-green background, a dashing fox in a tree fending an opponent off with a rapier, a raccoon on a midnight rooftop carrying a sack of loot, a mysterious bird with a slender curved beak enfolded in an iridescent swirl of feathers, the seven Vraszenian clan founders, the Rook and the Rose together in a shadowy grey cloud of smoke and fire, and Vargo standing in a run-down alley near a canal.
December 1, 2025 at 9:33 PM
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all regular-size commissions are now complete! moving on to the BIG paintings next, very excited
a pencil sketch on bristol paper of Howl and Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle a pencil sketch on bristol paper of various rolls of patterned washi tape floating out of a box a pencil sketch on watercolor paper of a couple standing together on a bridge over the Seine at night; the taller man envelops the shorter one in his dark elegant coat to protect him from a strong wind
November 22, 2025 at 7:53 PM
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painting days
an almost-finished watercolor illustration on bristol paper of an androgynous figure whose body is half-transformed into a crustacean, shrimp-like form, standing in a hot springs. bat-like wings emerge from the shoulder blades and the curve of his spine extends into large segmented tail. in one hand, he draws apart a veil covered in droplets of water. his curly hair cascades into his face and down his back as he regards a second figure in the water who is looking up at him. the color scheme is mainly mottled red-purples and dark green in the background, shimmery fuchsias in the veil, and fluorescent green in the water and reflections. the first wash of an in-progress watercolor illustration on bristol paper of a young woman in a puff-sleeved dress trimmed with lace sitting with Bruno from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, in a field of flowers. the color scheme is mainly bright, warm yellow-tinged tones in the upper half of the painting and cool violets and blue-greens where the shadows of the plants are falling in the lower half.
November 22, 2025 at 5:41 PM
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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.
November 21, 2025 at 2:21 AM