I recently was made aware of a fun little art trend recently that caught my attention. The premise was simply just a showcase of pieces an artist has made over the past 10 years starting from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2024. This was my take on the trend.
As I went through my back catalogue I quickly came to the realization that summarizing an entire year with one piece was not only challenging but also left out very key bits of my art journey unaccounted for so I decided that it would be more appropriate to write this article portraying my thoughts on each year and where I was at.
2015 - A Burgeoning Passion
2015 was right in the middle of my exploratory phase of art. Digital art was still pretty new to me in the grand scheme of things and I hadnβt quite been exposed to concepts like βstudiesβ and whatnot so I really was just free-balling my artwork. I had not been exposed to the art world very much and my scope of what good art was out there was quite slim. I was mostly motivated by having fun as well as βbeing betterβ at drawing than my peers. I was still under a different alias and I wouldnβt yet pick up the moniker βd-floeβ until the following year.
Early 2015
During these early years there was a wide range of different styles and approaches and this trend continued for a few more years. There are small bits and pieces of my style had show there roots in this era, but I feel that my style had not really set in until much, much later.
Mid 2015
I feel a weird mixture of pride and embarrassment when it comes to these early pieces. I think most artists feel some level of embarrassment when it comes to sharing old artwork. Itβs like sharing old photos of yourself to other people. Thatβs not you anymore, but it was you, and the fact that there is a difference shows some form of growth. I am glad I explored as much as I did during this era. Even though I was doing the equivalent of smacking my head against a well to get through it, the process helped point me in a direction that best suited myself as a parson and formed the basis that would carry me on through my art journey. Of course, I didnβt know any of this at the time, I was just a 16 year old doing art for fun.
Late 2015
As I look back its like watching someone through a window trip and fall on a series of obvious banana peels. All I can do is sit here and watch as my past self continuously makes silly mistakes, and occasionally making a pretty decent piece without realizing, only to go back to making silly mistakes again.
This will be a reoccurring theme, but the pieces I chose to showcase here donβt even begin to match up to the mountain of art I made this year or any year. Splitting up the year into thirds still isnβt enough to truly capture the wild journey that was my early years.
Selection
Ultimately I ended up going with this piece to best summarize 2015. I feel like it has much of the early roots that would later become my art style today. I donβt like it, but I certainly dislike it the least.
2016 - An Emerging Art Style
2016, especially later on, is when things really start to come together and make sense. Early on I was doing figure studies and photo studies, but I also heavily deviated into βeughβ territory before readjusting back on course.
Early 2016
Continuing the trend from 2015, early 2016 had a ludicrous amount of experimentation. Some were pretty good, some were not so great. I am grateful that I at least tried to start studies during this period. Around this time was when I began going by the name d-floe.
Early 2016 was also when I first designed my mascot and flagship character, Apricot.
Mid 2016
Still more continued experimentation as early in the year. Same mixed bag. However; big changes were on the horizon.
Late 2016
Late 2016 is probably where I would consider the real beginning of my art journey. During this time, I started taking art way more seriously to the point where I began my first anatomical studies. This was also the true beginnings of when I helped found the SHAδΊMED discord server. I donβt remember exactly what was going through my head at the time but I reached a stylistic epiphany that I would continue to carry over the course of the new few years.
Selection
β¦ WIP