#bittermause

[mrfebruarius]

An ancient comic I made for a friend. I wonder if she still remembers me.

[catcomixzstudios]

Today's Friday Fan-Art stars Felix and Governor Mumpkins from @bittermause‘s webcomic, The Shufflers! When I started the comic, I was really excited to draw the two protagonists being silly. Then I saw that there was a character who surrounds himself in cats and was like WELP. Anyway The Shufflers is a very funny comic. Highly recommended.

[atomicbritt]

Guys, no, stop, I’m gonna cry

[mrfebruarius]

Celebrating our completion of the "draw your outfit" prompt.

Bittermause: https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1715234

SteelEmissary: https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1720423

[mrfebruarius]

For my favorite webcomic, created by my dearest friend.

Tapas: https://tapas.io/episode/1206552

Website: http://theshufflerscomic.com/

[thewebcomicwanderer]

Today’s Follower-Recommended Webcomic: The Shufflers by @bittermause (recommended by @karmalarma)!

This comic follows a fortune teller named Märchen Froh and his bodyguard in a world where many people have can tap into different magics. It’s mostly focused on the various misadventures Froh manages to get himself into. 

The Shufflers is one of the funniest comics I’ve read in a while, and is absolutely something worth checking out.

[bittermause]

End of Year Review 2025

Here we are once again. If you've been following along with my last EoY reviews, you'll notice there isn't a drawing this time around.

A combination of being pretty busy with packing and just not feeling it.

This year was a mixed bag. Some really great events happened, but I'm not gonna sugar coat; this was also one of the worst years in regards to personal mental health.

Not every year gets to be a flawless, pure banger. I've been lucky to have four good years straight ever since leaving the shittier side of the Midwest behind me.

I'm going to try and keep this review as positive as I can. Before that, a note to my future self : I hope you'll keep in mind what you've learned, what you've done, and what you can do to make life better and kinder for you.

So with that out of the way, let's get started; ------

Cons of 2025:

+ The multiple SoCal wild fires that ignited in the beginning of January. What a fucking nightmare that was. I was lucky that my area didn't get effected, save for having a power outage for two days straight. Still, had to have been the worst case of wildfires in the history of California.

+ Had a series of anxiety attacks and depressive episodes earlier in the year. After one particular event, I concluded that the core issue came from the environment and people I grew up with for many years.

+ My joy of drawing deteriorated after the mid-point of the year. Currently trying to get myself out of that state, but god has it been a constant fight.

+ I didn't get to finish any creative projects or animate as I planned.

------

Pros of 2025:

+ Despite losing the momentum later, I accomplished a lot in terms of drawing. I filled up three sketchbooks worth of life drawing and studies. I also went to a few life drawing sessions throughout the year. I couldn't keep it consistent as the sessions were either weekdays only or further away from my apartment.

+ I revisited Aseprite and cranked out a few animations and sprites. I even went as far as building sprite assets for RPG Maker and learned to edit them into the program.

+ Did a skill trade with a friend; I taught them how to animate in ToonBoom Harmony and they tutored me on character illustration and fundamentals. It was fun to see how much they learned through the program while following along with the assignments.

For their part, I learned to revisit breaking down anatomy to simpler shapes, line confidence and the correct way to build thumbnails for illustrations. + My new webcomic project, A Series of Absurds, finally launched.

+ I went back to CO briefly and did some apartment hunting back in September. In October I applied for my top pick and immediately got approved.

+ After realizing how much damage was caused to my well-being growing up, I decided to permanently cut off the source. It was a stressful decision back then, but I don't regret it now. I wish I would've done this sooner.

+ Got to fly back out to Okinawa in October to revisit my best friend. I had a lovely time exploring their newer area and home, walking to Starbucks over the bridge, coloring fish at Future Park, eating omurice at Hoshino cafe...just so many great moments that live in my head and heart rent free.

------

Goals of 2026

+ Move out of CA. It was a wonderful 5 years, but it's only going to get worse environmentally and economically due to the mass damages from the start of this year. Inflation is a monster.

+ Get acclimated to my new space and hopefully make new connections.

+ Get back to animating anything. I'd like to at least finish up episode 4 of Boris or at least part 2 of it.

+ Enjoy drawing again, and despite how flawed the results are.

+ Continue weight-loss journey.

------

A warm and kind thank you to the friends that stuck close to me this year. I'm very lucky and grateful to still have people in my life, despite the heavier challenges being faced this year.

More than anything I just want 2026 to be a more peaceful journey. If I can't accomplish all of my intended goals, then I want to at least have that.

See you all on the other side of 2026. Take care, gang.

[bittermause]

End of Year Review 2024

It's that fabled time again, where I compile all of the year's events before it permanently shows itself out the door. Just like 2023, this year was loaded with significant events, personal accomplishments, and pleasant surprises. It was also the first year where I endured a few rug-pulls and unpleasant moments being out in CA. The Cons of 2024:

+ I was summoned for Jury Duty in January. Luckily I was able to leave after serving one day, but the case involved would've pulled me away from work for nearly two weeks. I only hope I don't get scouted again for a long time.

+ I have plateaued pretty hard throughout the entire year while on my weight loss journey. It's left me feeling incredibly frustrated with myself, but not enough to lose sight of continuing my goal.

+ Spent over $1300 On car maintenance that I was not prepared for. I learned later on that it's much better to take a car to a local mechanic than trust a predatory dealership. I also had to deal with reps constantly calling me, begging to buy my car while my wallet suffered. + I wasn't able to finish Episode 04 of Boris Blobinski in it's entirety, mostly in part to all the fees I had to pay for my car. I pay out of pocket for production, so this was not a great setback. + I got sick for the first time in years, and it was *bad*! I had all the trappings of Bronchitis and that took me weeks to recover from. The Pros and Accomplishments of 2024:

+ I got to meet and hang out with my good friend Chris in Spring. We Bowled, Karaoke'd and spent the day in Universal Studios. It was quite a blast having him! + Became more active in finding and participating in creative online groups, and I wound up re-connecting with a few other people I hadn't spoken with in years! + I took a second trip to Universal Studios on my own, but mostly meandered in City Walk since I never got a chance to explore there on my own. Also checked out the Round 1 arcade in Burbank for the first time, which was very fun. + I rebuilt my portfolio website to reflect my online brand. + I got my Associates Toon Boom Certification in September! The class I took in order to prepare for this was amazing, and met with so many lovely creators as well. + Attended LightBox Expo for the first time ever. Loved it! I got to share my portfolio with a variety of fellow creatives, and met with a few of my former instructors that are still near and dear to me. + Did a Friendsgiving thing with @stelyost ! Left the poor guy with a thick abundance of cooked macaroni, but over the course of the week, we got to spend a lot of our time together drawing, drinking, and exploring the majesty of his home city. Best Thanksgiving well spent with a longtime friend! ---------- Goals for 2025 + Continue weight loss journey and break the plateau. + Re-visit freeway driving practice since I fell off on the habit. + Finish Episode 04 of Boris Blobinski + Finish current one-shot comic for Anthology + Finish Episode 09 of The Shufflers. (Yes, that's right I'm going back to wrap it up after 3-ish years!) + Drawing studies and filling up more of my sketchbooks + Re-visit life drawing classes. (also fell out of that habit) + Re-visit Aseprite and become more well-versed in the program. + Travel wise, I didn't get to check out Downtown Ventura like I wanted to this year, so I'll make it a point to visit sometime next year. I also want to visit my best friend in Okinawa. The last time I went was 2016 and the whole process of traveling to and from was very stressful, so I want to better prepare myself. Next year has a bigger emphasis on carrying over aspects of self-improvement and self-discovery. Even if I wasn't able to accomplish everything I wanted to this year, I'm grateful that I've been given the opportunity to live the way I wanted to since I've moved out here. If I hadn't seized the opportunity to work in the west coast, I would be on a much darker path in life. Thank you everyone for making this year a brighter and more joyful one. I look forward to doing it all over again, and better, in 2025. PREVIOUS END OF YEAR REVIEWS: + 2023

+ 2020-2022