HAPPY NEW YEAR! - 2024 in Review - #ArtvsArtist

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
As this post gets uploaded, I'll be spending the evening at my best friend's place with her fiance and family and I am VERY happy to be fit enough to be here after being sick over Christmas.

2024 was SPECIAL. VERY, VERY SPECIAL. Somehow it was one of the most packed years for me while simutaneously feeling like an eternity, which is a contradiction in itself and should not be possible, but time has been weird like that this year.

So. What were the main creative accomplishments in 2024?

• I finished the 2-year long running Gladion-centered Story arc for "El's Alolan Adventures"

• We held a Pokemon Tournament for the games Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Moon on my Discord server, as Nintendo officially shut down its 3DS online servers in April.

• I decided to translate my gardendragon guidebook into english and have managed to translate half the manuscript so far.

• Thanks to my Patrons, I obtained a game capture card and was able to host new game livestreams, streaming my switch playthroughs live on Discord and Youtube!

• I did a couple of first test prints of my Bella-Sara-inspired trading card set and settled on a unique name and premise for the cards ("Herds of Epona")

• I printed my first custom stickers thanks to my friend Jenn, who I'll hope to vendor with together on conventions next year

• I changed my approach on comic updates, abandoning the strict 16x9 format in favor of more dynamic, easier to finish panel sizes with less detailed shading and backgrounds

• I finished a fully furnitured 3D-Model of El's home in Alola to use for future comic backgrounds

• I found more time for personal art and illustrations, some of which I'll be selling as prints on future conventions.

• I took and finished the highest amount of commissions in 2024, which included some of my favorite commissioned illustrations yet - like MAN, the variety in characters and topics was INSANE and I really got to grow from the challenge!

...okay that's actually more than I was expecting, when I started writing this list I thought it'd be relatively short -

Now moving onto more personal matters!

I turned 28 this year and thus started a completely new chapter of my life - and the difference has already been felt. If you don't know, it is believed that every single one of us begins a new life chapter every 7 years - and this can actually be backed up scientifically, as our body cells all die and completely renew every 7 years. We basically become a new improved version of ourselves.

And I'm gonna be honest, this year was probably the most successful one in regards to improvements to my physical and mental health. Thanks to an alternate practitioner (who I've just been calling my "healer") my Dad recommended to me, I was able to physically recover from the anxiety and panic attacks I've been through the past 7 years. Yes. This whole debacle actually started on the exact day of my 21th birthday. Seven. Long. Years.

Thanks to my healer, we...

• cured my thyroid issues (after every other doctor failed me and told me I'd just have to deal with them forever)

• cured my locked jaw, no longer in need of a night splint after 7 years

• released 27 years worth of stored up tension and anxiety in my body, making me finally feel AWAKE, STRONG and ENERGIZED for the first time in FOREVER

• also stopped my hair loss, after finding its source thanks to the new tools and knowledge my healer had been given me

Due to all these physical improvements, I also grew far more confident, relaxed, outgoing - I have never felt this authentic and true to myself when going outside, talking with complete strangers on the street, throwing around jokes, having a good time

I rekindled old friendships, deepend existing bonds, I made new friends and watched my circle naturally grow for the first time in ages.

And the social events of this year also expanded onto my community, as my Patreon experienced its biggest growth yet thanks to the Pokemon Tournament we held in March. It was definitely one of the biggest highlights of this year, our Discord server MASSIVELY expanding, over 60 battles held, countless memorable moments, new long-term members earned who would really enrich our community with their presence.

New community roles, new channels, server members hosting their own movie nights, gaming sessions, meeting up in voice-chat - Seeing just how engaged everyone has been in the community, even on days where I wasn't present, really warmed my heart.

I hope our server will experience such growth again in the year to follow, while still maintaining this incredible feeling of community we've been able to build. Thank you so much for making this Patreon community so enriching and special!

As for my plans for 2025? Those I'll be addressing in another update, the first monthly community update of the New Year. What I am currently most looking forward to, is that I'll have a new Computer in January - and I hope it will greatly improve my streams and work flow.

I wish you all a wonderful new Year and thank you so much for your amazing support! On to another even greater year! 🥰💖💕💖✨💕🎉🥳🎉

~Eleanor ☺️💖