DLToon

I think I've reached a point where there isn't much to say during the anniversary of my artistic debut online, not to mention there isn't really much for me to celebrate at the moment since my life has forced me to go on an extended hiatus for the foreseeable future. I suppose the most I can say is that I am eternally grateful and thankful for all the years I was able to as active as I was, even though I never really managed to get to the level where I'd be able to pump out art on a regular, stable basis.

Having said that, I should mention that in happier news, I've made progress with the first of the four remaining commission pieces and hopefully it'll be out by summertime. I've actually thought about posting a slight teaser in the Scraps section, though I have to careful since the complete piece will be against deviantART's pathetic rules and thus I cannot show you the really good parts A WiP of this is posted in the Scraps. After that, I have at least three more orders to go, all Danny Phantom -related and most of them unsuitable to post on this site. I still keep getting new offers for commissions which is absolutely crazy and quite flattering, but as I've stated before, I am not currently taking any new commissions because I simply cannot supply new art fast enough. For example, the pic I'm currently working on has been in production for well over a year-and-a-half, if not two years!

It is quite often that when a fan artist "disappears" or stops updating, they will not necessarily be able to (or want to) go back to their old work routines and habits. This is commonplace even for those artists who have to quit against their wishes. I suppose it's a way for us to get used to new routines and new chapters in our lives, and while some may keep saying that they'll be back and they are not gone, they know deep down that it's over for good... and, uh, this is why it might sound disingenious when I maintain that I still want to go back and this is not over yet, but you have to trust me on this one. Now, I do not believe I can ever get back to releasing as much as art as I did back in the old days, but I don't see myself completely quitting. First of all, I'm just too horny to do that. I still get really excited when I see new, well-drawn fan art and I still get inspired every now and then to do more of my own, even if I can't commit to it. Second, I still have certain projects I wish to get done: for instance, I am still sticking to my initial plans on doing digital paintings, though I won't even entertain the idea of working on those until I get everything back in order. I also haven't drawn proper, um, Maddie/Danny just yet although preliminary sketches do exist.

While it might take a while to see "new" new art from me, I have plans to push out partially finished and hopefully even mostly incomplete art. How am I going to do this? Well, if it all works out, you'll see...

In the meantime, try to stay safe and sane despite the global Covid-19 outbreak. I'm partially at-risk myself due to certain medical conditions I have but I'm also a grade-A germaphobe and I'm used to being an in-doors no-life PC gamer so self-quarantine is not too much of a deviation from the kind of life I've used to live more-or-less since I got my first computer back in the early '90s. I suppose there are some upsides to not having that much of a social life (in-person, that is; I have plenty going on online)!

* Starting today, I will be on a hiatus/taking an extended break from posting art. While I will still be working on the remaining commissions I have (duh), you will most likely not see that much new art from me for some time. As for how long might this break/hiatus be? At worst, it could be five years. At best, only a year. In reality, it'll probably be something between those two extremes. As for the reason why I'm doing this, I would like to keep that to myself, although I will say that it is not out of my own volition, but rather due to outside circumstances in my life. Also, for those who might be worried, this will be the third time I'm doing this, so it's not something new or drastic, really. The first time was back in the early '00s when I wasn't posting my shit online, and the second time was around 2009, although that break didn't last very long.

* Despite the afore-mentioned hiatus, I will do my best to keep sketching every day to keep the quality of my art at least on the level it's been for the past couple of years. The first time I took a break from drawing, I made the mistake of completely putting down my pencil and papers. This resulted in a serious degradation of my art and it took me a long time get back on the level I was before that. I am also reachable via dA during the hiatus, as I'm not going to stop coming over here (unless the site decides to pull off some really stupid thing that pisses me off, but in case something like that happens, I will let you guys know beforehand.

* Yes, I know that the pic I titled 'Things to Come' now seems misleading, but when I created it I did not know what was going to happen in the near future. I will still respect the promises I made in that one, although it might take a lot longer to carry them out.

* Attention: if you ever come across my art or something that looks like my art (but is actually just traced from my works) and you're expected to pay money to see it, then it's a sham. The only exception to this rule is obviously JABComix, as I have actually done exclusive work for them. Anyway, the reason I'm writing about this is because I recently came across a video that contained my art (as well as the art of my colleagues, and even illustrations traced from my art). The video itself was available for free, but apparently the uploader advertised about getting the "uncensored version" if you became a Patreon supporter. With the exception of the afore-mentioned JABComix pieces, all my published art has always been freely available online. You'd be foolish to pay for something that was already free in the first place

* In these journal entries, I usually talk about something new I've recently seen or will be going to see in the near future, but right now I think I've reached a point in my life where, outside of anime, I'm no longer really excited for anything new in the pop culture world. I might go see Top Gun 2 when it drops, but that might be only new thing I'll be seeing in theaters this year (I think it'll be released this year, though I don't remember for certain). On the bright side, it does allow me to save up money when I don't have to pay for overpriced movie tickets or brand new home video releases. This also applies to new cartoon shows, with Long Gone Gulch probably being the sole exception as I'm actually quite optimistic about that one. What this also means that when I get back to publishing new fan art, it might be more focused on past things than contemporary or new creations... although, if we're completely honest, that's sort of how it already was before, so I guess that's not really news to anyone. For example, when I began posting Danny Phantom art back in 2008, the show had already ceased production.


...and, uh, that's about it. Again, I would like to remind you that I'm not going anywhere, as you can easily contact me on dA and I'll be checking out the site on a daily basis. I just won't be uploading any new art until further notice (except for the remaining commissions, although they are too hot for dA and obviously will be found elsewhere online when they've been completed).

There's not much to say, really, that hasn't been said before. Eleven years ago, today. Sheesh. Time sure flies by.

I am still drawing, yes, but I'm still going through a phase in my life where I have very little time for my art – at the moment, I'm lucky if I'm able to put some time aside for it for one evening per week. The good news is that it'll probably get better by the time April rolls in; the bad news is, it will actually get even worse around late summer. In fact, I will probably have to go on a semi-hiatus after I finish my current batch of commissions (which there are still many left). More on that when time draws closer and I'm more aware of what happens in the future.

Again, I must stress: if I need to take a break, it's not going to be a permanent one. I have no intention of ceasing art production, but considering how slow of an artist I am and how I usually need long stretches of uninterrupted art time, that's simply not going to be possible for a while probably for a year or two, unless I somehow figure out how to pull it off. However, I wish to not go into details as I don't want to treat this journal as a public diary. That's just not my thing.