Hello everyone

To say that the year 2021 was unusual would be an understatement. Everyone has their own collection of insane stories to tell, good and bad alike. It wasn't much different over here and for me.

2021 was a year of many trials and changes for me. The beginning of the year was likely the lowest point I have ever been in life and over the course of the year, thanks to the help of many good friends, I not only managed to climb up from the hole I found myself in, but came out stronger and better than ever before.

It was also this year where I have once again found my own creative "spark", of which i didn't even realized I have lost before. It made me see just how low I was, and for how long. The drive to create as natural and light as breathing has returned to me. With it also came a newfound confidence that I can push my work further than before, and weather whatever trouble comes. More importantly: If I can't there will be people helping me get back up.

How does this year look exactly for me?

Well, I an go back and forth about feelings, but lets look as NUMBERS instead:

ART

2021, I created more artwork than during the past 3 years COMBINED. If you only take Newgrounds as the measuring stick, it'd be more than in the past 5 years.

This is particularly surprising since I have less free time than I probably ever had.

Through 2021 alone, I not only created more than I ever have before, but I also (almost accidentally) found my creative handwriting. One big issue I had over the years was anxiety over every artists bane: the pursuit of ones "own original style". 2021 was when I finally stopped worrying and just did what came natural to me. I like to think my recent work reflects that authenticity. It is a lot like the pros say: Don't worry about your style, practice, draw inspiration from artists you love and it will come to you naturally.

I have some big plans for 2022 in respect of this development that I cannot wait to share with you at the end of this review.

SOCIALS

Maybe an odd one, but still.

This year, I reopened my Patreon. I have also opened a Ko-fi page and began revitalizing my Picarto streams.

Needless to say, I also became properly active on Newgrounds as well once again.

Twitter saw a growth of more than 100% from the beginning of the year. Meaning that I gained more followers in one year than the previous 7 combined.

(My account exists for longer than 2017, but socialblade doesn't seem to keep track beyond 5 years.

My work has also seen a lot more engagement overall. After Summer many of my posts began to fluctuate between the two and three digits in likes, which is a massive jump for someone who got mostly a couple clicks with each upload.

I tried to find data about Newgrounds, but I will have to go on my hunch, where I saw similar absurd growth. From something like 200 followers to 452 (by the point of writing this). No doubt because I hit Frontpage so often (am still debating as to why though).

I have also recently begun running an Instagram. Its way too early to speak about its performance though since I launched it mid-November.

Somewhat relating to this:

I also opened commissions this year. They started as an emergency fund to help make ends meet (and a massive thank you to everyone who helped out with this) but carried on throughout the year. Around September I opened my Ko-fi shop, from which I have continued to receive commissions going forward. Within this year, coming largely out of the blue, I made more than a thousand Euros worth in earning in commissions, about 3 times as much as I expected to get from the fundraiser alone.

Again, a massive thank you. I don't speak much of my problems, but your support pulled me out of a big one.

Where to from here?

I am looking towards 2022 with excitement. Not in a "wow, thankfully 2021 is over, Im sure 2022 will finally be my year" kind of affair. An earnest excitement of whats to come. If someone were to tell me 2021 would turn out the way it did I'd call them naively optimistic, but here we are.

I have some exciting things to look forward to come 2022. With the last batch of commissions nearing their completion I will open up new slots very soon, along with the "Full Illustration" slot.

On the creative side, I am in the process of drafting a science-fiction painting series, blending inspirations from dark and urban science fiction. It is projected to feature 8 paintings total, with 3 more "abstract" pieces along and variants for all pieces. I continue my commitment to not paywall any of my finished work, which is why every piece will be publicly available. For those who want to support my work (and have some cool merch on the side), I plan to prepare art packs featuring the variants (as well as timelapse recordings, brushes, project file and commentary) for purchase, as well as prints of every piece. I am still looking into which printing service would work best for this and would provide you the best quality. I am particularly eyeing Displate so far, but I will have more info once I get there.

Unfortunately I cannot 100% say when it will be done in the year, but promise to keep you updated. I project the series be done around May.

Lastly, the big one: I have said on and off that I was working on a dark-science-fiction comic. I think my first "announcement" proper happened during my first BONSAI talks stream. Well, the pre-production has finally wrapped up and I will be able to work on it proper now. I spent a lot of time during the year brainstorming and spit-balling different ideas to figure out what story I want to tell exactly before committing to it. After all, a comic is a massive commitment. However, the wait for answers is almost over. Expect a proper announcement of my comic around early February.

Upon announcement, I will go on to publicly show concept art, information, lore and progress on the comic as we go towards the eventual release. Right now, I am seeing the comic be ready for publication around Fall 2022.

Mind you, a lot of these projections are based on my current employment situation. While I do not expect it to change for the worse, things may change through the year. Depending on the way they go they will either improve or worsen things.

With the comic in particular I am aware that it looks far away. I tried making a comic before and my biggest mistake was trying to rush it out of the door before it was ready. I want to provide you with the best work I can deliver, and that will require some time. If its done sooner, its released sooner.

Thank you very much for your time, and joining me on this insane year.

I am not good with closing words, so just know that I am extremely excited for 2022 and can't wait to take you with me on this insane train.