Back in '22, still in the midst of an awful depression, I tried to help myself out of it a little by picking up some kind of artistic project, since I knew that my mental health is so dependent on being creative.

I managed to write a short regression story based on an idea I had lingering in my head for a very long time (though knowing me, which ones haven't been?), and following soon after, I also made an illustration to go along with it.

Although it was a huge breakthrough for me to pick up my stylus after a months-long hiatus while suffering with my mental illness, I still felt somewhat dissatisfied with the illustration; so much so that I never published either of them publicly.

I'd been meaning to give it another go ever since then, and so I did.

I'm genuinely pleased to see the ways in which I've developed my style and technique even in recent years, since I usually find it quite difficult to notice the subtler details. Comparing it to my own work on an especially bad "off day" makes it easier to appreciate the things I know how to do, and that I do well. While it was a tad painful to go back to a time when I was genuinely struggling, acknowledging how much I've been through and how far I've come was worth the discomfort.