I've been wanting to do another one of these, but life has been so busy these last couple months that I haven't been keeping up the community as much as I'd like. I feel like it'd be a disservice not to do a proper deep dive the way I usually try to, so I've been holding off until I finally had the energy for it.

That said, these have always brought me a lot of joy, so I put together a slightly larger bunch of folks than usual to make up for my absence. So let's go!

I wanted to start off with @MyLambda, who I just finished an art trade with recently, and who's traditional ink work I've always really admired. Lambda's been on a concept art kick lately, and his concepts have a nice clean, painterly style to them that's been exciting to watch him slowly refine.

Next is @bromaster3000, who I've had on my shortlist for one of these for so long that I had to double check that I hadn't already featured them. They're still making nice work though! They've always had a real knack for cute, expressive characters, and these simple backgrounds that really enhance whatever emotion they're portraying.

@mou3tte hasn't posted too much yet, but they've got such a charming, unique, and instantly recognizable art style, and I'm a huge sucker for that high contrast look where everything pops.

I'm sure @ultra-shenanigans doesn't need my help here, as their work is easily some of the most refined and genuinely awe inspiring I've ever posted in one of these, but I just wanted to highlight them because we don't see too many painters doing this kind of stuff here. Their process gifs are really something too.

@owlgaarden has some really nice shape language in their work, where each stroke feels deliberate and it's all very clean and has a real sharp graphic appeal.

Hopefully @rotchan doesn't take this the wrong way, but their work reminds me of my childhood on Deviantart in the best way possible. It's in those big, expressive eyes, the soft colors and gentle, dreamy shading; it's all very comfy and nostalgic for me.

Lastly, we have @schllott, (and I'm just now realizing I featured a lot of painters this time) who has this soft, almost 3D sort of look to their characters and concepts. They've got a real wide range to their subjects too, which is always fun as an observer; keeping us on our toes.

I think that's all I've got for today! I suppose I'll take any horror recommendations for this month while I'm here because it's been a real lousy year for me outside of my rewatches so far. I think Near Dark and American Movie (which is not really even a horror) have been my only highlights so far. :/