Spring is already springing here at Studio Mikarts. The temperatures have warmed up so much that I had to reduce the number of blankets on my bed in order to sleep well at night. I usually don't have to do that until late March π€― The sound of birdsong the past couple days has been so vibrant and energetic π΅πΆ I'm very much looking forward to the first flowers' blooming πΌ Not much longer until the March Equinox! But the purpose of this post is to take a moment to look back. Here's what I got up to in February, the last full month of winter.
Patreon Rewards
Last month, I started and finished another Maginaturalist's Sketchbook illustration. This one depicted Gaasyendietha, the Nessie of Lake Ontario. Studio Mikarts Patreon members who are signed up for physical rewards received giclΓ©e prints featuring this fiery dragon enjoying a starlit dive into the lake.
Patreon is the best way to support my creative work. Members' presence alone provides social proof to those who might be on the fence about joining, the funds they contribute help with costs such as digital art programs and physical art supplies, and most important of all, their belief in my work helps me keep creating! Click here to become a Patreon member today π
deviantART
The only piece I finished in February was Gaasyendietha, which makes it the default choice for my dA feature πΌ️
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| View, fave, and comment on dA. |
deviantART is another place where you can support my creative work. Commission me for a chibi caricature or become a member to get printable coloring pages! Thank you for your support π€
Livestreaming
I streamed three out of four weeks in February, having lots of fun making art and chatting with viewers on Twitch π Here's the recording of the last stream of the month:
Chibi Friday 120: Kara Di'ren, Part 3
Check out my schedule on Twitch to see when I'll be streaming this month. The first week of March (starting tomorrow!!) is going to be super special, so I hope to see you there! If you'd like to support me on Twitch, and get cute Studio Mikarts emotes in the bargain, just click here to subscribe ❤️
Charity Fundraising
Each month I use my Twitch streams to raise funds for a pro-animal charity. For February, I selected Vegan Outreach. Excitingly, Studio Mikarts supporter Wolfaxe2 donated the entire $10 to our fundraiser!
Thank you so much, Wolf, from me and all the animals that your donation helped!! π₯°π On top of that, each month I use my unique viewers count on Twitch to calculate my own donation to our featured charity.
I had 23 unique viewers in February. Using the formula $0.10 USD per viewer, min $10, max $100, that meant another $10 donation to Vegan Outreach π✨ (As usual, I covered the processing fees, as well.)
Thank you to everyone who donates to my fundraisers and visits my livestreams on Twitch. You truly help make my work so much more meaningful π₯Ή
Gryphia Progress
I'm excited to report that I finished the second draft of chapter one last month! Only eleven more chapters to go π
One of my goals for 2025 is to work on this project every workday. I managed to keep the streak going all through February!
As of today, I'm about halfway through draft two of chapter two. This part of the process is super fun, so daily work has actually been rather easy. In fact, I often find myself lamenting the fact that I can't spend more time on it!
Other News: Spring Cleaning
The last week of February was a Rest Week, which meant no livestreaming. I used that time instead to work on some miscellaneous tasks that have been languishing. The biggest of which was tidying my studio!
There's still plenty of tidying to do before I can call my workspace completely organized, but this is a huge improvement! There is no longer anything on the floor that doesn't belong there, which means I can access all of my supplies and tools, without shifting piles of stuff, for the first time in a couple years π I'm looking forward to tidying more during my next Rest Week!
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That's all for this roundup, thank you for reading until the end! It's getting nice and stormy outside, my favorite kind of weather π€© Is this a reward from Mother Nature for staying on task and getting this post done in a single day?! π Anyway, I'll be back again soon, probably with another Japan Adventure post! Until then, may you stay happy, healthy, and safe π
