Cactus Garden

I'm Iben Krutt, and this is my art blog. This is where I post personal work, commissions, fanart, worldbuilding, sketches, and more!

[ikrutt]

WELCOME TO THE MYSTERY SHACK

[ikrutt]

HOLY SHIT YES!! I REMEMBER ALL THREE OF THESE ART PIECES! This is SO wild because I remembered you commissioned my classmate of these two, and that was a GOOD 18-20 years ago, and that's how I began to follow you. But then I also went internet absent and forgot all about all the artists I followed. Absolutely crazy how somebody else's characters burned themselves into my memory and out of nowhere just awoke. And it's definitely the oc and name Kalamu that made me remember you're PROBABLY the same artist

Earlier ask for context.

Oh my gosh! I'm not gonna lie, it feels really good to be remembered after all these years!

There are so many artists I lost track of, or ones that just dissapeared wothout a trace from the online sphere, and I miss them all terribly. So I'm glad I could give you a bit of closure (?) on this, hehe.

[ikrutt]

Am I WAY off, or did you have a pair of human boy characters where one was an angel (or at least winged) and he often had a flower crown? Black and freckled?? I felt 99% sure of this, but then I didn't find any trace of this and I'm down to 50/50 on this

You're not! You're probably thinking of Xilmior and Erik (although they're not boys). Xilmior in particular used to be very near and dear to me for a good while, but I kind of abandoned him along with my Kalamu-moniker and a bunch of other characters.

Here are some old art of them I'm particularly fond of:

By @therewren

By @merystic

By @pac

[cloudypetrel]

Kalamu [AF]

Fluffy butt!

This is an attack against: @ikrutt https://artfight.net/~IbenKrutt

This is the first time in a while where I needed to do 3 sketches to get everything in order. :^P

[puddleorganism]

Mini mass attack! Been picking away at this between revenges for the past week

For (in no particular order) @vonecent, GrumpPng, saop, @judas-iscaryot, @rustystufff, Square_Opossums, zweilous, Class_felidae, Parlous, Asparagust, medicallyinduced, @beastwhimsy, @graevelabyss, @macknuck, @ikrutt, @swordy-da-goat, @sombertide-0, wixibaby, and @eldritchphantom !

[purple-blep]

Another fun artfight doodle, this time on pollenpants and @ikrutt's interpretation of Highland curbs from Abigail Hilton's novels, hunters unlucky

[alhilton]

Someone is about to walk otherwise whether they want to or not. 😆

[ikrutt]

Patrol, 2026 ArtFight revenge on @achillean-knight

[ikrutt]

A New Dawn, 2026 ArtFight revenge for @tertain-the-original

"Everything is so different now." "Yes, but maybe different isn't such a bad thing!"

[ikrutt]

Irreversible Clarity, 2026 ArtFight attack on @mobi-gg

[ikrutt]

T-Minus Zero, 2026 ArtFight attack on @kataasgaard

[ikrutt]

Courage is Fire, 2026 ArtFight attack on DIXUS

[ikrutt]

Wish You Were Here, 2026 ArtFight attack on Felkot

[cabsaula]

Storm, yeeting

Sketches

[ikrutt]

Keeper of the Stacks, 2026 Trade with Llyander

[ikrutt]

Kalamu, 2026

This thing is old enough to have a cosmo at an American lounge now. I'm reviving her so she can join the fray in this year's Art Fight. See you in the trenches!

[monthesnipe]

Book Recommendation #1

To anyone interested in xenofiction, I wholeheartedly recommend:

“Hunters Unlucky”

and all of its sequel books

(written by Abigail Hilton).

This series is one of my absolute favorites, I make a point to make time to re-read it at least twice a year. It is one of the best Xenofiction series I have ever read, with elegant world building, relevant character growth, and a steady pacing that makes it so easy to fly through. Also LGBTQ+ representation!!!!

My favorite part of this series is the author’s skill at portraying emotionally deep-rooted bonds between species and allowing the reader to grow attached to characters from both sides of the conflict through a steady reveal of internal drives and motivations.

[ikrutt]

What's in a Name?, 2026 Illustration for @ashanimus

Moashi and Halvery teaches Flyleap the cub to read. Saxifrage the ferryshaft belong to @bookshelfpassageway and the other cub to @olimnia.

This was the grand prize my book review contest, which is over now, but if you're looking for a summer read, why not try one of @alhilton's novels?

What's that behind the bush??