November Recap + Future Projects (Patreon)

Another month in the bank! Thanks to all of you for supporting me this month and, more broadly, this year. 2021 has been a tumultuous year to say the least, and while overall I’m grateful for all the change and growth, I’m also hella ready to move forward. With that said, let me get you up to speed on what’s been going on.

Chapter One: Healing and Coming Home

Most of you know that I’ve been going through a lot of tumultuous stuff this year. Friends and loved ones have gone through hell, and I’ve been in the trenches right there next to them. Mom got hospitalized, grandma passed away, my boyfriend went through all kind of shit. In the midst of that I came face to face with the full my own trauma, and made the choice to get care and start healing. The greatest upheaval happened around June-July, when I finally admitted my transness and accepted that I had CPTSD.

Starting in late October, therapy and healing work started to produce tangible results. My nerve pain begain to subside, my posture began to slowly correct itself, the dysphoria and dissociation began to lift. Suddenly I had access to faculties of creativity and cognition I hadn’t had since my early teens. It was like waking up from a dream. My time spent in a sketchbook shot through the roof - just look at how many pages are in the sketchbook file!! Over forty full pages of sketches, studies, and experiments, and that’s *not* counting all the physical doodles on whatever spare paper I could find. Holy fuck!

I found myself going back to the things that first got me to draw - watching classic anime, reading comics I hadn’t picked up in a decade, even watching Saint Bob of Ross share the Joy of Painting. (You know what? Those trees are happy, god damn it, and so am I. How about that shit?) With that came more inspiration, more burning desire to create, and something new - the freedom and capacity to do so.

Just when I thought “this can’t possibly keep getting better,” a miracle occured.

Chapter Two: The Magic of Comics

I was barely beginning to explore this newfound joy when an opportunity fell into my lap that I could not ignore: I was contacted to do a guest comic for Oh Joy Sex Toy, a sex-posi webcomic I’ve been following since it started. The request came out of the clear blue sky. (It came in less that 24 hours after I did a chaos magic ritual that involved, I shit you not, Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy. Chew on that if you’re magically curious.)

Suddenly everything changed. I looked at the mountain of commissions I still needed to get past - a pile that had grown steadily as the upheaval in my life had escalated, leaving me with little time and fewer spoons - and decided I would take the job anyway. Because comics were, are, and shall remain my first and dearest love.

I’ve spent over two decades loving comics from afar, too scared to give myself over to that love for fear of falling on my face. Sure, I did a couple little ones here and there - pushing through the pain and brain fog for love’s sake - but I could never just let go and truly enjoy it. And here was a message from the Universe, the spirit world, whatever you want to call it saying in no uncertain terms that I should follow my heart.

So I did.

I made the comic. It’s done, submitted, approved, and coming out sometime between December and March. [EDIT: Release date is December 21st, just before the new Matrix film! My cyberpunk trans girl ass is so excited.] Five pages of pure love (and sex) on the canvas. I posted a spare few WIP shots on Discord because I couldn’t contain the excitement one bit. I’m still talking with Matthew, my point of contact, as to whether I can share it with my patrons before it goes live on their site. If I can, you will be seeing it very soon. If not, the moment I can, it’s yours. I have full creative rights to it, to do with as I wish, and I have big plans for it.

Chapter Three: Fire in the Sky

It’s time to pull the trigger on a rebrand I’ve been planning eversince I realized I was a girl. Skyfire - my new surname, taken from our ancestors, the stars. Credit where it’s due, this name was gifted to me by one of my patron spirits, the Lord of the Crossroads, Lucifer. (Take the high weirdness with as much salt you need to, I’m not here to force you into a worldview, just sharing mine. Y’all know I’m a witch, haha.)

Blue Wizard Art was a name that served me well when I was in survival mode, desperately trying to reinvent myself and find meaning. I don’t regret it, and I’ll miss it in some ways. But Alatar didn’t know what they were becoming, they just knew they had to follow their heart and see where it went. Now I know who I am and, roughly, where I’m going. So the old names get to rest, their hard work accomplished. (Thanks, Al. I’ll always love you.)

From here out, my chief focus will be making comics. [EDIT: Originally, I planned to make my first comic project an expansion of the OJST comic. However, since they have exclusive posting rights for 4 months after publication, I will instead be pursuing a different small project, details forthcoming shortly.] I have a few ideas for projects, big and small. I’ll share details as they emerge. But I’ll tell you they’re going to be labors of deep love - I’m bringing every ounce of skill, every erg of energy I can to them. No holds barred, no expense spared, no passion withheld. I want to make the absolute best work I possibly can, growing and improving along the way. And I can’t do it without you.

Afterward: Loose Ends

Gods, I love you people. I could not have asked for a kinder, more supportive audience.

The existing tiers and rewards will remain with new names. Art Collectors still get all my one-off illustrations and commissions at high res, Premium and Premium Plus Collectors still get their monthly sketches/pinups. Standing commission orders will be fulfilled - as fast as humanly possible, I promise - and I will continue to take commission work to pay bills as needed. But comics are my life, my love and my lady, and it would mean the world if you would support their creation by opting in to the new Comic Collector tier - six bucks gets you all the rewards you’re used to, plus every comic I make as it comes out and all the BTS stuff related to them.

This December I’m going to be busting my sweet ass on getting caught up once and for all on all the standing commissions, art trades, and other promised works in my queue. Realistically, I probably won’t get every single piece done, but damn I’m gonna try. Juggling that and the new direction will be a challenge but it’s a challenge I know I’m up to. So I ask your continued patience while I do so, and your understanding if I’m a little quiet here and there while I put my head down and produce.

Regardless what level of support you feel able to contribute at, know that doing so means ensuring that one more light shines in the sky as bright as she can. That’s the kind of thing that changes the world.

In the words of Thomas Light in Protomen: Act II:

“Together we can light up the night.”

Till next time, loves. Shine bright.