I’ve been on and off with art for years, mostly as a hobby after a failed half-baked career in the field. It wasn’t until 2021, during the long months and years of COVID, that I really started taking art fundamentals seriously.
Looking back at my 2D works from that period, some of them were really great…but I was chasing something I wasn’t. I tried to follow trends, hoping my works would be recognized, only to feel discouraged when it fell flat on social media.
Karna (Fate Grand Order) fanart, I think this piece was from 2022.
Although I do have a fair list of favorite anime and games that tend to attract more attention when you make fan art of them, my interests were (and still are) actually very specific: philosophy, films, mythology and classical art.
Indian mythology and South Indian cinema were my two pillars of inspiration back then.
Arjuna, Draupadi and Lord Rama – figures from Indian mythology
I also made quite a bit of film studies and fan art, which helped me grow a small audience within those fandoms. Here are just a few of many. I used to go by Tokiwa M. (id: tkwmatsu) back then, as you can see in the signatures.
And boy, was I obsessed with KGF.
I don’t make as much fan art anymore, but I’m still a fan of both classic and modern South Indian cinema.
Then came generative AI and all the changes they made to Twitter. Well… the rest is history. It was a wake-up call, reminding me I needed a different approach… something slower and more personal.
In Fall 2024, I switched to 3D sculpting, hoping to find a pace that allowed me to explore my style without the constant pressure of staying relevant.
It’s been a process of rediscovery, learning to focus on my own journey.
Art is a long path of trial and error. Sometimes we try to fit into a mold and fail. But after everything, I feel the real growth comes from finding your own rhythm.
