In this SundayLeonieUpdate:

• the portrait study & process
• First time playing Animal Crossing thoughts
• Personal update

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Sensitive, sparkly skin!

Illustrated study of this photo because a month ago I got inspired by Ngoc Vu’s motto (lead artist of Necrobarista) to draw more brown asians! I need to keep working on hair. Really pushed my art style and exaggerated lots and I’m not sure if I like it! Need to keep learning ehhhh :’)

Rough & lineart stages! Work in progress shots!

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Personal Update Time!

• Pixar’s Soul movie looks more promising since the first teaser. I look forward to seeing it…probably not at the cinema though :<
• This Korean blind date was so wholesome, compatible, respectful and cute!
• Leaving LA by Tim Minchin & Tee Kee Ng – I enjoyed the animation and song
• An Ode to Kung Fu Heroines Part 1 – the actresses showcased are super cool! Goodness I remember Flirting Scholar (1993) and some other films in here.
• I watched Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (2014)
  • well animated and good art style and it’s a simple, predictable, family/kids movie
  • makes me remember why I lost interest in the series when I used to borrow the Asterix and Tintin books from the library
  • all of these characters are one dimensional and there’s no particular character I like – they only work as part of a whole and in the end I get bored from the usual formula and how Gauls vs Romans keeps going on and on and on
  • how they’re all dependant on this magical potion/drug all the time to give them strength, it annoys me 😛
• If Programming was an anime skit
• How to see germs spread video with primary school kids :<

First time playing Animal Crossing🏝️ thoughts

• eep with picking an island map!! I ultimately went with my gut feeling because I know it’s more of a preference thing.
• I have cute butt peaches in my island 🍑🍑🍑
• cute and relaxing game 😀
• anxiety time!!
  • picking a place for my tent and where to keep as “my corner” of the island :’)
• anxiety time 2!!!
  • picking a name for my island since you can’t change it! Ended up with Sweetheart island as it felt right to me with the peaches and wholesomeness. Yes it’s sappy and horrible, I know.
• all else was calm and relaxing, felt like I was taken care of and looked after by what I later learned was the “big sister archetype” and the “big brother jock archetype”
  • I got Diedre the deer and Mac the dog on my island
• it was like my own little digital family who will always be there for me! I’m starting to see why this helps people who are lonely and have few people in real life to rely on and to be listened to. And this is me most of my life, the solitary hermit life. It feels nice to have a digital wholesome family to go back to :’)
• simple give, take and crafting system. Kind good vibes! The gameplay loop keeps going D:
• I wanted to make patterns/etc so I tried and it was hard going into it without a plan :’D I need to learn how to do it better
• there was also the opportunity to draw messages and my attempts are also terrible
• I kept collecting and crafting and then I felt done for that day (it was real life bedtime for me during the session)
• there’s limited times of the day to collect creatures too?
• there’s anxiety when a lot of people and streamers are playing it lots and it feels like a race of miles. I’m not that far into it yet, I feel behind :'(
• as a newbie I want to keep gameplay spoilers minimal so I’m keeping away from twitter and I don’t have many streams I can watch anymore nooooo!! 🙁
• I played much longer during my second session and collected a growing kingdom of fish and bugs outdoors 😀 I feel less anxious now that I’m getting the idea. It’s definitely a short bursts kind of game too.
• took out all the weeds that I can access
• finally got a dress that’s not the default clothes!!
• just grinding all the nook milesss
• don’t feel great about chopping trees D:
• learning it costs 200 or was it 300 bells to send messages to friends :0 I hope to try it when ready!
• my house and museum is in construction
• I do want to keep playing it, usually at the end of the day for most weekdays! Otherwise I won’t get anything else done :’)
• I refuse to time skip ;P
• from here I might post random instagram story snippets of Animal Crossing but I’ll see :0!!

In closing, stay safe and kind! Taking a break from twitter!

Aside from posting art, I’m not going to check my twitter/instagram much especially in the coming weeks/months. Things are getting busy and I’m finding myself scrolling twitter too much and it’s a mixed bag of wholesome kindness and anxiety/distraction!! :’) I’ll check notifications and replies when I’m posting art and you can still catch me around discord, slack, blog comments here and email.

Plus I need a break from my twitter feed, now that more people are working from home, are more active online and some are getting cabin fever. Twitter is getting overwhelming with complicated feelings and news. I need some space from all that. It’s nothing new for me though, social media overall does get noisy and overwhelming :’)

Goodness as an introverted hermit who rarely goes out I don’t get cabin fever after all! Witnessing people getting restless, grumpy, bored, irritable, depressed, upset, separated from loved ones, not used to being alone with their own thoughts and finding interesting ways to be with people and support each other through online means was eye opening! It really sucks since it’s not out of choice for them but of necessity and for everyone’s safety and well-being.

For those struggling with staying at home, I hope it gets easier over time, when you get into the groove in adapting, making home a good place to be, live and to embrace the boredom and simpler things sometimes. I saw a lot of wholesome, generous, human moments too (:

I’m more of the “What cabin fever? Being at home is great most of the time!” I don’t have a functional, stress-free, well-adjusted family dynamic myself, we all need to be frugal with supplies and my art career is at a standstill so I’ve got my own struggles too. All the same, we all got to keep rolling together as life moves on. Let’s keep doing our best! :’)

Now I’m going to be busy with life, art and Animal Crossing :’)

All the best! Stay safe and take care today and the week to come!

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