2025 Art Recap and Thank you Message !! 🫶 (Patreon)

Hello everyone !!!

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday (if you celebrated) and a happy new year !! ❤️

Not only did I want to post an Art Recap for the year 2025, but I also wanted to post a small reflection on this past year - and I’ll try not to ramble on too much! :’)

(cw: pet loss, but happy ending - I’m doing better and looking forward to the future)

This past year has been a rollercoaster of emotions for me. As many of you know, I lost my beloved cat Chirp early in 2025, and the grief sent me into a very deep depression. I was so lost without her, I lost interest in everything, and I had no idea how I could possibly continue on. Every day felt like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from, and I truly didn’t believe I could ever feel happy again.

Receiving hundreds of messages of people expressing their condolences, and sending me pictures of their own pets that they cherish, was such a huge comfort for me. From people reminding me that Chirp will still be with me in my heart, to seeing little signs of her in my daily life - It was the only thing that kept me going.

Some people may find it silly to grieve over ‘just’ a pet, but she was so special, and so human, and she took up a huge part of my heart. I found Chirp when she was just a kitten, and I've spent the majority of my life with her; existing without her for the first time was alien, strange, and empty. Chirp had been with me through my lowest points in life, and at some points, she (and Nutmeg) were the only good things in my life. I’ve only really started healing and feeling like I can live a normal life in the past couple years, and I had hoped our peaceful happy home could have lasted longer.

Sophie and I recently adopted a kitten together named Opal, and it feels wonderful to open my heart again. What really drew me to her was how human her eyes are, in a similar way to Chirp, and I fell in love with her. Her loud and happy presence helps to fill the void, and I feel for the first time like I can be happy again and look forward to the future. (Side note - Opal and Nutmeg are getting along !! Opal wants to be friends so badly haha, and it’s so cute how much she looks up to Nutmeg :’) If anyone wants to see pics, I can post in the discord!)

These past couple months have been much better, and my interests have come back at full force. I want to keep drawing silly things that make me and other people happy, I want to improve drawing the characters I care so much about, and my life goals finally feel within reach.

Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive of me during this rough year. Your support, whether in the form of comments or likes or just silent lurking, has truly meant the world to me. The state of the world is rough, but the fact we can group together over our shared interests of art, fandom, and the silly little world of bkdk, is very special.

I hope my silly comics have brought you joy in the same way you all have brought me.

I apologize for the personal nature of this post, but I wanted to express my gratitude over how much your support of my art journey has truly helped me and given me a reason to keep going. So thank you so much for everything ❤️

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And on that note, I want to talk about a few (art) related goals I have for 2026 ! Here is my little list 🥹

Revamp my discord server with more movie nights, art streams, body doubling streams, giveaways, and other events!

Apply for artists alley at cons for the first time !!!

Make an art book of my art and comics !!

Dedicate 30 min (minimum!!) to drawing every day ! (I usually spend several hours, but I want to do 30 min even on busy days)

More bkdk comics and art !!! My goal is to post twice a week ^^

If you have any goals for this year, art/creativity related or not, I would love to hear them !!!! 🥰

I’m so excited for 2026, and I can’t wait to show you all what I have planned 🥹 I hope you look forward to it !!!!

I love you all so much ❤️ I hope everyone’s having a good start to the new year, and I'm cheering for you from my end !!

-Hanode 🧡💚