Age of Defiance New Years Resolutions 2025

New Years Resolution and Being Resolute...

Well I made good on my last year's resolution to do more artwork....this years resolution? FINISH WHAT I START!! I have a pretty bad habit of getting started with something then getting sidetracked, and most of the time when I DO get to finish something it comes out pretty good, but 2024-as I predicted to a former coworker-was the year everything fell apart. March is fast approaching and Mom's already measuring the drapes back at home. I still have no idea what to expect. My sister is trying to push me to work for the post office "oh you can earn 50k a year!" Hells to the no. Those people could give ME rudeness lessons. So I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for a job, but I do want to work more on art.
I had some pieces I wanted to do for my Vanguard character but ran out of time toward the end. I thought I could blob them out real quick in BlackInk but again ran out of time due to alot of things going on in the final week and a mischievous litter of kittens chomping down on my wacom cable...
But that gave me the chance to flesh them out and refine them. I actually don't like sketching on the wacom. For starters its a tiny one, an Intuos about as big as a small book. I've seen people use these ginormous pen displays and they look nice but cost about half a downpayment for a house so I'll pass for now. I got sketchbooks out the wazoo and might as well use them and given the uptick in AI posers these days its just therapeutic scratching away with pen and paper.

Dragons Know When Someone's Talking Sh** About Them by Mardrena

This is an example of an image I had planned out for Summercamp '22 for the troopship article. I had an image in my mind of how I wanted the scene to look like, but even when I tried redoing it digitally I just wasn't happy with it and deadline was fast approaching so I scrapped it and thought I'd come back to it another time. But when I looked at the BI version I just didn't feel it met my personal standards. I didn't think I could salvage it in BI so I decided to go back and redraw on a larger piece of paper. I always shop clearance at the art store down the street and I have an assortment of sketchbooks like the 11x14s and some 9x12 Canson recycled Bristol paper. Not only are the sheets thick AF they are surprisingly good to sketch on since the paper doesn't pill if you look at it the wrong way. I got to clean up the other drawings I had planned for Raurgoth and I like how they came out.

Sometimes it's good to revisit something...

Smart Enough to Know... (Sketch) by Mardrena

Raurgoth a tad bit miffed at Kento's big mouth...

Raurgoth Snack Attack (Sketch) by Mardrena

Bru Ranir narrowly avoids becoming a Thunthen McNugget...his fellow Nobeyl isn't so lucky.

Dragons Sleep on Treasure (Sketch) by Mardrena

Raurgoth snoozing on the deck of the Argonauth

I'm sad I wasn't able to do the vehicle I had planned because Raurgoth uses it as a bed, but I can save that for the next big event I suppose. And who knows maybe I'll have time to block something more refined out in Blender or 3dCoat...
I've done so many thumbnails and cleaned up drawings but I still haven't finished vectorizing the batch I started in summer. I got 1/3 of the way done with the final one in the set then things fell apart in August, so I kind of forgot about it and got caught up in so much other things. I finally got back to work on it and am on the power stroke stage, but on average full-color vectorized illustrations can take anywhere from 3-4 hours to 3-4 days depending on the amount of detail. I still have my minimum goal of 6 full-color illustrations per chapter, and as much cleaned-up sketches and thumbnails as I have, I've barely scratched the surface of what I can possibly do. Between packing up and prepping to move, I'll work on what I can, but hoping once I settle down in the country I'll be able to dedicate more time to working more aggressively on illustrations.
Maybe I can do some tutorials on BlackInk because even though I find it easy and comfortable to use, others might find it intimidating, perhaps even traumatizing....

The Reading....

I don't often go out of my way to read other writer's work except for the seasonal challenges but I do love showcasing interesting works or self-made art. I've been assailed by AI bot scammers on Fanfiction.net since August and its been getting increasingly annoying. First off their phrasing is a slap in the face, but I have a well-documented visceral discust of AI and its adherents. Its a sort of instinctual revulsion that cannot be fully articulated. When ever something like that happens that my senses just go to defcon 5, I'm reminded of a scene from Man-Kzin Wars where Traat-Admiral is speaking with an elderly Kzin who relates to him the story of the Slavers who ruled the universe billions of years ago. He states that with just a thought the Slavers could have the strongest Hero mewing like a helpless kitten, and the mere notion of being subjugated in such a manner is enough to send Traat-Admiral into a literal hissing fit. Warnings are given for a reason and those who disregard them do so at their own peril.

I like these nested stories because it brings life to a world and reminds me of the in-game books from TES games where its just a relatively few pages but adds crucial worldbuilding that makes the game more than just a grindfest. This and the associated coal one look like they meant to have more work and I'd be interested to see things expanded upon in the future.

Maps are interesting but sadly I missed out on this year's Mapvember challenge. Thanged doesn't really have continents, just regions and biomes, and I'd like to paint a map myself but it's on my to-do list.

Not every article has to be jam-packed with art and some of the shorties can squeeze in quite alot of detail. I don't run across gothic-style settings often and sadly so many writers I used to keep tabs on kind of slip in and out of the twilight zone. Still it's a good read!

I have no idea what any of this says but the formatting and usage of tables looks very professional like a manual for a tabletop. I can recognize some words and I'm reminded of how Vilkas and Farkas from Skyrim Companions were simply different translations of "Wolf".

I don't know the first thing about tabletopping, I just come for the gorgeous chonky artwork, and I'm glad Jontaro was able to complete Worldember for the first time. I always see such phenomenal work and I promise to buy a physical copy of the zine when my finances improve!

I noticed some placeholder images and almost wonder if you could format an article then update the just the image file using the replace option in the image manager. Good art takes time and even with a whole month writers still race against the clock!

No illustrations sadly and Strixx usually does killer detail but guessing she was strapped for time. These little plants remind me of various things but chiefly the "miraculous cure" referenced in the Ballad of Moreta's Ride which were actually plant spines used as makeshift syringes to inject life-saving serum to plague victims.

So many entries to pick from but this one jumped out at me. The formatting knocks it out of the park but I'm reminded of so many subtle references from old media.

This was an interesting read though I might've been reading too much into it I thought there was a little inside joke made about him "being in the best shape of his life" and being a druid, but apparently his species is a magical porcupine badger don't give a F so he isn't a shapeshifter?

The name jumped out at me because it reminded me of the old classic scifi movie "Day The Earth Stood Still" but I was pleasantly surprised to see it was a followup to a entry I covered last year. Pretty haunting read it seems even the "supreme god" is spiraling into madness...

Here's to a wonderful new shiny gilded New Year!