I actually became an artist with the original intention to become a game developer (or a comics artist. Both, ideally) Then I learned what my dream studio was doing to their dev teams behind closed doors and now I'm getting a PhD in webcomics. youtube.com/shorts/-uamJ...

Very dramatic tonal whiplash here, but I just heard about the shooting in Louisiana. Here's the post I wrote on FB because there's too much to say for a thread.

Look, I know everyone had very mixed feelings about this movie, but I for one (as a longtime Tintin reader) found it delightful.

Heeeeey y'all how've you been, I've been super sick and bedbound for the last week. 🫠 Today I felt a tiny bit better, though, and managed to make this:

We didn't deserve this day.

Two more commissions, both big colored illustrations! Genuinely such a huge pleasure to work on both of these, really let me stretch my art muscles. Thank you to lindsay | jewishlancelot (over on Tumblr) and @readares.bsky.social for commissioning me, and trusting me with your gorgeous Rooks!

geez I keep forgetting to tell people about my comic here wtf Anyways, this week on No Time To Apologize, I'm definitely not channeling my inner voice criticizing my sleep schedule (read over here: notimetoapologizecomic.tumblr.com?source=share ) #emmrichvolkarin #dragonage #datvfancomic

✨ Username: Elkaby ✨ Pronouns: she/her/they/them ✨ Height: 5' 6" ✨ Sexuality: grey ace, mostly straight ✨ Sign: ♒ ✨ Piercings: 1 piercing per ear, nose ring ✨Tattoos: 5, all on my arms ✨ Drink: orange green tea from Mr.Tea ✨Food: bread ✨ Pets: 1.5 dogs, 3 cats ✨ Relationship: 🫩

As a cis woman:🧵1/2

Atash:

Because I don't feel like typing this all out again on my phone, you get a Facebook screenshot (FB is where I yell at my family and BlueSky is where I yell at strangers and Discord friends): #alexpretti #fuckice #abolishice

It's a funny question because Atash, like me, is on the ace spectrum, and only feels *feelings* for people maybe once every few decades. Maybe. If at all. So it certainly *feels* like a soulmates thing when it happens. Which means it's an extra spicy brand of devastating when it doesn't work out.

I remember when Yuumei first posted this painting, over a decade ago. This breaks my already thoroughly fractured heart. But if anything is going to get better, we have to see the truth. "Artists use lies to tell the truth, while politicians use them to cover the truth up." - Alan Moore

Heeeey it's New PFP time (again)! I figured it was time for something that looked like me and I actually *liked.* The greatest treatment for my OCD in regards to art has been blobby squishy cartooning. I can't comfortably imagine myself any other way. 😅 #art #digitalartist #selfportrait #blorb

I got my Emmrich calendar! Check out me & @elkaby.bsky.social ‘s colab for February. (Thank you for letting me turn Feb into mardi gras instead of valentines. 💜💚💛) Vorgoth… buddy, how’d you get all those beads? 👀🤭 I also got my signed poster from @nickboraine.bsky.social! I love it!

Atash, initially, does NOT cry. Ever. EVER ever. The last time she cried was at her mother's funeral, when she was 19. She's 31. Then she meets a Saarebas in the Crossroads and it triggers major Big Feelings and long story short she now cries every time she sees a cute kitten or a pretty sunset.

Ooooooooooof, this is so HARD 😩 I love them all so much. I guess, over all, my favorite has to be a tie between Castle in the Sky and Princess Mononoke. The Fall of Laputa gets me every time, and the environmentalist message of Mononoke actually really stuck with me good.

For people that feel helpless, this period is so tough but there's ways to help for anyone. Go out there support Venezuelan ppl and artists living in it as they prepare for unpredictable times Here is a starter pack of artists with commissions or donations open as well: go.bsky.app/8daQmpX

..... Hmmm.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, Y'ALL! To celebrate, here's the piece I did for @thefadeserver.bsky.social 's Emmrich-themed calendar!!!! I was assigned the month of February, so we went with depicting Satinalia, the Dragon Age equivalent to Mardi Gras! #dragonagetheveilguard #emmrichvolkarin #illustration

My Art Summary for 2025! And yeah it's all Dragon Age. Mostly Veilguard. Mostly Emmrich Volkarin. I'd be embarrassed but my thesis has completely scoured away my ability to feel shame. 😊 I made some really good stuff this year. I'm proud of it. #artsummary2025 #dragonage

I am a human who makes DA art with currently open commissions!

'kay, it's BILL PAYING TIME so here's my commission menu if anyone's interested! I have 5 open slots. I promise that I am perfectly willing to do other things besides DA / Emmrich fanart. Although that remains my favorite. 💚 #commsopen #artcommissions ko-fi.com/elkaby/commi...

I've been stuck in front of a Word document for the past month, finally got some downtime and decided I needed to make squishes. #phdepression #anxietyyyyyy #datv #dragonagetheveilguard

I misread this image so badly that I can only really hope to illustrate what I saw. ( Also a good excuse for an #art study )

www.instagram.com/reel/DRYlfVn... Someone in the comments pointed out that this will also funnel kids into the military, because they pay for university under the GI bill. Will they pay for arts degrees? OF COURSE not. Don't be silly. 🫠🫠🫠 #mrs.frazzled #earningstest #depofeducation

This reminds me of my home, in Northern California. I'm far away right now, in the UK, dealing with increasing certainty that I can't go back. youtu.be/sAUaoqWvVkQ?...

Yesterday, on a holiday where kids go door to door connecting with their community, my sweet town was terrorized by government-backed thugs. Our schools locked down. We patrolled the streets, warning vulnerable people to stay inside. Helicopters circled incessantly. ICE get out.

i love caring for creatures i hope i have a million creatures for the rest of my life

I've loved Dragon Age for years, since I was a kid. I'm a *thoroughly* jaded and grumpy adult now, but Veilguard reminded me of that kid, and why she wanted to make art. 🐉 #dragonage #dragonagetheveilguard

www.tumblr.com/lkblackham/7... Happy Halloween, and Happy Birthday to the game that rekindled my passion for art and storytelling. I wrote a lil sappy post about it on Tumblr, with a much longer, sappier post planned for when I don't have five projects going at once. 😅

I keep forgetting people use BlueSky now. Anyway here's a page of the full-color longform DA:TV EmmRook fan comic I've been doing over on Tumblr that's honestly higher quality than my actual professional work these days because my brain craves creativity without the pressure of capitalism:

#badday #mentalhealth #anxiety www.instagram.com/p/CHa5--ujeu... A scribble I did... What, five years ago? Oof. This was right after I had been stuck in near-total isolation for 7 months in the UK during the pandemic shutdown. I felt so broken.

This is why the costumes are honestly brilliant. Ngo, who has never said a truthful thing in his entire life (remember the concrete milkshake?) now has to convince people inflatable Sesame Street and animal costumes are violent terrorists. Sometimes you just need an image too silly to demonize.

Okay, time for an Inflammatory (Not Really) Post: A Thread (shout-out to Sophie Labelle, go check out her work)🧵

Forgot to post here - I got to contribute to an awesome project, Unexpected SplendAUr: an Emmrich Volkarin Zine! It's over on the @thefadeserver.bsky.social , PLEASE go check it out! #unexpectedsplendAUr This here is my contribution:

Just wanted to post the commission I did for Yomi (who you can find them at y00ms on Tumblr and phish_phood on AO3!) This is their gorgeous Rook, Loran (they/them)! Man I love a warm color palette. ✨ Still have 2 comm slots open if anyone's interested! Link in the pin. ☝🏼 #commsopen #artcommsopen

vm.tiktok.com/ZNdthfF4B/ Our new pledge. And it's not one of allegiance. #freepalestine #eattherich #nooneisillegalonstolenland

ER doc here! This is a lie. Wait times are up because the American healthcare system is an unsustainable business model and a for-profit national healthcare system just doesn’t work. These problems will continue to get worse until we change that system. It literally has nothing to do with immigrants

everyone be quiet, my favorite K-drama is on #dragonage #veilguardspoilers #emmrichvolkarin #emmrook

ko-fi.com/elkaby/commi... Commissions are open! It's not all EmmRook fanart, I promise. (It's just MOSTLY EmmRook fanart.) #commsopen #digitalart #dragonage

I've been posting and consuming a lot of grim dystopian content lately, so I made myself a lil pick- me-up:

I am still going strong with my Dragon Age obsession and this felt appropriate. #dragonage #dragonagetheveilguard #rookhateseverything

Meme not made by me but it might as well have been. #Internethistory #ohmygod

There was So. Much. Happening today that, for the first time in 24 years, I completely forgot that it was 9/11. It seems... well, eerie, that on the anniversary of these terrorist attacks, we are all dealing with the culmination of continuous domestic terrorism. 🧵/

Every time I want to cry I look at my bois and see how much they love each other and it breaks me sufficiently to let the tears out. #cats #morecats #catsbeingcute #catsabsolutelybreakingyourheartwiththeirloveundying

Wonderful admission from the cops that non violent action is effective and really really makes them sad.

this is why adult creators are really emphasizing that non-creators be the ones who contact paypal. Of all the paypros, PP is the most likely to act in a retaliatory manner towards individual accounts. If you dont make adult content or youre just a commissioner, you are able to help a LOT