It still feels so hard to believe 2025 has come to an end. It feels like so much has happened, yet all gone in a blink of an eye. Alongside some IRL-related aspects that have physically drained me, it has been rocky yet achiveving. I’ll get into what this month will hold but allow me to reminisce and look back as we go forward.

Art in 2025, Reflections and Update

For a while the art pieces have been a lot of reboots and remakes of older pieces to something I much more prefer. It was great tho sometimes it’s best to keep on moving forward and I definitely felt like that. It wasn’t just old ideas with new coating but ideas locked up and finally got room to breathe alongside continued experimentation. That experimentation is also getting me to dive back into 3D modeling, the hardest course I did back in the day but it’s something I want to offer for not only commissions but as physical items on the shop.

This year also had a lot of really good pieces, from the the beginning of the year’s Sakura-hime, to Hannah’s winter attire, it just felt like things kept improving even slowly, especially with how much was on my plate.

The Pace between Hell and Labor

Oh my goodness I was not expecting how much this year would make me start and stop the art process and many other things. For those that don’t know, I try to post art once a week. Weather it’s made months in advance or that week, it’s something I’m a bit proud of as it… was, one of the few things I kept up with. As you can tell, that has not really been happening.

I’ll get into it later in the IRL segment but to put it blatantly I’ve been working hours at different parts of the year that do not give me the time nor creative energy to keep up with it. It SUCKS but unless I can get more monthly supporters I have to keep up with all of the payments. There was a moment where I could balance both one job and art but again that energy is lacking.

I WILL SAY that it is currently better than earlier this year and I’ve been able to focus on the important works thanks to a light modification in my schedule, but it still doesn’t take away the fact that I was not able to keep up even once a month or even keep up on the socials. Wish I could but just gotta keep finding that sweet spot. Until then, I’m going to keep trying to use the brush as much as possible.

UPDATE as of 12/22/2025: It looks like the seasonal PT did not turn into a permanent so that will adjust how the rest of the update will go.

Caught in the Merfolk-hole

Looking at everything, I think it’s apparent that I am logged into what I consider the merfolk-side of the web; which is not a bad thing but I want to get across my full feelings.

I remember for a while being afraid of being put in a hole, mostly stemming from what happened to multiple TF2-tubers when they tried to move towards a different path, i.e. cases of harassments and I believe death threats. Since then it’s been in the back of my mind as I “try” to not fall into such a condensed …standing? descriptor? grouping? Basically make sure I don’t fall into that…. gaming-wise.

I did not realized this but I did not expect the same to happen art-wise. OOPS. I tried to focus myself as an OC artist but it’s hard to tell if that sunk in. What clearly has stuck is being attached to merfolk, specifically mermaids. On one hand, it’s irritating I’ll admit. There are some art pieces that I feel like are better than some but don’t get as much attention due to uncommon themes within my portfolio. On the other hand tho, this is also self-inflicted with a dash of uncontrollability in the perceptions others have of you. The self-inflicted part being that I draw merfolk a lot as I genuinely do enjoy working on them, their unique designs and abilities, there’s much more creative freedom people often realize. Best part is I don’t have to draw feet.

I do know tho there is a pocket of the community that is rather unhinged about their “enjoyment” of merfolks and have pushed others away from that community. I’ll admit they have pushed me a few times in the past, tho the ability to combat it has given my steady ground nature when it comes to my work. The majority of that group seems to be turned away from me now at least but I can’t lie in saying they had an effect on the worry.

This is more of a way to accept where I’m at and tossing away the worry I have for it, or at least begin being more comfortable with the thought. I will try to always challenge myself with different themes, tactics and atmosphere with my works; just good to have reliable mertails to go back to.

New Website still in the works, might be longer than I thought…

Right now I am still in the process of working on the new site. A lot of things are still a work in progress and I’m… desperately trying to refine the Streaming section, add a part for OCs and make a gallery people can access and can be uploaded too.

It’s… a lot and my programing is admittedly rustier than I’d thought. On top of time, it’s progressing quite slowly. Might be done before 2027 but really not sure. Either way, going to try to work on it more and more.

deviantArt: Stabbed in the back with neglect

I do need to get this off my chest due to being supportive of deviantArt for years even with all their fumbles. In short, I was grandfather’d into the old pricing ($50 a year) and not wanting to go to the current pricing ($6.67 a month with no annual option). Late November it was up for renew, and at the same time they were boasting about new changes to Messages and the archiving of dA’s old Notes feature that no one was asking for.

There was one problem, the card on file expired. Simple enough, all I need to do is change the payment method. HOWEVER, there is no way to change payment method without paying for something else. So, what I have to do is purchase something from deviantart be-it a subscription from an artist or their points/fun money. Fine, ok, I did a $2 subscription to one of my close friends. …a day passed, 2 days, 3 days. And then I noticed the grandfather’d subscription locked into the expired card.

Ok, let me reach out to support. I reached out and… 1 day… 2 days… let me send a message…. 4 days, send another message…5 days and I got a response. “Currently, it is not possible to update payment methods on an active subscription.” I replied back saying that’s not helpful and I just want to switch that payment method; the thinking is that there is an option in the backend to do so as some systems do have a way, it’s happened a few times on other customer support calls. 3 days later I get a copy and paste of the last message. I messaged them, more clearly about the issue. After that what seems like a higher-up replied, “there is no way to ressurrect the legacy pricing, there is no way to change the payment, please pay for the newer pricing of the subscription.”

This is absolutely disgusting, especially after everything. After the boasting of the messaging update most users did not want (Discord for all it’s problems is so much better), the forced AI update that did not have an opt-out til hours later and it was still opt-in by default, and even after the eclipse update that started pushing people away, they never implemented a proper system to switch card payments.

In 2026, I’ll be downgrading deviantArt as an art mirror gallery at this point. This site is with the most amount of followers I have, a good half of my monthly supporters, but this treatment so disgusting that I have no real faith in the WIX leadership that owns deviantArt at this point. I'll try backing up my past work so I can have it in a personal gallery for archival. I have memories and owe a lot to the site starting my art career, but it's so far from the original site I signed into at this point.

A drop of Nightshade

Regardless of it being a bubble or not, it’s clear that the robbing of art is not going to stop for people’s own interest. After testing not too long ago I recently found out that I can do protections on my computer with the hardware I have. What that means is starting this year all art pieces will have drops of nightshade applied to them. I feel like now that I can do so I need to start doing so.

And it seemed like the perfect time to do so… On December 24th, 2025; Xitter added the ability to forcefully alter images uploaded. There is no way from what I’ve seen to opt out, and there is not current way to deny this from happening. At the same time, this was able to get around Glaze, which many used to protect their art. It’s safe to say for me that I will be avoiding that platform for the foreseeable future and will not participate in any promotion thru it until multiple changes including this one are reversed.

Apologies for the hard left turn there, but I feel it’s needed to be brought up and the need to impliment Nightshade. As an artist, I understand people use not just the works i’ve done but also works I’ve personally commissioned in their own way. But the rise of these AI tools, which bothers me in both similar and different way people have address, make me want to protect the work when I post online. I consider this a profession worth prosuing and because of that I feel the need to protect it.

The Nightshade will not affect Monthly Supporters as they will get the untampered and full-size version of the piece.

The process going forward

Right now, there is at least one art piece a month, I have several art ideas but each month have one or two ideas always starred, to make sure I do them to keep up. This is on top of any commissions and the Monthly Fanart polls (I’ll talk about that latter too!). Just need proper pacing and a schedule, so far I’ll be working on a new time schedule to match up as well.

So, what about January?

For the majority of January I’ll be taking a break from posting art, this way I can play a bit of catch up as well as taking a brief R&R before dropping back in. Not stopping but going to try to have an easier time before going back to the grind.

First Year of Merch! How is it going? + Comm look

This is the first year I started doing merch and yet it feels like it’s the wrong time to do so sadly. That was the sentiment I felt as all conventions I did go to did not meet back table, the last one got the closest to paying back table, tho was also the furthest one. This has also began altering my process to try to fill different buckets so to speak. I’m still happy with the results and I’ll get more into it

Adjustments in process

So, some good news is that the last convention I went to did give me the most I’ve gotten from a convention. The problem is that it’s only made back half of the table in comparison to others. At least it’s better than the majority of the conventions where the most has been in the $20s.

I feel like after this full years of conventions and talking with multiple people/artists, I’m slowly adjusting and fixing what I'm providing. Starting with stickers, which I unintentionally undersized so I’ll be working on increasing the sizes to 3 inches and seeing how much it’ll change the printing process. At the same time, I’ve also getting help from my Monthly Supporters with certain subjects but I'll explain that later. Figuring stuff out like buttons, and even maybe 3D printing, I don’t want to give up on this. Right now it really is feeling like figuring things out and going into the second year stronger.

Submissions have begun!

I’ve started making the rounds on submitting to different conventions and markets. Right now I’ve submitted to 3 different conventions and got wait-listed at one of them. So now it’s a case of waiting and seeing. In the meantime, I’ll be making more merch and looking for other conventions in the area to submit to before it’s too late. There’s one I’m really hoping to get into but I’ll have to wait and see.

Comms and ambition

Commissions were all over the place this year, many peaks and valleys but a good amount of some that stand out in a great way. New Brush creation even going hand and hand! As mentioned earlier, I’m also going into 3D modeling so perhaps when it’s better down it can be for more public commissions.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I’m also getting more and more into animation again. So right now I’m working on trying to get back into it with some upcoming YCHs and at least one art piece this year.

I think the issue I keep running into is self-promotion, which I do want to address more in another section. (This is a very long recap as there’s a lot to talk about) I’m going to keep trying tho and find different ways to promote my works. Will probably need to do some research but on better marketing but hey, after finally hitting 30, you’re still not done learning something new and different.

Prices locked, but discount sales return?

Sadly with the state of ….what’s the PR word? Global conditions? Basically I don’t feel comfortable increasing my prices for 2026 despite probably needing to. However, with the time slowly coming back, I am hoping to do discounts once more! The first planned one will be in February focused on Genies and Djinns. Look forward to that and hopefully more in the future.

Monthly Support Recap

This has been another year of Monthly Support and ended up being a few changes. Some have not lead to the results I wished but probably means there’s more work to do. On top of that, I got a huge amount of support in November via Twitch Subs and Gifted Subs. Btw, thank you so much for that, it was a surprise for sure but a welcomed one. Alright, where shall we go from here?

Merch and Support, hand in hand

Alongside of making merch, I wanted to make out something to my supporters, a combination of inspiration from other artists and as a way for constantly thanking those for supporting me. Some opted in, some opted out. It’s lead to a different workflow that’s simple on…. “printer paper” but gets more complex as multiple IRL aspects get affected. Goddess knows I try tho even sometimes I faulter at that point and I do apologize for that.

Right now tho, the tiers are probably locked unless something else changes. So more postcards still to come which… has been a lot of fun to make and see how they come out not gonna lie.

Fanart Poll: Findings and Balance

SO- something I noticed is that, as much as I’m not comfortable with it, fanart is needed for self-promotion. It’s obvious why tho, a popular theme and/or trend being something that grabs people’s attention and fanart is the red bull version of that. But I also wanted to keep doing the originals and stuff with my character. What I ended up doing is leaving that in the hands of my Monthly Supporters!

The plan is simple: to avoid stressing out people, I choose 4 of the characters from different IPs. The winner is drawn and the rest are saved for a different time. Of course, the supports can throw out suggestions, and higher tiers does not equal greater voting power.

This has actually been fantastic! Not only has it been a way to try to showcase more of my work, it also has allowed me to see what my viewer base prefers and can adjust from there, while also doing a greater job planning things out; the final piece being that these can also become prints which my higher tiers are garanteed to get in the mail.

Could it backfire? Possibly, but it has not happened yet. Regardless, it’s been one of my more favorite things I’ve done this year in terms of plans.

The Tavern within Discord

This is more of a late addon, but it feels good to at least bring up. The Centaur Tavern is basically my 3rd attempt at a Discord server over the years and I feel like it’s basically solidify. There’s always going to be little or big changes but it’s become a part of art/business, practically solidifying into something rather crucial.

Comminuty nights and watch parties coming and going but can’t thank so many of people for stopping in, hanging out, and even lurking. Here’s hoping I can do some more community things but time will tell.

A pillar in need, and an artist needs to promote more

With the ever changing landscape that is THE REAL WORLD, support is going to be needed more than ever. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve kept a $1 tier for years, as I know that people do need to sometimes penny pinch and having a tier lower than a candy bar is sometimes better to manage around. Due to fees, it cuts it by half but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

But, I also need to promote myself better. I have a habit of becoming paranoid that I’m being too annoying, too obnoxious and needing to better how I chat and talk online. I still feel like it’s one of the things that hurt my older social accounts years ago by getting TOO personal. Now it’s at a point where I need to learn to do a better job marketing myself and doing promo posts.

Oddly enough, I feel like I go the hardest with the OC Ballot, posting and spamming it a few days or even a week apart from each post since I consider that a big event. Learning to do that with not just comms but also Monthly Support, which one may say more important, is still something I need to get over. I know I’ll figure out something just need to get over that nervous hurtle.

Games+Streaming: Looking Back at a fun year

ALRIGHTY! Streaming and gaming has gone hand in hand for many years at this point and this year it is NO GOD DAMN DIFFERENT! It’s been a blast especially with several games like REPO and PEAK being a blast in 2025. That on top of my only LP of the year being Scuf-Life 2, a blast of a time that also made me appreciate the unmodded version of Half-Life 2 more.

I think my only regret is that of not playing more Multiplayer Games. After Braynnorth (please check out his channel) had to stop his multiplayer nights due to IRL schedule shifting, I tried to keep it going before suffering the same things, playing more multiplayer games that have been heard thru the grapevine and wanted to try. I hope to do that, tho not really planned.

The long Wednesday streams that get split up on YouTube are ones I really enjoy too, a combo of just a bit of a break with lunch

The next steps

Until things open up, the next steps are going to be more of the same. More art streams will happen due to need to keep up with production and I find that streaming helps me focus on a topic no matter what my mood is (Tho I still do stop streams if I generally feel out of it, the curse of being human). Game streams… well, I tested and hit a goal to LP Hollow Knight so that will definitely happen in 2026 for sure and will probably carve out time on Sundays for it.

I also want to do better with YouTube points system integration, right now it still has a few bugs but slowly getting better and better with how it interacts with the users. Changes with the different scenes is coming eventually but slowly.

Vtubing: Now and maybe a future change

I have really enjoyed VTubing, it’s been a way to have a face I’m more happy with front and center along with a bit more privacy and not too focus on physical appearance. Tho I will say eventually the model will need to be changed. Not just because it keep snapping all over the place, nah that’s because I keep screwing up a good camera angle and my face desyncs from the software. No, what I mean is a complete redesign that will be more modular and allow me to more or less change appearance to anything I particularly prefer; as well as once that makes me more… generally happy when looking in a sort-of mirror (that’s the best I can put it publicly at this time)

Thoughts on Multistreaming

This has been an interesting time with Multistreaming. I’ve been doing it as while I want to stream on YouTube more, I know Twitch has certain benefits and people more comfortable with the platform so I have just been multistreaming. It’s been…. alright. There’s been a few technical hiccups as well as an uncertainty of just going live and doing whatever… tho that's always been a personal issue of mine. I don’t currently see anything bad so far with it so I'll probably keep doing it and find ways to make it so the YouTube side has a few more things on par with Twitch’s intergrations.

New Year’s First Steps

Originally the first steps was to do it gradually and finding the best time to stream again on top of many other aspects. But given that more time will return, the first few streams are going to be art then hopefully Sunday will get Hollow Knight and trying to plan that out. You might see a stream related to TF2 One Thousand Uncles as I’ve been addicted to that but I hope you look forward to it.

Original Characters of the Verse

What started out as inspiration from a character created from a IP I loved at the time has bloomed into something I don’t even think younger me would have even dreamed or believed. Transforming from a handful of character to tens to hundreds to an entire world and an entire lore of Original Characters. Went from a doc to a spreadsheet and evolving into a literal database of content. I don’t think I’ll ever really stop especially after adding two new races into the lore.

The original plan vs. now

So, the original plan is when I hit 30, I stop creating characters and work with the ones I have… and yet, I feel like I still haven’t created the characters I wanted to this year; nor had the proper time for them. So the plan is simple…. fuck it and keep making more characters. I’ll stop making character when I die at this point which I really don’t mind. Perhaps we’ll get to 500 characters? Perhaps but I think creating as I go and feel like it would be the best bet.

A sprawling cast sharing one world

When I was younger, I was rapidly creating Centaur characters (that need major reworks) and put them on one area. That little thing taught me how to make them all in one area, one world, and how they interact with each other. Now, that one place and ballooned out and become something much bigger. Making stores about this world is at this point a crucial step but time and energy, the song and dance of my life at this point, but hopefully one day I can make a little comic or something.

Month Of OCs, one final time

Month of OCs was once a monthly event that I loved to do to celebrate Original Characters. Tho over the years it went down and even stopped after a few years. There’s one more idea I wanted to do but kept pushing it off because of little things I wanted to do but kept stopping. It’s called “We built This City” with OCs interacting and hanging out in a big city. However with the amount of times I had to start and stop, this feels like a real make or break it for the event. This will be the last one I can host and will find way to focus on how others can get involved. Stay tuned for that, expect it June 2026.

Next steps

The next step is that is to get the few adopts I bought as actual characters, dormant ideas coming to reality, and have it all meld in the world consistently. The world is getting in a spot I’ve become more and more happy with and it keeps expanding. Written works is a hope one day but not for a while again. Either way, the goal remains of 5 new OCs for 2026. Hope you enjoy them when they appear.

Videos On Some Site

Video Creation! It’s something that’s been on and off, had help in, and had stopped and started. Streaming is easy, video creation is harder and yet sometimes more rewarding? It’s a weird back and forth but I’m going to keep on trying. From a dive into short form and giving a rebirth of the youtube channel, it’s been what hectic of a journey.

The car keeps starting and stopping

Just when something gets good it keeps stopping before kicking back up. I did have a plan to post shortform Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays but ended up not producing enough content to keep the train going. It’s something I’m not proud of and hope you understand why that’s been the case. Right now, I’m more or less making sure I get enough clips, footage, etc. to get that schedule up and running again.

A chapter of short-formed

It’s been slow but to say that it’s not been fruitful is a lie. These shortform contents have helped with doing smaller projects and allow me to share more of the things I enjoy. Combine that with left over tech, clips and CSP’s time-lapse exporter, it’s been much easier to express these fun and cool snippets of my life. I’ll probably stick with more short-form and when I got that energy, I’ll try to at least make one long-length video.

What this month will look like

So, I’ll probably won’t be posting any videos til mid or late January. Most of the month is going to be spent on building up that inventory and properly uploading within the windows of opportunity. Just double checked and YouTube really did not like me doing a scheduled upload, sucks but can’t do much unless I dive into why my NAS doesn’t like my internet provider sometimes. Regardless, I think this is at least a solid plan and hopefully executed decently.

IRL: The Bitch, The Myth, The Time That Passed

It’s still hard to believe… 30 years. The great wizard age. I’m a little struggling to write at this part to be honest because it’s a lot more looking back and reminiscing; a lot of personal takes and opinions. With dashing of reinforcing what I’ve mentioned earlier. Regardless, Let me do one final lap around to celebrate it before going back to the usuals.

Lessons in Adulting

Progressively overtime it feels like I’ve been learning more and more of learning the ways of adult, excluding the bitter “get off my lawn.” More of just the little workings and necessities. A lot of the things that’s been taught is mostly management but all crucial in getting thru at the very least. Ngl, I thought I had more in this section but not as much as I’d thought. I still consider this an important section tho as even as I get older, I’m still getting newer and newer skills. Tho, it’s the next section I feel more strongly about.

“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe”

As I’ve gotten older, there’s a scene that resonates more and more with me as I grow older in Blade Runner. It’s short, a little over 1 minute but it grows with time I feel. Not just because of it’s setting but the poignant of the speech. With the age I am at, I am much more far remove from the time where I was in high school, middle school and especially what kids are learning now. Trends come and go, possibly even faster than when I was growing up.

It’s made me have respect on the little things I had, the Cartoon Network City bumpers, discovering older anime via YouTube 3 parters, moments getting around school internet with https instead of http. I recognize that people my age back then will not discover these little things. And I’m more ok with that. How fast tech has developed, I’m fascinated by how each generation is shaped by it, for good and for ill. Heck, it was fascinating to research and discover not just what new trends and memes like “6-7” reminded me of elements from the “Ugandan Knuckles” meme; the sense of fun and community.

Call me hopeful, naive, whatever it may be; but I do not wish to go back to a simpler time. And I get it, with the blemishes on history like NFTs and currently AI, it can feel like existence is getting more and more miserable. Goddess knows I ranted a few time about it both publicly and privately. But thinks have also evolved in a more steadily progressive direction. For every what feels like trampling of something bad, there’s always a few footprints of good, you just need to make sure to find them.

I recognize these moments of my own, and these moments some will not experience or even rarely experience. Nostalgia for a time they never could experience too. But to be stuck with that mindset is nothing but the tar of regression; possibly a rare bit of selfish retraction. It’s a challenge but it’s one of the spices of life that makes it worth it.

Reality Bites, but it’s still worth it

Tho, I know this particular year (2025) has been rough for a lot of people. Myself included in the energy and finances department. Like I mention, it feels like a lot of being trampled over; and the majority of it can be labeled as political. The Tariffs is one that has definitely affected many people and small businesses, it’s hurt mine for sure.

This year alone, and early on, I’ve had 3 members of our family laid to rest, and it still hurts they are no longer around for the most part. And many moments where the job-related work left longer hours compared to what I could do in combination with art. Car Issues, lots of traveling and prepping. It sucks but god damn it remains worth it to be honest. Right now, it’s been more manuvering thro it, whether it be mental or financial. The fact I made it this far with a heavy debuff tho has to mean something! I feel like everything I’ve mentioned above encapsulates what I’ve gone thru at the very least.

What I’m hoping for January*

With everything, I’m hoping to mostly relax and fix the time management. Don’t know if I’ll be able to keep up with that this year, but it’s needed especially after the seasonal and to get back on the bandwagon. Probably some research as well as to what’s coming out in 2026, and see what I can line it up with.

A final look at the 2025’s Bingo card

Not going to lie, I felt like I wasn’t going to get one in a row, it was very random and felt like it always hit the mark, but technically looking at everything I at least had one row completed. All thanks to going out to locations I’ve never went to in the past. That’s not to downplay other elements and aspects but it’s rather clear that this year I had a lot planned but not much I could do XD;

It was fun to keep track of specific achievements and might try again next year as well.

Conclusion, the start of a new year

There’s already so much going on, a good amount to be thankful for. Gonna start out with a bit of a recharge then get the train going fast and far. I do thank everyone who stayed with me for all of 2025 and for those that just joined. Looking forward to the next year and if any challenges come my way, I hope to get past them in my own way.