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Hello again! It's been another crazy week for me 😅 But I did manage to at least get a few sprites done.

Current Image Finalization: 234/743 | 31%

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I took a few days off at the beginning of the week, but they ended up being a bit hectic regardless due to my home-buying endeavours.

I'll say the bottom line right away for people who'd rather skip this chunk of details: My offer on the apartment/condo was accepted! Right now the sale is 'pending', because I haven't cleared my own conditions on it yet.

[ The following has nothing to do with my work and is just about the process of home-buying so skip ahead for YKMET related stuff! ]

This is a mix of small-bad-news and big-good-news! The bad news is that I will have to do more work and take time out of my schedule to finish the buying process, and eventually go through renovation process and moving process. [ the unit is so run-down that I need to do some basic renovations before moving in. It's like Jack TPOF used to live there- it stinks quite badly of old cigarettes, has a broken window, and all the appliances are ancient and possibly broken 😂 but it was far enough under budget that I can afford to fix the floors/paint/window at least ]

The good news is that eventually, it will be my home and will have enough space for me to have a real office and a whole room just to store merch. This means that I will eventually be a lot more free to expand my merch and make new products!

It's been quite a whirlwind of learning new things and paperwork type stuff. I spent a couple hours at the realty office talking with the selling realtor who turned out to be really nice and infinitely helpful. She's helped me understand the process so much. Normally I wouldn't want to trust the seller's realtor, but in the case of a foreclosure, she's actually working for the bank [ who owns the property now ] and not a person. So the dynamic is a bit different.

I've researched and made contact with both an inspector and a lawyer, which I will need to finish this process.

I also had to do a lot of reading of condo bylaws and the available out-of-date condo rules I could get my hands on from the unit.

The only rule that's causing me pain is that apparently the building has a strict 1-pet limit. My dream of adopting a bonded pair of cats is dashed. I'm mourning the loss, but this deal is too good. I will have to make my peace with eventually adopting one cat and loving him/her twice as much.

My two conditions that aren't cleared yet are the inspection [ I know the place is run down already but I need to know exactly how so I can target my renovations properly ] and my own reviewal of the condo documents- which are about 15 different documents that I had to buy online for $270 [ ouch... ] Stuff like the up-to-date bylaws, condo rules, history of the building, insurance information, condo board meeting minutes, condo board budgets, proof of reserve funds.... it's going to be extremely boring. But it must be done. The website won't give me those docs for 10 days though so that's a problem for future Gato.

Am I insane enough to elect myself to join the condo board at the next meeting so I can call a vote to change the pet rule from within? I might be. I might be that insane.

But one step at a time. I'm trying not to get over my skis here.

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In terms of game work, I have to immediately admit that my offering is bit pathetic in light of all the other stuff I've been up to.

I switched back to sprites because I just don't have the brain capacity to learn anything new right now. I need something I'm really used to doing that doesn't involve a lot of decisions. I wish I never had to make another decision again LMAO

I finalized the base for a pretty common Strade pose, starting with some strongish alterations to the body anatomy/pose:

[ placeholder/old version ]

[ new version ]

Here's a finalized combined sprite:

This particular pose shows up fairly often in the game so there was a lot of expression variants to draw for it [ lucky for me, needing some easy work LMAO ]

Here's a couple:

 

And that is all I have to offer this week 😅

I swear it won't be like this forever! I'm just kinda strugglin' and jugglin' here for now.

But I do want to thank you guys so much for your support. I know I say it every week, but I mean it every week. Sometimes it feels like I'm just LARPing as some character that knows what she's doing and it's so fucking scary to do all these things. But when I read the nice things you guys have said in the comments, it makes me feel like I can really do it if I just keep my head up.

You guys give me so damn much. 6 years ago I thought my life was over, and now I'm doing things I never thought were possible for me. You could never know how much it means to me.

But anyway, thank you. I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

Files

Comments

stellarcorpse

Congrats on the house! I feel like a fake adult just trying to rent a new apartment, relatable lol 😂

SproutMole

such a handsome man. 🤭❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥 My heart is melting.

heartsgorexxx

HES SO 🥺 everything looks so good!! <3

Sly

I actually really enjoy hearing about finding your own place. Also gives me an idea of what to keep an eye out for when looking for my own home. All tips are appreciated honestly. Ugh... Strade is so fine. I love his design so much.

lawrence

congratulations on getting the new home! i know it's going to be a rocky start, but i have hope that everything will go well for you! its always been a struggle with moving and honestly it's quite a similarity to my situation as well! 😂 but beside from that, strades sprite process never fails to amaze me! he just looks just as handsome as he always was and im just so excited for when i get my hands on this game. thank you for this update gato, have a safe weekend yourself and take care! 💓

Nick Miller

Congrats on your offer being accepted!! Please take care to not overdo it <3 if you need time to deal with the hassles of closing, renovating, moving, etc- take a break! We love you, and your games, and are more than happy to wait a bit longer to make sure you're in a good and safe place (physically and mentally).

toothtoucher

gato the scream I just scrumpt. HE IS SO DELICIOUS LOOKING I CAN'T HANDLE IT

Taheca

Congrats on the condo! Even if it is currently in awful condition right now, and you have to do *shudders* PAPERWORK, but still, a bigger place! And yeah, understandable needing to go to the familiar and having less work done this week due to irl stuff. That said, Strade looks good 👀 (...okay he always looks good, BUT STILL) "Maybe it's a little... perverted" LMAO He looks so nervous and like STRADE YOU ARE *FAR* PAST THE POINT OF WORRYING ABOUT BEING JUDGED HERE Anyway, take care! Edit: Wait I just realized "You were sleeping very deeply!" Strade what were you doing that you expected to wake us up

plapx3

Wow, that guy looks so adorable! He definitely won't cause us unending torment!

Villain_Simp

I hope i can be there for you 6 years ago too! It’s a shame that i found you and your games this year :< But I’m glad I get to know you! My first ever idol!! I’ll support you all the way to the end no matter what happen 🥰💞💞 thank you for your hard work and i hope you have a wonderful week! (I’ve been waiting for this update since last Saturday. Your work always inspired me and give me motivation!! You’re very talented doing all of these by yourself is just amazing!!!) also good luck with the apartment ^^ I also want to ask something unnecessary and kinda- childish? But what do you think of my profile picture so far? I try my best to make her look like your art (the light is kinda hard but it was very fun!) also i didn’t mean to copy your style as mine! I just want to feel like she was in the game too. If you’re not okay with this i will immediately take these pictures down. Thank you for your hard work again!! 🙏💞💞

AL3X

huge tip for getting the cigarette smell out of a house is clean or strip the walls before painting them the smell usually sticks to that!! (also forgot to mention last update the cards are very cool cant wait to finish my keychain collection once the new card are being used since I already have 4 of the current cards 😭😭)

fen 🍎

i love you so much gato i cant think of any sentimental words right now to tell you how inspiring you are lol

Pfincess

DO IT GATO CHANGE THE LAW!!! Make 2 cats legal!

Loretti

Congrats on winning the bidding war!! I know it's so stressful and draining, but eventually when the work is all finished you'll be on cloud 9 in your new place, able to make it YOURS. The sprites are great as always, I like the adjusted pose (feels more authentic? Idk if that's the word) and omfg his smile in the last one is getting me 👀

Smilingfemsweden

Oohhh congratulations!! :3 and waaaaa Strade looks so adorableeeee \(//∇//)\

carousel

moving is absolutely one of the most stressful things to go through. definitely go easy on yourself. that condo sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

DreamerofThede

Awww Strade’s smile is so 💘💘💘💘💘

Moon

It wuld be very cool if you culd get them to chabge the 1 pet rule hihi, im glad ouer coments make u feel good while reeding them, you know we all love you! Have a great new week!

happy cow

Hope everything goes smoothly for ya. lord knows how much of a pain in the ass moving can be, especially on ur own. 😩🤌

Alice

Sending good vibes your way! I hope everything works out with your new place! : D

Soup

Your own place, thats actually crazy and just seriously amazing. After everything, you truly deserve a place of your own to call home. ^-^ Maybe the board would be willing to make a exception if Its a bonded pair of rescues and maybe if you pay the condo a pet fee? Just tossing ideas but it never hurts to check.

Gatobob

In this economy!?!? absolutely not! It's certainly hard enough to rent LMAO

Rebeccah

Congratulations!! Best of luck with renovations and everything! I would recommend getting two identical cats so nobody realizes there’s two of them. Also this man will be the death of me (that’s the whole point). Those expressions, what a gift

Alex

The process of having your own place is really long! It's facinating to know about it, as someone that doesn't have a place of their own. I'm really proud of you Gato! Hope you can have your pair of Kitty cats in the future!💚 Also the Strade sprites 😳😳😳😳 MEOW I need him carnaly (the way he looks in the second pic it's just perfeeeeect 💚💚💚💚) Thanks for the update! I love to know about you and the game process, have a nice weekend dear Gato 💚

Gatobob

I love it! She's so cute!!! And I don't mind you trying out my art style at all! It's very flattering and I think trying on other people's styles is a great way to learn new things ^o^

Gatobob

Thank you for the tip! I'll ask whatever contractor I end up hiring for extra advice too- my parents happen to have some names they trust so I'm lucky there. I bet an expert will have that place looking [ and smelling ] like brand new haha!

Kaeli Zweber

Congrats on getting the apartment Gato!!! And take all the time you need to get everything settled, we'll wait however long it takes for you to get back to game stuff!

Gatobob

You reminded me of a horrible stupid thought I had about it too. For some reason I imagined getting one cat and naming it 'Two Cats' but then I figured, that might be hell for his/her eventual veterinarian records LMAO

Gatobob

I'm DEFINITELY gonna ask for sure, and even try to bribe them by offering higher condo fees. It's worth a try!

Unifuckincorn

Im so happy for you about the condo! Manifesting good fortune for you always <3 Also, my ass would try to change the 1 pet rule too LMAO

Pfincess

Maybe, but that's a small price to pay for two cats

violet ౨ৎ

omg so proud of u gato!!!! I don’t know if this is weird too say but I honestly look up to your courage. you have been through so much and have dealt with it all so strongly whilst ALSO working on your games all by yourself!!! you’re honestly one of the strongest people I’ve ever seen, I can’t say it enough but I genuinely am so proud of you. also please make sure you are rewarding yourself and taking breaks when you feel like things are too much!! i can’t help but worry sometimes aha (especially during moving because it can be so stressful <\3) also if u end up getting ur cats is it ok if u could show us?? u don’t have too of course but it would be so cute ajajhshs anyways im rambling but thank you sm for your hard work !!

Boneberry

Congrats on the condo! It can't hurt to speak up about the cat rule, its worth giving a chance ^_^ and Strade looks beautiful as always, i am forever obsessed with your redesign!

Adam + Pj

Congrats on the place, Gato!!! 🎊🎉 I hope you are able to figure out the kitty thing. Cat distribution system sent us 2 little chonkers last September, (Nebelung and a Tabby) and it's the best thing to ever happened to us. 1 pet rules are understandable on paper but imo, silly irl- who only wants 1 fur baby?

HilKaro

I wish you a lot of patience when it comes to renovating your new house. I don't know what it's like where you live, but where I live, all the professionals suck (the good ones probably went abroad, lol). It's good that my husband is capable, but what am I getting at? Living in a house that is being renovated is a real nightmare (unless you like cleaning endless supplies of white dust). I keep my fingers crossed that everything (especially the paperwork) goes smoothly and without any difficulties, and that you manage to apply for an increase in the number of animals. I have one cat and I promised myself I wouldn't have any more, but... it's kind of difficult, I'm already thinking about another one, lol

kikibadger

I'm so glad to hear that your long-term goals are coming to fruition. It can be a lot of stress to work toward them, but one day these moments will be just a memory as you enjoy the things you work so hard for. Good luck with everything! And I do so love Strade's expressions. He's so adorable for such a horrible man. :3

plapx3

Unrelated but heeyy fellow new fan! If you discovered the games in april we will be the same.

Masked Foxx

100% petition to increase the pet limit and achieve your dream of having bonded kitties. Just from a logical standpoint: a lot of common pet animals are very social and don't like being by themselves and it's a little cruel to just have one when they need friends to be comfortable. Speaking from experience: my Bala Shark is an absolute psycho and has what I lovingly refer to as 'fishues' cuz his species prefers to be in groups of that least six! (Sadly they are way too big to get more, and the people we initially rescues Sharky from didn't know anything about his species' social needs :'( )

Villain_Simp

I don’t remember the exact time but i guess it’s around April since Im on my summer break at the time! ^^

Villain_Simp

Thank you so much!! This will cheer me up the entire week THANK YOUUU ><

Gory.goodboy

I’m so so happy for you gato and I hope the home is all cozy and you settle in great! You deserve a good place and I hope this new apartment can be that! Hopefully the small fixes aren’t to hard on you! The way I SQUEALED at the coloured sprites AAAAAA SO FUCKING CUTE HIS SMILE I LOVE YOU GATO HAVE A LOVELY WEEKEND!! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

Nebou

have you considered getting two cats that are identical? lol, i own a condo myself, and depending on where you live/what rule you've broken, the worst you'd have to do is pay a fine. totally understandable if you want to follow the rules though, especially if you have a chance to change them to your will : D i hope the condo-buying process/inspection goes smoothly for you!

Leo ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✨

Dang it TPOF!Jack, couldn't you have left Gato's future home better off than where you left it?! Damn... 🐺 🙄 That aside, congrats on planting the first seeds towards your new residence! Many worthwhile projects tend to take some grind and time, but I know you got the patient attitude and guts for playing the long game! 💪😎 🔥 Having rooms solely dedicated to work and merch sounds like a dream... 🤤 As for doing renovations, it might be good to skim tips of "How to Prevent Scope Creep in a Renovation Project" especially if you're involving others and leaning on their expertise (so called and otherwise eg. parents)! 🤔 [Psppsppsp, I also hope fate is benevolent and allows you to somehow workaround the 1-cat law via having very lax neighbors, having an "accidental" stray that often sleeps over, or some other creative means! 🍀😺] And don't feel bad for switching back to sprites, if you are! "Decision fatigue" is a very real and studied phenomenon among medical/social science circles, so you aren't alone there! Good on you for switching mental tracks when needed, instead of rigidly forcing yourself to work on music (and possibly burn yourself out further in the process). You're definitely a professional creative worth learning from, IMO! 😁 Everybody is responsible for their own self-development OFC, but I imagine some aspiring artists/freelancers can learn a thing or two when it comes to hidden, "softer" skills that go into being in a business for yourself (ie. Project/self-management, self-care, healthy public/private boundaries etc.). Nobody's perfect, but it's obvious you're trying to learn and doing your best. (P.S: Strade's precious laughing face gives me life. 🥹💕 ...even as he probs be laughing at my pain and misery...🤣 )

spongeunction

The talk of new merch has me going fearel... I love how sheepish he is here OMG...

angel

i need to nut in that mouth of his

Cam Chameleon

I hope you’re able to work something out with your dual-cat dream! But I just hope even if things don’t go as planned, you still end up not wanting for anything by the end :) 💛💛💛

PennyFaust

It's such a process buying a house, I'm glad you got the condo you wanted, though, and have the budget to do the necessary work! It's impressive that you got anything done at all for the game with so much going on. I hope you get a chance to relax at some point soon, and best wishes for your home buying experience!

chiral

Just "a little" perverted, Mr. Strade? (Congrats on the new place btw!)

sirstraws

he looks so cute!! 🧡 loving the art!

Sumi

House renovations are no joke! 😅 seriously, take ur time with everything in regards to game development. My fiancé and I got our house a year ago and we are STILL working on making the place our own (bc it is also ancient w ancient everything lol). I'm so happy to hear about such a wonderful accomplishment tho! And like everyone else in the chat, we all hope that one day you'll be able to own more than one kitty 🥰 I mean, for real, I wonder what makes ppl so set on weird pet limits 🤔 I can understand if it were a number like 4+, but I feel like it's pretty normal for people to have around 2-3 pets in the house. Anyway, congrats on everything, and breaks aren't smth to be sorry for! As people, we work to live, not live to work (though I will say you obviously love what you do! Not trying to say you don't 🤣) I think we all appreciate each other around here and it's a rlly nice homey feeling in this comment section. Wish y'all a great week and stay cool! ((Strade's arm .. I want to gnaw on it))

Sapphire

I'm happy to hear you're in the process of getting the condo! And good luck with all the paperwork and renovations

Corruptfoxarc

congrats on the process of the condo! also loving how silly Strade's face is, kinda makes you forget for a second that you are royally fucked and moments before death

ButcheredBluejay

OUGH SWEET STRADE SMILE!!!! i hope the home buying process continues to go well for you!! :3

𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑃𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑦 ❤︎ 𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑑'𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑖𝑟

I am so excited for you to have your own condo! That’s a really huge thing and you should be SO proud! 💞 We love seeing updates, whether they’re about your game or not, because we really look up to everything you done! You’re seriously such an inspiration that improvement and change is real, and your hard work is absolutely paying off! Wishing for even more success, and that you’ll be able to get those bonded kitties! 💞

Phoenix Astra's Art Patreon

Omg your art style is amazing! I'm really happy your gonna have your own condo!! That's huge, and fantastic! It will be so nice to have a home to call your own!

ジェイ

I cannot wait to play thisssss

korilakkumya

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH HE'S COMING TO LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unluckies

Not to long ago we were house hunting so I feel you on how life-consuming that process is, it was the only conversation we had with anyone for a few weeks lol good luck! Take your time, quality over quantity <3 love the updates!

Ghoulcraig

Hello it’s me again, your fan from Peru wanted to ask you only if you want to answer if it is possible that in this new game we will see the Lore de strade, something like it happened in btd2 that we were able to get to know Ren in depth, I wish you luck and have a nice week!!

Gatobob

There is much more writing in this game than the old versions, so I would say there's more lore, yes :)

plapx3

No matter where you are, everyone is always connected! btw your oc is cute @_@

Villain_Simp

OMG THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!!! 💞💞💞💞

Lupin111

The amount of hope i have to see this man on his hands and knees in front of me in at least one ending. i need him to bark.

megan

lovely work with the sprites, as always! i hope things go well with the unit, hopefully renovation won't have too many hurdles of its own and everything goes smoothly! definitely a stresser under normal circumstances, moving, so added trying to get the office and merch space you want - if you need time after to de-stress, take it!

Some_Joker

Ahhh these sprites look so good and I am so happy to hear you're in the process of getting a good workspace :D

6RobotMonster6

Sneak the second cat in, its fiiiiiine it will be ok I promise /the devil on your shoulder LOL

HilKaro

Difficulties on all sides... and is there no other platform where you could sell your merch in peace? Maybe it's worth considering this option? maybe it would also be a chance for people who can't use etsy (no shipping to some countries, including Poland 😭). below will be my gibberish regarding Ren, you can absolutely ignore it: Will it be possible to fight Ren? why would I fight with my beloved teddy bear? Apart from the fact that I probably wouldn't have the slightest chance against him, after a few sessions with Strade I probably wouldn't be in great shape and the fox would certainly easily turn me into a piece of crap. But this gives us a logical picture of the events - we attack Ren with a knife, we tear his shirt, he throws himself at us and we fight on the floor (he is on top oh ah), because of the noise a German comes and then we have a chance to defend Ren or play it our way advantage. well, I can't wait!