Today marks the day I started working on DROPOUTS as an animated series. Actually it was a day ago but I forgot. Whatever. Here, look! It's the very first drawing of the dropouts, first drawn on... actually I don't remember. July something 2023. Here:

Okay, so, those look pretty bad, lets be honest. Some names are different, too, so Bryson is now Hank and Alan is now Igor, who's also a pale blonde with a unibrow now. But compare that to not just the art and animation I'm making now, but specifically to the actual character portraits, which were only made a few months later on September 26th, 2023. Don't mean to brag, but like they're better right? Like, way better. Maybe. I think they are, at least.

For a long time I was unsatisfied with my art, until something clicked, and for reasons I still don't fully understand I almost instantly started improving at a speed I never had before that point. I'm turning 28 this year, and I've been drawing since I was 16 I think? Maybe 17. It's been a while, but it only took finding that thing that clicked, that little preference that makes everything so much more comfortable for you.

For me, that thing was Krita. I don't know what it is about it, but drawing on that free program felt more comfortable for me than even TVPaint, the $500 animation program I tried so desperately for years to get into.

god fucking dammit.

But that's just me. If you've been practicing for over a decade on your art, and still aren't happy with your output, maybe it's nothing to do with your actual skillset and instead you're just in dire need of a shakeup. Something to find that click, idk maybe think about it bucko fucko sucko i'm so fucking tired it's 5am why can't i just sleep like a normal person so tired so tired hate life aaaaaaaaaaa wordswordswordswords