Hey friends!

How are you all doing? I hope you've been well!

So far I've been pretty busy during quarantine. One job I'm not able to work at presently due to the pandemic, and the other job I am working online. But I've really been appreciating the spare time to work on projects and experiment more with freelancing, business ventures, and other creative work! Sometimes it's hard to maintain focus since my schedule is all over the place, but WHAT ARE YA GONNA DO ABOUT IT, RIGHT?!

More recently, I purchased a tablet that was on sale and a stylus so that I could more easily draw on the go. Best decision ever! I've been drawing nonstop, and have been getting a TON of practice in. It's really transformed my work efficiency. I hope to share more of what I've been making, even imperfect stuff (being a perfectionist nowadays seems really silly and counterintuitive), so I'm gonna be posting more of that and letting you all see how my art transforms over time. Hopefully I improve!

Here is a little piece I started last night and finished today: Deku Link, a la Majora's Mask. I've posted it in the Art Portal, too, but I'll elaborate more here below the image:

I finally bought Breath of the Wild in April, and have been absolutely in love with it since I first sat down with it. It's a beautiful game and does the Zelda series true justice. The open world is stunning, the freedom to move around and beat the game at your own pace and leisure is also a breath of fresh air (pun intended). It *might* be my favorite Zelda game now, though Majora's Mask still has a huge place in my heart, Ocarina taking a close second. And heck, Wind Waker rocked, too. I could go on and on about these games and how they affected my childhood!

Breath of the Wild makes me want to explore – literally makes me want to pack up and walk into the woods and go on adventures. It doesn't help that many of us already feel trapped and yearning for more freedom. Because of this, for me, the next best outlet is to draw. So that has been a really positive side effect of playing this game.

Majora's Mask ended up being my subject for this art piece in particular, because that game had a profound impact on me. As a kid, I was maybe 10 or 11 when it came out, The thick layer of melancholy and dread in the game permeated the experience so much that the way the game made me feel has really stuck with me all these years. The game really made you care about the characters, the situations they were in, and the impending doom that threatened the world. I thought it was really remarkable that a game could make you feel so much.

I think those same feelings of dread and helplessness have permeated society now, too, which is why my mind was likely drawn to that particular game. And games are such a great way for us to transport ourselves temporarily to a different world where we have more control over what is going on, and are NOT helpless. Thank god for technology, huh?

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you all are doing during this to pass the time. I'm going to keep drawing and posting, and hopefully get a lot of stuff done during this dang pandemic. Not that one has to. But it helps distract me.

I wish you all the best! Take care, stay cool and all that jazz.

-K