A Little Life Update & Getting Back to Art!
It's been a wild ride, but after almost 2 pretty messy years, things are finally starting to settle down and feel normal again! When I last said I was "back," I actually got super caught up with life and work, trying to get everything back on track. It felt like time just stopped for me since 2024 July, and I basically only worked on commissions to keep my art life afloat.
I'm incredibly grateful to those of you who kept supporting me, whether you just kept sticking with me or supported me financially, during that tough period, even when I wasn't making new art. That truly meant the world to me.
Some of you might have heard or remember what happened that summer. The left side of my body suddenly felt really off, and it made me super dizzy. The weirdest thing is, after tons of check-ups, doctors told me I was completely fine, and I just recovered after a few weeks like nothing had happened. I was so confused and worried, but I guess... that's good?
My parents, though, believed that doing art was one of the reasons my health took a hit, which is also why I decided to take a bit of a break. I personally didn't think it was related to my health, as I've always been super careful about my body and well-being, just to make sure I can make art. However, I did think a lot during those days when I was feeling down and sick.
I'm in my 30s now, and it really makes you think about everything, not only just about your body, but also like, can I truly make a living with art, whether it's my main thing or a side hustle? I totally get that my parents are just concerned, but I really, really want to make more art.
I only just found the confidence to start my art pages and career a few years ago. I'm still determined to work hard and become a better artist, maybe even a full-time freelancer someday. That's pretty much where I'm at. I really hope I can keep drawing, and eventually complete "my original projects."
During this time, I've also been constantly refining my original stories. Being away from social media and limited by the system constraints of my old computer actually allowed me to focus more intensely on my own creations over the past year. Compared to the year before, many settings and concepts are finally starting to fall into place. In a way, this has intensified my desire to return to social media and share my originals with all of you.
I know I've been telling you I wanted to share my original work for a long time, but I never shared much because things felt too messy and unorganized.
I realize now that it was my perfectionism holding me back. It made it hard for me to show wip pieces or make promises I wasn't sure I could keep, which eventually led to procrastination. But the love I have for my own work and the joy I find in the creative process are real. Even during the days when I wasn't posting anything, I never stopped working on it—so I can only imagine how much more motivated I'll be once I start sharing it and getting feedback from you guys!
So, no matter what caused my body to act up, I'm going to be even more careful than before and take care of myself as much as I care about my artist life. That's why I took the time to rest—not just to catch up on life, but also to ease the worries of my parents, and even my own. To show where I'm headed: I even joined an illustration bootcamp to learn more about art making and the industry (That was the very first time in my life I'd ever talked so much to strangers), and (finally!) I invested in a brand new, powerful computer. It was expensive, but I see it as a necessary tool to keep improving my workflow and bring those original projects to life!
There's still so much I want to do and learn, and I guess I'm not giving up. I've come to realize that I might never be able to fully create games or complete comic series for my original projects. I once thought becoming a freelancer was the way to gain the know-how to reach my dreams, but now I find that my true passion has always been my own original stories and characters.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I'm reminded of why I'm here. Being part of this artist community and interacting with all of you is what truly makes my day. So, I've decided to stop worrying about the "big goals" for a moment and simply move forward with what I love. At the end of the day, my strength is in my drawings, and that is where I will focus and refine my craft. My goal now is simple: to let more people know about the stories and characters I've created. As for my path as a freelance artist, I will be stepping back from it to fully dedicate myself to my core.
So, from now on I'm going to focus more on developing my original work, just like I've always promised! I don't want my fear and my perfectionism to hold me back anymore, but I also won't be too strict with myself. So I'll be sharing updates at my own pace, slowly but surely bringing you into my original stories and world.
And don't worry, I'll definitely keep making fanart! Along with the projects I've already been working on and trying to bring to life visually, like my KMTT story and the one about Professor Turo, I'll also be drawing other characters I love whenever inspiration hits!
That's all for now. Thank you for all the support and for waiting on me! I'll be tidying up all my social media pages over the next few days and trying to become active again. Let's see what I can do this time!
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I've also shared the full update post on my Ko-fi.
Feel free to check it out there~
Btw I'm still debating whether I should start a new page dedicated solely to my original work and keep this one just for fanart. Since I've shared original content here in the past, I'm also considering just keeping everything on this page. Not sure which way is better yet, but hopefully, I'll have more clarity soon!
