ALT

i don’t see it, but i suppose he IS my son

answering this one asap because i wondered if i’d be asked about it, and i’ve been mulling over a reply & collecting references ( ＞ㅅ＜)/ i apologize, this is gonna be much more of a reply than you probably anticipated! 🤧 if you just want to enjoy the game and the excitement of its release, please please please feel free to skip this post.

to be super transparent, i’ve had mixed feelings about witchbrook, but i’m cautiously optimistic. one of my random interests for years has been keeping up with general gaming news - and that being said, the 8 year development period is a warning sign for me.

the other bit of hesitance is because i’ve side-eyed chucklefish for a while, largely due to the news that broke about how starbound devs were taken advantage of back in 2019. now, chucklefish “apologized”, but if you noticed there’s no actual apology in their response, you’re not the only one.

this situation struck a chord with me; for reasons i won’t discuss, exploitation of labor from young, starry-eyed artists/developers who don’t know any better is something i’m familiar with and against. excusing themselves with essentially “i don’t have the money to pay everyone but no one was forced, there were no deadlines, and everyone was credited” is, in layman’s terms, weaksauce.

additionally, in the same year for a separate game (wargroove), they also accidentally cast strictly white cast, even for poc characters, which, to be fair, they did actually apologize for.

last thing i want add is for anyone who isn’t aware, chucklefish and witchbrook are in no way associated with stardew valley!! ik that was a misconception for a while, but concernedape split with chucklefish back in, again, 2019, his statement ending with: “I can also say that, both personally and in my capacity as the recent founder of a small team, I believe in compensating developers for their contributions in working on games. -Eric”

…all that to say!!! obviously things can change for the better over the course of almost 6 years - the game certainly LOOKS beautiful, and i’m sure some incredibly talented people have poured an unthinkable amount of work into it.

the gameplay didn’t grab me personally, but i still hope that it came together in a way that the devs and players are happy with. maybe i’ll play it someday! but i’ll probably give it some time first. in closing, i encourage anyone interested to read the linked articles and form their own opinions. these are entirely my personal thoughts and observations. MWAAAH 💛

i answered a question about timelapses recently, but i’m gonna use this one as a jumping off point to say i’ve been really considering reopening my patreon!! it exists, but only as an ancient tip jar/high res archive right now

for one thing, i get a lot more questions about my process lately - i used to share timelapses/step-by-steps there, it might be a good place for me to do it again!

…and for another thing, i just draw so. much. and most (but not all) of the art i draw doesn’t get posted for weeks/months/never. it’d give folks a chance to see the heaps of unposted art long before i share it.

many thoughts … 🤔

i used to!! i think my last timelapse video was in 2023-ish?

since i get asked about this quite frequently, i’ve been meaning to record my process via clip studio’s built in feature again … sometimes it’s hard to know if something is going to turn into a full rendered piece until halfway through, but i’ll try keeping it in mind! :D

sorry to answer this literally 10 seconds after you sent it - i just happened to be in my inbox and this is an easy answer (`･ω･´)ゞ

i always start my canvases on 3000 x 3000px, unless i’m working on a large scale print project! most pieces (including the hayden ones) end up being closer to the 2500 x 2000px range 😊👍

YES!!! i meant to post about it but forgor, i’m so happy someone noticed! 🥹

2023 -> 2025 babyyy!!! 🌱

this is such a funny emoji combo 😭 still, thank you for asking!

i’ve been better. i’m in and out of the doctor’s office every other week, and a new medication i’m taking has me permanently tired/sleepy -so it’s been difficult to find energy for anything other than work.

but we persist

oh dear, i’m so sorry about that! D:

i’d be happy to explain - on twitter, you get absolutely nerfed by the algorithm for using any kind of self-promotion words like those. and, since they all relate to my income, i just can’t risk that.

whereas on bsky and tumblr, i’ve found by personal experience that using those terms invites a lot of bots and scammers into my inbox and comments. 😔

if there’s a happy medium, i’d love to find one!

hi! my shop has been open for a couple weeks now 🌱

only my etsy has been closed, since i realized that during big updates, i really want to prioritize my personal site (and not overwhelm myself with too many orders spread out over separate platforms)! 🫶

hoo boy, okay i used a bunch lemme try to remember them all -

• dae pencil 1 for “lining”
• CSP default oil paint for flats
• CSP default running color edge watercolor for color gradients
• CSP default opaque watercolor for highlights
• i don’t remember what i used for shading, but it was just a standard brush on multiply!!