Dear Kevin,
• We now take you to the News •
Bad news: My student loans are back in repayment 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 I was intent on never paying a dime more, but they just took it outta my account it's terrible. My credit score will remain intact... but at what cost? Well the cost is the amount they took so, nvm.
Rad news: I recently reconnected with my roommate from college since she moved to town. We roomed for most of my four years and we had the best of times together. I lowkey thought I'd barely if ever see her in person again being that she's from New York and we met in school in Tennessee, but we found each other again. And the vibes are peak, it's like we never spent a day apart. I love her so much 🤧
• This has been the News •
Hello and welcome to the first letter post video call! (Hi again from Texas, that was me 👋🏾) I wanted to do an Art Dive of the piece I showed you during that. Now that we’re not on a time limit I can say as much as I want about it, and there is much to say. Plus this way you can get a proper look at it in an upright position and non-mirrored (idk if I did come thru that way, but it looks it in the playback). Anyway, let's get to it~
So there's this game I play called The Arcana. It's a visual novel in the form of a mobile game. You play a magician's assistant who gets asked to help with an investigation into the murder of the count of a certain country. It's got mystery, intrigue, romance, quick time events, the whole nine yards. Love the art, love the story, it's a good time. I started playing it back when it came out, but I fell off cause it was hard to afford the choices I wanted to progress in the routes. The system of getting coins was tough unless you bought them, so I fell off. Then the panorama happened and I eventually come back to find they updated to it's easier to get free coins so I started playing again. I finally finished Asra's route and got the good ending and I was inspired. His familiar is a snake named Faust. The arcana he is specifically connected to is the magician which in game is represented by as a fox-like being so it's used as a theme for his character. And at the time your hair color was close to his. That's about where the similarities end cause his whole thing is being aloof and secretive, but I think you can pick up what I'm putting down. Anyway, here's our guy:
And here's you again:
Close up shots to see details since Twitter and Instagram obliterated the quality. Even Weverse did, although idk why I expected their compression not to bite me either (I'm just not used to posting there lol).
I had fun putting the background together. In game, Asra's a Gemini and with you being a Pisces there's just enough room for me to have both constellations in the background and make them mostly visible over your shoulders and behind Morty's head. I did most of that in Adobe Illustrator and finally understand how to make it work on the iPad. It no longer feels like pulling teeth 🙌🏾 Can't say the same for the iPad version of photoshop 😒 Fun fact: Faust's design is actually based on the ball python so I like to think that makes her and Morty cousins. I actually wanted to try to do his scale pattern so that's what I went for. Speaking of the designs, they have an art book for the game on their web store. It had been sold out for ages, but they just restocked a bunch of stuff for the holidays and slapped a discount on it. It's an actual Christmas miracle, and I'm making it my gift to myself 😁 (We do that in our family, that's how my dad got Gone With the Wind on DVD one year to the surprise of me and my sisters.)
This was by far the biggest challenge because it is so colorful. I'm still toeing my way into doing pieces fully rendered like this, but that also made it exciting and the pay off even better. I had a lotta fun with this after I got past the lineart, so yay we're leveling up 🥳 Like I said on the call, you inspire me and I'm happy to have you for a muse. I'll dip my hand in other buckets with time as I become more comfortable, but it's always nice to sketch a familiar face. Thanks for being that ☺️
Anyway, I hope you have a Happy Christmas and Merry New Year. I hope 2024 brings you many more good moments and higher heights. Remember, we're ✨manifesting✨️ Also, I cannot wait to know what the #BigThing is (I woulda asked on the call if there was time). This is gonna be a fantastic year for both of us, and if I'm lucky our paths shall cross once more 🤞🏾(pspspsp come to Texas, specifically Houston pspspsp). Love ya Kev 💛
- B ✧°•
P.S. It was so nice speaking with you. Thanks for the encouragement on my art. It really does mean a lot to me. You truly are a gift and a blessing. I can't wait to show you more stuff in the future 🫶🏾