In case you were wondering

sappy post incoming, but this is just me yapping like always!!!

you know, after receiving that ask from The Anon, I think my entire world has changed

at the time when I first read it, I think I was just so flooded by emotion that I didn't truly register what it said, even if I read it like three or four times before I eventually answered. I think I still feel overwhelmed as we speak

it has inadvertently caused 800 people READING the ask on twitter to look at my work and decide "hey, this anon was really on to something! I should follow this artist too!"

I'm about to really get busy with work this year, which means I won't be able to draw for myself as much. as a result, I've been rushing to put as many of my ideas to paper as I can while I have the time. it's also been an incredibly happy coincidence that I've been enjoying media again to the point where it inspires me to make things. in case you didn't know, I haven't felt this way about any piece of media since 2018 and it made me really sad. it definitely got in the way of my desire to make art, coupled with the severe burnout I suffered from my first ever office job and the things I endured during the pandemic. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I drew for myself (and not for work) in a span of 4-5 years.

but now every day when I wake up, I feel so happy. even when I'm tired, even when I have nothing left in the pantry to cook lol. happy to be an artist, happy that people see and even sometimes LIKE the things I share, happy to be me. which is really really nice when you haven't felt that way in so long. it's great!!!!

anyway eat your meals and get enough sleep! life is long and you are living it!

the original anon actually did send another ask in reponse to people's reactions to the first, so I hope they also see that they moved you to write this. more evidence of the influence they've had on others just by saying what was in their heart!

I'm so grateful that you found me and my work because of the beautiful things they said. lately I've been feeling so overwhelmed by people's comments on my art that I don't even think I have the right words to convey how grateful I am just to read them!

in my case, it's also hard to verbalize "comment make HAPPY" but hopefully you get the point too :')

thank you, thank you, thank you!

I'm so sad to hear that you were going through some tough times when you wrote your original ask, but I hope you know just how much you've moved people by writing what you did.

twenty-one THOUSAND people have read what you had to say! please feel free to read through the comments and quote retweets yourself to see how you've made people realize that they'd been doing this all along and you just happened to word it perfectly, or look to the future with hope that someday they can make art that can make people feel the way you felt about mine.

and this is just a lovely side-effect of sharing your words with others, but it actually drew quite a LOT of people to my twitter page to follow me because they felt that they just HAD to see the work of the artist who could elicit such heartfelt words of appreciation. I'd been feeling really down about my growth over the last several years because art is my job, and when people can't see what I do it might affect my livelihood (or even just the enjoyment of sharing my work altogether).

you've really made a difference!! you're the best!!

no lie, this is truly the most thoughtful comment I have ever received in my time as an artist sharing work on the internet (and I think I've been doing this for 14 years). I don't think I'll receive greater praise than this and I want to say thank you for taking the time to not only give my art another look, but for writing this for me!

the unknowable man