10+1 Years of Crossover

I told myself years ago that I would make a post to commemorate a decade of my blog being up. That, unfortunately, never came to pass during the time I intended for it to be so. But perhaps, with me having redone my self-portrait recently, this might have been a more favorable outcome so I can properly display how much my art skill has developed (and degraded) through my avatars over the last 11 years:

Ladies, gents, gays, and furniture. We've come a long way since I first departed DeviantArt in 2015, searching for a quiet niche on the Internet where I can showcase and write about my art, even though I grappled for so long with how inadequate and obscure I had been. In many ways, my obscurity has served both blessing and a curse, though these days I view it more as a blessing than anything.

I've grown in a lot of ways, as well. I suppose one can also see this in my avatar timelapse: back in 2015, I had been weathering through many personal issues and insecurities, especially with my appearance; most of that had changed around 2017 when I accepted my hair would be as rebellious as I was no matter what. I desired to improve in digital art but never brought up the will to properly commit to it until 2020. Six years later, my art style looks near-unrecognizable from what it had been. I also have a lot less covering over my avatar's skin this year. Being healthy truly does wonders for one's self-confidence. 😆

It's been a journey. I've had my ups and downs, good times and bad. I call myself an artist no longer, but art remains a defining part of my life and identity. It will continue to be for as long as I breathe, and for as long as my imagination is alight with the stories I want to tell.

To you who has borne witness to my journey these last eleven years—be it in part or in full—and remain to continue by my side as I stride forward whilst penning these unnecessarily verbose proses, I once again offer my gratitude, as I am wont to do during these milestones. Even though I've said previously that I don't really give a rat's ass about trying to improve my art, I find that I'm going to try and do so anyway, whether I'm aware of it or otherwise.

Here's to eleven years of Crossover, the confluence of my creativity and imagination. It will only continue to grow as I do, and I look forward to another decade of bringing my ideas to life on canvas.🧃

Redesigned Self-Portrait 2026

Earlier this year, I made a self-portrait for 2026 as an early birthday present for myself. I was content with it at the time, but following my experiences over the summer, I felt like I needed to make something that better captured how I felt about myself in the present:

I've spoken a few times on this blog and to my friends about how this year I've been rediscovering myself and my femininity through health improvement, outdoor recreation, and building up the identity of my Nameless Scion. Back in June, when I made the first self-portrait, I felt so-so about the outcome, but today, with this one... I felt more confident and satisfied with myself than anything. I'm especially glad with the refined shading style and anatomy.

I feel like this one properly captures the essence of how freespirited I've been, how happier I've felt about my body and who I am now despite whatever lingering feelings of inadequacy I have. Of course, this is but an ideal of what I truly want for myself to become. Still a ways away for that defined stomach, at least. 😋

I have multiple versions of this avatar, but for simplicity's sake I am just posting this one version for my blog post. I might get around to adding the rest to this post later.

Mary (Final Fantasy VI) Sketches 3

Thought I'd engage in a quick hit of self-indulgence while I slowly chip away at a project I've put on the backburner for months.

I am content. 😌