GALLERY

honestly, i didn't get to draw nearly as much as i'd have liked to this year, but i'll cut myself some slack. i was busy!

something you will notice rather quickly in this recap is a LOT of drawings of my tabletop characters! i got into a number of ttrpgs this year and i'm very thankful that they kept my imagination and pen moving when i didn't have a whole lot of time to dedicate to drawing.

sort of a blessing in disguise, though! i've been working hard lately to free myself from almost exclusively drawing fanwork, and drawing characters i can confidently call mine has been really nice.

despite working full-time at my grocery store in '24, i was REALLY finding my rhythm this year!
so many fun, experimental pieces!

i think i grew to really appreciate the limited time i had to draw as a result of those tight schedule constraints. seriously, i was knocking out at least one full drawing on any of my days off.

i got to visit a number of fighting game events this year, too! i think experiencing those spaces in person and getting to be part of a physical community really motivated me to do some fun, out-there fighting game art this year. i look back on this portion of the gallery quite fondly.

you'll notice this year has a sharp downturn in the amount of """finished pieces""" featured... because i moved out of my parents' place, and suddenly got really busy!

i really value this timeframe looking back, because it forced me to abandon the idea that only my drawings with full rendered colors and delicate, meticulous lineart were worthwhile. drawings are drawings, damn it! just draw SOMETHING!

i shut down my commissions for the first time since i was like eighteen, and let myself just explore how i liked to tackle form and shape on a fundamental level. i even tried making comics for the first time! very proud of myself for what i got done here.

there's also a lot of badnobu here. a lot. i almost made a NMH fangame with them this year. i was in deep.

after a rough end-of-2021, i fell off drawing pretty bad. a full two years had lapsed since i'd dropped out of art school, and i got totally burned after trying my hand at being a freelancer. it was hitting me kinda weird!
early in the year, i just spent time sketching and not trying to finish anything, really.

and then, i started drawing bad girl and shinobu from no more heroes dating,
and the muse possessed me for the next 3 years.

i was STILL riding the high of being unemployed at the beginning of this year HAHA

this was also the year i got into Grasshopper Manufacture's games beyond NMH! they were such an intoxicating creative balm, i could hardly tear myself away from them to find the time to draw.

but draw i did! lots of experimenting this year, trying to figure out my relationship with my linework and colors.
i aimed for the fences with a lot of these concepts, and although i rarely made it out of the park, i'm glad i tried!
these were some cool ass drawings with a lot of heart behind them.

i was freshly dropped out of art school and LOVING IT

worked my first job this year, too, and spent pretty much all of my free time outside of work drawing.
for better or worse, hustling overnights at a grocery store during the pandemic...
i didn't have a lot to do with my free time other than draw!

toward the end of the year though, i ended up quitting my job and hit a second stride of energy to dedicate completely to fucking around and finding out artistically.