Dragon Yip (Hi-Res)

Dragon yip-- I mean, KICK. Dragon KICK.

Trying out being an iguana-esque kobold for a bit/this year. Refined the Deriaz kobold, noodled at this for longer than I should have. He feels more "me" than just the iguana at the moment, so we'll see how it feels to be him for a while!

Enjoy! I added some sketch stream speedpaints here as well as a bonus, as well as a sketch piece that's being turned into a full painting of a trio of hares for a good friend who changed characters. c:

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Whoof. The end of the year was rough. Between a small breakdown due to anxiety and depression, and then a week of back to back migraines, I didn't finish up the year as strongly as I wanted.

I DID manage to finish off the Kobold, at least! It's been on my mind for... a while, actually, to switch to a kobold instead of an iguana in the fandom, but pulling elements of him along. The iguana's main sticking point has been that he is "me", and over the years, the reason for that choice hasn't felt as strong. Kobolds, though, have always been something I've loved -- from the silly "you no take candle!"s of World of Warcraft, to the crafty sneaks in D&D, even to the furry fandom's "uwu dragon" admirers, Kobolds feel... right? Little balls of energy that struggle, that might get kicked around, but always seem to get back on their feet and keep trying, and when they find people or creatures that appreciate them, they latch on in either a loyal way or a playful way.

Which feels silly to type out at the age of 33. But last year was... Also a strange year. I nearly went broke at one point, were it not for the help of a few friends (i owe you guys so much oh my god). I lost a friend to leukemia and that still eats at me, when he was just starting to hit his stride and was a few years younger than me. AI has gotten... Really good at doing my job and a lot of other jobs. Various industries are laying people off left and right. And here I am, with my little animal drawings and commissions. I feel kicked around, like the world was trying to make me think what I'm doing isn't valuable, that I "chose" wrong, that I'm not good enough. It's a gnawing, anxious, repeating chorus, I know, if you've read these over the years.

The kobold is kind of a way of... trying to compromise with that. Yes, some of my goals don't exist anymore, but that's okay. I have a community that wants to see what I'm doing, and deep friends who I owe the world to. I can't keep laying in the dirt, thinking of the what-ifs and could-have-beens. Sure, I might fall back in it every so often, but I'm trying to be better about getting back up quicker and quicker. So that explains some of the... quiet here in the last half of the last month.

Otherwise, things have been rough outside of art too. Goolashe lost his internship. :( I think it wasn't anything of his doing, but mismanagement by his boss. Just a mess I won't get into here. So, we're back to me being the main money maker. So no time to lay in the dirt. I gotta keep moving.

I have two pieces in progress, one of which -- the hares -- you can see above. Learning Clip Studio Paint has been tough, but rewarding in its own way, and I'm impressed at how easy the early stages of a painting are to lay out quickly. The rendering... mmm... still figuring that out. But. We're making it happen.

Love you all. Happy new year. Here's to hoping 2024 is kinder to all of us as a whole. Stay safe out there. I will try to be back soon. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all, so, so much. I seriously wouldn't be here without your love and support. All of my love.

Catch you again soon.