Shelbopoly

[shelbopoly]

3rd Draft of My Book Is Done!!!

IT'S DONE!!!!!!!!! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Finally, after 8 years of work, the 3rd draft of my book is done!!! It's been-- A JOURNEY-- getting here; 10 years ago I started hammering out the 1st draft and had it done by spring 2017! 2nd draft I finished February 2018! It was horrible! I hated it!

I knew the best way to make it better was to essentially rewrite the entire thing from scratch-- I was too attached to the old writing-- so after some... tumultuous years dealing with genuine heartbreak from peers, rebuilding a fractured relationship with my writing, and pushing past others' doubt, the past couple of years I locked in, restructured a TON of the core elements to the story, and eventually got fed up enough with my own inner critic that I slapped my desk, said "flip this," May 31st is the day I finish this draft.

AND I DID!!!

Is it perfect? Abso-flipping-lutely not LOL, it still needs work, I already know of ways to improve it, but am I happy with it? YES!! It's come SUCH a long way, changed in ways I could not have imagined while still keeping the heart of the story, and at the end of the day?

I just want to get it out there.

This is a story that has been with me for most of my life. It's not a final draft, that will come when it's at the printers :) But I am one step closer to holding this book in my hands, and I am SO looking forward to it!!!

Thank you all for all of your support and kindness throughout the years, look forward to more updates soon!!

If you wanna support me too, you can become part of my Patreon!! :D

Get more from Shelbopoly || Lumenations on Patreon

Get more from Shelbopoly || Lumenations on Patreon. Creating Books and Art!. Support Shelbopoly || Lumenations and get exclusive access to t

[shelbopoly]

From over some months, Patreon rewards I haven't posted!

All of them are for my friend Circuitreats! :)

My Patreon!

Get more from Shelbopoly || Lumenations on Patreon

Get more from Shelbopoly || Lumenations on Patreon. Creating Books and Art!. Support Shelbopoly || Lumenations and get exclusive access to t

[shelbopoly]

Yoariph [COM]

2/13/2025

Commission for Monipue! :) This is one of my favorite recent commissions I've done, I had so much fun with the posing and shading!!

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IN UNRELATED NEWS

CONGRATS GLITCH ON GETTING YOUR SHOW IN THEATERS!!! I don't talk often about things I like (is hard....) BUT WHOOOO

I'm so happy for you guys, you all made something TRULY special. It's inspiring to watch and fires me up to keep making my own stuff!! I hope you guys have a good vacation after this oh my word LSKDFJDS

Sending lots of love and kindness from here!! :)

[shelbopoly]

I don't know if this needs to be said, but: Creators don't owe their fandoms anything. It's not the creator's responsibility for how their fandoms act. It is not the creator's responsibility to cater to every single person in their fandom.

The creator's responsibility is to their own works. To create honestly. If their fandom becomes upset by how other people in said fandom act, that is NOT the creator's fault. If their fandom becomes upset and whines at how the creator chooses to tell their story (despite it being really good), or the fact the creator's choosing to share it at all, that is NOT the creator's fault.

Stop blaming other people. The creator is not your parent. You can do better.

We live in such an incredible time where creations by small creators can be shown more widely than ever before. An indie show being shown in theaters IS INSANE and an incredible feat. We should celebrate the success!! We should cheer on the people we support and encourage them!!

Why are so many people's first instincts to complain they didn't get exactly what they wanted, instead of being grateful we got anything at all?

I wanna clarify there *are* real concerns that fandoms can have about the stories they love. I don't invalidate those feelings or not getting what you wanted (or anticipating the way people will act in lieu of something). But man... can we lower the bar a little? You're not looking at George Lucas or Francis Ford Coppola choosing to only show Star Wars and Godfather to a select few because "screw everyone else too bad." You're looking at the little guys who have come SO far and you're choosing to tear them down for trying to tell their stories, when they offer an amazing opportunity they fought to have at all.

If you want to be parasocial about it (first of all, don't.) imagine your friend finally becomes the chef of their dreams and has been given the opportunity to cook for a restaurant! Except the restaurant is in Paris, and you live in India so you can't go. Are you really going to whine and tear your friend down for all the people that get to taste their food while you can't? Or, even if it's disappointing you can't go, do you support them and cheer them on, because you want them to flourish and do well?

Which do you think is more mature?

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Look at him. Look at this Angry Bird. They're so scrungly

[shelbopoly]

Small Things

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAYYY!! I'M BACK FOR ANOTHER PAINTING

For those who don't know, every year I make a Valentine's Painting representing different kinds of love, because there are so many ways to express love that aren't just typical romance or what media portrays. It's been such a narrowminded topic for so long; it's important to me to show how love can be seen and felt beyond what is so often given.

And this year, the painting is centered on "small pleasures"! The small, little things that make us who we are, the unspoken things we enjoy and love without any words. Starwatching, sunsets, silent companionship, reading, even breathing. The smell of rain, wind on a hot day, naps by the fire, laughter. The small joys and happiness that we encounter that bring us each love every day. (I actually wrote a song on this exact thing some years ago, titularly The Small Little Things).

Back to Gouache paint this year, I also wanted to show a couple of characters I haven't given attention in a long time who's relationship is largely centered on enjoying each other's company! Charlie and Seven <3

Anyway, TLDR; Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you enjoy this year's painting! :)

(ps: included it before the tape was removed, cause that's one of the small things I really enjoy about painting, and something not a lot of people see imo)

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CW FACIAL HORROR

I started doodling an eye last night and uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh here have this!

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Archer (COM)

A commission for MrLime on Discord! :)

[shelbopoly]

Breathing Someone Else's Air

1/27/2025

Some art of Vyila from last January <3 and an alt version cause I love both a ton

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Borbs :)

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Artfight 2025 (17)

Last revenge of the year, for Bonedito!

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Artfight 2025 (16)

Revenge on @unluckiest-black-cat ! :)

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Artfight 2025 (15)

Revenge on Gachabasta! I had way too much fun with this haha

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Artfight 2024 (14)

They are beauty, they are grace, they are Whisp United States! :)

An attack on my friend ElliotShoe! I had a lot of fun with the watercolor, the piece heavily inspired by the vibes of old medieval tapestries (especially the famous unicorn ones) :)

[shelbopoly]

Artfight 2025 (13)

Attack on my friend @vesuvi ! :)