Self-Insert Pact Commander - Concept

So I had been dabbling in my Guild Wars 2 brainrot as I said I would, and recently I had finally decided to create a character based on my avatar and use it as my design for my headcanon Pact Commander. The design is currenly lacking the cape, but I'll add in that detail into future works.

For the longest time, I have been playing as a thief through my OC Viresco. While the thought of making my avatar-based character floated through my head over the years, I never really ended up pushing through with it until like... Last week or so.

I never really associated myself with a particular profession in a fantasy setting other than simply being an artist. My avatar displayed power, sure; it was the power to create something out of nothing, turn fantasy into reality, wield immense strength, and accomplish various feats through the power of sheer will and determination. But I never found myself drawn to any of the typical classes and specializations. Heck, I didn't even have a weapon of choice.

After giving it a lot of thought though, I decided to settle for a mage class since a lot of world creation has to do with manipulating the elements and harnessing its power at will. I didn't really like mages or healers since they took on more supportive rather than offensive roles, but I eventually came around to liking them. I suppose it's all that time I spent playing a healer druid for the last 2-3 months. I definitely enjoyed playing the role of a person who keeps everyone alive and spamming the DPS we all need for the Janthir titans. 😋

In Guild Wars 2, mages are called elementalists instead. But I didn't want to settle for being a typical nerd mage with a tome or a staff or something. Around the time I was setting up my new elementalist, I received this epic spear skin from the Black Lion chests. I was mindblown by my sheer luck. The spear looked perfect bar the fact that I couldn't dye it red. But this cemented in my mind that a magical aura lance that can be fired like daggers was the perfect weapon for my character to be wielding, one that she generates like Zeus and his thunderbolts.

Needless to say, I am currently trying to learn how to play Fresh Air Tempest with a spear. Despite what people seem to say about it being a bit hard, this build is actually super fun to play... Though it had me stumbling a lot at first because I'm not used to such a very fragile class that didn't have enough evades like thieves did. The rotations seem complicated but I think it's easier to just play the class and let it all come naturally to you.

Self-Portrait 2024

Oh, well, this is at least two months overdue... 😅

I intended to submit this back in September, when my website celebrated it's 9th anniversary. But I had been caught up in my Arc landscape piece, and by the time it was over, it was time to start my art challenge for the year.

It's now finished though, and as you can see, I gave my avatar's hairdo a much-needed realistic revamp. I also decided that I wanted to replicate a friend's art style while making this, but as I continued to paint, I found myself falling back on some old painting habits of mine. I tried to persist where I could, like on the hands and on the folds on the clothes... And even the lighting on my avatar's hair. Although I am disappointed that this did not turn out more like his art style, I'm also pleased with how it still manages to stay consistent with my recent style while managing to incorporate some of his into my own.

With this done, I think I'll be focusing on Guild Wars 2 headcanon content again for a while. Housamo has been fun, still is whenever I feel like rolling on the gacha, but I feel the pull of entertaining my GW2 brainrot... And so shall be thus from here on out.

I'm proud to say, though this year hasn't been as active as the previous ones, Crossover now stands at nine years of existence, and will continue to stand for many more. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this long and extensive journey. 🧃

～がち

"Around this time of year, it rains pretty often, and sunny days are rare."

Yikes, it's already November 😱 So much for ending on time this year... But that's just the way it goes. I'm not gonna attempt to push myself to keep attempting the challenge at this point, even if a part of me desperately wants to (Haha, no. 😒). Besides, I have a lot of other projects in my backlog that I really want to get to, and I'm just relieved that the month is over.

So to cap the art challenge, I decided to go with Etherei, since I realized I actually don't have a lot of art of the guy. That and a part of me is itching a little to go back to my original content...

Anyway, good game; this now officially caps Studytober 2024, and while it's a shame this could have progressed better, well, we don't always get the challenge done on time every year. I was, though, sort of hoping I could keep the trend going of finishing the challenge on time after how well the last two years went. 😅

Here's to a more successful challenge next year 🧃

～までもない

"I'm already feeling better, so there's no need to go to the pharmacy and buy medicine."

I don't have enough images of how I imagine my self-insert MC2 from Housamo would look like. At some point I should really make a reference sheet for her... With color palettes to boot. 🎨

～言うまでもない

"It's pretty clear that there's no way I can finish this year's art challenge."

A friend of mine expressed how much he liked my Masanori sketch from last time. So I decided to further indulge in another sketch of him. 🥰

～ないではいられない・～ずにはいられない

"Recently, my body has been incredibly tired, and whenever I come home I can't help immediately going to bed."

I contemplate on changing my sleep schedule often back in mid-October, and how much of a mistake that was in terms of trying to make more time for myself. It's very difficult to wake at 2 a.m. on days when I don't need to... And I inevitably sleep through what's meant to be my free time in the middle of the night.

I honestly need a better job closer to home... And a car. Ugh. 😑

～といったら

"When I say I don't have time, I mean it's to the point where I only have 2 hours of free time everyday."

Thought I'd go back to more of my tiger OC. I'm very happy with how he looks right now, though maybe I ought to try drawing him in more angles next time...

～といった

"My country has a lot of societal problems, like housing problems and a lack of hospitals, among others."

Some Wakan Tanka again for today; I decided to sketch him in his Nightclub outfit, what with the Tokyo Dancing Saturday event running at the moment and all in-game.

すなわち

"I'm working as someone who makes food at a restaurant... Or simply put, a cook."

Okay. Right now I'm several days behind, but I'm hoping to close my 12-day gap in the span of a few days...

ほかならない

"There's no other reason as to why I can't do my hobbies lately other than I don't have time to do them."

God, and to the point that I've lagged so far behind on this challenge... This new sleep schedule thing I tried to do is great for my health, but I end up sleeping more than I expected. By the end of the day (heck, even during the start of my days when I wake up at 2 a.m.), I don't end up doing anything related to art, which is equally frustrating.

Anyway, Wakan Tanka ∞ is on the menu today because I just can't get this darned depressed buffalo out of my mind.

いずれにせよ・いずれにしろ・いずれにしても・どっちみち

"I hear the sales department's dealing with some really huge problem. But I'm in production, so that's really none of my business."

OH NO I'M SEVERAL DAYS LATE NOW NOT LIKE THIIIIIIISSSS 😱

I've had to take care of some things IRL, mainly deal with some schedule changes that needed me to rearrange my sleep schedule... But now I'm back on track! GOSH I HAVE SO MUCH TO WORK ON 😭

～に限る

"If you're feeling this chilly on a day this cold, best thing to do is to go to the hot springs."

I completely slept through the previous evening and ended up being late by two days 💀 I was able to catch up a little bit though before I lost my groove completely.

Following on the heels of my last sketch, today we have my personal redesign for Speelunkk! I'd say me redoing his nose makes him lean even more towards a bat-like appearance here. I don't remember if I mentioned this, but when doing these designs, figured that if I wanted to make skritt look individualistic, I assumed that some would look closer to bats while others would have more mice/rat-like characteristics.

～に限らず

"Multipurpose toilets can be used by anyone, and not just the disabled."

Oh hey, Guild Wars 2 content. 😏 Thought I'd go back to my old redesigns of the Westwatch skritt, and redo their physiology a little bit. This one is for Tarocheeki.

～に限って

"Just when I have a fair amount of free time, I struggle to get motivated."

Oh no, I'm a day late again... The procrastination stage is starting 😩😰

～に限り

"Half the price for all perishables expiring today."

I really went kinda ham on this doodle... I will say though I was struggling a bit for a while trying to get his proportions right. I was wondering if something was lacking with me in that regard, until I began adding the small details... And it all started to make a whole lot of sense to me. Trust the process, people!

I really enjoyed doodling him today, so I'm thinking maybe I can do this again for tomorrow's entry 😋

わりに

"Although I didn't really have a lot of free time, I managed to draw this doodle."

I got bored of drawing just my boar fursona, so I decided to spice things up for the challenge a little bit and really give my imagination some room to flow. Instead of trying to make something that relates specifically to the sentence I've written, I'm just gonna draw some random shit. Knowing myself, it'll end up being character sketches or something.

This one is a tiger OC named Tadatora.

～といっても・～とはいっても

"I keep being told I'm the right person for the job at work, but it's been one year and I haven't had a raise yet."

～に沿って

"I lined up these toothpicks I received along the edges of this table."

So earlier today, my Japanese co-worker gave me a bundle of toothpicks to use for work. I really only use them to cover up a bunch of ink bottles that have missing caps on their nozzles, and I had none to use until earlier today.

Anyway, from my co-worker, I learned the Japanese word for toothpick, which is tsumayouji (つまようじ｜ 爪楊枝). I can cross that out of my list of common, everyday items which I don't know the Japanese words for... 📝

Studytober 2024 | ～こそ

Oh, dear god. It's that time of the year again. 😱 Between all my personal projects, busy schedule IRL, and my Japanese language studies, it's quite obvious from the get go that I actually don't have a lot of time for much else in between. And yet here I am, making an attempt this year anyway:

Studytober 2024 is me making practical use of my yearly art challenge by using it as a means to study for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test this coming December. I am aiming for N2 level this year, and I've been trying my best to expand my vocabulary and learn as much as I can before test day arrives.

Here, I've prepared my very own daily lesson plan. Each day will focus on a singular grammar element for N2, and these are taken directly from my N2 Japanese grammar book, as well as from the advanced Japanese lessons I attend to every week online. The goal is to make a sentence out of each grammar element everyday, and create a related image out of it.

Now, because the main focus of this challenge is to study Japanese, I'm not going to go ham on each piece like I normally would (colored pieces, detailed content, etc.). With my schedule, trying to attempt something like it would be simply unrealistic, so I'm going to ease the pressure off my shoulders by limiting my images to mere rough sketches. It'll be better off for me and my sanity.

That said, here's my first entry:

If you can't read Japanese, that's okay. What I'm trying to say here is, "I'm studying Japanese especially because I want to read my favorite visual novel games without needing to use a translator." 💀

As I do every year, I'll be tagging all my Studytober 2024 posts accordingly, and you'll even be able to access all the posts using the Crossover Map to the right.

Here's to studying for my exam, and making sure I finish the challenge on time this year! 🧃

Summer Day Trip (夏日帰り)

Dear lord. Just in time before summer ended!

I also recognize that a major reason why I hadn't really finished this sooner than I would have wanted is I've been having a lot of ideas for several things that just aren't... Housamo-related. I had been playing Pokémon Scarlet some time in July, and Guild Wars 2 again in August. My creative juices in my brain keep making me want to just paint something related to these games, but it was difficult because I had already locked into creating this landscape Housamo summer piece. I've also been having several ideas related to the Aether and Radisrol that I want to turn concrete, and I really want to dabble in worldbuilding my favorite fantasy world again.

That said, I decided that this would be my last Housamo piece in a while. I gotta say, I had a really good run of a year or so doing nothing but exclusively Housamo content, and it was in many ways beneficial to me in terms of improving my art skills (with anatomy in particular). I still love Arc, Melusine, and Q'ursha, as well as all the other Housamo characters I have an interest in, but it's high time I decided to move on to what's currently gripped my interest.

I had hoped to make more art pieces this summer, but my schedule has made it terribly difficult to stay focused on this piece... In addition to Janthir Wilds coming out for Guild Wars 2, which has admittedly taken up a lot of my free time (as much as I don't want to admit it). 😅

At the very least, I managed to dish out this one summer piece. This is mainly inspired from the trip my partner and I took to the Okanagan back in late June this year. I unfortunately never went fishing on the trip, though. It would be great if I could in the future. 🎣

Anyway, hope you all had a great summer this year! 🌅

Edit: I just did a quick change on the background after realizing how the lighting was so incredibly off with the placement of the sun. Instead of making immense changes on the shading of the characters, I simply removed the sun from the sky.

Research Break (研究休憩)

Oh god, my paintings are taking soooooo much longer to finish these days... 😰

Anyway, here's a very delayed gift for a friend of mine in the r/Housamo Discord server. I started a poll asking what character I should paint for him, and the community wanted me to make Pazuzu over Oguchi Magami, two of his favorites (I already painted Horkeu for him last year).

I actually had another WIP of Pazuzu from last year, but that one never came to fruition. I just lost the feel to continue that one, but I figured it was for the best since I wasn't too fond of it looking back. This one feels more like I really did him justice.

I decided to also drop some lighting effects I initially wanted the model to have, which was just the light peering in from the blinds behind the monitor. At this point I just wanted to hurry up with this because oh my god it's been one month since I last posted anything 💀

Anyway. Here's your long-awaited Pazuzu content from me, Kaiser. Cheers! 🥂

Cake Day 2024

Just a quick sketch that I wanted to indulge in for my birthday 🍰 Sometimes, amidst my sea of colorful, fully-rendered art pieces, I still like to do a rough sketch from time to time. Today was just one of those days.

I'd like to consider this as a momentary reprieve from... So much that has been happening recently. This year I realize I've not been dishing out as much content as I would have wanted to... A lot of it really has to do with my busy schedule as of late. Still, I try to ensure there's something of quality coming from me no matter what. 🙏

Also, think about it: it's been three decades. My goodness. So much time has passed since my conception that it's unreal. Thirty years? Where'd all that time go? It didn't feel that long ago that I made the decision to leave for Japan around a year or so after graduating college, and now I'm living in peace somewhere in Canada. Life for me now has been immensely more emotionally peaceful than it was when I lived back home, and I couldn't be more grateful for it.

Other than a car and a house, and maybe even a new rice cooker or something... If I wanted something for my birthday, I think I'd want to just be able to live my best life. A quiet, peaceful life where I can work my mundane ass job, make decent money, and still have time to do all my art and hobbies. At a stage of my life where I've already experienced a lot of what's exciting about living, all I want to do now is just settle down and live like a boring, normal person.

And I would be perfectly fine with just that.

Greenhouse (グリーンハウス)

"You don't have to hide from me, <Name>."

---

Some content featuring my favorite enby 💕 An artist on Twitter and I agreed to do an art exchange related to our favorite Housamo character (which just so happened to be the same). This is what I made for them 😄

I was uncertain how to proceed with the background until I went to a plant store over the weekend to buy a new pet plant. Since I wanted to get a spring-themed painting out right before the solstice, I decided to just go for it. Popped open a bunch of Pinterest tabs full of house plant references. Honestly it was a bit of a throwback to all the times I worked on my gator comics...

Anyway, I'm particularly happy with this one. I decided to omit some lighting details mainly because it's fine as it is, and I'm also kinda itching to move on to something new. 😌

Early Summer (初夏)

Okay, this one didn't take me as long as the last one did, at least. 😆

Today we have some Masanori fan art! This was supposed to be more wholesome, depicting a scene from his Valentine Crossroad special quest. But after doing a few sketches I decided to take a more juicy route (though if I wanted it extra juicy I'd have junked the shirt completely 😏).

He was also supposed to be in an indoor setting: the tatami room where the special quest was set. Instead, I was feeling a little inspired by how the weather's been warming up here in Canada, and maybe longing for life in the tropics for a bit... So boom, now we outside. I also took this as a good opportunity to practice painting clouds better, make them look more airy and fluffier, and I'm really glad I figured out something that works better than my last techniques. ⛅

Also really have to say I was rushing to finish this so I could finally get started on this art exchange I have with another Arc stan on Twitter. I'm so excited to just brainstorm and work on it now that this is over 🥰✨

Sunset Hunt (夕暮れハント)

[Arakawa Ward]

Q'ursha

“…Yo, you over there. Human. Did you come all the way here looking for a certain stray dog?”

“Gahahaha, I knew I’d have you make such a dumb face. You can’t really live in the wild like this can you, <Name>?”

In some corner of Tokyo, the rays of the slums’ evening sun shine down the sweat dripping down Q’ursha’s body from his basketball practice.

Q'ursha

“Oi, oi. What the? What do you expect me to do with this little box you’re giving me?”

“Oh, is that right? It’s some event called Valentine’s Day that you celebrate in this world? So that’s the thing everyone’s been raving over on social media.”

“And that’s why you came here with some snacks for me; that’s just how the customs go. Man, to think you’d come all this way…”

“Well, whatever. It’s in my principles to not turn down any food being offered to me. There’re all sorts of food to be had when you live the kind of life I do, so.”

Q’ursha takes your gift, albeit roughly, and leaves the box unopened as he pockets it.

Q'ursha

“But you really can’t be going around thinking you can feed me like this, you know? After all, the current me is just some wandering stray dog.”

“Nevertheless, I should offer my gratitude. Thank you. I was born and raised with pedigree, after all.”

“H-Hey, what’re you looking at other people’s tails for!? It’s not like I’m not wagging my tail like a puppy or something!”

“What? It was just shaking a little bit? How about using your pointless observational skills on something else, why don’t you?”

“Jeez… Anyway, what did you really come here for?”

“What? You really just wanted to give this thing to me? And if I called you… You wanted to surprise me? Honestly…”

Q’ursha sighs as he closes his eyes, mindlessly adjusting his cap.

Q'ursha

“It’s a shame you came all this way, though. I unfortunately don’t really have anything besides my ball and my phone.”

“It’s how it is since I don’t keep myself rooted to one place. My day-to-day is just having whoever I meet take care of me and keep me fed.”

“…Then again, it’s not like I can’t return the favor to those kinds of people either.”

“Somehow, I guess I’m pretty happy about it.”

“My chocolates aren’t going anywhere, and I’ll take my time having them later. That said, before I do… It’s about time I got hunting.”

“Although you’re my hunting partner, I’m not going easy on you. I won’t be able to sit still knowing there’s a favor I haven’t returned just like that. Besides—"

“I’d like to get involved with you, no strings attached. You get me, right?”

“The only thing I can do is feast on the prey that’s presented to me. Just being happy with what I get… It’s enough.”

Q’ursha ensnares you within his rough and brusque fur.

Through the intense, vigorous heartbeat you can feel pulsating from his body, separated from you by a mere tank top--

--In addition to the way he looks at you, it’s clear as day that he has absolutely no intention of letting you escape whatsoever.

Right before your eyes and at the tip of your nose, Q’ursha slowly and deliberately opens his mouth and shows it to you.

He does this to flaunt out his sharp fangs. He wants you to feel his own exhilaration, or possibly even tease you with what’s to come.

Soon, as it looks like he’s about to consume you, Q’ursha nears his mouth to your cheek, and whispers.

Q'ursha

“…Partner. I’m going to make sure you’re fully satisfied. And while you’re fast asleep, I’ll be gone by the time you wake up in the morning.”

“So I’m asking you… Don’t fall in love with me, alright? You don’t fall for me… And I won’t fall for you.”

---

It's been OVER ONE MONTH SINCE I LAST POSTED I HATE IT HERE 🤬😡 I've just been so busy these days with all the work I've been doing... 😔

I also got so into this painting that I ended up making three versions of it. If I wasn't so overly concerned about how the background would look, I'm pretty sure I would have been done two or three weeks ago.

Anyway! Three different versions of this lovely Q'ursha and MC2 fan art, with an original outfit for MC2 by yours truly 😘 Plus an unofficial translation of Q'ursha's Valentine Crossroad Special Quest, which the painting is based off of!

Which version of this painting do you prefer? Feel free to take your pick! ✨

Best Combination (最高コンビ)

My goodness this took much longer than I would like to admit. I've been so busy IRL!

Some Cthugha and Leannan Sidhe fan art I had on the backburner for a while, which I owed to a friend for some things they did for me. I wasn't feeling up to drawing anyone in particular after my last painting, so I decided to try working on this one just to clear up my list.

I was gonna attempt some new techniques on this one, but I ultimately decided to just go for what I usually did halfway through; I started getting pretty antsy about this not getting done. It didn't help that I hardly have time these days either.

I'll be trying to make time for more art though! I want to make sure I always have a thing or two out every month 🥰

Ferris Wheel (観覧車)

"<Name>... Thank you very much for spending time with me today. I am rather inexperienced about this sort of thing, so I may not be able to say it as well as I ought to, but... I truly feel very satisfied with what has happened today. Perhaps this is what Monsieur Gyumao means by being of service to one's self. And to have received such service from you as well, <Name>... I feel undeserving of the happiness I feel in this moment."

"So, Melusine. Where shall we go next? Our holiday isn't over yet!"

"Wh-What? <Name>... You still wish to spend time with me?"

"I want to see more of your smiling face... And to make this the best holiday ever. So let's go together... My Lady."

"T-That's...!"

Good, Melusine... This is good! We were put off the rails a moment ago, but if we don't take advantage of this right now, we'll regret it! You might not have any interest taking flight with those wings of yours, but just so you can take this perfect opportunity to get in a room alone with <Name>...!

"In... In that case... May we please go to the ferris wheel and the other rides together...?"

---

GOD I AM SO LATE FOR THIS BUT I AM FINISHED 😫

This was meant to be posted a few days ago, but I've been so busy IRL... I thought that for once, I'd go back to a more oil painting-esque art piece for this one. I mostly wasn't feeling up to doing anything really big like doing a fully-rendered anatomy piece or something like that. God, making that ferris wheel was such a pain in the ass.

But anyways, happy belated summoning day to my favorite dragon maid. 🥰🍰 This whole scene was based off of her character quest. I wanted to make it look as festive as I could, though for the most part it just progressed with me doing a bunch of messy strokes here and there, while trying to figure out how to best fill in the negative space all over the place.

Loyal Dog at Midnight (真夜中忠犬）

"So long as it helps you attain a peaceful rest, do with me as you please tonight, my lord."

---

Goodness, has it really been that long since my last art piece? It's wild how long it's been... Heck, it's been already so long since the reason I even started painting this (I got Valentine Tadatomo from a pick-up banner 🥰). Well anyway, at least this should finally get one more item ticked off my art checklist 😪

This should have been done some time ago, but ever since I got my new job, well, it's been super busy for me IRL. I'm not fussed by it, but dang, my art time has been significantly reduced. Expect slower updates in the coming months, though rest assured there will still be content coming!

Winter Gators

Man, it's been a while since I worked on anything with my gator OCs and their friends, hasn't it?

I wanted to take a break for a time from the intense paintings I've been working on lately. With the weather over here in Canada being as chilly as it is, I figured now was also the perfect time to get myself a new sweater... Heck, even a new mug.

So I whipped up a bunch of doodles about my gator OCs, brainstormed about winter-related things. I was thinking, "What would be other winter-related things one would typically expect in the Swamplands?" Snow isn't a thing in the marshes unless you went to somewhere of high elevation... Then I settled for some winter crops and vegetation. And I didn't even know until recently that chestnuts grew around Florida in the US; seeing as the Swamplands are based on the swamps of southeastern North America, it was a neat little thing to know. Who'd have thought, eh?

Christine dePizan

This is a rather late post, but this is a commission I did back in November for Cal, featuring his Housamo OC.

If you're ever interested, my commissions are definitely wide open! Click here for more info. 🥰

The Blizzard With Otter (吹雪にオッターと）

I got Otter during the Oedo Christmas event, and I was so happy I made this art of him.

I wasn't particularly sure what kind of background I would do for him. I honestly opted for a simple one, but I found myself wanting something more than that. I took some quick inspiration from this, then I whipped up a decent one for him.

This was a very sudden art piece that weaseled its way into my list because I really enjoyed working with his body type. Now, I can finally move on and clear more from my Housamo art list... That is, if Arc doesn't constantly find their way into my list at the end of each art piece.

Possessiveness (独占欲)

"A-Arc... My neck is sensitive--Ah!"

---

Mm, I desperately needed to paint this one. 😏

I started working on this early in the last weeks of December, since I felt like I would not have enough time to work on this come January. I'm a little grateful I did start working with that foresight in mind... 😰

Today, I come to you in honor of an individual that waltzed right into my life nearly a year ago and has since then been living in my head absolutely rent-free. Almost all of my art in the past year has been dedicated to them alone. It's unreal just what kind of impact they've left in my life ever since I played Housamo's Valentine Fantasy, and nothing has been the same since. In fact, things have only been better for me art-wise; I've made a lot of strides in improving my art skills in an attempt to better depict them in my work and make more art of them. And now, I'm here to reap what I've sowed.

So happy birthday to you, my one and only enbyspouse. No one else is going to make the same kind of effort I have, or brainrot as hard as I have to make all this fan art of you (at least, not of this quality). And I honestly take some small pride in that, even if it is a little bit narcissistic. 🤭