reflecting on 2025's ins and outs

 hi! 

one of my last posts here on my blog was ins & outs for 2025 so I'd like to go through them and see how I did! 

2025 art ins! - how did I do?

✰ hand-writing intricate and unusual fonts 

I started January 2025 strong with these sticker designs ⬇️ 

but that's about it for this one. I do like the look of handwritten text but it just didn't show up a lot in my 2025 art.

✰ comics about the mundane and being a human

YES!!! I made & released red eyed and blue, a stream of consciousness comic about vices and habits.

I spent a lot of time on this comic & love how it turned out. you can read it in the oat bag issue #2 or on my substack. you can also read this interview that just came out about the comic!

here's a look at some of the pages!

✰ poetry (in comics or elsewhere)

I did start Writing more! I made an active effort to write down any phrases or ideas that had potential, or at least seemed like they did. I also made an effort to start feeling more comfortable with writing, being a writer, having people see what I write, etc.

(and by writing, I mean poetry and comics, mostly. a big part of my Long Term Comic Project is music, so I figured writing poetry can kind of bridge the gap between not knowing anything about songwriting and maybe knowing something.)

(another thing on that -- I just started reading How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy. [thank you Claire for getting it for me!] I love Jeff's perspective on creative stuff so I think that's naturally a good place to start.)

✰ choosing colors and materials based on what feels right / or just randomly

I did this !!! A LOT!! I explored so many materials the past year. 

I went hard w the paint pens in 2025. im not sure if ive talked about it here, but I discovered a good fix to easily-dry-out-able paint pens is using them on a shiny surface instead of just paper! 

so I did that a bunch

this one was on packing tape. super fun !!!  10/10 would recommend 

another challenge I faced with paint pens was limited color options, so I tried blocking out colors & them bringing it into my iPad and editing on procreate, which I did with this drawing: 

left image: paint pen

right image: edited on procreate

one more fun paint pen thing to mention: I used this method of toning the paper with alcohol markers, then switching between paint pen and colored pencil to add more to it later. I love the look of it. 

this one ^ was done that way

I also used acrylic paint in a blockier way than I had done a whole lot before. 

here's a couple paintings I did in 2025 like that:

again, so fun.

a BIG development in my creative practice the past year was buying some Nicer watercolors! I'd always used the cheapest ones I could find, but I splurged on a slightly less cheap travel palette and im so glad I did. 

      

I did a lot of ink & watercolor illustrations like these, but I also did all of red-eyed and blue with these new watercolors AND a really fun commission for a friend! 

this ^ commission started a series of quilted landscapes that were VERY fun . 

✰ line art in a color other than black

honestly? I did not do this one very much. but that's okay. 

it does remind me that I've been doing lots of watercolor drawings with colored pencil line art. extremely fun, btw. 

✰ water soluble graphite pencils (specifically in comics! but also in other things!)

nah, did not do this one at ALL. I'm not sure if I did anything with the water pencils I have. but I do really enjoy them and maybe i'll make it an "in" for 2026 to use them.

✰ posting art on social media - to share my art and inspire, not just to get Views and Likes

yes! I believe I succeeded on this one. I've made some new friends & connected with some new people! 

well that concludes our post for today. moral of the story is: sometimes you make several New Years resolutions and only one of them sticks, but thats ok. it's like mbmbam's name for 2026. iykyk.

have a great day every1 luv u buh bye