monthly recap (january 2025)

01 Feb, 2025

i am, for better or worse, trying and learning things that i should have when i was 18 or younger. the catcher in the rye made a bigger impression on me than i expected. i'll keep improving myself through 2025 so 2026 will be my year instead.

social and blog updates

shinsoku's newest asobi store story came and went and it was so mid that i realized i simply don't give a fuck about drawing fanart of a glorified story subscription service that straight up isn't interesting. in fact, upon designing some new OCs, i realized that i don't care about drawing fanart at all. ¹

i have no intention of cultivating an online audience through drawing fanart again and i basically want to leave my art account as an archive for posting without actually being active. i also want to avoid using twitter in general because i'm busy with work, realized it's really easy to meet people IRL, and have no desire to keep using the shithole site run by a nazi.

my existence on the internet is forever what it is now. it feels lame to end things like this, but it's not like i make any new friends on the internet nowadays. i'm just private with my own diagnoses so it's impossible to befriend others beyond surface level. i don't commit to new interests for very long and for the most part i can just talk to existing friends about crap i'm interested in. i would like to make more friends who are interested in art, comics, and gamedev, especially those who are focused on studying because i want the same motivation. if you want to chat about that, please don't hesitate.

as for the blog, it's gotten to the point where i only post if i have a ton of stuff to say and this is in part due to bearblog's own format. it's not exactly a journal anymore, so i've just gone ahead and updated the title to wulfpaper— a little less tumblr lyric title and a little more 'legitimate'. i may eventually grab a custom domain when i commit to this site in 2027.

more regular updates of new artwork and such can be found on my dreamwidth. backlog of longer posts i intend to write include:

• korean social media art trends / merch boxes / japanese bookbinding / etc. various posts i've been meaning to migrate from my old blog
• comparison between look back and bakuman
• guide to drawing dojinshi that i've planned to do since 2021
• undrawn stories of everyone's semester of anthropology
• the future of fale dojo
• SEO and bearblog (or SEO and personal blogs in general)
• final barok merch collection update
• why i don't want to be an artist alley artist
• thoughts on idolmaster fanart
• new zealand things i want to write about but can't justify a whole post about
• things that are also pro wrestling (insane clown posse, religion, banana ball)
• the art job myth

can't be fucked updating the website, but i'll get around to moving the domain for TGAA collab eventually.

shinsoku new years cards

printed on 300gsm recycled paper by the online printer.

i have around 5 leftover, so if we're familiar and you want one let me know. otherwise i'll include them as a bonus for anyone who still wants to grab a copy of my old shinsoku dojinshi (not putting it up on etsy until the end of the year but just message me anytime).

art log

acrylic barok on 4x6" canvas, painted as a valentines gift for kazuya nuri. hopefully it arrives on time.

artwork i completed for pokeplanner back in june.

i got hyped up about drawing OCs, but in retrospect i only had time to design two... they're based on austrian apricot dumplings and elizabeth arden ceramide capsules respectively.

celebrity fanart and random pinterest studies.

i participated in global game jam earlier in the month but i don't have anything to show for it aside from a free tshirt lol.

media log

• richard connel - the most dangerous game: i thought the buildup was way too long compared to the actual hunt but the ending is really so good in its simplicity.
• tyler the creator - chromakopia: bought tickets for his tour back in november but i finally listened to it. i like stickyyyyyyyyy.
• saltburn: it's a lot more fun to watch with friends, but again i'm left thinking about how good it would be if it was simply about oliver being insane and obsessive instead of trying to hint at class disparity in the end. i like the idea of a guy who's so in love with another guy that he wants to be him, wants to be with him, and wants to kill him at the same time.
• guy williams - adhd: not just hyper: it really is just a documentary about guy williams getting an adhd diagnosis. feels like i'm watching those paddy gower tv specials.
• death note: it's my first time watching the anime but i read the manga a few years back. death note anime is absolutely captivating and engaging and i can see why it's recommended as the westerner's first anime so often! NGL i think i prefer that the anime speeds through the 2nd half of the manga because that portion felt slow to begin with. however, i like the ending of the manga more.
• bumbae - the ki sisters: the "queen never cry" comic is actually SO fucking peak. i loved the chapter about the girls' mom and both of the main male MCs are likeable in their own ways. i only wish that seho stayed fat throughout the entire series instead of looking like the most generic black hair webtoon guy after one chapter.
• doechii - tiny desk concert & alligator bites never heal: so that was fucking amazing. doechii is so funny! she's the new people's princess! i prefer the rock band of the tiny desk version.
• ben folds five - whatever and ever amen: i was obsessed with one angry dwarf and fair for days but then i realized it just sounded like regular musical theater. how is brick the most popular song on this album?
• gray folie - drop-out: incredibly good story that i also can't recommend to anyone who would be interested because it would likely be too triggering. the coloring and layouting are beautiful and it's captivating from the get-go.
• challengers: the threesome aspect was overrated.
• sexyy red & bruno mars - fat juicy & wet: between sticky and sexy baby daddy i've been listening to sexyy red a lot lately so i was hyped for the new collab with bruno— but i feel like it hit the same points where it's definitely great but something feels missing or off (in gaga's die with a smile, it was how boring it was, and in rose's apt, it was how generic the chorus was + the shit yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah lyric). in any case i think people were being awfully prudish about the song as if bruno hasn't always played the part of a sexual lover in an over-the-top way. it's his gag! and i got gagged when i saw gaga and rose in the MV as well. HUH!?
• fka twigs - eusexua: somehow the song i liked the most was the one that featured north west rapping in broken japanese.
• a simple favor: had absolutely no idea what i was going into and it turned out to be insanely fun and engrossing. the sexual tension actually made me feel so crazy— i don't know if i've ever seen another film with a love triangle where everyone is attracted to each other and actually acts on it. challengers hardly counts because that was just zendaya fujoshiing out. i just wish that all of the main characters (who are all terrible people by the way) could fuck together in the end. still enjoyable though!

#art #illustration #recap #zine