i haven't ever done one of these before, but for the first time, i've actually wanted to ... so ... without further ado, here is my ( hopefully ) annual art recap & review for 2025!
let's take a look at my favorite works from each month. ^_^
january
 mina busts |
i didn't draw a lot during january, as i was developing some pretty bad relapse pain in my arms. however, i was also on the tail end of an artistic resurgence; the previous year was a tumultulous one for art, but thanks to a refound love in developing original characters, i found the spur i needed to start drawing freely again. i remember feeling very frustrated towards the end of the month as i realized i had to stop drawing for a while, because i just felt so inspired to get back into it. ah well ... such is life.
i feel like you can see some of that confidence here, though. i really love that second bust ... i think the shapes & linework are appealing. total drawings: 3 |
february
 vtag |
still struggling with pain. i like drawing something decorative & lame for valentine's day, but the long break in drawing took a toll on me ... i was lacking creativity as well as strength, so this was difficult for me.
i'm not very happy with this drawing at all, really, but ... well ... it's the only thing i drew this month ... total drawings: 1 |
march
 loui portrait |
total change from february -- i drew a ton! i was kindly re-integrated into a friend group i have struggled to stay in contact with & was invited to play in a homebrewed TTRPG built around fire emblem with them, both of which majorly inspired me.
i actually love everything i drew this month, honestly. i tried hard to think of poses ( even if most of them still ended up boring! ) and i had a lot of fun designing characters for everyone. i also think my art looks best when i draw sketchy, small-scale stuff, so this month was just packed with successes IMO. but i'm particularly proud of this & the portrait of helena. they're clean & charismatic, not something i've normally been able to do as of late. i'm really pleased with both of their designs & concepts, too ... just a wonderful month for me! total drawings: 12 |
april
 post-dlc iowerth |
significant drop off of drawing this month lol, although not for want of ideas. i got sucked into the DLC for elden ring, so my hand time was dedicated to gaming ... as i've talked about all over the site, though, i LOVED it & had an amazing time. in particular, i really love how seamlessly iowerth's character unfolded as a result of the DLC, and how some mysteries regarding the conclusion of his story organically fell into place. i am SO happy with his arc & his character as a result. i already liked his design, but he is cemented as one of my favorite OCs forever because of my experience with the DLC.
he remains utterly impossible for me to draw ( hence how little i draw him for how much i love him ) but in these two sketches, i feel like i got his vibe really well. i streamlined the mossy stone texturing of his body & the silhouette of his head, and i think he looks really good as a result! total drawings: 3 |
may
 sloane concepts |
another dry spell for drawing. i think this time i was struggling with mental health, so i had to really fight to try & get my art brain to work.
same as february, i don't really love this sketchpage, but it's all i have for the month ... so i gotta go with it. on the bright side, i really like this character's design -- "sloane" is their real name, but the name they use for the majority of the story is still something i'm wrestling with. ( blanche? ) anyway, the colors & shapes are fun, but i was still experimenting with their body & face here, which i remember not being too happy with at the time. total drawings: 1 |
june
 dragon's dogma doodles |
getting my groove back here. although nothing i made this month really felt Good, i think this sketchpage shows how i was finding inspiration & starting to have fun again. thank you dragon's dogma!!!!!!
you can also see the rust in these, though ... but they remind me of the feeling of Having A Good Time Drawing, so even if they look lumpy, i like 'em. total drawings: 6 |
july
 summer doodles |
despite this month being full of polished works thanks to artfight, i actually think this stupid sketch is my favorite thing i made. like i said, i think my art looks best when it's messy, and here it's just like ... i like how goopy / inky my lineart is, i think the bodies & costume designs in the central drawing are fitting & as i imagined them, i like making small gag comics ... it's a cooldown / warm-up piece for a remarkably busy month, but it has a relaxed & sincere energy to it that feels honest to how & why i draw.
total drawings: 25 |
august
 burger |
lazy month, i definitely had to recover after artfight. but i was also riding a CRAZY good high for drawing motivation. i was splitting my time between drawing & playing more dragon's dogma, but i did manage to make some cute stuff!
the comic here looks yucky but the content is true & good. i think the bust of mina here is really nice, though ... at least for me. i lowered the opacity of my pixel brush & it let me draw / paint with some interesting textures, which i really like but also can't comfortably do for bigger drawings. i also really like how i drew her clothes ... they feel really thick & weighty in a pleasing way. total drawings: 5 |
september
 ttrpg one-shot pc |
a really tough month to pick a favorite, honestly ... i like a lot of what i was making here for various reasons ( fun with dragon's dogma 2, multiple magma sesh drawings ) but i'll go with this one! although i reallyyyy don't like real-time RP, i love designing TTRPG characters lol ... and this one was a new challenge for me! modern day teenager, not something i ever draw.
i realized drawing black curly hair is really fun, too -- so easy to texture & build a pleasing silhouette! i can't believe it took me this long to make a character with hair like this. total drawings: 10 |
october
 power outage drawings (2) |
honestly another tough pick. burnout & pain was catching up to me, as well as dread for the holidays ... but despite not drawing as much this month, i actually really like everything i made.
i think my lineart here is unusually good looking. i really like the poses & hands too ... ! i was in such a flow drawing these two here, all their shapes & such were coming so easily to me ... it's a muscle memory i'll tragically have to rebuild after every long break i take though. total drawings: 4 |
november
|
... i didn't draw anything this month ... mental miasma + holiday crunch + pain just made it too difficult. forgive me ... !
total drawings: 0 |
december
 brushweek day 1 |
still in pain & still stressed out for the holidays, but i doodled a bit anyway. i'd been wanting to do a neopets paintbrush costume design thing again for a while, so when i saw this challenge, i knew i had to give it a shot, even if i wasn't feeling my best.
somehow, though, i really love how this came out. first thing i drew in weeks, and i feel like ... idk ... i love their faces & i was particularly proud of the anatomy here, which i of course covered up with billowing robes lol. i wish this challenge wasn't during xmas week, i really would have loved to do them all! sigh ... oh well. total drawings: 4 |
overall review ...
i think despite pain stopping me from really making anything elaborate, or polished, or anything i'd really say i'm proud of ... i like what i made this year. every year, i think i get worse at drawing, but at the same time i think my relationship to art gets better. i'm having more fun & drawing more freely.
this was also the first year of using this sketchbook! the goal of it being, that it encouraged me to draw more, in lieu of not really having anywhere else to post stuff now that i don't like using socmed for art. and ... i think that goal was met. i don't get a ton of comments, but honest to god every single message left in my guestbook about my art made me so happy & feel so inspired to keep sharing; the sincerity & kindness from other people across the net has been so refreshing. and because my ass is so verbose, this format of letting me just kinda hurl out all my thoughts about a drawing as i upload it has been awesome.
so, i'm overall really happy with this year. i hope my pain can be managed next year better than it was in 2025, and i hope i can continue to find & nurture the spark i need to keep drawing.
if you ever browsed this library of work, left me a message, felt inspired, shared my art with others ... THANK YOU!!!! <3 more than ever, let's keep supporting each other's art!