Happy Little Trainwreck

Rev/Em/Emily • 26 | she/her • mostly original content, sometimes fanart

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Meet the Artist 2023! Did this months ago but never uploaded it here for some reason

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Pegasus!

A winged boy! One of the most challenging poses I've done to date, and one of the most difficult horses I've ever drawn (there are *so* many studies and references behind this fella; he almost went to the scrap pile haha). He was a great learning experience though!

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"Surprised you made it this long, kid. Most don't." "I've got a lot of people at home. Gotta get back to them." "...Get some rest, kid. I'll let you know if something changes."

A soft-spoken young man from a kolkhoz in the Voronezh Oblast, Alexei never imagined a life beyond the farm with his family and fiancée. After Operation Barbarossa ignites in the summer of 1941, however, he finds himself enlisting in the army, leaving everything and everyone he knows and loves to an uncertain fate.

My baby boy. One of my sweetest male leads. One of my most nervous leads. One of my sweetest characters in general. The one I probably gave one of the most horrific plot lines to. This poor guy, I really do love him; he just goes Through It. He's always so fun to work with though; summer always makes me think of him and his story 🤎 An almost-obligatory take everything about the uniform with a grain of salt; I did pull a loose reference, but I didn't spend too much time trying to make it 100% correct 😅

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Every bit defining the Fjord standard, Kjærlighet is one of the most reliable and sure-footed members of Riverhill's equine team. She's also one of the barn's easiest keepers and one of the most beginner friendly!

A pretty lady, and another character who hasn't been seen in quite a while! Fjords are one of my all-time favorite breeds, so she definitely deserved a portrait this year! 🩵

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The crown princess of the Kingdom and the sole child of the King and Queen, Brynne is brave, loyal, stubborn, and always looking for a new adventure, often with her best friend Edric. She's also quick to assume, which has gotten her into many interesting situations; though her intentions are often good.

Sassy little thing! It's been almost six years since she's shown up, but she's still around! I wanted this portrait to look more like old animation sketches, and it really turned out neat! 🩷💜

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Another mythological horse, this time Hippocampus, the chariot puller of Poseidon! Went with the more traditional half-fish, half-horse for him, and loosely based him off of the Andravida and Thessalian horses and Mediterranean fish! He was a challenge; he was almost scrapped many times, but he's become one of my favorite things I've made!

(He's also a print! You can find him here)

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Finally something other than a portrait! And something that I kept hidden for months! Another member of the mythological horses series I've been working on, and one of my favorite creatures from all of folklore: the Scottish Kelpie. This was both a tremendous amount of work and a tremendous amount of fun; I just really love him 💚🖤

(You can also buy him here, if you would like)

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The eldest of the Vuresk siblings, Kel takes his responsibilities (and nearly everything else) seriously. After their father's passing, he shouldered the majority of the burden himself, determined to provide for his mother and younger siblings. He works odd jobs around their village to help make ends meet; he's also quite the swordsman.

The man, the myth, the legend. I have not drawn him in a very long time, and I definitely haven't drawn him *this* young in a very long time. To follow Ardon's portrait from August, I wanted to keep the timelines of all four siblings consistent. I just love Kel though; he's great, very much the voice of reason of the four of them 🤎

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If there were only two words to describe Vertigo, they would be scopey and skittish. Not a terrible combination, but definitely one that's led to some interesting situations. Despite his trust issues with shadows and tree limbs and flooring changes, he has a real knack for eventing and takes difficult lines like a champ.

A big boy! A big baby! He's the sweetest; I just love him 🤎🖤

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A spitfire stay-at-home mother living on the outskirts of Berlin, Ilse runs her house with the firm hand only a former schoolteacher could have. And, with two rowdy boys, she needs to. With the current of the country changing, she finds herself growing more wary by the day and glancing at every headline she sees.

It was an Aries-women-with-red-lips season for me when I drew this, and I certainly couldn't complain. Something a little simpler and rougher, but I still love this lady; she's wonderful 🩵💚

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Elena's college roommate and best friend, Natalie never thought her bestie would choose to move to the rural part of the Ridge and tackle the challenge of her grandparents' rundown horse farm. She also never thought that *she* would be using her afternoons to work with a horse that jumps at his own shadow and spending her summers doing trail rides with local kids. But, Natalie can't honestly say that she minds.

Natalie!! I haven't drawn her in ten years (which is especially fun since 2026 marks ten years that I've been taking storytelling seriously!); I can't think of a better time to redraw her (and one day I'll show you her old drawings too!). She's so fun; she's changed quite a bit appearance-wise, but her core has stayed the same 🩵 Also I feel like she has tattoos; I just don't know what or where 🤔 We'll figure it out!

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At twelve years old and full of mischief and dreams, Ashley is the definition of "it's her would, and we're just living in it." She's playful, curious, and can be hard to keep up with, but she's fiercely protective of the people she cares about. Needless to say, she gives Elena and the horses a run for their money.

Another child! They're becoming one of my favorite things to draw after years of not drawing them at all, funnily enough; they're very expressive. But anyway, I love this girl; she is so fun, this was so fun 🩷

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The personal riding horse of Elena and an aloof and rather testy Tennessee Walking Horse, Rocky isn't much one for socializing, with humans or other horses; but, if you can earn his favor, he's one of the most loyal horses around. Despite his less-than-friendly temperament, he does have a slight soft spot for children...sometimes

A boy! A good boy, usually. I love this horse; I don't draw him nearly enough. Also I just have the biggest place in my heart for Walking Horses (and most gaited breeds in general) 🤎 I've been having a little too much fun playing with shadow colors recently; I don't know if it necessarily works for horses as well as it does for people, but hey, it's a worthwhile experiment nonetheless!

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The older of the Frazier brothers, Spencer is very much the more confident, laid-back, social foil to his more nervous younger brother. He currently works as a traveling mechanical engineer and is quite the culinary connoisseur. While he doesn't get to see his brother as often as either of them would like, they do talk to each other almost daily!

Spencer, Spencer, Spencer, my happy-go-lucky divorcé supporting character; I just love him. He's just out here living his best life. Also it hit me while writing this that he and Steven are very much Mario-and-Luigi coded, so that's fun! I might have to do something with that later 😅

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A unicorn to start a fun little series! I've always been inspired by fantasy, fairy tales, mythology, and horses; and for years now I've wanted to draw a collection of every possible equine I could from folklore and stories around the world. The way that I found to do this, without burning myself out, was to divide them into a few separate series made up of distinct groups. The first set includes fairly well-known horses that either may be one creature or could be many; maybe they have regional stories that call them by the same name but have slight variations? And this more modern take on the unicorn is the first entry of Series I. (And, really, as probably one of, if not, the most famous mythical horse known, how couldn't it be first?) This was so fun to work on from start to finish, I had a blast, and I can't wait to show you more of this set! 🩷

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"Dr. Crowe?" He's a bit scattered, but he's a good man. His bedside manner is one of the finest."

A physician in a growing city and a member of a local order, Dr. Arthur Crowe has been practicing medicine for many years now, though one certainly wouldn't know it by looking at him. He lives humbly in a townhouse with his wife, Annabel, and their four children. The remedies he and his wife make are well-regarded by the locals

I drew his wife months ago, and now I get to draw him! 💚🤎 Arthur is *so fun* to work with; he's so awkward, and his brain moves so much faster than his mouth does, and he's so sweet, and he's a solid family man. He's just great (also kinda Harvey-coded, for those of you that have played Stardew Valley. I've had Arthur for far longer than I've played SDV, but there are definitely some similarities there!). This portrait was so much fun though; I have a ball every time I draw him 💚😄

Fun fact: his hair is regularly disheveled; he constantly runs his hands through it while he's thinking

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A quiet army veteran with a past he'd rather not talk about, Michael moved to the Ridge after leaving the military in hopes of finding himself again. Eventually, he would land with the team and horses at Riverhill. Despite having no riding experience beforehand, he's become quite comfortable around the animals, and he's grown especially fond of a sweet Warmblood mare named Liberty

I dropped the ball on this big time; I have been busy, and this almost didn't get finished. But it did! I love Michael; he's been around for a very long time, and, like a lot of my characters, this is somehow the first time he's been drawn. He's a great character though, I absolutely adore him, he's one of my favorites 💙