Of my OCs, Cardi is probably the one which has crystallized the most at this point, and her appearance is the one I'm the most proud of. The evolution of her design has been joyfully subconcious – I can't touch the pen to the paper (or stylus to the tablet) without it drawing an improved Cardi nearly every time.

Her appearance reflects her personality. Her body is soft and warm, as is her heart, and her hair is an airy, tangled mess that lives a life of its own and can never be straightened, as is the mind in the head it grows out from.

On October 14 it will be one year since the first crude design of Cardi was submitted. Look at how far she has come. I keep pushing myself, revising my techniques, scrapping old practices in favor of new ones. I demand a lot of myself, perhaps too much. Adequacy won't do. I really want to be in the one percent.

There's a long way to go though, and the big problem is not so much the quality of my works as the quantity. I need to find a way to stay motivated.

This is one year ago:
This
This

I wonder how long before I look back at this the way I look back at those now. Part of me also fears that I will hit a ceiling, that I will stop improving...