Kat's Post-Walk Feet -- Exclusive 3/24 (Patreon)

Kat plops down on her bed after a long day out with you, letting out an exasperated sigh as she clumsily pulls off her Converse trainers. She drops them unceremoniously onto her bed, not seeming to mind the sneakers potentially dirtying up her bedsheets. She scrunches and flexes her toes inside her black ankle socks, letting out a small groan.

"It's not even spring yet, and it was surprisingly-hot today! If I had known we were going to be doing so much walking, I wouldn't have worn these trainers..."

You agree, collapsing into a small lounge chair not far from the bedside, exhausted from the day's activities. You watch Kat lean back on her hands, bringing her knees into her chest to flex her ankles and toes, the short black socks clinging snugly to her feet. As she stretches, you catch a faint, warm scent with each flex -- was that the smell of her socks?

You shrug it off -- you don't mind it, even if it was unexpected. You offer to give her a foot rub, in the hopes of alleviating some of her pain.

"Really, you would do that?" she asks with a spark of surprise. "That...would be amazing, actually. I can't even remember the last time anyone offered to give me a massage!" Kat leans back a bit further, hesitating for a moment. "I'll keep my socks on, my feet are kind of sweaty..."

You chuckle and console her -- it doesn't bother you either way. Still, you lean in as she extends one leg into your lap, her sock-clad heel nestling on your thigh. You gently place your fingers on her foot, pressing your thumbs into the heel of her foot to start -- the pressure elicits a small moan of pleasure from your friend.

"Ooohh, that's so good."

-You can read the rest in a few days when I post the full little story! I've never done anything like this before, so I hope you like!-

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I know everyone says things like, "Oh I'm such a perfectionist, hahah", but I really felt it infringing on me while working on this piece. I'll blast through the sketch and lineart for the piece, and then I raise my head, and realize I've been rendering Kat's pants for 2 hours, when it should realistically only take me 30 minutes. For me, it's a constant battle between being fast, and being detailed -- and finding the right balance. I could, in theory, be a lot faster with my pieces, both Patreon and commission works -- but I have to hold myself accountable at every stage, reminding myself that, "Okay, I have 30 minutes to finish the lineart, no more." These little goals keep me moving, and prevent me from getting lost in the weeds, or focusing on little details that, even at 100% resolution, most viewers aren't going to even notice. Being faster means I also get Patreon pieces, and commissions, out in a more timely fashion, making everyone happy.

On the other hand, focusing too much on speed can result in me not paying enough attention. I can whip up a colored piece relatively-fast, but if I start rushing, it becomes obvious (at least to me). Renders look flatter, which is fine for a cel-shading style, but when it's done by accident rather than by design, it doesn't look quite right.

For this piece, I wanted to lean into the variants aspect, and depending on what you all think, I might focus more on variants in the future. It's a great way to get more "bang" out of a single piece, allowing people to pick and choose their favorites out of the set.