#art reflection

[reds-references]

Gather, cult of Dionysus and rejoice 🍇

New expressions pack is up now on ye olde Patreon! 90+ photos!!!

A special thanks to the artist who commissioned this reference pack! It means the world to me when I get to work with fellow creators.

🏺If you use any of these as reference just use the hashtag #DrawRedInYourStyle and tag me!

Reds References | Muscles & Whimsy | Patreon

[ancomestrogen]

Welcome to Womanhood: A Crystalized Transfeminist Anger

An essay written for my grad program, that also doubles as an expression of transfeminine disgust and emotion.

Another one (this time its half vent posty, half essay, written for my grad program).

[kibbychan]

another year done!! to everyone who saw any of my works, thank you for looking!! thank you for an incredible year of art!!

big actual yap below

i can't believe were already doing another art year in review, ill be so for real. this year went by so fast!! but here we are, and what a year it was. it didn't register till recently, but look at how much art i got done!! 12 full pieces!! that's one for every month of the year (though i didnt do it for every month of the year).

and the growth that was apparent from even the first drawing i did this year!! i'm really happy with my range!! i was able to get so much more dynamic shots, display so much more detail on these characters, and the characters in general felt so much more defined and emotive! one of my dreams is to make art that you can feel the emotion of both the author, and subject while making it, and i really think i succeeded in alot of areas here!! there were many emotions that i felt in this year that i felt i expressed well, this year beyond the simple cute yearnful art i published, i got to express conflict and grief, and pure joy! it's amazing how much more varied i was able to get, and i hope i continue to bring that into the next year.

2025 was also the area where i shifted to doing more oc content!! while i definitely did oc content before, and i did oc content to ship myself with cove, i fully leaned into making full original characters this year!! i started work on my own semi series, transcending discontent, with three characters, and a handful of art, stories and lore. i was someone who has been afraid to write my own stories as in the past it was hard to complete an individual story, or have a big enough voice in a collaborative project to write it, so being able to make a story of my own in a medium where i've been able to complete pieces has been unbelievably freeing!! i definitely plan to do more content for transcending discontent in the next year, but nows the time where i want to finally work on a project I've been wanting to for several years of my life and share it with all of you!! im sure ill say it again, but thank you so much for supporting me as i make more oc content!!

if i can be personal, this year there were also many challenging moments in this year. while there was there were several moments in the year where my life took a major turn for the worst, and it did not feel like i had any control over what could happen next. in situations like these, im so happy that i had an avenue that i felt like i could control, that being art. I could stop and start anytime i wanted to, and I would be met with any amount of support. there are moments when i question my worth as a person online, on if people really like me, see me, and if i should just leave all together. but ultimately, i think about the wonderful comments that i get from others who enjoy my art, and the many people that share and like my art, and i continue to have the urge to keep going. so if your one of those people who saw my art in any capacity this year, thank you very much for giving me the strength to continue my dream.

also once again, thank you very much to all the wonderful mutuals and artists that managed to follow me across this year. it truly is surreal to know so many people that are on their own artist journeys and sees me, someone who's relatively amateurish, as somebody worth following. its surreal and confounding but i am incredibly grateful and honored nonetheless. in particular i would like to thank @ doodlesbydamo.bsky.social, and @shipkidpalace-official especially for drawing my characters (in the latters case, multiple times!) as someone who saw it as impossible to draw something that isn't bad just a few years ago, im grateful that you guys would take my characters and take the time to draw them. its such an overwhelming feeling and it makes me so happy to be here.

as for what's next year, well, i hope to do more of what im doing this year!! more fan art for sure!! more oc content as well!! i wanna do more background stuff!! i want to also do more community stuff, and draw art for my mutuals!! (so like definitely art fight next year), but most importantly, i definitely wanna try do commissions, and continue to support other artists in whatever way i can.

so yeah, thats it, if you read through all of this, thank you! i said a ton of thank yous already, but truly, im extremely grateful for the opportunity i've been given, its an honor to be where i am, one i can't comprehend that im in, but one i will do my best to be the best i can!!

[xoxomarii]

Franz von Stuck’s Dancers (1896) glows like a dream caught in motion—figures circling through shadow and gold, their bodies half-light, half-fire. It is not mere movement he paints, but trance: rhythm turning flesh into flame. The air hums with something ancient, as if dance itself were a language older than breath.

Stuck’s world is one of ritual beauty, where grace meets the divine and the human dissolves into gesture. Every curve and gleam feels sacred, every shadow alive with pulse.

You can read more of this reflection in “The Body that Dreamed of Light.”

[tanyaluca]

Art is a way of survival…

—Yoko Ono

[genderfluidblob]

One of my favourite parts of myself is that I don't hate my old art. I don't cringe at it. I was doing my best and having fun, and I was goddamn creative.

I went through some old art yesterday, and yeah, I have gotten a lot better and I can see mistakes and flaws but the worst part of it was the comments. I was so god damn mean to myself. And no one else was! Everyone said it was pretty and amazing and creative and they were right but I just didn't believe them. And that's so fucking sad.

I will never hate on old me's art. She was already doing that far more than she should have herself

[vibingstella]

Sometimes I start drawing without a plan in mind and I sketch and doodle until my doodles suck me in and I come out of a daze with a completed piece. I like the messy look because I tend to be bad at line art and a lot of detail is lost from the initial sketch. By using the sketch layer as my line art and either adding contrast at the end to define shapes or cleaning up my sketches really helps my workflow.

Coloring sketches can really inspire me to finish more pieces of art. Sometimes you just have to stop yourself and comeback later, and sometimes you just accept that your done when your done.

╰(*°▽°*)╯ヾ(≧▽≦*)o q(≧▽≦q) φ(゜▽゜*) ♪ (*^▽^*) (●ˇ∀ˇ●)