So today is the first anniversary of this art thread, and really the anniversary of my time on Smogon as a whole. In commemoration for this, I drew an image featuring every blue frog Pokemon:
It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since I started posting here, but I'm so happy that I did. When I first posted this thread, I didn't even read the rules (:O), so if I accidentally broke a rule and got the thread locked, I probably wouldn't be here right now. This thread is special to me because it pretty much represents my entire time on Smogon so far—it basically logs my journey with art over time; the only reason that I've gotten to the level I am at now is because I forced myself to draw and post in this thread. And, I feel this date is quite fitting, since that the Smog Awards came out today and I won Most Improved Artist. Winning a Smog Award was something in the back of my mind when I began doing art here, but it was something that I never really thought would become a reality until it did. Thanks to everyone who voted for me!
Smogon is the first and only online community that I have ever joined, and I can honestly say that it has affected me greatly. I've learned so much from being here—and not just art-wise. Probably one of the biggest things I've learned is how to handle rejection; I remember at the beginning of my Smogon career when I got warned on a CAP thread for breaking the size rules and didn't look at CAP for the rest of the project, only because I was too scared and self-deprecating to go back. Now, I've learned that rejection is important to help you grow and see where you need to improve—I can't tell you how many times a piece that I've tried to submit to The Smog has been rejected by Bummer because of quality issues. But because of those failures, I've been able to set goals for myself and really focus in on honing my skills in things like anatomy and lighting, which I didn't even realize were issues for myself at the time. Rejection also acts as a reality check for me; especially when coming from a generation where you are praised for being able to tie your shoes correctly, it's really important to have something that can keep you humble and stop you from getting an inflated ego. Most of the kids in my school don't like drawing and so they tell me that I am some sort of drawing prodigy, but then I come here and I see all the amazing artists and I realize that I have so much more to work on. It's a genuinely humbling experience.
I am also extremely happy with all the people I've met in my time here. I'm not sure why Smogon has such a bad reputation, because everyone I've worked with has been unbelievably supportive, helpful, and just plain nice overall. The idea of making friends online was so foreign to me before I came here, but that's no longer the case. I'm really hoping I can strengthen the friendships I've made, and to possibly contribute to other parts of the site and meet new users. I should probably use IRC more as well.
So, yeah. It's been one year, and I'm hoping that I will be here for many more. Sorry for writing so much.