Woah, what's this!? A journal from icy?? in 2019!?!?
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Yeah, so last Sunday (28th of April) this account ticked over the ten year mark. That's... that's a pretty significant milestone.
I think it started so I could follow
TamarinFrog's Random Doom comics and then I just uploaded this and that. So let's skip the meem templates and just do a retrospective, eh?
2008
(Uploaded '09)
Yay!! Piece No: 1!! Someday I'll look back on this and think WOW!!
Or not.
Well past me, maybe not 'WOW!!' but I guess you liked Lucario and the Mystery of Mew?
2009
Made a pretty cool Darkari out of lego that year. Shame it kept falling apart.
2010
Oh look it's perspective! And Colour no less! I do remember being SUPER proud of the Mystery Dungeon pic though.
2011
I never finished this, but I still remember giggling and trying to write 'Rydel Rydel Rydel Rydel' as much as I could fit into the bike haha.
Also met some other weird aussie online and I offered to colour a thing. (
Flaming-Starfish you out there you amazing person you??) My first experience with an OCT that year (what was I thinking?)
Even in your UBF, FOE? (What a missed opportunity to have one of those 'FOE' blobs!!)
Also End Run.
Then there's End Run.
Oh, do you have a moment to talk about End Run?
Because, yeah, End Run.
2012 saw me do a whole bunch of art, even though I went straight from R1 to NPC, the tumblr community that sprang up from End Run was unlike anything else. (Space Race almost was a thing too! Almost!)
2013
2013 picked up right where 2012 left off. Tumblr fads and meems aplenty, as well as my favourite bit of spritework.
I saw that the BFOI seemed pretty popular and I'd been itching to do something Pokemon Ranger based so it seemed like the perfect opportunity! And at the time, it was!!
(Also the first Etrian Odyssey game to be published in Australia since the first came out and I loved every last moment)
2014
More ranger goodness in the BFOI, giving Requiem Signs a go since Star was running it and it helped scratch that RP itch, aaaand finishing it off with a throwback to '12.
Looking back it was clear that in the name of keeping up I wasn't thinking things through, neither in leaving myself enough time to get bigger things done, nor stopping and thinking about just what it is these characters are doing. Benefit of hindsight and all.
On the other hand, oh gosh wow Kashu you actually took the time to comment on practically everything! Such a positive influence at the time and I thank you deeply for cheering me on. Least I can do is give ya a ping~
YuriaThames
2015
And here's where that proverbial match was burning its brightest. I'm still really proud of the 4 full pages I made for the finale of the BFOI saga, but pushing myself so hard and not always leaving enough time had its costs.
Still, fun to look back on.
2016
Fwomp! Burn out.
I went right up to the literal deadline for BFOI Y3 ranger apps to return from Y2 and after delay on delay it finally sunk in that this behaviour wasn't sustainable for me, for the admins, for anyone. Chari's Y3 app was withdrawn and I tried to focus on volunteering and my studies.
I did later draw a Rosetta though. She was always a lot of fun, but by gosh it wasn't as easy to draw as it used to be.
2017
After BFOI I joined Coalescent Epiphany Remix, a mainly text-based RP group that was built around using discord as well as dA. I still found it harder to draw, so I figured maybe collaborating with others could help me get my spark back. It kinda worked? Dunno. Got to meet and chat with a few cool people though, and I'd missed that in BFOI.
2018
As seems the norm for the groups in the 'Coalescent' series, CE:RE was closed and rebooted as Contingen-CE. Art-wise I discovered just how much fun colouring sketches is, so that's what I did for the most part. Sadly I had to leave for other reasons but I did enjoy my time there.
2019
Which brings us to today! I've graduated uni and work full time in software development, sometimes volunteering on weekends, sometimes just chilling with friends. The door is still open for art to be done, and the above was even done on an android tablet, just to see what Medibang Paint was like! (Not half bad with a stylus and coming from Fire Alpaca) And yet, with that portrait done the spark was gone just as soon as it came.
Burning up is something I'd not recommend, but at the same time it's one hell of a reality check.
I've made peace with that spark not being what it was, that force driving me to create. I do other things now, but if the occasion strikes me drawing is something I can do and still enjoy.
Heh, Maybe in another ten years I'll look back on this and think 'WOW!!'