Wander the Paths - Sketch (Patreon)

First image done for 2025, and also the first image I did entirely on an iPad.

I admit, it was an expensive 2024, but I had to make changes because my health is definitely impacting my ability to work. So much so that I've been referred to a neurologist now. It could be a multitude of things, but I do know I have BADLY screwed up my shoulders and neck to a point where it might not be fixable.

I have an idiotic work-ethic. People sometimes brag about spending hours at work but to me it's just the opposite. Being tied to 'productive' and 'earning' has literally ruined my ability to sit at a computer, or treat the machine as something that can also offer 'fun' things.

The up-side is, short of some very annoying habits that the iPad has with Clip Studio (some of which I've been able to turn off), it works beautifully with the program. I was able to actually just find a comfortable position (Or one that just isn't as nerve-shatteringly painful) and work for the first time in ages.

The image is mostly a 'test' image. I wanted to draw some Lorrnath wandering a spring path, as the weather is warmer, and the trails between the clans are easier to see. I'm in the process of porting over my commissions and sketches to the 'lil' unit' as well, and with luck, it won't destroy my back using it.

Remember to stretch, and take that stuff seriously. After decades of hunching over a tablet and screen, and 10 hour days per week, my whole damn body literally shakes with 'enough'.

I'm sorry the last month wasn't productive. I just couldn't. In a very literal sense, every time I would sketch or colour anything, it would ruin my right shoulder a little more. I hope this turns things around.

I also hope everyone has a kind and gentle new year. 2024 was a hard one, the loss of one of my little fur-family still weighs heavy on me, but it wasn't all bad. I found some things that were happy things too. My hope for everyone is that they'll find more happy things.

Thank you all so much for sticking around. You've all been amazingly supportive through a time where I was physically (and at one point, mentally) falling apart. I owe you all a debt of gratitude I cannot ever approach to repay.

-T.J.