Archives September 2025

I’ve spent more nights than I can count scribbling out everything I know about the creatures I’ve met. Each one is unique—full of quirks, habits, and little mysteries. I don’t want to lose even a single detail. If something were to happen to me, I want others to know who these cryptids really are, not just the myths and rumors that others spread about them.

It started simple: a few sketches here and there, quick notes on things like temperament and diet. But the more time I spent observing, the more I realized how much gets missed. Their odd behaviors, strange little artifacts they leave behind, the patterns they make in their habitats… even the feel of a “Mothman feather” or a single Chupacabra quill. All these details are more than just interesting; they’re important.

So, I created a blank template. A clean slate for each cryptid, just like the ones I fill out myself. I’ve left space for the essentials, like Classification and Habitat, but there’s plenty of room for more peculiar notes too. I’ve even marked a spot for attaching little trinkets. Who knows what people will discover?

I hope anyone who finds this will use it well. Document every quirk, every strange behavior, every sighting. I Believe these Cryptid Index logs might be the only way we can keep these creatures safe from the ones who want to exploit them.

Enamel pins, what the heck are they and how are they made?

If you’re not familiar with enamel pins, they are small bites of collectible art you can attach to many places. They are usually made of metal, though recently people have also been producing wooden and acrylic pins, anywhere from half an inch to a few inches tall and wide, and have sharp metal posts on the back to be pinned to whatever you like. Popular choices for display are bags, jackets, hats, cork boards and even special bags, called ita bags. Ita bags have clear plastic vinyl ‘windows’ to protect the pins while still being visible (plus you’ll never lose a pin again!)

Now that we have talked a bit about what pins are, let’s talk about how to get some of your own made. The first thing to consider is what medium you want. Wood and acrylic are cheaper, but have their own drawbacks like not being as tough, or the art getting chipped off. If you are having metal pins made, there are two main types. Soft enamel, is good for complicated designs and small detail, but is softer and more prone to chipping or denting. Or hard enamel, which is better for solid shapes and little to no small details, as the last step is to grind the pin down to a nice level, smooth, shiny finish. When they are actually being produced, they start with your design, make a 3d mold of your art and cast many copies of it in metal. Syringes are then used to fill in the spaces with the colors of your design. Pantone colors (Colors that have a code and are universal, neat!) are used to get the same color every time, no matter how many times you get the same pin produced. There are also several effects you can utilize to make your pin stand out, though these vary from manufacturer to manufacturer so always check first. You can request dyed metal, or anodized. There are also extras such as a glitter or glow in the dark powder mixed into the enamel, there’s also stained glass effects and screen printing that can be added to create any small details that can’t be captured in the metal alone. Backstamps (having your logo or company name inscribed on the back) in my opinion are also vital, they are essentially your signature on the back side of the pin, and will always remind someone of where the pin came from!

As for ordering pins, there are many manufacturers that you can work directly with, though there may be somewhat of a language barrier. Always be kind to your manufacturers, as they are trying their best to help you and building a good relationship with them matters. To contact a manufacturer, send them an email with your pin design, quantity (places usually require a minimum order of 50-100) and either hard or soft enamel. They will reply with a quote including all the details and how to proceed. Generally after this reply you pay, then they will produce a sample for you to approve before making the rest and having them sent off to you! If you are unsure, you can always ask them, this is where building a friendly relationship with them pays off. Most companies are truly happy you choose them and will do what they can to make things right, but please be nice to them and don’t take advantage. There are also ‘middlemen’ who will contact companies on your behalf, but they usually charge an extra fee and things take longer because they have to check with you, then the factory, then you again. They can be useful if you do not like talking to companies yourself. I have had a handful of pins produced, and never had an issue with contacting them myself. Pins take awhile to produce, so be sure to plan ahead. They can take anywhere from 25 days to over a month and since most factories are based overseas, shipping can also take awhile. I also want to add in that most people that sell pins have them on some sort of backing card. These are small business card-like papers that the pins are attached to before being sent off to their new homes. It’s a really good idea to put all your information on them or anything else you want people to see when they receive your pin.

Pins are really fun to make, and so satisfying to see in your hands. I highly recommend doing it if you have the resources to. Feel free to ask about anything I didn’t cover, and thanks for reading!

Art block, burnout, we all face less creative times. Let’s talk about how to get through it and move past it.

What is art block exactly?

Art block (or burnout, whatever you call the beast) is the feeling of having no ideas, or motivation, feeling like you can’t draw, paint or do any of those creative outlets you used to enjoy so much.

Why are you feeling it? You used to be proud of your work, but suddenly start feeling like your art is terrible or maybe you’ve burned yourself out after producing a bunch of rad new pieces and feel like you can’t make a single new one. Well friend, I’m here to tell you that you aren’t alone.

I too have suffered through these exhausting times. If you are feeling the former, like your work is looking lackluster, then perhaps this is because your work is actually getting better! It may not feel like that in the moment but I promise you, like a crustacean outgrowing its shell, you are getting better and need room to grow. I often find when I feel that way in my own work, it’s because my eye for art has matured and I’m not accustomed to my current skill level which creates a frustrating disconnect. I have to really go outside of my comfort zone to break free of it. It can be fun to see your skills advancing when you do these uncomfortable exercises.

I also have found that when you work very hard, and are under appreciated (a.k.a. not getting paid enough for the effort you’re putting in) burn out sets in very fast. Burn out is different from art block in that you may still have inspiration or ideas, but not passion or energy to do so. It may be different, but can definitely

contribute to it. The following techniques are not cure-all or a guarantee, but they can help and you won’t know until you try!

-Draw (or whatever your medium is) something vastly different than your normal. Pick something you almost never draw, a subject that terrifies you, or something you struggle with and practice it over and over until you’re more comfortable with it. If you get frustrated by this, it is okay! Make sure to give yourself breaks and be kind to your practice. You’re working hard! The point is to stretch and strengthen your weak points to stimulate your art muscles. Once you see some improvement, it’s sure to jump-start your creative energies again!

-Another great way to help is to make a randomizer or use a website! Random animal generators are my favorite. I like to generate a list of 5-10 animals, objects, or anything else you like drawing, then a second list of either more animals or objects. Number them, then use a random generator to match the lists and create weird mixes from the two or if it sparks and idea, go with that! You can also do this by hand using a piece of paper and pen. Write a list of anything you like to draw, cut up the list and put it into a container. Randomly pick out a paper or two, and draw whatever combo comes out! This can be an excellent exercise in creativity, sometimes the random element can really kick that into gear.

-Sometimes to remedy art block or burn-out, consuming some new media can help immensely. Been meaning to read that new comic? That new game that’s still in its shrink wrap? Watch that new movie that’s been gathering dust on your watch-list? Do it!! Block out an appointment for yourself to relax and just absorb it. Often with art block, you’ve used up all those juicy ideas, and you need a bit of time to refill the creative well. Burn-out can be that you are just worn down and maybe you haven’t even realized it yet. Self-care is truly great for this. Have a moment to yourself and check in. Enjoy a little walk in nature, or even around your block. Choose any thing that relaxes you or makes you happy and helps get you back into your zone. I often find the pressure (real or imaginary) of feeling like you have to constantly create things is exhausting and tough to manage when you don’t have the energy but still want to create. Take that time to tend to yourself, your art garden will grow even more beautiful when you do.

-If that doesn’t work for you, sometimes when I’m not feeling I’ve improved or my art isn’t that great, I like to compare my old works to my new ones. Seeing the progress you’ve made (even in a few weeks) can be highly encouraging when you are regularly practicing. It can be just the thing you need to help remind you that you are getting better. You aren’t stuck at your current level, and you may be advancing more than you realize.

Keep up the good work, draw until your fingers fall off and then draw some more.

From over 12 years of drawing, here’s my honest opinion on the drawing tablets I’ve used.

I’ve been drawing digitally for over 12 years at this point, so I thought I would share my experiences with different drawing tablets to hopefully help someone else out there that is as confused and overwhelmed as I once was. 🙂

A drawing tablet is a tablet that (usually) hooks up to your computer and you use it with different programs to create anything you want really. You can use it to create 3d models, edit photos, or draw images from scratch. Bamboo fun, made by wacom a very well known tablet brand, is the first kind I ever used. I was so ecstatic to have something to create digital art with and even now, about 15 years later, it still holds up. (Though I did take pretty good care of it.) It’s got it’s problems, the working area is only 3×5 inches and if that sounds tiny to you it’s because it is about the size of an index card. (Which I don’t know if you have ever tried to create on an index crad but it’s not amazing). However it has great pressure sensitivity, which is the tablet detecting how hard or soft you’re pressing down. Wacom is known for having very sensitive tablets and for a long time they were the only ones, making it a really big deal.

I used my little bamboo for a few years, until I was graciously gifted an Intuos medium, another Wacom brand tablet. This one however had a much larger work area, making bigger drawings much easier and enjoyable to work on. The only complaint I had about this tablet was the port connecting it to the computer was very delicate and after years of use, ultimately was destroyed. I also accidentally dropped my stylus into my coffee one time, which made it useless unfortunately. You’re able to order a new stylus (80$, ouch) but it was still very disappointing.

The next tablet I got was quite different, it was an Ugee, which I had never used or even heard of before, but it boasted the same level of pressure as Wacom. Plus it was a monitor tablet! Which means instead of having to look at your monitor while trusting your hand to go to the right place and make the right gestures, you were working directly on a monitor’s surface. There is a slight issue called ‘parallax’ which means due to the glass and screen being stacked, your pen will be oh so slightly off from where you put the tip, but this is very easy to get used to from the experiences I’ve had. I used this tablet until it was destroyed, which was about 6 years. The back cord on it was not designed very insightfully, as no matter how i had it set up the cord was pressing against my desk at a very sharp angle and eventually destroyed the port on it as well. Which was again very disappointing.

After this I got a different job and didn’t do much digital art for awhile. The next tablet I ended up getting was actually built into a slim Samsung laptop. The stylus included was made with wacoms technology so it supports the many layers of pressure and has a port for it to be hidden in the bottom half of the laptop, safely and conveniently put away. The laptop can be folded completely in half backwards, so you can have a flat surface while drawing on the touch screen, like drawing in a sketchbook. I have issues with this though, since it is a laptop, the screen you draw on is very thin, and I constantly worry about pressing too hard and breaking it. The stylus itself is also very small (think phone stylus from the galaxy note series) and does not fit well into your hand. It does not feel like holding a pencil, and can be quite uncomfortable after time. The sensitivity is excellent though. Due to all those factors I decided to move onto another kind of tablet.

An ipad was my next digital drawing device. It’s a 13in one and after so many tablets, it is by far my favorite. It’s an ipad, so there is a lot of other functionality to it as well as being a tool for drawing which is great right off the bat. It’s a decent size, and the whole thing is touch reactive so you can use a quick double tap to undo/redo/ect. Drawing with the stylus feels nice and natural and the parallax is minimal. The stylus does however cost more than most (Over 100$ last I checked) but it has the same levels of pressure sensitivity as the wacoms. It feels sturdier than most the tablets I have owned so far, I also got it a crazy otterbox case to keep it extra safe. It also has a decent battery life and the very best part?? You can take it anywhere! Most tablets are chained to your computer, and the ones that don’t are very expensive. ipads aren’t exactly cheap, but they about half the price of the only other kind that. 10/10 worth it in my opinion. Especially if you pick up the stellar ‘procreate’ app to draw in. Another downside to the ipad is the connectivity to non mac products. I like to stream my artwork but there’s no real good easy way to do so.

I will update it in the future if I try out any others. Thanks for reading!