Meri's Merry Art

[.: Meri :.]

Time for another long overdue post in my gallery! Wanted to catch up on posting some of my entries from recent events. ovo)b

Valentine's Day
​

These two probably seem like a bit of an odd couple, but I'm convinced they were dating in my New Leaf town and I've shipped them ever since ahaha. I think this was around the time I really started practicing with CSP's watercolor brushes.

TBT Fair

Hidden Hideaways

Where we were tasked with drawing a door to another world! It was still August when I made this, but I guess I'm always in an autumn mood. I love fairy doors, so it was really fun getting to draw one of my own. It was definitely more good practice for drawing detailed backgrounds too!
Quick heads up that I've uploaded this piece elsewhere under a different username. If you're ever concerned that someone might be posting my art without permission, you can always DM me on here. ^^


Hero's Crossing

This was for a writing contest where we had to write a short story following the hero's journey structure, with an AC or fantasy theme! I love knights, so I decided to write about Knox and Sterling, two of my favorite villagers. ^^
​

Spoiler: In Shining Armor

Knox stood at his post atop a tower in the kingdom of Newleaf's castle town. He rested his head in his wing, glaring down at his fellow knights on the streets below. The bright afternoon light glimmered off their shining armor. 'That's the only thing about them that shines, though.' When he'd first joined the knighthood, many years ago, he'd had such faith in them. He was thrilled to be finally working alongside his heroes.
But he soon came to learn that most of those so-called knights were only in it for greed, power, or glory. A cloud passed over the sun, and with it, the brilliant gleam of their armor disappeared as if it was never there. He sighed heavily. "Why am I even still working here...?"
"Sir Knox! Sir Knox! The king is calling for you! He didn't share many details with me, but it's probably, like, really important or something!" His thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling out to him. Knox turned to see the young page, Rosie, staring intensely at him from the ladder.
Knox closed his eyes and exhaled. "...Tell him I'll be right there."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Rosie saluted and zipped back down the ladder.

"You wished to see me, Your Majesty?" Knox asked flatly as he kneeled before King Lionel in the throne room.
The king nodded. "We have a new knight, by the name of Sterling, joining our order. He has excelled in his training and thusly, I am assigning him his first mission. I would like for you to go with him to assist him. You will be retrieving the Rainbow Feather from the Guardian of the Forest. It's said to be a remarkably rare treasure of immense beauty."
His head bowed and expression hidden from the king, Knox narrowed his eyes at the floor. 'Is that why we joined your order of knights, Your Majesty? To satisfy your greed?'
"...With all due respect, Your Majesty, I do not understand why you have chosen me for this role," Knox said, looking up to face him.
King Lionel stared out one of the throne room's large windows, and murmured, "...Because I don't want to see either of you become tarnished, too."
"I don't believe I heard you, sire."
"It was of no importance. It is as simple as this: you will be the one to assist Sterling in this mission. I will accept no other."
Knox bowed his head so he could glare at the floor once more. "Yes, Your Majesty."
King Lionel turned to the grand doorway and called out, "Sterling, you may enter."
The doors flung open with startling speed and a young eagle rushed in to kneel beside Knox. "Your Majesty! I'm happy to report that I just finished patrolling the city fifty times! Oh, um, about that, nothing to report! But it was still really good training! If there's ever an emergency, my leg muscles will be ready."
Knox rolled his eyes. 'Fifty? Yeah, right. Who'd ever believe that?'
"That's... very impressive, Sterling, although perhaps a bit excessive. I've called you in about the mission we discussed prior. As it is your first, Knox here will be assisting you," King Lionel explained.
Sterling looked at Knox with shining eyes and extended a wing to him. "My name is Sterling, and I'm really looking forward to working with you! Let's train hard and protect Newleaf together!"
Many years ago, Knox might've said something similar to the other knights... but he and this eagle were not the same. 'You're no different from the others, are you? This is a front. You're really only out for yourself.'
"...Yeah. I'm Knox." He shook Sterling's wing.

They were given a few days to prepare for their mission, and then met in front of the city gate to begin their journey into the forest.
"I've packed thoroughly for the both of us! I mean, I'm sure you packed for yourself too, but I did this just in case! Plus, you can never have enough weight training." Sterling adjusted his satchel, filled to bursting, and smiled proudly as they walked down the path.
Knox stopped in his tracks. With a confused expression, Sterling slowed to a halt as well. The rooster shot him a glare. "Look, you're not fooling me, kid. I don't trust you one bit. Let's just get this over with."
The younger knight looked stunned for a moment, then gave him a sad smile. "If that's how you feel, well, I'll just work doubly hard until I've gained your trust." Knox scoffed and continued walking ahead.
Sterling jogged to catch up with him. "And um, Knox? I don't think you're a bad person. You haven't done anything to make me doubt you."
Knox's eyes widened for a moment, and a heavy feeling pricked at his heart. He shook his head and started walking faster. "Whatever. You're not going to get into my good graces by sucking up to me."
Sterling made no response, but sped up again to match Knox's pace.
They made their way into the forest, and then travelled further still. Sterling pulled a scroll from his satchel and read over it. "According to King Lionel's instructions, we must first make it past a reclusive dragon before we can reach the realm of the Guardian of the Forest," he said, "We should be prepared for anything, Knox."
Knox nodded, and just ahead, past a dense patch of brush, a small cave came into their view. From the darkness, two yellow eyes glowed. "The bugs told me you two would be arriving soon."
Knox reached for the sword at his hip, but Sterling stayed his wing and asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"
The rooster raised his eyebrows incredulously. "The dragon might attack at any moment! What are you doing?!"
Sterling's eyes widened in anger and disbelief. "This dragon hasn't done anything yet! Just what kind of knight are you, Knox?!"
Just then, the dragon stepped out of the cave with a yawn. "Oh yeah, um, I don't feel like fighting or anything. I'm Drago. I was just wondering if you wanted some of my pocket candy. I don't get many friends coming over out here in the woods, aside from the bugs, eheheh." Drago scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
At the sight of the sheepish, friendly dragon, Knox's wing fell limply to his side. He stared blankly forward in horror. 'Yeah, what am I doing...?'
In his stunned silence, Sterling stepped forward and bowed politely. "Thank you, Drago, but I'm afraid we'll have to decline. I'm Sterling, and this is Knox. We're knights of Newleaf, and we're on our way to see the Guardian of the Forest," he said with a calm smile.
"Okay. The Guardian of the Forest lives just past that river up ahead. Be careful crossing the log, it can be a little slippery sometimes," Drago turned around to go back into his cave. "Pocket candy, all for me~!"
Waving goodbye to the dragon, Sterling began walking again. Noticing Knox wasn't following, he turned around. "Knox? Come on. We've gotta push forward."
Shaken from his thoughts, Knox responded, "Y-Yeah, you're right." After that, they continued onwards into the depths of the forest. The rooster cast a sideways glance at Sterling, but couldn't read his expression. 'Maybe I was wrong about Sterling... I was wrong about Drago. What else have I been wrong about? There's no doubt that some of the knights in the order are corrupt, but...
'Maybe I was wrong about myself being any different.'

The rush of the river and waterfall below was the only sound that interrupted the two's long silence. They crossed the log bridging the river carefully, and just beyond the opposite shore, the forest was strewn with feathers in an array of beautiful, vibrant colors. Knox took a deep breath. 'Alright. I'm not going to try to offer any excuses. When we meet the Guardian of the Forest, I'll show Sterling what kind of knight I really am.'
He glanced at the young eagle again. Sterling was taking in the sight of the gorgeous feathers with a look of excitement and hope. There was no lingering trace of anger or resentment in his face. Knox smiled bitterly to himself. 'Or maybe I'm really just showing myself.'
A flurry of feathers appeared from nowhere, swirling violently in the clearing before them. Sterling yelped and jumped back, and Knox shielded himself from the lashing winds. When the feathers settled, there stood a magnificent peacock glaring down at them, clothes glimmering with hundreds of gems in the same rainbow of colors as his feathers. "Pavé demands to know what you are doing in Pavé's realm. Dancing into here uninvited would be one thing, but the two of you march most ungracefully."
Swallowing, Knox explained, "We are knights of the kingdom of Newleaf. We have come for the Rainbow Feather, on order of King Lionel."
Pavé narrowed his eyes. "So you plan to take it by force? Because if you want to dance, Pavé is more than willing!" He slid fluidly into what could've been either a fighting stance or the beginning of a dance.
"N-No, that's not—" Sterling tried to protest, waving his wings in front of him placatingly.
Without saying anything further, Knox laid down his sword. "Of course not! A true knight would never do such a thing!"
Sterling stared at him in momentary disbelief. "Knox..." A huge, relieved smile came over the eagle's face. "Yeah!" Still beaming, he set his sword down on the ground beside Knox's.
"...So you expect Pavé to simply give you one of Pavé's precious, glorious Rainbow Feathers?" Pavé asked coldly.
"...Urk." Sterling grimaced, fidgeting uncomfortably.
'Yeah, this isn't going well. But I'm not giving up yet.' Knox knelt down and bowed his head. "Please! It's Sterling's first mission as a knight," he gestured to the eagle beside him, "It'd be one thing if it were just me returning empty-handed to the king, but the order needs more knights like Sterling! I've seen what a kind heart he has, and so I want to make sure he succeeds in this more than anything! I... I believe that Sterling can change things, but he won't have the power to do that if he can't gain the favor of the king first. So, please!"
For a long moment, Pavé silently stared at the two knights. "...Ahahaha! You are very lucky. Pavé likes your boldness, almost as much as Pavé's beloved feathers. Pavé will give you one—just one! But it will not be for free. When Pavé requires a favor, Pavé will call upon your kingdom for aid. When that time comes, you best keep your word, or else. But for now... VIVA FRIENDSHIP!!"
With an expert twirl, a feather appeared in Pavé's outstretched grip. It held all the colors of the feathers scattered about the woods, and even seemed to sparkle in the sunlight that shifted softly through the leaves. Though briefly stunned by the beauty of the Rainbow Feather, Knox reached out to take it from the Guardian of the Forest. "Thank you!" Knox said, "I'll make sure the kingdom of Newleaf won't forget this."
Pavé smirked and turned to leave, but then glanced at them over his shoulder. "One more thing. If you wish to negotiate with Pavé again, you negotiate with dance." With another spectacular spin, a flurry of feathers swirled around Pavé until he was no longer visible. When they settled, he was gone.
"...Whew! We did it! Mission complete!" Sterling raised his wing high in the air in triumph. "You were a huge help back there, Knox. I don't know if I could've completed this mission without you."
"Heh, well, don't celebrate too early, kid. We still need to get the Rainbow Feather back to King Lionel."
"Pfft! As if that's going to be a problem!" Sterling strode back the way they came, chest puffed out proudly. Smiling too, Knox followed him. "Oh, and I'm glad that I wasn't wrong about you!"
"...Me too, Sterling."
The feathers strewn about the forest floor grew fewer and fewer as they reached the banks of the river once more. Humming triumphantly, Sterling hopped onto the log and skipped across. 'I can't remember the last time I was so happy to complete a mission. I guess I'm not too old to prance around a little bit too.' Knox thought as he hopped onto the log behind Sterling, and attempted to give a twirl like Pavé had done. Sure, there was no way he'd have moves like that guy, but—
Knox's train of thought cut short as his foot slipped awkwardly on the damp log. He scrambled futilely, but felt a sinking dread in the pit of his stomach at the same time he felt his body become weightless. Sterling realized something was amiss and spun around.
"Knox!"
The rooster managed to wrap his wing around the log at the last second. 'It's no good!' Knox struggled to maintain his grip on the wet, mossy trunk. The rest of his body dangled precariously over the rushing river. In his other wing, he still clutched the Rainbow Feather.
Sterling leapt forward and reached out to him. "You can't fly in your armor! Just take my wing!"
Knox winced as he kicked his legs, unable to pull himself back up. 'I've gotta get the feather to Sterling first, to make sure I don't drop it—' A dark thought came to him unbidden. 'And if you do that, what's to stop him from just leaving you behind? An opening in the upper ranks would be nothing but beneficial to a newbie like him...'
Knox clenched his beak. 'No! I know Sterling isn't that kind of knight! I trust him!' He thrust the Rainbow Feather up towards Sterling's extended wing. "Take this first!"
"Ugh! You're so stubborn!" Sterling swiftly pinned the Rainbow Feather to his tunic and hauled Knox back up over the log.
Carefully, the two of them finished crossing the log together, and collapsed in relief on the sandy shore. "What the heck was that, Knox?! 'Take this first'? Your safety is way more important than some stupid feather! But you didn't look like you were gonna let me help you if I didn't take it!"
Knox laughed. "Yeah, you got that right, kid."
Sterling looked like he wanted to make a retort, but instead shrugged and shook his head in defeat.
Looking at the feather, Knox smiled. 'Well, Sterling showed me that I was wrong about a couple things already. It wasn't a great feeling, and yet... I sure hope I was wrong to doubt King Lionel, too.'
"Alright, Sterling, let's get moving again." Knox stood and dusted himself off. 'In any case, I'm not going to fall prey to that old mindset ever again.'

The rest of their return trip was peaceful, and soon they were back in throne room, where Sterling proudly presented the Rainbow Feather to King Lionel.
"You both have done a fine job. I'll make sure that you're rewarded well for this," King Lionel said.
"...Um, Your Majesty, I've been wondering something," Knox pointed to the Rainbow Feather. "That thing... it's not just some pretty little rarity, is it?"
King Lionel beamed. "You still have your quick mind, Knox. The Rainbow Feather is said to possess immense powers of love, healing, and beauty." The king stared out the window into the city, with an expression of hope and determination. "I want to use it to restore my knighthood to the force of good it was always meant to be, and to bring further peace and prosperity to Newleaf."
He faced the two knights again. "Not that I think its power was needed on you. I'll need your help going forward to make this dream a reality, my true, shining knights."
'Heh. This is why I wanted to become a knight in the first place.' Knox closed his eyes and smiled. "...Thank you, Your Majesty, Sterling... I look forward to continuing to protect the kingdom of Newleaf, as one of its proudest knights."
The king smiled quietly in return, and Sterling nodded firmly, eyes full of determination. The light that shined through the large windows of the throne room caught on the armor of the two knights, who gleamed gold and silver.

 

[Shellzilla_515]

Time for another long overdue post in my gallery! Wanted to catch up on posting some of my entries from recent events. ovo)b

Valentine's Day
​

View attachment 461940

These two probably seem like a bit of an odd couple, but I'm convinced they were dating in my New Leaf town and I've shipped them ever since ahaha. I think this was around the time I really started practicing with CSP's watercolor brushes.

Celebrating Diversity
View attachment 461941

The rabbit villager I designed, Statice! My personality's been compared to a bunny's a few times, so I thought it was a good fit for a villager meant to represent me. I wish I had a suit like theirs. ;v;

TBT Fair

Hidden Hideaways

Where we were tasked with drawing a door to another world! It was still August when I made this, but I guess I'm always in an autumn mood. I love fairy doors, so it was really fun getting to draw one of my own. It was definitely more good practice for drawing detailed backgrounds too!
Quick heads up that I've uploaded this piece elsewhere under a different username. If you're ever concerned that someone might be posting my art without permission, you can always DM me on here. ^^


Hero's Crossing

This was for a writing contest where we had to write a short story following the hero's journey structure, with an AC or fantasy theme! I love knights, so I decided to write about Knox and Sterling, two of my favorite villagers. ^^
​

Spoiler: In Shining Armor

Knox stood at his post atop a tower in the kingdom of Newleaf's castle town. He rested his head in his wing, glaring down at his fellow knights on the streets below. The bright afternoon light glimmered off their shining armor. 'That's the only thing about them that shines, though.' When he'd first joined the knighthood, many years ago, he'd had such faith in them. He was thrilled to be finally working alongside his heroes.
But he soon came to learn that most of those so-called knights were only in it for greed, power, or glory. A cloud passed over the sun, and with it, the brilliant gleam of their armor disappeared as if it was never there. He sighed heavily. "Why am I even still working here...?"
"Sir Knox! Sir Knox! The king is calling for you! He didn't share many details with me, but it's probably, like, really important or something!" His thoughts were interrupted by a voice calling out to him. Knox turned to see the young page, Rosie, staring intensely at him from the ladder.
Knox closed his eyes and exhaled. "...Tell him I'll be right there."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Rosie saluted and zipped back down the ladder.

"You wished to see me, Your Majesty?" Knox asked flatly as he kneeled before King Lionel in the throne room.
The king nodded. "We have a new knight, by the name of Sterling, joining our order. He has excelled in his training and thusly, I am assigning him his first mission. I would like for you to go with him to assist him. You will be retrieving the Rainbow Feather from the Guardian of the Forest. It's said to be a remarkably rare treasure of immense beauty."
His head bowed and expression hidden from the king, Knox narrowed his eyes at the floor. 'Is that why we joined your order of knights, Your Majesty? To satisfy your greed?'
"...With all due respect, Your Majesty, I do not understand why you have chosen me for this role," Knox said, looking up to face him.
King Lionel stared out one of the throne room's large windows, and murmured, "...Because I don't want to see either of you become tarnished, too."
"I don't believe I heard you, sire."
"It was of no importance. It is as simple as this: you will be the one to assist Sterling in this mission. I will accept no other."
Knox bowed his head so he could glare at the floor once more. "Yes, Your Majesty."
King Lionel turned to the grand doorway and called out, "Sterling, you may enter."
The doors flung open with startling speed and a young eagle rushed in to kneel beside Knox. "Your Majesty! I'm happy to report that I just finished patrolling the city fifty times! Oh, um, about that, nothing to report! But it was still really good training! If there's ever an emergency, my leg muscles will be ready."
Knox rolled his eyes. 'Fifty? Yeah, right. Who'd ever believe that?'
"That's... very impressive, Sterling, although perhaps a bit excessive. I've called you in about the mission we discussed prior. As it is your first, Knox here will be assisting you," King Lionel explained.
Sterling looked at Knox with shining eyes and extended a wing to him. "My name is Sterling, and I'm really looking forward to working with you! Let's train hard and protect Newleaf together!"
Many years ago, Knox might've said something similar to the other knights... but he and this eagle were not the same. 'You're no different from the others, are you? This is a front. You're really only out for yourself.'
"...Yeah. I'm Knox." He shook Sterling's wing.

They were given a few days to prepare for their mission, and then met in front of the city gate to begin their journey into the forest.
"I've packed thoroughly for the both of us! I mean, I'm sure you packed for yourself too, but I did this just in case! Plus, you can never have enough weight training." Sterling adjusted his satchel, filled to bursting, and smiled proudly as they walked down the path.
Knox stopped in his tracks. With a confused expression, Sterling slowed to a halt as well. The rooster shot him a glare. "Look, you're not fooling me, kid. I don't trust you one bit. Let's just get this over with."
The younger knight looked stunned for a moment, then gave him a sad smile. "If that's how you feel, well, I'll just work doubly hard until I've gained your trust." Knox scoffed and continued walking ahead.
Sterling jogged to catch up with him. "And um, Knox? I don't think you're a bad person. You haven't done anything to make me doubt you."
Knox's eyes widened for a moment, and a heavy feeling pricked at his heart. He shook his head and started walking faster. "Whatever. You're not going to get into my good graces by sucking up to me."
Sterling made no response, but sped up again to match Knox's pace.
They made their way into the forest, and then travelled further still. Sterling pulled a scroll from his satchel and read over it. "According to King Lionel's instructions, we must first make it past a reclusive dragon before we can reach the realm of the Guardian of the Forest," he said, "We should be prepared for anything, Knox."
Knox nodded, and just ahead, past a dense patch of brush, a small cave came into their view. From the darkness, two yellow eyes glowed. "The bugs told me you two would be arriving soon."
Knox reached for the sword at his hip, but Sterling stayed his wing and asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"
The rooster raised his eyebrows incredulously. "The dragon might attack at any moment! What are you doing?!"
Sterling's eyes widened in anger and disbelief. "This dragon hasn't done anything yet! Just what kind of knight are you, Knox?!"
Just then, the dragon stepped out of the cave with a yawn. "Oh yeah, um, I don't feel like fighting or anything. I'm Drago. I was just wondering if you wanted some of my pocket candy. I don't get many friends coming over out here in the woods, aside from the bugs, eheheh." Drago scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
At the sight of the sheepish, friendly dragon, Knox's wing fell limply to his side. He stared blankly forward in horror. 'Yeah, what am I doing...?'
In his stunned silence, Sterling stepped forward and bowed politely. "Thank you, Drago, but I'm afraid we'll have to decline. I'm Sterling, and this is Knox. We're knights of Newleaf, and we're on our way to see the Guardian of the Forest," he said with a calm smile.
"Okay. The Guardian of the Forest lives just past that river up ahead. Be careful crossing the log, it can be a little slippery sometimes," Drago turned around to go back into his cave. "Pocket candy, all for me~!"
Waving goodbye to the dragon, Sterling began walking again. Noticing Knox wasn't following, he turned around. "Knox? Come on. We've gotta push forward."
Shaken from his thoughts, Knox responded, "Y-Yeah, you're right." After that, they continued onwards into the depths of the forest. The rooster cast a sideways glance at Sterling, but couldn't read his expression. 'Maybe I was wrong about Sterling... I was wrong about Drago. What else have I been wrong about? There's no doubt that some of the knights in the order are corrupt, but...
'Maybe I was wrong about myself being any different.'

The rush of the river and waterfall below was the only sound that interrupted the two's long silence. They crossed the log bridging the river carefully, and just beyond the opposite shore, the forest was strewn with feathers in an array of beautiful, vibrant colors. Knox took a deep breath. 'Alright. I'm not going to try to offer any excuses. When we meet the Guardian of the Forest, I'll show Sterling what kind of knight I really am.'
He glanced at the young eagle again. Sterling was taking in the sight of the gorgeous feathers with a look of excitement and hope. There was no lingering trace of anger or resentment in his face. Knox smiled bitterly to himself. 'Or maybe I'm really just showing myself.'
A flurry of feathers appeared from nowhere, swirling violently in the clearing before them. Sterling yelped and jumped back, and Knox shielded himself from the lashing winds. When the feathers settled, there stood a magnificent peacock glaring down at them, clothes glimmering with hundreds of gems in the same rainbow of colors as his feathers. "Pavé demands to know what you are doing in Pavé's realm. Dancing into here uninvited would be one thing, but the two of you march most ungracefully."
Swallowing, Knox explained, "We are knights of the kingdom of Newleaf. We have come for the Rainbow Feather, on order of King Lionel."
Pavé narrowed his eyes. "So you plan to take it by force? Because if you want to dance, Pavé is more than willing!" He slid fluidly into what could've been either a fighting stance or the beginning of a dance.
"N-No, that's not—" Sterling tried to protest, waving his wings in front of him placatingly.
Without saying anything further, Knox laid down his sword. "Of course not! A true knight would never do such a thing!"
Sterling stared at him in momentary disbelief. "Knox..." A huge, relieved smile came over the eagle's face. "Yeah!" Still beaming, he set his sword down on the ground beside Knox's.
"...So you expect Pavé to simply give you one of Pavé's precious, glorious Rainbow Feathers?" Pavé asked coldly.
"...Urk." Sterling grimaced, fidgeting uncomfortably.
'Yeah, this isn't going well. But I'm not giving up yet.' Knox knelt down and bowed his head. "Please! It's Sterling's first mission as a knight," he gestured to the eagle beside him, "It'd be one thing if it were just me returning empty-handed to the king, but the order needs more knights like Sterling! I've seen what a kind heart he has, and so I want to make sure he succeeds in this more than anything! I... I believe that Sterling can change things, but he won't have the power to do that if he can't gain the favor of the king first. So, please!"
For a long moment, Pavé silently stared at the two knights. "...Ahahaha! You are very lucky. Pavé likes your boldness, almost as much as Pavé's beloved feathers. Pavé will give you one—just one! But it will not be for free. When Pavé requires a favor, Pavé will call upon your kingdom for aid. When that time comes, you best keep your word, or else. But for now... VIVA FRIENDSHIP!!"
With an expert twirl, a feather appeared in Pavé's outstretched grip. It held all the colors of the feathers scattered about the woods, and even seemed to sparkle in the sunlight that shifted softly through the leaves. Though briefly stunned by the beauty of the Rainbow Feather, Knox reached out to take it from the Guardian of the Forest. "Thank you!" Knox said, "I'll make sure the kingdom of Newleaf won't forget this."
Pavé smirked and turned to leave, but then glanced at them over his shoulder. "One more thing. If you wish to negotiate with Pavé again, you negotiate with dance." With another spectacular spin, a flurry of feathers swirled around Pavé until he was no longer visible. When they settled, he was gone.
"...Whew! We did it! Mission complete!" Sterling raised his wing high in the air in triumph. "You were a huge help back there, Knox. I don't know if I could've completed this mission without you."
"Heh, well, don't celebrate too early, kid. We still need to get the Rainbow Feather back to King Lionel."
"Pfft! As if that's going to be a problem!" Sterling strode back the way they came, chest puffed out proudly. Smiling too, Knox followed him. "Oh, and I'm glad that I wasn't wrong about you!"
"...Me too, Sterling."
The feathers strewn about the forest floor grew fewer and fewer as they reached the banks of the river once more. Humming triumphantly, Sterling hopped onto the log and skipped across. 'I can't remember the last time I was so happy to complete a mission. I guess I'm not too old to prance around a little bit too.' Knox thought as he hopped onto the log behind Sterling, and attempted to give a twirl like Pavé had done. Sure, there was no way he'd have moves like that guy, but—
Knox's train of thought cut short as his foot slipped awkwardly on the damp log. He scrambled futilely, but felt a sinking dread in the pit of his stomach at the same time he felt his body become weightless. Sterling realized something was amiss and spun around.
"Knox!"
The rooster managed to wrap his wing around the log at the last second. 'It's no good!' Knox struggled to maintain his grip on the wet, mossy trunk. The rest of his body dangled precariously over the rushing river. In his other wing, he still clutched the Rainbow Feather.
Sterling leapt forward and reached out to him. "You can't fly in your armor! Just take my wing!"
Knox winced as he kicked his legs, unable to pull himself back up. 'I've gotta get the feather to Sterling first, to make sure I don't drop it—' A dark thought came to him unbidden. 'And if you do that, what's to stop him from just leaving you behind? An opening in the upper ranks would be nothing but beneficial to a newbie like him...'
Knox clenched his beak. 'No! I know Sterling isn't that kind of knight! I trust him!' He thrust the Rainbow Feather up towards Sterling's extended wing. "Take this first!"
"Ugh! You're so stubborn!" Sterling swiftly pinned the Rainbow Feather to his tunic and hauled Knox back up over the log.
Carefully, the two of them finished crossing the log together, and collapsed in relief on the sandy shore. "What the heck was that, Knox?! 'Take this first'? Your safety is way more important than some stupid feather! But you didn't look like you were gonna let me help you if I didn't take it!"
Knox laughed. "Yeah, you got that right, kid."
Sterling looked like he wanted to make a retort, but instead shrugged and shook his head in defeat.
Looking at the feather, Knox smiled. 'Well, Sterling showed me that I was wrong about a couple things already. It wasn't a great feeling, and yet... I sure hope I was wrong to doubt King Lionel, too.'
"Alright, Sterling, let's get moving again." Knox stood and dusted himself off. 'In any case, I'm not going to fall prey to that old mindset ever again.'

The rest of their return trip was peaceful, and soon they were back in throne room, where Sterling proudly presented the Rainbow Feather to King Lionel.
"You both have done a fine job. I'll make sure that you're rewarded well for this," King Lionel said.
"...Um, Your Majesty, I've been wondering something," Knox pointed to the Rainbow Feather. "That thing... it's not just some pretty little rarity, is it?"
King Lionel beamed. "You still have your quick mind, Knox. The Rainbow Feather is said to possess immense powers of love, healing, and beauty." The king stared out the window into the city, with an expression of hope and determination. "I want to use it to restore my knighthood to the force of good it was always meant to be, and to bring further peace and prosperity to Newleaf."
He faced the two knights again. "Not that I think its power was needed on you. I'll need your help going forward to make this dream a reality, my true, shining knights."
'Heh. This is why I wanted to become a knight in the first place.' Knox closed his eyes and smiled. "...Thank you, Your Majesty, Sterling... I look forward to continuing to protect the kingdom of Newleaf, as one of its proudest knights."
The king smiled quietly in return, and Sterling nodded firmly, eyes full of determination. The light that shined through the large windows of the throne room caught on the armor of the two knights, who gleamed gold and silver.

I read your entire story, Merielle! I really loved how Sterling is in there since he's also one of my favourite villagers. When I met him for the first time in New Horizons, it always felt like he had a bit of silliness and heart to his personality, and I think you captured it pretty well!

Of course, your other art pieces look pretty great (the valentine's one is so cute!), especially the one for the celebrating diversity event. It's still pretty awesome to see the creativity that people came up with in making their own villager!

 

[.: Meri :.]

I talk about making embroidery floss or rubber band bracelets a lot, but aside from a couple of the former that I made for the TBTWC, I don't think I've ever showed them off here. So for something a little different, here's a crafting post! ^^

Here's my collection of embroidery floss bracelets so far! These are all pretty much the same style/pattern since I'm just making these for myself and I like having some degree of consistency to tie them together, but I think I'd like to practice some other patterns in the future too.

And here's the rubber band bracelets I've made! Aside from some of the simpler patterns that I still had memorized from my teenage looming days (like the fishtail/inverted fishtail/dragonscale cuff/etc.), most of these were made following tutorials by angelynn or The Cheese Thief on Youtube. I tried to use a wide variety of colors and styles, since these will all be going to my dad to use as classroom prizes. Some patterns have a lot more stretch than others, hence the varying sizes (although I did try to accommodate for different wrist sizes too).

 

[.: Meri :.]

Lately I've been playing around with some relatively quick background paintings on my Instagram, and I thought I'd share them here as well! ^^ Since I don't do any sketching/linework for these, they're pretty different from my usual process, but I'm enjoying making them. They're kind of relaxing.

Also, I'm curious to see—would anyone be interested in custom phone or computer wallpapers in this style? If there's enough interest, I might add them as an option in my shop. ouo


I also wanted to catch up on posting my entries from 2022's Season of Giving event (+some bonus pics)!

Christmas Countdown

The advent calendar I designed! It was inspired by a particular style of advent calendar that I think is really cute (the ones designed like buildings, where all the tabs are little doors/windows), and I imagined it as a seasonal product in a hypothetical Museum gift shop. I think it would have some educational trivia behind each door too, in addition to some standard advent calendar treats.


Chipper Confections (and extra cookies)​

The Santa cookie I submitted, that looks like he's seen some things. As you can see, decorating baked goods is... not my artistic forte. But I hope it at least earned a few laughs! I was a little confused and thought we could only submit one cookie, so I took the pictures separately, but I made a similar stocking cookie based off the Red Christmas Stocking collectible.​

I'll end this post with a bonus cursed Isabelle cookie—I had to use up these candy eyes somehow.

 

[.: Meri :.]

I swear I never plan to neglect my art gallery for months at a time—it's just always "oh, I should finish x first" and then "but I should wait until I'm done with y so I can include that too" and then suddenly it's almost five months later and here we are. There's still a few more things I'm working on that I'd like to post here, but they will have to wait until next post!! It has been long enough already!!

Back in March (I... think) I finished another batch of rubber band bracelets for my dad's students! As with last time, I followed tutorials by angelynn or The Cheese Thief on Youtube for most of the patterns seen here. I remember this time around I tried playing with using double bands (using two bands instead of one, but treating them the same, if that makes sense) for a few patterns.

I've also done some more digital background paintings! I used to hate doing backgrounds or landscapes, but I think they're kinda starting to grow on me now...?

I think this last one with the ocean is my favorite of the bunch. Water can be so intimidating to draw but I'm really happy with how this one turned out!

I did a batch of requests for a few users on here recently too! Spoilering them for those who've already seen them in that thread.

Spoiler: Requests!

For Roxxy!

For Foreverfox!

For xSuperMario64x!

For CylieDanny!

For nyx~!

And last but not least, the hatchling dragon egg I made for this year's forum egg decorating contest, a.k.a the most success I have ever had with acrylic paint. Next time I think I'll try to get ahold of some craft eggs—tossing this one was a little painful, despite all that can be said about the beauty of temporary art and all that.

Here's a few in-progress pics I don't think I ever shared—the nest by itself, and preparing the wings and the scales.

My "proof of egg" picture! While I mostly approached painting the eye as I would if I were drawing digitally (base, add shadows + pupil, deepen shadows, add highlights), I was careful to only use very little paint on my brush, and I'm so glad I did! It was much easier to control and dried quickly enough so that I didn't need to wait to long before moving on to the next layer. The painted scales were probably one of the happiest accidents I have ever made—originally I'd planned on gluing the paper scales much closer to the eye, but I wanted a base tone for the parts I couldn't cover. I was just going to do a solid color since it wasn't going to be super visible anyway, while I was trying to distribute the first coat evenly around the eye without painting over it, I realized I had a pretty good-looking scale pattern going. Needless to say, I abandoned my plans for further coats after that. The square brush I used is my new best friend.

And to wrap things up, here's a couple more photos I took of the finished egg and the little cave/dragon hoard set I made for it!

 

[.: Meri :.]

Now that Space Camp is all wrapped up, I thought I'd share the art I did for it here along with a few other projects and some event art I've done since last time!

Celebrating Diversity 2023

I drew a rainbow of villager's inspired by the Progress pride flag! I tried to include a good range of species for some body type diversity, and colored the lineart in the color they were meant to represent for an extra rainbow-y touch.

Space Camp TBT

Pencil Passports

My very legitimate space passport! Since it was meant to be a counterfeit anyway, it was kinda nice not worrying about keeping my lines too straight ehehe. I based the formatting of the bottom page off of the ACNH passports, with some added spacey details, and the registration date replaced with my TBT join date! I also made the apple symbol into a Junimo from Stardew Valley just for fun, and gave myself a custom title in the style of those from ACNH. The top page features patches from the events I've participated in (although as you can see, I initially mistook Gulliver in this year's patch for an alien—whoopsie), with an emblem from Code: Realize thrown in as well. It was fun designing a custom passport and just filling it with things I like!

Obscure Observations

Spoiler

Admittedly, when I signed up for Space Camp, I was expecting more "s'more's amongst the stars" than "unpaid internship in space biology that I am rather questionably qualified for", but I can't deny that it's been an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience. ...I just hope I don't accidentally bring about the extinction of an alien species or somehow manage to bring an all-consuming extraterrestrial fungus back to Earth.

Trying to push those slightly-concerning thoughts out of my mind, I focused on my remaining tasks for the day. Cleaned the galaxolotl tank... fed the moon bunnies.... All that remained was to continue to monitor the condition and wellbeing of the alien specimen dubbed a "bloopoid" that I'd recovered from a scorching hot planet. It was a small, cute creature that was nonetheless perfectly adapted to the extreme conditions of the lava-filled caverns it called home, and I had yet to come out of its biome chamber unsinged.

I hoped that this time would be different (practice makes perfect and all that) and donned my protective gear before grabbing my notebook and heading inside. The reddish creature seemed lively as ever—bouncing around curling vines and large rocks as it pursued its favorite prey, the lava centipede. Illuminated only by the glow of the lava and the red moss "balloon" that grew in its native habitat, the mostly blind lava centipede didn't stand a chance.

After taking a few more notes I prepared to leave, satisfied with the bloopoid's status and my observations for the day, but as I opened the door I was greeted with the sight of an all-too-familiar seagull. "Merielle! Just the gigantic, watermelon-esque head I was hoping to see!" He squawked cheerfully. I tried to ignore his comments about my perfectly average head-size. "I need you to run some tests on this for me," he said as he forcefully shoved a jar into my hands.

"Wh-what is this...?" I asked, examining the jar. Tiny, almost infant-looking aliens writhed unnervingly within their glass confinement, a dark, greenish mold forming around the top and bottom of the container.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't need you to run tests for me!" He laughed heartily. "Anyway, I'm sure there's a feast or something prepared for me that I need to be getting to—catch ya later! Don't let them out!" Gulliver made an unusually brisk exit, and I was left standing there with the bizarre specimen jar.

I stared down at it. A clawed hand reached out of one of the holes poked in the lid, feeling around as if searching for a way out. A deep sense of dread seized my gut. I glanced around. It was just me, the bloopoid, and the lava centipede, blissfully unaware of its impending fate. The concerns I had regarding my potential impact on Earth and space biology echoed in my mind.

I took a deep breath and promptly chucked the jar into the nearest lava pool.

Based off of my entry for the Galactic Gyroids task, as well as the Far Out Frequencies puzzle story! (Waiting for the official answer release so I could submit my story was the hardest part. ;v; ) Writing a full story in less than 500 words is hard, but xara's horror-themed short story inspired me to also try to pull off something nice and punchy within the limits! I tried to go in a funny/humorous direction with the ending of mine and I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out.

Moon Bunnies Team Art

Bongo Bun, the emote I designed for the Discord! Based off of Bongo Cat, of course.

And my flag design! Mainly just for participation, but I'm pleased with how my rabbit silhouette turned out! As we were originally Crew 4, I added four stars to each side.

Extra Camp Art!

A singing space whale I originally drew for Zerous' thread about tracking the space whale's activities, and later shared in the general camp fanart thread! Then a silly/cursed simplified version inspired by Cheremtasy's comments—I drew it as a joke, but it's really grown on me and now I think I like it more than my original??

I also drew the Space Camp team mascots while experimenting with a loose, sketchy style! It was pretty quick to do but I'm also very pleased with the result, so I might have to try this style out more in the future.

And here's a little throwback to the original Camp TBT! I drew this for a Let's Draw Bears camp thread (which I believe was started by Yanrima, but please correct me if I'm wrong!) and apparently never shared it here. As my team, the Poliwags, lacked proper bathroom amenities, I was accosted by a shady soap dealer on my way to sneak into the Buzzy Bees' cabin for their washrooms. Chow scares me.

D&D Miniatures

Spoiler: in-progress pics

Some D&D miniatures I painted of my dad's character for him to use with his gaming group! This was my first time trying something on this small of a scale and whew, my neck. It was fun though! Even if I kept discovering tiny unpainted areas throughout the process.

More Rubber Band Bracelets!!

It's beginning to feel like an art gallery post from me isn't complete without one of these! I finished this batch over the summer.

That's all for now—if you've made it to the end here, thank you so much for looking at all my recent creations! ​

 

[.: Meri :.]

A shorter post from me this time, but I finished a mini-project today and wanted to go ahead and talk about it! Recently I decided to customize the sketchbook I'm currently using, since I wasn't a fan of the cover design, and so today the makeover process began!

Say farewell, Ikea Vintrig sketchbook. It probably would've been a load faster to go with a base coat of black, given how dark and saturated these colors were, but dang it, I wanted a white background!!

(Nearly two small tubes of titanium white acrylic paint later, my mom pointed out that we had a perfectly good bottle of white gesso. Ahahaa... whoops.)

While I already had an idea for the colors I wanted to use, I spent a good deal of time in-between coats of white trying to decide on what sort of design I wanted to go with. When both sides were fully white I finally settled on doing an abstract-y botanical sort of deal, and y'all?? I love my new sketchbook!

And I finally got to use some of my shiny gold paint! ;w; I'm really satisfied with the results, although if I ever do something like this again I will absolutely be using gesso for the base coat. During the process of painting on the base layers, both the front and back cover did seem to warp in the middle from all the paint, but after being allowed to dry and then laid flat on the warped side for a while, they both went back to their original flatness.
The only real issue I've found with this so far is the paint that got on the spiral rings—turning the cover and pages is not as smooth of a process as it used to be because of that; it's almost like they get a little stuck? I'm not entirely sure how to prevent this, but if anyone has any advice for that I'd love to hear it! It doesn't seem to be too serious an issue thankfully, and the sketchbook is still perfectly usable—given how much I didn't like the design before and how happy I am with it now, it's a trade-off I don't mind having made!

--

And another throwback bonus from 2021!! I rediscovered my dream Animal Crossing villager, a normal unicorn named Guenever, when I was sorting through my digital art folders and I don't think I've ever posted her here?? Anyway I still love her and I should really draw her more

Spoiler: bonus bonus: I originally was going to give her the mint version of this dress but thought it was too matchy with the ends of her hair

 

[S.J.]

A shorter post from me this time, but I finished a mini-project today and wanted to go ahead and talk about it! Recently I decided to customize the sketchbook I'm currently using, since I wasn't a fan of the cover design, and so today the makeover process began!

Say farewell, Ikea Vintrig sketchbook. It probably would've been a load faster to go with a base coat of black, given how dark and saturated these colors were, but dang it, I wanted a white background!!

View attachment 513535

(Nearly two small tubes of titanium white acrylic paint later, my mom pointed out that we had a perfectly good bottle of white gesso. Ahahaa... whoops.)

While I already had an idea for the colors I wanted to use, I spent a good deal of time in-between coats of white trying to decide on what sort of design I wanted to go with. When both sides were fully white I finally settled on doing an abstract-y botanical sort of deal, and y'all?? I love my new sketchbook!

View attachment 513537
View attachment 513538
View attachment 513539
View attachment 513540

And I finally got to use some of my shiny gold paint! ;w; I'm really satisfied with the results, although if I ever do something like this again I will absolutely be using gesso for the base coat. During the process of painting on the base layers, both the front and back cover did seem to warp in the middle from all the paint, but after being allowed to dry and then laid flat on the warped side for a while, they both went back to their original flatness.
The only real issue I've found with this so far is the paint that got on the spiral rings—turning the cover and pages is not as smooth of a process as it used to be because of that; it's almost like they get a little stuck? I'm not entirely sure how to prevent this, but if anyone has any advice for that I'd love to hear it! It doesn't seem to be too serious an issue thankfully, and the sketchbook is still perfectly usable—given how much I didn't like the design before and how happy I am with it now, it's a trade-off I don't mind having made!

--

And another throwback bonus from 2021!! I rediscovered my dream Animal Crossing villager, a normal unicorn named Guenever, when I was sorting through my digital art folders and I don't think I've ever posted her here?? Anyway I still love her and I should really draw her more

View attachment 513541

Spoiler: bonus bonus: I originally was going to give her the mint version of this dress but thought it was too matchy with the ends of her hair

View attachment 513542

Merielle! Your sketchbook looks amazing! I love the colour palette you used, especially the red and golds!

Also, Guenever is adorable. 100% would invite her to my island.

 

[Yanrima~]

And here's a little throwback to the original Camp TBT! I drew this for a Let's Draw Bears camp thread (which I believe was started by Yanrima, but please correct me if I'm wrong!) and apparently never shared it here. As my team, the Poliwags, lacked proper bathroom amenities, I was accosted by a shady soap dealer on my way to sneak into the Buzzy Bees' cabin for their washrooms. Chow scares me.

View attachment 511447​

I've looked at your digital background drawings and they're actually nice to look at!

(And yes...I definitely started the whole drawing bears thread back at Camp TBT 2021 when my TBT username is Yanrimasart before changing it)

 

[Zerous]

A shorter post from me this time, but I finished a mini-project today and wanted to go ahead and talk about it! Recently I decided to customize the sketchbook I'm currently using, since I wasn't a fan of the cover design, and so today the makeover process began!

Say farewell, Ikea Vintrig sketchbook. It probably would've been a load faster to go with a base coat of black, given how dark and saturated these colors were, but dang it, I wanted a white background!!

View attachment 513535

(Nearly two small tubes of titanium white acrylic paint later, my mom pointed out that we had a perfectly good bottle of white gesso. Ahahaa... whoops.)

While I already had an idea for the colors I wanted to use, I spent a good deal of time in-between coats of white trying to decide on what sort of design I wanted to go with. When both sides were fully white I finally settled on doing an abstract-y botanical sort of deal, and y'all?? I love my new sketchbook!

View attachment 513537
View attachment 513538
View attachment 513539
View attachment 513540

And I finally got to use some of my shiny gold paint! ;w; I'm really satisfied with the results, although if I ever do something like this again I will absolutely be using gesso for the base coat. During the process of painting on the base layers, both the front and back cover did seem to warp in the middle from all the paint, but after being allowed to dry and then laid flat on the warped side for a while, they both went back to their original flatness.
The only real issue I've found with this so far is the paint that got on the spiral rings—turning the cover and pages is not as smooth of a process as it used to be because of that; it's almost like they get a little stuck? I'm not entirely sure how to prevent this, but if anyone has any advice for that I'd love to hear it! It doesn't seem to be too serious an issue thankfully, and the sketchbook is still perfectly usable—given how much I didn't like the design before and how happy I am with it now, it's a trade-off I don't mind having made!

--

And another throwback bonus from 2021!! I rediscovered my dream Animal Crossing villager, a normal unicorn named Guenever, when I was sorting through my digital art folders and I don't think I've ever posted her here?? Anyway I still love her and I should really draw her more

View attachment 513541

Spoiler: bonus bonus: I originally was going to give her the mint version of this dress but thought it was too matchy with the ends of her hair

View attachment 513542

Ahh your sketchbook turned out so good!! I love the gold accents!
Guenever is also really cute!!

 

[.: Meri :.]

Back with another short post because I finished the reference sheet I've been working on of my main self-insert OC!! ;v; I've had her for a long long time now, but never properly committed to putting a solid design down on a page—even so, she's been the basis for many video game characters of mine, and is also the character I named myself after on here. now I don't know how to refer to her because I'm Merielle here but she's also Merielle and I feel like this could get confusing fast

I really want to design more outfits for her in the future (thankfully I have a base version of this art saved, so that shouldn't be too hard! maybe I'll even make a dressup game for her someday??) but I'd consider this a good main outfit for her for now! I put her in a lot of fun fantasy settings and I think it's a good fit for that, although I definitely want to give her a more mundane/real-world look at some point too.​

 

[.: Meri :.]

I hope everyone had a delightfully spooky Halloween! I figured it was about time I shared my entries from the Haunted Carnival here. So without further ado, welcome one and all to my newest gallery post!

Vandal Visions (ft. lineart by Pyoopi!)

"It seems the dollmaker is out gathering supplies right now, so if you want to make friends with them, you'll have to wait for their return.
...Although that might not be the best idea."

Jack Jeanne's fall performance, Spooky's Jump Scare Mansion's Dollhouse DLC, and the Voodoo Doll collectible had me in a "scary doll" mood for this coloring/design event! I also threw in a direct reference to Ib with the doll in the camper window! I thought I was being overly ambitious with the handprint on the glass, but it didn't give me too hard of a time and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Flickering Fiends

Spoiler: uncolored printable version + bonus pics of each side

I thought a spooky die would be a fun idea for my paper cube! The story behind this one is that it'd offer you the protection of various spirits depending on how you rolled (just... maybe don't roll a one). I didn't do the most elegant job of taping this one together, but it was an interesting exercise for me because I wound up working backwards from my usual process!
Generally with art I do the rough sketch on paper, take a photo of it, and then handle the lineart/coloring digitally. Since this task required printing though (and we don't have a working color printer) I did basically the opposite—the sketch and lining was done digitally, and then I printed it out and colored it traditionally. The background for the two side didn't quite turn out how I wanted and I wish I'd arranged the candy corn on the six side in a more interesting way, but I'm very happy with the sides for one, three, four, and five!
I've still got my cube sitting on my desk, actually. It's kinda fun to toss around tbh!

Creature Feature

Spoiler: it is safely tucked away here

"As you approach the back of the tent, a... beast of some variety, covered in long black hair, slowly turns its head to look at you. You notice its leash is broken."

The creature I designed for my random prompt, "hairy beast"! While I tried to make its species rather vague/unclear to fit the broadness of the "beast" part, when I showed it to my mom she immediately said it looked like a Chinese Crested dog. Then she said she loved it and wanted it on a t-shirt. Make of that what you will.

Spoiler: a never-before-seen bonus

"Against all common sense and reason, you attempt to give the beast a haircut..."

And for my final act...

Forbidden Fortunes

​

Drawn upright, the card represents the passing of knowledge to new generations, modern innovation built upon the firm foundations of the past, and the support given by tradition and heritage. Those who have forged the path ahead allow those who follow to take the next steps.

Drawn reversed, however, The Successor means something is stuck in old ways, or bound by convention. Inherited duties or responsibilities could leave someone trapped, unable to move forward. Change is necessary to avoid stifling new growth.​

The Spooky Stalk Market may have put my brain on turnips a little, but as someone who's sadly never been particularly close to any of my grandparents, I do have a bit of a soft spot for Joan and Daisy Mae. The subject of tradition and duty is one I've given a lot of thought to, and paired with them I thought it made a good subject for a card—I also tried to write the description in a way that the meanings could fit whether the person was in the position of the successor, or the one with a successor. The number seven was chosen based off of Joan's Amiibo card number!

-

That brings us to the end of my carnival art, but I've got one more thing I'd like to share before I wrap this post up! I'm trying to make it a personal goal to draw more art for myself, and to start on that I worked on a picture to get a better feel for my new self-insert OC, Liselotte (Lotte for short)! (´•ω•๑)

Art-wise, I played around with doing fancy eyelash shadows in the highlights of the eye here, which I've always loved as a style touch! It's funny to me that while I designed Merielle as a sort of fantasy version of myself, there's plenty of things I like that don't necessarily feel right for her? Also sometimes I want to have pastel green hair. So Lotte was born! Since they're both self-inserts/sonas for me, they've got a lotte lot in common ofc, but I created Lotte with the idea to better express facets of myself that are less present in how I view Merielle. I think they're both very comforting for me to create around though, and I hope to start drawing them more often. ♡​

 

[Dunquixote]

they all look so amazing Merielle! I especially love the tarot card! Your OC is so cute!

 

[.: Meri :.]

Time to catch up with recent event creations and some other pieces!

North Pole Ornament Workshop

I tried my hand at making a pinecone penguin for my ornament! Although I chose a fairly open pinecone to work with because I thought it would look best, part of me wonders if a closed pinecone would've been a better choice simply for having a more solid canvas to work on. Either way, I strongly advise to trim off the spines first thing, because ouch. I forgot how sharp those things are.

I made her with some paints, cardstock and thin orange paper, googly eyes, a piece of red ribbon and a gold cord! Gluing the loop in the back would've been the cleanest option, but I wanted to salvage the ribbon and cord afterwards, so it was a messy knot in the back instead.


White Elephant Creations

My piece for my prompt "Gnarled Nutcracker"! Apparently I did not get the horror out of my system during the Halloween event. I had a lot of fun playing with brushes to get the old flaky paint effect on this one, and also adding the little bit of blue light shining through the gem's shadow!

Secret Santa 2023

My first time participating in Balverine's Secret Santa event, and hopefully not my last! I was assigned to create a piece for Kitsuragi and drew two of their characters!

I also got some rainbow pencils recently and doodled this for Xara!

They're bright and fun to work with (and largely unpredictable, but that's part of what makes them cool!), and since I changed my username recently, I also used it a little bit in my new namecard, which you can see in my entry for...

Bright Beginnings

I've had some patterned and foil paper in one of my drawers for ages and didn't know what to do with it, but this wound up being the perfect craft project for them! I made a few prototype lanterns before starting on this one (and I'm so glad I did LOL). My first attempt wound up being a paper slinky, then I managed to invert the shape of the lantern, but got it right on my third attempt and moved on to make my actual entry. I used one sheet of patterned paper for the base of the lantern (the pattern reminded me of scales, which I thought would be a nice touch for the Year of the Dragon ), then used a strip of another piece for the handle. Then I cut strips of gold foil paper for the top and bottom of the lantern, and added some dots with metallic gold paint. I don't consider crafts my forte but I've been hoping to get better at them, and even if it's not anything super fancy I'm quite happy with my end result here! ( ･∀･)b

And as for my new namecard, I drew it on the back of my old one, and tried to keep a few similar motifs (the border, vines, and dots on either side of the top center object). But I also wanted something a more colorful and lively l than my last one (hence the rainbows), and tried to incorporate a few of my favorite TBT collectibles into the design along with some other personal likes.


And finally, I'm gonna tuck some recent commissions I've done into a spoiler here! I've already posted them in my shop thread but I thought I'd share them here too for those who haven't seen them. c:

Spoiler: commissions!!

For Yanrima~!

For Kevinnn!

For nyx~!

For kiwikenobi!

And for mocha.!

 

[.: Meri :.]

I still have a few WIPs I need to finish, but I've said "just one more drawing—" enough times since I last posted here

First up, I did a rainbow doodle pop-up shop to help us reach Red Envelope goals! While a lot of this was just me wanting to play with my new rainbow pencil ahahaha, I also took it as an opportunity to start practicing different chibi proportions! I've been working towards making my chibies ~cuter~

Spoiler: RAINBOW

shop header!

for Kilza!

Ketchup for jadetine!

Cornimer, Rover, and a junimo for MrBox!

Meta Knight for Firesquids!

for Sheando!

Wooper with a silly hat for Aerith!

and two for daringred!

I've been wanting to participate more in the Draw the Person Above You thread too, and made a couple pieces for frogslime and ribbitribbon of their characters respectively! ft. more self-indulgent rainbow pencil usage + glitter gel pens my beloved

TBT's Fourth Egg Decorating Contest
After the tragic fate of my hatchling dragon egg from last year's decorating contest (RIP), I decided to buy wooden craft eggs to use from now on! Sleepy Leif here marks the first of these, and thankfully he gets to be a recurring Easter decoration. He's painted with acrylic paints (and teeny tiny nail-art brushes), with the bush made from an old sock, scraps of green felt, and chalk pastels!

I may have turned my desk a little green with the pastels, but wooden eggs are so, so much less scary to work on than real hardboiled eggs. I didn't have to live in fear of accidentally dropping him (or even setting him down too hard), and I felt a lot more comfortable putting down a base sketch than I would've been on eggshell.
Here's some bonus side-views of the flowers he's napping in! Shamelessly, I didn't paint any details on the back...

I've also been making good on my goal to draw more personal art for myself! ( ･ ᗜ ･)ง
I have so many more drawing ideas in my head but... finding the time to get them out of my head...

First up, more chibi practice featuring my girls Merielle and Lotte!! I think I've found the exact colors I like to use for Lotte's hair, and finally designed one full outfit for her! I will design her full ballgown someday... I'd make chibi!Lotte's legs a little shorter if I did these over again, probably.

Lotte also got to star in my pfp and signature for the current Earth Week event!! The ideas I wanted to use were a little to specific to rely on official art edits for hehe, so this may be the first time I've used my own characters for my aesthetic?
I experimented with some different brushes here and I do like how they turned out, but I'll probably go back to my usual brushes after this (with the exception of my new sparkly dust brushes, I love them). I also had to finally sit down and draw detailed flowers instead of simplifying them... it was painful but worth it I think!

now Lotte has two half-designed outfits I need to finish

And last but not least, I've done a little art for some characters I adopted on Toyhouse! c: Here's a little refsheet/chibi for Twyla (original design by LoStInPrOgReS)! I did add some horns matching her socks to her design bc for some reason I really love drawing characters with horns aaa. Also used her chibi for more brush experimenting!

shaded version!

And I also drew a fullbody picture of Cygnus (design by yyochi) to get a feel for how I want to draw him!

Aaaand with that I think(?) I'm finally caught up!! ;w;​

 

[.: Meri :.]

I DIDN'T FORGET MY FAREWELL TO NEW LEAF ENTRIES I JUST... thought my last post was getting kinda long!! I was very definitely just saving them for this post!! Yeah!!
i'm not a total scatterbrain. i promise

Spoiler: A Memory I Can't Forget - Mayoral Memories

—There is still a day in Moonfall I remember all too clearly, maybe even more so than the celebrations, the hellos and goodbyes...

Night had fallen by the time I’d finished my daily rounds as mayor, and yet there still lingered an urgency in the air, as if I’d forgotten something; as if time were running out. That’s when I noticed the faint orange light from the north side of town. A tent was set up in the campsite, aglow with the lively presence of a new face.
Isabelle advised me of the importance of always giving visitors to Moonfall a friendly greeting. It established a good reputation for the town, and there was always the possibility that they might even decide to move here, if welcomed warmly. I quickly made my way towards the tent, and was met by the warm, inviting smell of stew as I approached. The faces of animals real and imagined crossed through my mind as I opened the tent flap to meet our guest.

“Hello and welcome to Moonfall!” I chimed. I was ashamed to admit it, but the face of the pig in the tent—utterly unlike any of the visages in my mind—startled me slightly, though I tried not to let it show outwardly. He was heavily scarred and already bore a strange smile. Nevertheless, I didn’t know his circumstances, and I knew it was wrong to judge a book by its cover, so I continued cheerfully, “I’m the mayor of this little town. I hope you’ve been enjoying your stay here!”

“Name’s Rasher. I just thought I’d set up camp here for a little while. Seems like I picked a nice place,” he said. Momentarily, I was reassured; he was maybe a little brusque in manner, but otherwise seemed friendly enough. I was about to respond when I noticed his eyes were fixated on the tools sticking out of my backpack. His smile widened and I was struck by a sense of wrongness. It wasn’t a fake smile—there was no doubt that it reached his eyes—but there was no warmth there. A chill crept over me as I realized the exact tool he’d been staring at. “...Hey, what do you say we play a little game with your axe?”

“Sorry, there’s a town meeting, I just remembered I’m supposed to be there!” I closed the tent flap quickly—hopefully not too quickly. There was no sound of movement from inside the tent. Heartbeat loud in my ears, I turned towards the nearby police station and swiftly walked in its direction, hoping not to alert the man in the tent to my intentions.

I opened the door. “Booker.” He turned towards me, visibly alarmed by the urgency in my quiet voice. “The camper—I don’t think he’s safe to have around, he said he wanted to ‘play a game with my axe’, there’s something wrong with the way he smiled at me, I...” My voice, growing shakier as I tried to give him the details, trailed off.

“Um... are you sure you heard him correctly...?” Booker offered timidly, rather generously to the stranger, I thought. “Maybe he wanted to play a game of facts... or something...”

“No, he was definitely staring at the axe in my bag.”

“Uh, well... if he didn’t make an actual threat, or anything... I don’t think I can do anything about him right now...” Booker shuffled uncomfortably.

“How is that not a threat?!” I hissed, perhaps a little more harshly than intended. “If he does something, then it’s already too late!” I tried to keep my voice down. I was grateful just a few moments ago that the station wasn’t far from camp... but if my words carried...

“U-um, well, I...” the bulldog stuttered. My shoulders slacked in resignation—I don’t think either of us were equipped to handle a maniac in town. I didn’t want to just ignore it, but if I pushed Booker to do something, and then things escalated...

“No, you’re... you’re right, Booker. I’m sorry. I’ll let you know if anything happens.” He looked like he wanted to say something as I left.

Back in the night air and away from the station’s fluorescent light, fear gripped my chest. I hadn’t heard anything outside while I was in there. The tent was lit, quiet... I swallowed and walked past. Fists clenched, I kept going, one foot in front of the other, but not too fast, listening—


I woke instantly the next morning from a restless sleep. It was early still, but the sickening unease pushed me to make my rounds anyway.

Everyone was fine. Nothing was damaged, there were no disturbing messages left behind. Isabelle was obliviously perky, as usual. Finally, I stood before the campsite. The tent was gone. There was no presence there, no chilling smile nor the sizzle of the stewpot. Part of me felt that same sense of relief as when a bad storm finally passes over, when you know things are finally safe again. The other part of me...

Did anyone actually see him leave? ...What if he comes back?


Nothing ever came of that incident. Moonfall continued its celebrations, its hellos and goodbyes. But every time the bushes rustled, every time I thought I caught sight of a shadow out of the corner of my eye, every time I stepped into my darkened, empty house...

That other part of me wondered.

Based on an actual campsite experience I had in New Leaf! (That I still think is funny. To be clear I actually like Rasher lol) I leave it up to you to decide whether Rasher is an actual threat in this story, or if this is a tale of my mayor's descent into paranoia.

Picture Perfect
I mostly do digital art, but the "scrapbook page" premise was too tempting to not make an actual physical page out of! I loved making all the little individual snippets and decorations, and then cutting (or tearing) them out and taping them to this page! The MEOW Coupon was the most painstaking part—though I tried my best to be very geometric and precise about it to recreate the in-game ones, it still has a very handmade look to it ahaha.

And I've finished a couple more personal art pieces in the meantime! First up is a proper new design for Anna, who I wanted as a best friend for Twyla! I was initially going to use an adopted design, but I wound up wanting something a bit different for her and decided to make a new look for her myself.

Her and Twyla are meant to have similar fashion tastes, but I otherwise wanted to avoid having too much overlap between them, so they could also complement each other nicely when drawn together (which I will do... at some point). Since Twyla's main color scheme is mint + lavender + white, I went with very soft baby pink/blue and black for Anna. I also gave her short bangs to contrast with Twyla's eye-covering ones!
Other parts of her design are just blatant self-appeal tbh. I like eyepatches and decora hairclips and really want a pair of kitty silhouette tights for myself... and I've loved choker necklaces ever since I saw Cinderella as a toddler...

Also did a quick bust of her old design! I'm not sure what to do with it now that I've made a new design for Anna, so I'll probably try to find a new home for it... but I still think it's a very cute design and I wanted to draw her once before letting her go hehe (๑´•ω • `๑) edit: she has found a new home!!​

also! I made some quick alternate hairstyles for Cygnus!
adoptables make me feel like I'm playing with dolls again. "I like this one, I will buy them and dress them up and style their hair"​

And to wrap this post up, a couple more recent claims from the Draw the Person Above You thread!! I've had a blast doing these, but I might have to take a little break from them with the TBTWC coming up... I also think I might join Art Fight this year...!!
A number of my personal characters still need better outfit refs and things like that, so I have some prepwork ahead of me. if I get around to it. we'll see. I'll probably still join either way

For Zerous! ​

And for Aquilla! ​