404DEUS

my art journey has been a long one for me… i have been drawing since i was a dumb teenager and man did i struggle with finding a style back then. this was my art when i was 17-19, it wasn’t anything consistent bc it was just me practicing the styles of the artists i looked up to at that time. i rmb feeling insecure bc i felt that my art skill was so ass compared to much younger artists in the fandom at that point of time, but i told myself to just continue trying my best n eventually i’ll figure out an art style i could call my own

when i was 20-22, i got into the OMORI fandom and i loved the art style so much. most of my art style transitioning then was very heavily referenced off the official game art. it’s the art that most people loved the most, as you mentioned! i’m still very fond of it looking back at it, and it’ll always hold a dear place in my heart :]

i stopped drawing for a year or so when i was 22-24, i did try to come back once but it didn’t last long. i was going through a very rough patch in my life (bad breakup, transitioning to adulthood, health issues) and i genuinely thought abt quitting art. i was getting alot of my art stolen and resold on platforms like temu, aliexpress n there was nothing i could do about it, i felt extremely frustrated and helpless u__u i also went thru a huge identity crisis and felt a lot of imposter syndrome for getting attention for my art when it felt like i was just ripping off the game’s art style. i was constantly consumed and overwhelmed by numbers and engagement as my account grew, i felt bad for drawing anything that wasn’t OMORI because its the fandom that helped me grow a following in the first place. everything combined, i felt very burnt out and my mental health was dropping steadily; i slowly stopped finding joy in art and gradually stopped drawing entirely.

i recently turned 25 and i did miss creating art after being on such a long art hiatus, so i decided to return and come back with a new sense of direction and determination to follow thru w it. i wanted to just stop caring abt numbers and not let it consume me entirely like it did in the past. i wanted to draw and create art for fandoms that inspired me and that i enjoyed, not limiting myself to just one fandom. OMORI will always be one of my art muses and i will continue to create pieces every so often relating to it — but i also want to be able to draw for other interests too!

i may not receive the same enthusiasm and following that i used to have, and my current art style may not appeal to my old audience and that’s ok!! i know my art improvement isn’t the fastest, i’m a very slow learner. i’m taking my own time and pace to enjoy my creative processes and i’m learning to love art and creating again, that’s what matters more to me than some arbitrary numbers.