Holy crap. I did it! I did the digital art thing! It only took me twenty minutes to figure out why I could only paint in red (the red channel was selected) and only took me two hours to figure out how to use a gradient map effectively! *confetti*

I mean, it's not perfect by a long shot, and there is plenty of room to improve, but I'm really proud. I haven't done and actual piece of digital art in a long time-- I fell out of practice thanks to life, depression, work. And then there was the anxiety of trying to start it again! What if I suck? What if everyone laughs at me? What if my sad under
powered computer commits suicide during the night?!

Honestly, two days isn't bad. Not at all. It took way less time than I expected once I remembered that gradient maps exist. I've never used them before-- I could never get them to work-- but I finally beat GIMP into submission and made it work. I tried new things like adding texture, worked with new brushes-- I forgot how much fun this all was.

I want to continue this. I missed this. I didn't realize just how much until now. I have an outlet again, and it feels wonderful.