Eye Contact

"Oh, I do quite prefer seeing you without your glasses, Wayfinder."

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Just a little guilty pleasure sketch of a pairing my comic is supposed to be central to, but is taking me ages to actually show. 😅

Objet d'Art (Part 9)

Well, I had expected this to be done in like three days? 😅 Though I was frankly also trying to figure out how to make Blightghast's body look like it was decaying. I'm really not used to drawing undead creatures.

I also found out through the Guild Wars 2 Wiki that both Tequatl and Blightghast share the same model... And I had to try to differentiate one from the other. I figured altering the tail spikes (Tequatl has two per tailbone segment) was my best bet.

Halfway through the sketch I also started to feel like my exposure to bara is definitely showing when I saw how muscular Blightghast turned out, especially on his chest. A friend jokingly told me that I might even spark some neuron activations with members of the furry community... 😶

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Objet d'Art (Part 8)

Oh, boy. Now we're finally getting some of that delicious angsty action. 😏

That last panel was such a pain... I had to look through references of the Risen mobs in-game, and used this zombie tutorial to pull off those sketches. I'm pretty content with myself after all that. 😌

Next page shouldn't take another month, though. Should be done pretty quick if I hunker down like I did earlier today 😅

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Courtney's LeafieHang

Oh, hey! A painting made waaaay back in March, but only uploaded now? What gives?

So just a little backstory: Some time ago, I was invited to contribute to a wholesome endeavor by Courtney Visser's community. I naturally wanted to pitch in; while I haven't been hanging out in her channel lately, I have a lot of fond memories with her and her friends. This, to me, was my way of giving back for all their kindness, and especially the kindness I've received from Courtney herself. And it's only right that I show it best through my artwork, no?

That said, happy birthday, Courtney. I've hardly a clue how old you are this year, not that it matters. 😏 May you and the Leafies continue to prosper and enjoy life together for many more years to come. 🍰

Sunflower (ヒマワリ)

Ever since I moved into my new place, I've been doing a lot of gardening. So far, I've successfully managed to grow a few crops from scratch, and this summer I decided I wanted to attempt growing sunflowers. I have around 10 growing from the seed right now; so far 4 have sprouted, and there's another one just about ready to pop up from the ground soon. My hope is they all grow into full-fleged flowers before the end of the summer, and I'm optimistic with the rate things are going.

I do confess though that sunflowers weren't exactly the first flower I had in mind for this painting. I was mulling over several choices before ultimately settling on sunflowers, since this was meant to be a summery piece more than anything. And what better flower encapsulates the summer, right?

I was also trying to attempt art techniques that deviated from my usual process. I was also trying my best to study how my friend's rendering style works. Usually, I would tackle rendering by shading in grayscale then make it more colorful if the final image looked too pale. This time, in my attempt to emulate his work, I went straight into painting with the base and rendered using the same flat colors. I like how more vibrant it's proven to be, and how I use less layers with this compared to before.

However, after some thought, I might just end up going back to my old shading tactics for the sake of consistency. I worry less about getting the colors and lighting right when I use the older method. And after looking at my final art piece, it feels like I've hardly changed... Like I've hit a glass ceiling of sorts and I need to figure out how to breach it somehow. Perhaps I need to take classes in art again... Or maybe I'm burning out without realizing it and I should take a break from art for a while?

Anyway, this was mostly a birthday gift to myself, albeit a late one. 🍰 Arc became relevant again in Chapter 16 (finally), and I wanted to depict them in my art after not painting about them in months. I had another WIP sketch of them that was more story-relevant, but I opted for this more wholesome version that tied to my gardening in some way (I think I'm meant to be a Setagaya Agricultural Academy attendee with how I've been invested in the outdoors at this rate 😆).

Objet d'Art (Part 7)

Whew! Managed to sneak one in before the month ended!

Next page is gonna take a while moving forward, I think... Since I'm feeling the pull to create Housamo fan art again. But rest assured, I'll still be working on the comic in between!

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Objet d'Art (Part 6)

Finally, a fast update (though that's thanks to the copy and pasting I had to do 😏)! I spent today watching Eurovision 2025 finals live, so I was vibing to that while working on my comic.

I'll try to maintain this pace, so the next part should be out soon ✌

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Objet d'Art (Part 5)

I hate that my last update for this was over a month ago 😖

Thankfully, I have a lot more free time now, so I should be able to make the next page faster. And I won't have to draw that Priory tent again either (though it would have been much less of a pain if I was making it with an oil painting style 😅).

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Ryuuji the Gatekeeper

A commission I made for my friend, Shizuhiku. This is his Housamo OC, Ryuuji, a Transient hailing from the world of the Old Ones. He is also known as the Gatekeeper.

I used his OC as a model for some bara art study with a book called 「強い筋肉の描き方」(How to Draw Strong Muscles). The book featured art from four Japanese artists and the one whose art style I mainly focused on studying was GomTang; I especially like the way he draws his men and how he renders his characters. I got a physical copy of the book and a lot of the time I spent was trying to understand anatomy through his art style. Unfortunately, due to some other happenings IRL, I wasn't able to finish this as soon as I would have wanted... 😅

The spear wasn't too hard to conceptualize. I was honestly just looking over my Gunpla collection for some inspiration. The spear has a mechanism where the two side prongs unlatch and stick out, turning it into a three-pronged spear.

Objet d'Art (Part 4)

Part 4 is here! 🥳

Updates are slow, but they're coming along... Though I'll have to take a short break from updating this comic so I can finish a commission I'm currently working on.

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

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Objet d'Art (Part 3)

This took much longer than it needed to...

I finally finished moving into my new place! We've spent the past week just unpacking and setting up some of our furniture and necessities. We still have a lot of things we need to take care of and unpack, but at least my desk and my tablet is set up! Now I can put more time in making the comic again 🙏

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Objet d'Art (Part 2)

Oh, hey... This got taken care of faster than I expected. But I suppose that's only natural when you aren't making comics that need full color and rendering on every single element in every single panel.

The next page should be easy, but I'm going to probably be delayed by a bit because I'm currently in the process of moving out of my current residence. 😅

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

Objet d'Art

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Objet d'Art (Part 1)

Time for a new comic series... Yes, I'm fully aware I still have to update Gator Buddies but man- 😭

This time I have to pull out some bigger guns for the next Wayfinder/Peitha story brewing in my mind. Ooh, boy. This is gonna take a while, and I can already see it. But it's okay... It's a story worth telling, after all.

🌌A Wayfinder/Peitha Series🌌

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Latest Obsession

I... Simply can't stop gushing over this pairing.

I also hate how little content there is in terms of fan fiction about these two as well. I'd say this fic would be the best Peitha/Wayfinder content anyone will ever get if one's looking for something immersive, in-character, and simply delicious.

I swear. You want something good, you gotta make it yourself around here... And so be it.

Resolutions

A little short comic during the Lunar New Year event for Guild Wars 2.

Ever since Secrets of the Obscure came out for the game, I've always wanted to make some content highlighting the Wayfinder and Peitha's relationship. I always felt like the expansion didn't explore their dynamic enough, and I tell you, I find their relationship a welcome reprieve from the Wayfinder's/Commander's relationships with their other allies. And don't even get me started on the times Peitha simply just flirts with the Wayfinder, expresses her fondness for them, and that one Amnytas event where she gets downright possessive of them.

Speaking of Peitha, you may have noticed that as the comic goes on, her design keeps changing, especially with her head and horns. Honestly, this is a result of me initially trying to simplify her design while not really grasping what was there. So in early panels, her head's horns look like they're jutting out of her skin, when in fact, it's fused into her skin this entire time. It wasn't until I saw other people's artwork of Peitha that I truly became frustrated with how I was sketching her. I decided to sit down and put in more effort into understanding her anatomy, which led me to staring at her 3D model for longer than I would like to admit... But it proved ultimately very fruitful, as you can see with the last few panels.

I'll certainly be making more Wayfinder/Peitha content like this again soon. In fact, I'd also really like to explore not just the Wayfinder's/Commander's relationship with Peitha, but their relationship with both Sieran and Caithe as well. I hope you'll also look forward to them!

Lunar New Year 2025

Wow, something not fully rendered for once? 😏

I don't normally partake in creating Lunar New Year content. I do enjoy the festive vibe and food that comes with it, though. But I've wanted to just feature a little something with these two, and it just so happens to be the start of the Lunar New Year Festival in Guild Wars 2. The timing couldn't be more perfect.

As of late I've grown to have an... Obsession with creating some content Peitha and the Wayfinder interacting. Their relationship dynamic in Secrets of the Obscure was so delicious that I'm actually disappointed by how that never panned out the way I had planned initally. There was so much potential for it to be even greater--even angstier--than it was.

So now I'm doing myself a favor and exploring their relationship further, giving myself the copium content that I'd like to think happens between them when they aren't dealing with fighting Eparch's forces or liberating Nayos. I suppose you could even say that this might as well be my New Year's resolution for 2025. 😆

Anyway, have a pleasant Lunar New Year, folks! 🎇🎆

Into the Water Tour 2025

I'm an absolute fan of Haliene and her music. Her music has served and continues to serve as a huge inspiration for me whenever I do the worldbuilding for the Aether and Radisrol. My imagination really gets going when I sit down and just listen to her songs.

Last year, I learned that she's holding a concert in Vancouver. As of this writing, well... The concert is basically tomorrow. I had vowed to myself that I would make the most of this opportunity; it's the very first concert I want and can actually go to, and I even have the opportunity to have a meet and greet with her.

I want to make it a very memorable experience. So to commemorate, I made this painting inspired by her music video for Memory of You. It's my way of simply just expressing my gratitude for how much she has been a positive force in my life, and I want to convey this by handing her a postcard of this  painting tomorrow.

Needless to say, I'm very excited... Sleep-deprived as I may be at the moment. 😪

Coffee House Date (喫茶店デート)

Recently, I was in Tokyo for the holidays. I had been mulling over what I was planning to do to commemorate Arc's birthday, and unlike last year, this time I wanted something a little more heartwarming. Cozy. Something just a tad nostalgic to my days as a foreign student just wandering around Tokyo and going to random coffee shops and restaurants in my spare time. I was young and adventurous, and I relished the opportunity I had to live in the country I could only dream of.

Initially, I wanted to go with a color scheme with the background as a friend suggested I do, something similar to what I did with these past art pieces. I didn't like the direction I was going for though, and I scrapped the idea entirely. But I think I ended up sticking to a color scheme of mostly yellows, browns and whites and only realized it by the end of the whole thing. 😅 So I guess it all worked out.

I did a poll in the r/Housamo Discord server to also determine what would end up on their plate. I had a bunch of desserts in the choices, though someone suggested I add soup as a choice for the memes. Results got tied, and one picker wheel spin later, we ultimately decided on cheesecake. 🧀

I was also trying to incorporate the rendering methods I did in my last self-portrait. Before it all got fuzzy to me I tried to make sure I remembered what I learned and did... Mostly... 👀 At least I can say with confidence though that Arc's hair is looking a lot better compared to before with this new rendering tactic I'm doing.

But anyway.

Happy birthday to my favorite enby. 🍰 To the one character that sent me tumbling down the Housamo rabbit hole once again... Subsequently forcing me to push my limits when it comes to art in a desperate attempt to self-sustain myself with content of all the Housamo characters I've grown to love. But no other Housamo character can trump my love and adoration for the lesser known Chain Wielder of Otemachi, even if I suggest otherwise at times.

Happy birthday Arc, and I can't wait for your inevitable and long-deserved plot relevancy in Book 3. 💕

2024 Wrap-Up

32 entries? Ayo this ain't what I originally envisioned for the start of last year... 😶

Anyway, happy new year to all! 🥳 I've been really busy as usual, but some art is in the oven and baking after I finally got some two weeks off of work. Until then, here's my four favorite artworks of 2024:

I didn't get as much done for 2024... But I'm hoping that 2025 will at least be different! Here's to another year of arting! 🧃

Also, just to let you guys know: I am slowly moving away from Twitter and migrating my content to Bluesky. I'll be posting a lot more sketches and little snippets of some headcanons there. You can follow me on Bluesky here.