Yearly Wrap Up
I’ve missed my blog over the past few weeks. I’m glad to be back as I haven’t stopped making art and doing things so make sure you sit down with a nice cup of coffee or tea with this one as there’s a bunch of stuff you almost missed!
Missing Dank Art
Coming up in March it will be exactly one year of me making Dank Art. Though I have made lots of sketches and even paintings for my friends when they stream, it was Puri_Puri who used the term “Dank Art” and I found this so amusing that it stuck over time. I think if I didn’t call myself AnnK then Dank & the play off my nickname wouldn’t be funny. HOWEVER- I started drawing Dank Art for Puri, Aquas & Macaw to name a few around that time and now I can find myself doing art for 2-3 different streamers a day.
One of the best thing about a year of Dank Art is that I have made so many new friends as well as getting myself back into making daily art. I seriously get excited about when my friends start streaming that I want to rush somewhere to start watching & painting. I now carry a supply of basic paper tiles with me if I find myself away from my art desk at home and in the need to paint.
I was hopeful that more of my friends would stream over the holidays but like most people they were probably busy with family and other activities. However I am glad I got to catch a bunch of exciting & fun streams. Also a happy birthday to good buddy Aquas who just happens to have his just before Christmas. That means double the gifts?
Please go follow my friend Kari fry! She is an amazing artist and an incredible person. She’s already well-known in the community and in her own right, but she’s recently started streaming on twitch! Yay Kari! She’s very into Stardew Valley and also streams a cosy creative stream where she shows you things she is working on.
Kari does incredible art and already has a few books out over at Fangamer that you can check out here:
Adventures in Dank Art 
I started to put my Dank Art tiles I make during Twitch streams into a big book made especially for the paper. It’s a bit like a photo album and looks very impressive when you turn all the pages and see how many of them I have made. I have so much Dank Art that I need another book! You can help me make space by purchasing and collecting your faves. If you don’t have the cash, that’s OK as I do give out a bunch too if you follow me on Twitter. If you would like to buy my work or inquire about getting something custom done, please email me or send me a DM over Twitter :3
A bunch of work went over the holidays! I no longer have these pieces as they now have forever homes. Thank you so much for supporting me and my work! One of my holiday commissions was actually paid in paint as we made a trade, art for pant, and I am totally in love with these tiny sets:
I’ve already started to use them and I think I’m going to work these new colours into future Dank Art. I’m also a huge sucker for metal tin sets like these :3
In the meantime I am working away at a few more commissions and cleaning up a few pieces that I made recently. In future streams I should be making more Super Mario Bros 2, Cotton and more fighting game characters so make sure you are following my stream to check them out live. If you have any requests please tweet them at me!
One day it might be nice to really settle in and make art a bigger part in my life. If I keep working hard and keep sharing my work then maybe I can.
Over the Holidays…
I had a very grim Christmas. I worked long days and due to some major changes at one of my jobs I have been feeling emotionally drained. That’s why I haven’t been able to get my blog out at all in the last few weeks because everything else had to come first before anything I wanted to work on. I still wanted to make Dank Art and stick to a streaming routine, but the blog being what it is takes more time and it was cut so I could squeeze in a last-minute christmas job.
I would have loved to see more of my friends over the holidays but I am grateful that I got some visitors. I did get to go to my pal’s Nadeem’s annual Christmas party where I drank an entire punchbowl full of tequila, ate his food and examined how well-organized his food wrap and lunch satchel drawers were. Yeah, I’ve turned into that party guest now.
I had a modest and cute tree this year which quickly came down after christmas was over. But when it was up it was cute and had a lot of nice things on it like Sarah’s painting, pearlers, DP’s and birbs.
I really just wanted to spend time with my family this year as we spend so much time apart. I didn’t really get to do that this year and it’s mostly why I had a very grim holiday. I spent most of it alone working on my projects and into the night putting the final touches on jobs and loose ends.
Mother 3
Mother 3 is the follow-up to Earthbound which was only released in Japan for the Gameboy Advance. It has a well done Fan Translation a few of my good friends made which gave english speakers everywhere a chance to play this game. Over time the Fan Translation has gone through updates, new language packs and minor tweaks to perfect it. Because of the fan translation, Mother 3 has had a lot of infamy, rumours and serendipitous inspiration over the years.
Mother 3 will most likely never see an official release. Only Nintendo knows why yet won’t say why. I think it has more to do with money & ownerships then any of the top stupidest excuses (the worst excuse is being the Fan Translation itself).
I decided it’s been a while and that I have never played Mother 3 on a solo playthru on my twitch. I’ve always been part of funfests and events playing a segment from this game, but never on my own. I also thought it would be a good choice to play this game going into 2017 after having such a terrible end to 2016.
Picking up Mother 3, it is a stark change from the tone and feel that Earthbound leaves. You go into Mother 3 thinking it’s going to be amazing, wiggly and cosy and suddenly it thrusts this terribly dark and somewhat gruesome plot immediately in the first chapter of the game. The game keeps encouraging you to find hope and to keep playing because it can’t get darker than that beginning, oh no! Can’t top that one! Then it does. And it does it again. And again. Mother 3’s narrative is a vicious cycle of suffering and hope which is relatable to everyone over 25 years old or possibly even higher. I’m saying that because Mother 3 deals strongly with themes of loss and that’s also my non-spoiler warning as well.
Mother 3 really got to me emotionally when I first played as I lost my best friend who was as close to me as my own brother when I was 6 in a tragic event. I had to deal with a lot of loss growing up as a child so it was always hard for me to build on relationships. I lived in townhouses so any friends I made would simply move away when the rent was gone, move away if their family got successful or moved away when police showed up looking for drugs or worse. I also lived most of my childhood in fear of people my own age who hated my brother, hated my family and took great pleasure in making me feel bad for who I am. Not everyone was that way, but it was enough.
Mother 3 does have a crack in its darkness that lets light in so don’t go thinking it’s all glum and sadness. It’s a beautiful game with amazing music with a lot of different elements to the gameplay that makes this if not the perfect RPG you’ll ever play. Period. Perfect doesn’t mean it’s the best or for you- but for me this game is perfect and even tough to win over friends have told me this as well after I got them to play it. This game is also beautifully written and because that Fan Translation is so well done you actually accept is as the official translation.
Tune in and watch when I am playing it if you can’t please play it yourself- Mother 3 is worth your time if not watching, but playing and experiencing on your own terms.
On more Earthbound related news: My Kickstarter fulfilment arrived for You are Earthbound
2013 AnnK was rather poor and I kind of regret not getting the next tier of rewards. Still, I am delighted that my efforts made it and I am apart of this project. I can’t wait to see the finished movie! Thank you Jeff Benson and my friends at Fangamer! Dreams do come true :3
Looking forwards to 2017 I hope to stream more, make more artwork and make more friends. I hope my Dank Art will take me on more cross-country adventures and I start all new projects that will challenge me. I’m still going through a bunch of PC Engine games and soon I’ll be moving onto the CD’s, so if anything tune in for that mayhem on my Twitch channel.