Here are some of my favorite drawings from each month this year!
This was a big year for my art! I experimented a lot with my art style. I quit posting on social media (due to anxiety). And, after six years of obsessing over Illidan, I found a new favorite character!
So, let’s look at all the drawings featured in this video separately, and I’ll talk about things I like about them, what they are, and more!
January- K.K. Slider
K.K. is my favorite Animal Crossing character! I like him because he’s just such a cool, laid-back guy. And that music festival at the end of Happy Home Paradise is awesome, and that’s what made me love him so much!
At the start of this year, my love for Animal Crossing was at its peak. I was very into this game! So, naturally, it was time to draw my favorite character digitally for the first time!
For this drawing, I was obviously going for a more sketchy look. I kept this going for a few months, I think. But I was very experimental, so there isn’t really a consistent art style this year. I also just started caring less about consistency. It all depends on the look I want for the specific drawing.
February- Bella and Edward
So, I’m sure anyone who followed me on social media knows that I’m also a Twilight fan. While I’m not always drawing Twilight fanart, it comes up fairly regularly.
For this drawing, I wanted to practice drawing movement and fancy clothes. I also played around with the color palette, which is why everything is so red.
Even though it’s pretty old, this is honestly one of my favorite drawings of the whole year!
March- Animal Crossing as Humans
Like I said before, I was very into Animal Crossing earlier this year (and I still am). I wanted to try something new, so I redesigned my favorite Animal Crossing characters as humans!
I’m very proud of myself for experimenting with different body types on this drawing! Like many artists, there are certain builds that I default to. I had so much fun trying something new on this one, and I would definitely like to do it more in the future!
April- “Where I Go, Trouble Follows”
If you’ve seen my art, there’s no way you don’t know about my love for Illidan and Khadgar! I first discovered this pairing towards the end of 2022, and I still love it to this day.
I saw these matching shirts on Pinterest one day, and I knew I had to draw these two wearing them! I’m glad that I actually ended up drawing this funny idea, because I have a tendency to second-guess things like this. I always find myself asking if this is really funny and if anyone would actually like it. If you can’t tell, this is a big thing that pushed me to finally leave social media in September. I just wanted to draw what I wanted without worrying about other people’s opinions.
Anyway, I feel like I’ve gotten much better at making Illidan as huge as he’s supposed to be this year. He doesn’t even fully fit in the frame on this one!
And Khadgar looks so proud of himself!
May- In the Forest
We’re getting into the time of year where I was the most into Illidan and Khadgar. They’re showing up four months in a row!
For this one, I was experimenting a lot with shading. This was when I realized how fun it is to play around with dramatic shadows! I continue this throughout the year. It gets even better than this!
June- Chilling
For this one, I was practicing drawing poses. I’m very proud of this one!
Also, you can see me using that leaf brush for shading again. I loved how the May drawing looked so much, I wanted to replicate that look on this one!
July- Power Couple
I don’t just draw them being cute. On this drawing, they look like they’re about to kick some demon butt!
My favorite part of this one is probably Khadgar’s magic effect. I tend to struggle with that kind of thing, but it looks pretty cool this time! Having the right lighting scenario really helps!
August- Sonic the Hedgehog
I was in the mood to draw something different that day. So, I decided to draw my new main in Super Smash Bros: Ultimate— Sonic!
I still really like the lighting and shading on this drawing! His pose is still pretty great, too! However, I struggled with the background a little, because I have a bad habit of fully rendering the characters before I add a background. But I’m slowly breaking that habit, so it’s all good!
But, yeah, I was just casually drawing my favorite Super Smash character. Nothing’s gonna come of this….. Right?
September- Samus
Okay. I only ever played a Metroid game once, and it was for less than an hour. But that doesn’t stop me from thinking that Samus is one of the coolest characters I’ve ever seen! (And she was my first main in Super Smash, way back in Brawl, so there’s that.)
The shading on this drawing is awesome! After this, I started drawing a lot more back-lit characters, because it’s really fun for me!
October- The Apocalypse
So, if you saw my Smashtober post, I’m sure you remember this drawing. For a review, the context is that I laughed a little too maniacally while playing Super Smash with my siblings one day. That’s it.
All of my Smashtober drawings are some of my favorites of the year. But the reason why this one got here is because Sonic’s expression never fails to make me laugh! I think I nailed it!
November- Cyber Corruption
Fun fact: At this point, I’d been playing Sonic: Frontiers since September. I quickly became obsessed with the game—and Sonic as a character. That’s right. Sonic’s the one who ended Illidan’s six-year reign. I didn’t even think it was possible, and I’m still kinda surprised by it to this day.
I drew this on the day I beat Sonic: Frontiers. Right after finishing the game, I grabbed my drawing tablet and laptop, knowing that I wanted to draw fanart for it. I decided to go with Sonic suffering from his cyber corruption, because I’m a sucker for angst.
My favorite part of this one has to be the glitch effect on him. I think I managed to make it look pretty close to how it does in the game!
December- One Majestic Hedgehog
This one possibly has my best lighting to date. It definitely looks like the sun is shining on him.
I struggled a bit with the perspective in the background, but it looks pretty good. Just don’t look at it for too long!
This drawing also took my three days, I think. Yeah. It was a long one….
Outro
And that’s all for today! Going into 2025, I definitely want to continue experimenting. And, yes, I want to practice drawing Sonic some more, because my drawings of him are still very hit or miss.
And, don’t worry, Fel and Blades will return! I swear, I am working on it. It’s just taking a little longer than I thought.
Happy New Year, everyone!