Wellness Update - 8/25/2026

Hey everyone! It's been a while. Apologies for being so silent; I haven't been in the best mindset these past few months. It's gotten pretty rough, I'll be honest.

After I dropped Page 13 of Timeless Anthology #2, my motivation just tanked. I had wanted to take my birthday week off, maybe just an extra week since I've been releasing comic pages for the majority of the year. Again, I only wanted to take two weeks off, then get right back to work and cooking stuff up for you guys alongside finishing commissions, as I know I'm keeping a few of my clients waiting.

But two weeks became three weeks, then a month, and now almost two months...I just wasn't sure what was wrong with me.

I barely got out of bed; I wasn't eating right, I never left my room—all will to work or do anything really just left me. I figured it was just burnout, and I felt it was better to ride it out and wait for my drive to return like I usually do, but it was a horrid state to be in.

I had fallen ill early this month with a wicked sinus infection. It felt like every crevice in my head was filled with painful pressure. It sucked. It REALLY sucked, and I was like that for about a week or more. I usually get a little sick when the seasons change, but it never got THIS bad. Since then, it's been a struggle to get back to work, or even open my creative applications without feeling a sense of repulsion. Which was very worrying to me because while I've had low motivation in the past, it never became a mental refusal to do anything other than rot in bed. It wasn't fun, and I felt horrible.

At some point, I figured my burnout had just developed into some manner of depression or something else was keeping my spirits low, so I decided to turn to games and watching shows. Because I work so hard on my art, I never really allow myself to catch up on whatever's coming out, so I thought I'd try to relax and get some inspiration for when I returned. So I 100%'ed Splatoon Raiders, and finally watched the entirety of Panty & Stocking's second season. While it helped in the moment, when I tried to draw, that dread came back, and I returned to rotting in bed.

The past few weeks have been a cycle like this, and it hasn't been good for my mental. I wanted to make an update like this earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to update everyone until I felt I was back to normal. And in some ways, I'm doing better. I took the time to clear out my inboxes, clean up my space, and really self-assess when my head wasn't cloudy.

I've never really taken my mental health seriously. I've always tied a lot of my worth to my work and how successful I am. Not in the form of superficial statistics like social media clout, but personal fulfillment. My younger brother and I were going through similar struggles, and we talked about it. I soon realized I've been holding myself to impossible expectations. I'd find myself planning several projects at once—a recurring issue—and getting distracted, obsessing over pushing out more and more content.

I was doing so well earlier this year. I was focused, I had a good schedule and was working at a decent pace...but the lingering idea that I wasn't doing enough kept whittling away at that, and soon it became really hard to focus on just one thing. After that, it was just full-on decision paralysis. I'd open Clip Studio Paint and didn't have the slightest clue of what I should be working on...and so I did nothing, which isn't great.

While I feel a lot better now than I was a week or so ago, I know better than to act as if nothing happened. There are things I need to change about myself, because it's obvious I've been going about this content-creating thing wrong.

With that in mind, I want to take more time to learn my fundamentals. I never really had formal "art training"; I've been self-taught from day one. Thus, I've never really sat down to learn things like anatomy, form and color; I've kind of just been winging it this whole time. People think my work is great, and I appreciate that! But I think my lack of confidence in bringing certain ideas out of my head and onto the canvas may have contributed to my reluctance to create. I rationalized that because I had an ongoing comic and so many patrons that if I took time away from production to sharpen my skills, it would be a disservice. With the long-time realization that I have plateaued and have a deep-rooted desire to become better, I want to give myself the time to improve so I can make my art and comics look a lot better than they do now. Perhaps I was making excuses to convince myself not to see the value in that, but I shouldn't think like that anymore.

So I want to tell you all that I am coming back to making art. Unless something really terrible happens to me, God forbid—I don't plan on quitting at all. Content is going to be a bit slow and somewhat sporadic while I focus on becoming a better artist and getting back into a comfortable workflow again.

I'm going to take my time to build up my drive by working on smaller illustrations and getting through my commission queue. I do have a lot of WIPs that I'd like to finish, like the Sasha Waybright Stack, the Peridot Duplex, the Beach Day Shorts, and some other stuff. So I'll be getting through that backlog in the coming weeks as a way to shake off my rust. Timeless Anthology and Sequence Zero: Prototype remain my comic focuses, though there are other ideas I have that I'd like to just make one-off illustrations or shorts for, so be prepared to see some concepts and ideas I've been sitting on for a while. I will say that you shouldn't take every piece of work I do as an announcement of a new comic project or the like; if I do have something like that planned, there'll be an official solicitation or a similar announcement. The series titles and logos I create just help distinguish my fanart and keep me organized, while also ducking unfavorable parties. Don't expect weekly releases like before, at least not right now. Though I'll try not to go an entire month without some sort of update here, hopefully!

I hate having to take time off like this unannounced, but now I know that there are areas in my life that I haven't figured out, and it's those struggles that are continuing to hold me back. I shouldn't feel bad about taking more time for myself, and I should learn to cultivate a better work-life balance. If I'm not doing well, then you guys can't have the comics you like to read, and I don't get the fulfillment of making something awesome.

You know, the funny thing is that after writing all this out, I'm starting to feel a lot better. I don't usually talk to anyone about my problems; I believe the internet has become a dangerous place to be genuine and personal, and shouldn't be used as a means to cope with your inner demons. I also don't like burdening others with problems I've always thought better to deal with on my own. It's just how I was raised and what governs a lot of my interactions and how I act online. But typing all of this out into Notepad and voicing every word as if I'm talking to someone is really cathartic. I feel a little less trapped. Perhaps one day I can allow myself to be more candid with my feelings; not only to myself but to others in my life.

I hope this explains why I've been inactive for so long. I really do miss drawing stuff for you guys, and I'd like to get back to that. But I need to focus on improving my life away from the canvas so I can be better for myself and for those who wish to see me well. Again, thank you so much for sticking around and being patient with me. I really don't deserve you guys, but I'm glad you think I do. I wouldn't be here putting my skills to use and enjoying the opportunities I've longed for without your support and understanding, and it's my promise to continue to create quality art and stories for you all to enjoy for as long as I can.

Thank you for your time. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your support. I love you guys. I'll see you in the next piece of peak. <3