comic artist & illustrator

she/her, comic artist & illustrator + a yapper. thinking about lunch as we speak. I draw and write mostly about melancholic queer people. check out my comics at tuisku-h.itch.io and my patreon at patreon.com/cw/TuiskuH

[tuiskuh]

Diary comic for 30th of May. Tried a new style, mostly using photos I took on the day of. The photos or Robert and Patti are not by me, naturally.

[tuiskuh]

been teaching a week long comics 101 summer course for kids for the past.... 5 years i think? it's always really fun and I get some of the same kids showing up every year, which is really sweet bc it is lovely to get to see them grow and have them be so excited every time. but i also have completely new kids every year as well, and it is a basics course. the problem? i am now in a position where every year i have to teach the same basics legibly enough that all the new kids can get what i am talking about but also change it up enough that all the kids i have taught for years now aren't bored and annoyed bc i am making them do the same assignments again. a real test for my teacher brain i tell u.

[tuiskuh]

I'm back from my honeymoon and I am happy to report I drew a LOT while I was on it ! This is a tiny taste of it, but I posted a whole sketchdump on patreon, so if you're interested in seeing the rest consider checking that out :)

[tuiskuh]

I'm back from my honeymoon and I am happy to report I drew a LOT while I was on it ! This is a tiny taste of it, but I posted a whole sketchdump on patreon, so if you're interested in seeing the rest consider checking that out :)

[tuiskuh]

I'm back from my honeymoon and I am happy to report I drew a LOT while I was on it ! This is a tiny taste of it, but I posted a whole sketchdump on patreon, so if you're interested in seeing the rest consider checking that out :)

[tuiskuh]

As a woman who is both gender non-conforming and who is planning a pregnancy in the near future AND who works with children, I am very invested in the conversation about the confines of femininity, the complexities of motherhood and the fascistic expectation of women to have children. I also often find it deeply frustrating.

I do not think it should need to be said, but unfortunately it absolutely is, that nobody should ever be forced to become pregnant, be a parent or carry a pregnancy to term. Ever. This requires both complete and total abortion rights & access but also the dismantling of the gendered expectation of women to want and need children. Remaining child free should not only be possible for women, it should also be normal and completely accepted. Anything else is oppressive.

However, I am deeply bothered by how many people who share these views talk about children. I have come across many posts describing children in cruel and dehumanizing ways, emphasizing how gross and terrible children are and how much of a burden they are to their parents. This, I think is also wrong.

Children are a particularly vulnerable population. They often have very little rights and autonomy and are at the whims of adults around them, which makes then particularly vulnerable to abuse. Children are real, fully realized people who have very specific needs and considerations. Constantly discussing how disgusting and terrible children are, means attacking people who have no power and cannot defend themselves, legally or otherwise. These views cannot be separated from calls to remove children from public life, like parks and transportation, the practice of which is both dehumanizing and oppressive. This goes hand in hand with the gendered oppression of women who are unfortunately still often the primary caregivers of children. Forcing children out of the public sphere means forcing mothers out of it too. And the right to not have children needs to go hand in hand with the right to have children. Women need abortion rights and access but they also need the right and access to give birth for free. They need robust childcare and child & family friendly infrastructure. Otherwise the only people who can afford to have children are wealthy elites.

The rights of women to not have children and the rights of children and mothers go hand in hand. They are not contradictory. Being a parent is a complex relationship, one wrought with a long history of violence and oppression of children and women. It is not easy to navigate, and nobody should be expected to do it. Simultaneously, the people who do decide to do it deserve help and support, not scorn or mockery. And most of all, children, all children, even the annoying, dirty and screaming ones deserve a safe loving world that sees their full humanity, respects their perspectives and their bodily autonomy. We are all a part of creating that world for them. Society should be about being good to each other, and that includes children too.

[imperator-knoedel]

"Children are real, fully realized people"

But what about babies? Surely a newborn doesn't count as a person? Where do we draw the line? Age Three?

[tuiskuh]

i dunno man, there is no age cap or line. babies are real people too. they experience pain and fear and love and have preferences and in general are alive and have complete real subjectivity. the fact that babies need help in both communicating and functioning does not make them any less real people than older children or adults. a baby crying on an airplane might be annoying and overstimulating to us adults but that baby is in genuine fear, distress or pain and has not yet developed the tools to cope with that, and for all we know it might be the first or worst time they've ever experienced this pain or distress before. it matters. the subjective experience of babies matters. yes, it matters because we know through studies that the first two years of life are incredibly important for a person's adult mental health, but also because even as a baby, even if that baby never ended up living to their adulthood, it would still matter because that is a real person who matters. I am not saying babies or small children are somehow unchangeable and on the same intellectual level as adults. of course not. that is obviously untrue. but treating children as just 'in progress adults' or somehow 'unfinished' is ignoring their real subjectivity as children who have children's perception and unique way of seeing things and experiencing things. every child is just as much of real person with genuine interiority as any adult is. they simply experience the world and communicate differently and have a lot more intense support needs than most (but not all!) human adults, which makes them very vulnerable to abuse.

[wolvesandcomputers]

I also want to point ot that any criteria used to deny personhood to a baby can and will be used to deny personhood to disabled adults. Can't talk? Can't walk? Can't care for self? We are ALL one traumatic brain injury away from being in that situation.

[tuiskuh]

As a woman who is both gender non-conforming and who is planning a pregnancy in the near future AND who works with children, I am very invested in the conversation about the confines of femininity, the complexities of motherhood and the fascistic expectation of women to have children. I also often find it deeply frustrating.

I do not think it should need to be said, but unfortunately it absolutely is, that nobody should ever be forced to become pregnant, be a parent or carry a pregnancy to term. Ever. This requires both complete and total abortion rights & access but also the dismantling of the gendered expectation of women to want and need children. Remaining child free should not only be possible for women, it should also be normal and completely accepted. Anything else is oppressive.

However, I am deeply bothered by how many people who share these views talk about children. I have come across many posts describing children in cruel and dehumanizing ways, emphasizing how gross and terrible children are and how much of a burden they are to their parents. This, I think is also wrong.

Children are a particularly vulnerable population. They often have very little rights and autonomy and are at the whims of adults around them, which makes then particularly vulnerable to abuse. Children are real, fully realized people who have very specific needs and considerations. Constantly discussing how disgusting and terrible children are, means attacking people who have no power and cannot defend themselves, legally or otherwise. These views cannot be separated from calls to remove children from public life, like parks and transportation, the practice of which is both dehumanizing and oppressive. This goes hand in hand with the gendered oppression of women who are unfortunately still often the primary caregivers of children. Forcing children out of the public sphere means forcing mothers out of it too. And the right to not have children needs to go hand in hand with the right to have children. Women need abortion rights and access but they also need the right and access to give birth for free. They need robust childcare and child & family friendly infrastructure. Otherwise the only people who can afford to have children are wealthy elites.

The rights of women to not have children and the rights of children and mothers go hand in hand. They are not contradictory. Being a parent is a complex relationship, one wrought with a long history of violence and oppression of children and women. It is not easy to navigate, and nobody should be expected to do it. Simultaneously, the people who do decide to do it deserve help and support, not scorn or mockery. And most of all, children, all children, even the annoying, dirty and screaming ones deserve a safe loving world that sees their full humanity, respects their perspectives and their bodily autonomy. We are all a part of creating that world for them. Society should be about being good to each other, and that includes children too.

[imperator-knoedel]

"Children are real, fully realized people"

But what about babies? Surely a newborn doesn't count as a person? Where do we draw the line? Age Three?

[tuiskuh]

i dunno man, there is no age cap or line. babies are real people too. they experience pain and fear and love and have preferences and in general are alive and have complete real subjectivity. the fact that babies need help in both communicating and functioning does not make them any less real people than older children or adults. a baby crying on an airplane might be annoying and overstimulating to us adults but that baby is in genuine fear, distress or pain and has not yet developed the tools to cope with that, and for all we know it might be the first or worst time they've ever experienced this pain or distress before. it matters. the subjective experience of babies matters. yes, it matters because we know through studies that the first two years of life are incredibly important for a person's adult mental health, but also because even as a baby, even if that baby never ended up living to their adulthood, it would still matter because that is a real person who matters. I am not saying babies or small children are somehow unchangeable and on the same intellectual level as adults. of course not. that is obviously untrue. but treating children as just 'in progress adults' or somehow 'unfinished' is ignoring their real subjectivity as children who have children's perception and unique way of seeing things and experiencing things. every child is just as much of real person with genuine interiority as any adult is. they simply experience the world and communicate differently and have a lot more intense support needs than most (but not all!) human adults, which makes them very vulnerable to abuse.

[tuiskuh]

Hi all! Just a heads up that I will be going on my honeymoon tomorrow and will be gone for all of June so I will not be around here to post, but never fear! July will roll around again and I will be back with more bullshit soon enough. See you all later!!

[tuiskuh]

Hi all! Just a heads up that I will be going on my honeymoon tomorrow and will be gone for all of June so I will not be around here to post, but never fear! July will roll around again and I will be back with more bullshit soon enough. See you all later!!

[oliviawhen]

Just swimming by to say hello. 🦭

[luna-azzurra]

Signs your romance subplot has absolutely no tension (sry)

♡ they meet and immediately like each other (goodbye conflict, we barely knew you)

♡ the only thing keeping them apart is a misunderstanding that one conversation would fix

♡ both characters describe the other as "beautiful" within three pages of meeting

♡ their chemistry is told not shown (the narrator insists they have spark. they don't.)

♡ the love interest has no personality outside of loving the protagonist

♡ they argue once, make up immediately, never argue again

♡ obstacles are external. they always agree with each other about everything.

♡ the rival love interest exists for two chapters then vanishes without explanation

♡ they almost kiss. something interrupts. this happens four times. on the fifth time they kiss. the end.

♡ the love interest is described as funny, clever, and kind. we see none of this.

♡ their big emotional moment is in the rain. it is always in the rain.

♡ the breakup lasts exactly one chapter before they reconcile

♡ "i've never felt this way before" said by someone with no prior emotional history

♡ both confess feelings at the same time. no awkwardness. no stakes. just synchronized emotion.

♡ their first kiss is perfect. no bumped noses. no wrong angle. cinematic and frictionless.

♡ jealousy subplot introduced and dropped without consequence

♡ they have one shared interest and it is the plot

♡ trauma bonding mistaken for romantic chemistry (these are different things)

♡ the side characters ship them loudly. this is not a substitute for actual tension.

♡ one of them dies temporarily. other is devastated. they come back. no lasting emotional damage.

♡ they end up together because the plot ends, not because they chose each other

♡ epilogue: married with children. every loose end tied. nothing left to feel.

[tuiskuh]

catching up on my book doodles (one doodle per one finished book) and i just have to say, I absolutely adored this book

[tuiskuh]

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) | Tuisku H.

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) by Tuisku H. on Patreon. J

Bighuge update: I finished the book I have been working on for damn near two years!! Can you believe it!! My first non-fiction comic, my first comic-book adaptation AND my longest comic to date. Feels surreal!!

While I have a few ideas on what I will be doing next, a lot of that is still pretty vague, so this entirely free to read for everyone patreon update is me reflecting on this moment, planning the future, and it is ALSO the collection of the best of stuff from March, April and May. That means me listing my favorite books, movies and real life things from the past few months. For example, a Jesus Christ superstar themed party I threw on palm Saturday lol. Please check my newsletter update out!! <3

[tuiskuh]

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) | Tuisku H.

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) by Tuisku H. on Patreon. J

Bighuge update: I finished the book I have been working on for damn near two years!! Can you believe it!! My first non-fiction comic, my first comic-book adaptation AND my longest comic to date. Feels surreal!!

While I have a few ideas on what I will be doing next, a lot of that is still pretty vague, so this entirely free to read for everyone patreon update is me reflecting on this moment, planning the future, and it is ALSO the collection of the best of stuff from March, April and May. That means me listing my favorite books, movies and real life things from the past few months. For example, a Jesus Christ superstar themed party I threw on palm Saturday lol. Please check my newsletter update out!! <3

[tuiskuh]

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) | Tuisku H.

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) by Tuisku H. on Patreon. J

Bighuge update: I finished the book I have been working on for damn near two years!! Can you believe it!! My first non-fiction comic, my first comic-book adaptation AND my longest comic to date. Feels surreal!!

While I have a few ideas on what I will be doing next, a lot of that is still pretty vague, so this entirely free to read for everyone patreon update is me reflecting on this moment, planning the future, and it is ALSO the collection of the best of stuff from March, April and May. That means me listing my favorite books, movies and real life things from the past few months. For example, a Jesus Christ superstar themed party I threw on palm Saturday lol. Please check my newsletter update out!! <3

[tuiskuh]

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) | Tuisku H.

Newsletter 4#: reflecting on the now, planning for the future and the best stuff of March, April and May (so far) by Tuisku H. on Patreon. J

Bighuge update: I finished the book I have been working on for damn near two years!! Can you believe it!! My first non-fiction comic, my first comic-book adaptation AND my longest comic to date. Feels surreal!!

While I have a few ideas on what I will be doing next, a lot of that is still pretty vague, so this entirely free to read for everyone patreon update is me reflecting on this moment, planning the future, and it is ALSO the collection of the best of stuff from March, April and May. That means me listing my favorite books, movies and real life things from the past few months. For example, a Jesus Christ superstar themed party I threw on palm Saturday lol. Please check my newsletter update out!! <3

[tuiskuh]

saw this post^and it made me so sad because people absolutely should not have to do things alone or the hard way. networking is a terrible term and it makes something cool and awesome sound corporate and soulless. networking does not have to be shallow & focused on sucking up to people. and in fact, if you try to ""network"" with people only to suck up to them it won't work. people can tell that you're just in it for your own benefit. in my experience, what good ""networking"" really means is having friends, mentors and collaborators you regularly keep in contact with in your field. That means people whose work and company you enjoy, people you like talking to and spending time with, who you are excited to hype up and who in turn hype you up when they have a chance! and this means you can come up with projects to work on together, boost each other's achievements and share information about people/companies to avoid and ones that you have enjoyed working together with, alongside just being regular friends. which in practice can be something like regular discord calls where sometimes you say things like 'congrats on that new book! how was it working with that publisher?' and they will answer bc you are friends and friends want to help each other. again, networking is a bad term because it frames the whole thing as just a business relationship, when in real life it is a connection of friendships and good will among people you think are cool and whose work you like, which is just incredible and awesome in every way