Quicktober! Quick draws for instant whims.

It's Halloween, and there's more costumes to enjoy!

At first I'd intended to do two for each of these two final posts for Quicktober, but once I got to four, I realized I was pretty much halfway done - and came up with an idea for everyone (with one exception, which you'll see below).

The poses and detailing work on all of the costume sketches were extremely fun to do; I felt like I was in the flow for the entire set, and I think it really shows through in the art.

For this set, we have Chili, Antoinette, and Me! Can you guess who we're dressed up as? There's clues and answers hidden below.

Did you guess them all?

With that, Quicktober is done! What a trip it's been. For a while since starting it, I've felt like this wasn't as ambitious an undertaking as Kinktober in 2023, but sitting with that feeling a little longer, I think I made up for the lack of colour and linework that I showcased back then, with quite a bit of storytelling and doubling up on several of the ideas I made every day.

I'm proud of having gotten it done, and what I got done as a result of it, too; especially with a lot of the other challenges I'd been dealing with this month, and not having missed a single day despite, at times, feeling like I really, really wanted to.

With that said though, you might have noticed someone missing! That's because my friend MoT was kind enough to make a costume for Chip while I was working on the first ones of these on stream!

It's such an amazing piece! Look at the BuBuy²!!

This project idea crystallized in my mind the weekend I got back from the States, thanks to many disparate plot threads coming together with me running into more problems, not even a week into me returning from another intense and emotional adventure.

Once again, a change in policy on a platform we thought was safe, or different in any way (a naive assumption, one might say, but on the flipside; always assuming you're in danger is just as unhealthy) led me to pass up some well-needed rest - which I'd actually scheduled time for - in favor of running more sessions of my panel to spread the word about how to stay safe and maintain a presence online.

I was fed up. Exhausted. Done with feeling like I had to waste my time and energy playing whack-a-mole with their stupid garbage almost every goddamn day.

I started working on this alongside the extra prepwork I needed for the bonus panel sessions I ran online, and a week of frankly frantic effort later, I made this.

For those not in the know, the two bunnies prominently featured are Praline and Chili respectively, two of my median facets.

Before losing you to the comic and further backstory after the jump, I want to mention that I've also made the closing panels into merch designs that you can buy, and support my work in the process. Thank you for your consideration.

This came about because while I was away, and visiting part of the "extended found family" overseas, I was invited to make a piece of graffiti to add to their bathroom wall. Taking this altogether too seriously, I sketched out a design to later apply to the communal canvas.

This was just days after having had to just about completely erase what makes me who I am for the purposes of sanitizing myself at border control, so then ending up with such a wonderfully welcoming and affirming space had me feeling at the very least rather litigious and confrontational with the "authorities" who would gladly stifle us if they could.

I wanted whoever was visiting that space to know; if they're there, they're likely with people who they love and care about - and that they should fight for their joy, because giving that up would be giving villains what they want.

Fast forward to when I was grappling with Bsky's latest sorry excuse of a policy update two weekends ago, and this comic was the result.

Welcome to Quicktober, where I literally just come up with whatever I want day to day, and force myself to spend no more than half an hour on each main element of the sketch.

I won another Brushie Award from Artconomy! I was so surprised!

Being entirely honest, I struggled for a bit to really grasp in what ways I've improved (especially since I was under the impression that it was judged across the past year or so), but honestly, when I tried to figure out what to draw to celebrate it, I had to acknowledge what has improved in that time.

My self expression.

I went with a simpler, toonier style on purpose, not to be smug about it (though it is kinda funny, and Praline's got that on lock anyway) but to focus on what else has changed over the past year or so. Finding all my facets and getting better and better at forming my feelings and experiences into art that's stylized, full of intent, and impactful too, has done a lot of good to what I want to create and how it comes across.

I think it's still a sign of progress also given that I made this in less than an hour (but some extra to add lettering and the certificate, to be fair), so I'm happy with that.

NB: I had to kinda improvise with the award itself and edit the one from last year cause I haven't gotten the new design yet.. But maybe I'll sneak the new one in when I do.

Welcome to Quicktober, where I literally just come up with whatever I want day to day, and force myself to spend no more than half an hour on each main element of the sketch.

A while back I was linked this lovely 3d design by Louie Zong, entitled "Thievery," because it seemed a fun analogue to the warrensworth of rabbit (and bonus fox and puppy, of course) bouncing around inside my head.

Being a little real for a moment here, I really wasn't having a great time today, but drawing all the bunnies in my system in such a minimalist style really cheered me up a lot. Adding Praline's single cocked eyebrow instantly cracked me up, officially making it the tiniest amount of pixels I've changed on a piece for the most amount of enjoyment.

A while back, I started the process to get my name changed proper.

My sister-in-law is a notary, and while she couldn't handle it for me due to conflict of interest, she did the preliminary research and drafted the contract to save me some time and money down the line. Given the extent to which I wanted to change my name (changing every one of my four given names, and adding another), she saw it necessary to consult with the registrar and check if it was permitted.

The people she spoke to literally had to research prior case law to answer her questions. When she told me this, I said, "so you're saying I'm too transgender for the law," which she didn't disagree with. She later even confirmed that I am likely the first person in my country to do this.

After sharing the story on Bluesky, my friend Melody made a really fun suggestion that led to this piece. It was fun combining me with Chili to achieve this look, especially given how I've been channeling this energy as of late.

Fun fact, you can now also BUY this design on clothing, stickers, and more!

As thanks for giving me the idea, I included Melody in the background of an alternate version, reacting accordingly.

I Want, but I Can't.

Chili and I have started aligning a bit better. It's still a struggle.

I had this idea after a fun interaction with my friend Moka, who also enjoys the idea of toying around inside someone's headspace, in a more literal sense, through their characters.

Soul is acting as a bit of a substitute here because I consider it to be more of a muse than a headmate; but I've sensed the presence of a kinder voice inside which I've not yet figured out whether it's my own or that of one of the last aspects I'm aware of.

Either way, I like the idea that it's willing to play my mind games by my own convoluted rules, effectively running with my own internal dialogue. Chili, on the other hand, is just fucking done with me and my bullshit.

I'm rather pleased with the posing and expression work in this quick little comic I threw together in about an hour and a half, by my measure. As much as it pains me to look at, I really quite like how absolutely bedraggled and exhausted I look. XD

Little Chili. That's it, that's the whole tweet.

Joking aside, this came about after I had a tantrum one night when some pressure became too great for me to bear, and Plush bore the brunt of it when she absolutely was not to blame for any of it.

She reassured me that I was okay, and I did my utmost to do my best and bounce back. Even so, I felt bad for subjecting her to it and given that it felt to me like a rather Chili thing for me to do at the time, I figured this was an appropriate way to apologize for my behaviour. While it's often fun to play with subtleties in my art, I do feel compelled to note that Chili's visible despondency in the first frame isn't out of reluctance, but out of an expectation that this is something we'll be punished for. More so "let's get this overwith" than "I shouldn't have to do this."

Plush stopped by in the stream I was working on this just as I finished up the first panel, and reassured me that I was forgiven, which is when I added the other two.

My latest return home has once again proven challenging to me, and last night was especially difficult. I decided to stream and work on some art that came to mind while I was struggling, and I'm both very pleased with the results and feeling better for having made them all.

First we have one that sums up my issues with pursuing what it is I want for myself. I struggle with asking for things in the first place, so when it becomes a problem then I don't even know where to start.

One stylistic detail that ended up being a little too subtle in the final piece to easily notice is that I used a different brush for the linework in either half - I felt like they helped further convey the feelings held within me that the dialogue and posing might not have on their own. I also realized halfway through the process that I actually hadn't drawn kid chocolate exactly on model, and looks more like a midpoint between the two of us. I didn't bother "fixing" it since that has plenty of implications that I think elevate the piece even further.

Next is this one, which captured the vibe of more recent experiences, such as this weekend's.

Given the above context, I think it should speak for itself.