January Update! WIPs, New Comic & Chars, 2022 Resolutions, Streams Etc.

Hey guys! Sorry for the long silence. This is going to be a bit of a scatterbrained post, so bear with my rambling lol.

Seeing the new year in didn't go according to plan lol. My birthday on the 31st was pretty quiet, as you'd expect for another pandemic year. It's fine though. Or rather it would be if...

Over the New Year the bf and I ended up catching a pretty horrible headcold that gunked up our sinuses and left our heads feeling like they'd just been hit with a piano. Thanks in-laws lmao! Not great, but at least it wasn't Covid, and it's cleared up now thankfully. Still, two years of following strict guidelines only to get brought down with a regular ass cold lmao. Ugh laaaame XD

Anyways, during that time I was practising with a bit of a simpler style which i thought could be interesting for what it was worth, but it felt ultimately a little too unshaded for my liking, despite being shaded. Chalk it up to experience haha, and thanks to @wakka1993 for letting me experiment.

I'm still working on the YCH's i took over Christmas, stalled due to the illness and the holdover from the end of year seasonal mehness, but they'll be done this month.

Also, I have been piecing together a plan for another smallish comic. It's been long enough without some story based content imo!
I've included small snippets of plans for the character (Ashford Bennett) and the first panel here as well. It'll feature a bit of public naughtiness, mixed with a bit of being caught watching... 0.0;;
It's something a little different for me I think. It follows Ashford, a good young, sporty Monkey who starts his first day at a petrol/gas station convenience store in the middle of nowhere. No spoilers for the rest though haha.

I decided at the turn of the year that i'd stop trying to reinvent the wheel with all the style experiments. It probably expends more mental energy trying to crack refinements or time savers that I really don't think I have at my disposal, instead i should just draw and let things come naturally.
Also, 2022 needs to be about minimising burnout as it's the biggest risk to my work, my income, my sanity and further down that chain, ultimately my happiness. I honestly have no idea where to start mind you lol. Baby steps on that plan. Expect incremental updates on that.

What does that mean for my art style generally then? Well, for the new comic (and subsequent ones), that means going back to a Rodarc style of full shading. I was happier with that than any other. It means more work up front of course, but it also means going forward i'll try to stick to consistency i'm happy with rather than trying to get things done as fast as possible. I feel like that way everyone wins and I have content i'm proud of the quality of.

Finally, I need to get back to streaming art. I miss you guys a huge amount. Ever since the bf and I had our nightmare guests i've had shaky confidence that I can't quite explain, but it's a new year, time for a new slate i think. I might start my first few voiceless and work back up to it lol.
Also I need to stream Elden Ring when it comes out. That's going to be amazing. I can feel it in my everywheres! :O

Hey, feel free to ask me anything btw. Let me know how your new years' all went? :D
Have a wonderful Sunday! Expect more posts soon! ^-^