Emo.Btch

Sup everyone! I took a short break, but now I’m back after about a month away. During that time, I’ve been sketching ideas, and today I wanted to share a draft of a new Monster Pal concept. This one is called a Clarise. (Cluh- Rize)

Most communities of Clarise are well known—sometimes infamous—for their presence. When a group of them moves into an area, you *definitely* notice. They’re loud, energetic, and impossible to ignore. Normally, Clarise are friendly, mischievous pranksters who enjoy harmless tricks, playful chaos, and surprising their neighbors. Their antics can be annoying at times, but rarely dangerous.

Lately, however, something strange has been happening. Reports suggest that many Clarise have begun acting differently—more aggressive, more hostile, and in some cases downright malicious. Some even display behavior that borders on cruelty, which is deeply unusual for the species. No one is quite sure what’s causing this sudden shift, and it has left many communities uneasy.

Thankfully, **Ramah** hasn’t been affected by whatever is influencing the others. In fact, she is oddly calm compared to the typical hyperactive Clarise. While most of her kind bounce from place to place like sparks of living lightning, Ramah tends to observe first and act second, giving her a more balanced and approachable temperament.

Ramah is the **fifth member** of her group and displays the classic Clarise coloration: soft reddish-pink fur blended with bluish-white patches that shimmer slightly in bright light. Around her neck, she wears a well-loved brown scarf decorated with small yellow star patterns. The scarf drapes across her chest, shoulders, and upper back, both as a comfort item and a subtle mark of identity among her companions.

Physically, Ramah stands about **2½ feet tall at the shoulder** and measures roughly **4 feet in total length** from nose to tail. She weighs somewhere between **30 and 40 pounds**, though it’s difficult to be certain without a proper animal scale—especially since Clarise tend to squirm and fidget whenever someone tries to measure them.

You guys want a prototype?! No? Well here it is anyway. Claira's arm is not amputated at the elbow, instead it's at the shoulder in this.

My manga panel was not the only thing I was working on. Please enjoy this wonderful infected person reaching to devour you.

Feel free to give me some advice or critiques. I'm always happy to hear your comments.

Something traumatic happened.

Can you guess what it was?

Claira returns in this chapter… but she isn’t the same.

There’s something quieter about her. Heavier. Like she left a part of herself behind somewhere we haven’t seen yet.

Raphael notices immediately. He’s concerned — watching her a little too closely — but he doesn’t push. He lets her breathe. Lets her have space. Maybe because he knows she’ll shut down if he presses. Or maybe because he’s afraid of the answer.

Later, we see Claira finishing a few more journal pages. Her handwriting is steady… but her body isn’t.

Her amputated arm still aches with phantom pain — sharp, electric reminders of something that’s no longer there. Sometimes she reaches for something with a hand that doesn’t exist anymore.

They're out there

Yes

What is that thing

I don't know

Where will we go

I hope you guys like these pieces— I put a lot of time and thought into it. These are a few journal pages from my infection world, and I really wanted them to feel raw and unsettling, like something someone scribbled down while the world was actively falling apart.

It’s around 11 a.m. here and I haven’t slept yet, so I’m finally crashing. I’m exhausted, but I wanted to post this before I passed out.

When you look through the pages, imagine the writer deteriorating alongside the world — the handwriting getting messier, ink smudged like it was written with shaking hands, maybe even stained with something darker than ink. I tried to make it feel personal, desperate… like this journal might be the only proof that someone tried to understand what was happening.

I’d really love your critiques.

What parts stood out to you?

Was anything especially disturbing — or not disturbing enough?

Is there something you hope to see more of in this infection universe?

And here are some lined concept sketches I’ve been working on

I’m planning for the guy to be named Raphael — though most people call him Ralph — and the woman Claira

Ralph is an information specialist, the kind of man who lives buried in files, maps, medical journals, and half-corrupted data logs. He’s obsessively trying to cure a rampant disease — actually three separate strains — each one worse than the last. He tracks symptoms, mutation rates, survival cases, environmental triggers… but the more he uncovers, the more the patterns stop making sense.

There’s something off about him.

Maybe it’s just that he has a quiet crush on Claira. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s running on three hours of sleep *for the entire past week*. His eyes are always shadowed, hands trembling slightly when he thinks no one’s looking. He sometimes pauses mid-sentence, like he’s listening to something no one else can hear.

Or maybe it’s something else.

Does anyone actually remember how he got here?

No one can quite recall when he joined the survivors. He just… was there one day. Already with research. Already with answers. Already knowing too much.

---

Claira was one of the first casualties of the outbreak.

When the infection reached her arm, she didn’t hesitate. She refused to let it spread. In a moment of brutal clarity, she amputated her own arm to stop it.

But infections evolve.

The question lingers — did she truly remove it in time… or is it dormant? Waiting? Watching?

Sometimes she swears she feels phantom sensations. Not just pain — but movement. Like something is still there.

Despite everything, she somehow became the center of the survivor group. Not because she wanted to lead — but because people trust her. She’s steady. Practical. Fierce when she needs to be. The survivors built a tree village high above the forest floor — wooden walkways connecting towering trunks, rope bridges swaying in the wind, lanterns glowing at night like fallen stars caught in branches.

Up there, they’re safe.

Or at least, safer.

Claira moves across the platforms with practiced balance, one arm steadying supplies, the other sleeve pinned tight. She carries the weight of leadership quietly — and maybe the weight of something else, too.

---

I hope you guys are excited for this

I’m working on multiple pieces right now — concept sheets, environment shots, maybe some manga-style panels.

At this rate, I might have to pull an all-nighter.

Got some new mannequin poses ready!!! 👀

Can you guess what they’re for?

Spoiler alert: it has something to do with horror.

I know, I know—shocking, right? Who would’ve thought that from my page?

But seriously, I’ve been experimenting with more dramatic body language and distorted silhouettes. Twisted spines, unnatural angles, limbs bent just a little too far… the kind of poses that make you uncomfortable before you even know why. I’m trying to push past “basic standing figure” and really capture tension, fear, and that split-second-before-something-goes-wrong feeling.

These mannequins are just the base, but I can already see the shadows creeping in, the lighting getting harsher, the expressions turning hollow. This next piece is definitely leaning into unsettling territory.

BIG ART DROP!!!

This is what I’ve been grinding on for part of yesterday and most of today. I went into this with a few concept ideas in mind, plus some manga panel layouts I really wanted to experiment with — and honestly, seeing it finally come together feels so rewarding.

I tried pushing myself with the composition, panel flow, and small details in the expressions and background. There were so many moments where I had to erase, redraw, and rethink angles just to make it feel right. Manga pages look simple at first glance, but once you actually start building one? It’s intense. Balancing pacing, emotion, perspective, and clean line work all on a single page is no joke.

Seriously, this one page took forever. It challenged my patience and my skills in ways I didn’t expect. I have *major* respect for artists who create manga professionally — the amount of time, precision, and mental energy it takes is insane.

Well, if you guessed it was the background—you're absolutely right! Congratulations!

I really pushed myself with this piece, especially with the setting. I wanted the background to feel alive in its own unsettling way—like it’s not just scenery, but something watching, breathing, waiting. The shadows stretch a little too far, the shapes aren’t quite natural, and the atmosphere has that heavy, suffocating tension that makes you question what’s hiding just beyond the visible details (Other than it being monochrome).

I had so much fun exploring the eldritch horror concept in this artwork. Instead of relying on obvious monsters, I focused on distortion, scale, and the feeling of something ancient and incomprehensible looming just outside human understanding. Because tentacles with eyeballs clearly don't make sense. The environment itself hints at a presence—subtle warping, unnatural angles, textures that almost look organic if you stare long enough.

My favorite part, though, is the magic. I wanted the dragon’s power to feel cosmic, almost ancient, so I made the water swirl and shimmer like a galaxy—like the dragon isn’t just casting a spell, but bending something vast and celestial. If you look closely, I even added a faint reflection in the water. It’s subtle, but I think it adds a quiet, immersive detail that ties everything together.

I’m really trying to improve with every piece, especially with lighting, atmosphere, and making things feel alive instead of static. I might lean into something horror-themed for the next drawing—maybe darker tones, sharper contrasts, something a little unsettling.

As always, I’d genuinely love your criticism and thoughts. What works? What feels off? Is there anything I could push further—lighting, anatomy, perspective, color harmony? I’m trying to grow as an artist, so any advice is appreciated.

Reworked the dragon this morning and decided to experiment with the airbrush for the mountains in the background. It was a bit trickier than I expected—the mountains kept coming out really slanted, almost like they were sliding off the canvas. I was aiming to line them up with the mountain ridge I had already sketched, but the soft spray of the airbrush made it harder to control the angles cleanly.