I mentioned my “early favorites,” and one of those for Season 9 has certainly been Shea. She was one of the first queens I met when I moved to Chicago several years ago, and I was entranced from the very first performance. Another delight of this show is seeing new sides of the queens you're already rooting for, particularly when they're showing off their comedy chops in unexpected roles.

These goofy little character illustrations are fun for me to do, and I was really feeling a chunky, cartoony style early in my day's work on this batch of art. I think it's probably because I'm putting the finishing touches on a kids' comic project, and it's fun to work in that colorful, exaggerated, adorable world.

I was worried that this week's runway theme “Big Hair” would be kind of boring, but I think it was actually loose enough to offer the queens lots of room to play. There were a ton of imaginative looks that I was excited to draw, but I struggled a lot with my first few pieces. Even if I love a look, I need to think it over until an image snaps into my mind, guiding me in how to actually depict it. But that process felt like a long, slow climb for my first few runway illustrations.