Artfight 2023 Roundup

a decorative divider of my characters bolton and yorkie as angels

Artfight is an art event held yearly during the month of July, if you'd like to learn about it here is their official page describing the event's rules. What's relevant to know moving forward is that it's an art based game where you draw stuff for people, and people draw stuff for you!

This was my fourth year participating! I did a similar roundup blogpost in 2021 which you can read here, despite pariticipating last year I didn't do one of these, would it be weird if I did it retroactively? Anyways! This years theme was Vampires Vs. Werewolves, artfight does polls for what their next theme should be in between years, and Vampires Vs. Werewolves was always the one I hoped would win, so I was stoked to see that it was the theme this year! I was team Werewolf because as much as I love Vampire iconography, I identify more with werewolves.
I really struggled this year with motivation. I came in arms swinging, ready to fight, but got tuckered out pretty quick! Though thankfully I was able to get my ratio (which is a big motivator for me in the event) where I wanted it to be by the end of the event.

Current battle stats, team: Werewolves, Battle Ratio: 51.85%, Points: 847, Attacks: 10, Friendly Fire: 4, Defences: 13

So anyways! I was able to draw a total of 14 things, and draw something for everyone who drew something for me! Let’s look at all of them! Click on the images to view them at fullsize.

It’s Artfight tradition for me to draw something for my best friend Lexi before doing anything else. I explicitly asked her this year who I should draw, since I’ve already drawn a lot of her characters, and she told me: Monster! Who is technically a character we have a sort of “joint custody” of; Lexi designed her, but she’s in a story and world that I created. I decided to do this piece of she and Cindi (since Lexi loves their relationship), in my mind, they’re walking home from a concert (where they were in the audience for once).

An illustration of two characters walking home at night on a sidewalk lit by streetlights. The character on the left has brown and blue hair styled in a pompadour, she’s blushing and fidgeting with her hair as if she’s nervous. She’s got an octopus tattoo that starts at her stomach and has the tentacles stretch onto her arms and neck. She’s wearing a ribbed white tanktop, and black satin pants and overall has a butch vibe, The girl to the left has red hair cut above her shoulders, she’s walking with a cane and is looking at the other girl smugly. She’s pulling the jacket she’s wearing closed, with the jacket being very obviously not her’s, but the girl to her’s. She’s thinking: ‘’I wish she’d just wrap her arm around me already.’’

Lexi ended up returning the favor and drew this absolutely ADORABLE comic of my characters Bolton and Yorkie going on a Sanrio store themed date. I love the date outfits she gave them, and the fact she combined two things I love! Thank you Lexi!

Next I did this piece for iwasarobot (shoutout to a fellow neocities user!) who I’ve been mutuals with since artfight 2021. I thought his character Basin looked fun to 3d model! So I did that! I’m glad I was able to get in at least one “just because” piece this year (as opposed to making something for a friend, or making something as revenge).

A render of a 3d model of a character named Basin who has red skin and lacks a nose or mouth, instead just having his noticeable trait be a bemused looking set of eyes. He has horns that extend from his head, and wears a black tshirt and jeans, and stands neutrally looking at the camera.

She ended up getting me back with such a tender drawing of Yorkie and Bolton that I just adore. Thank you so much!

After that, I did this piece for my friend Ophelia of her characters Vinca and Cain! We’d shared character stuff amongst eachother before this, so I was excited to try my hand at drawing her characters! I decided to try and come up with some outfits for them based on the pinterest boards she keeps for them., and it was a really fun challenge! I imagine they’re posing for a school photo of some sort… maybe a club?

A illustration framed like a school photo with a blue backdrop, with two characters posing dramatically for the shot! The character on the left is humanoid but has horns, black scalara, and pointed fingernails and ears. She's smiling and wearing a fuzzy sweater, tiered skirt, and leather messenger bag. The teen to the right is a regular human, he's smiling sheepishly and wears glasses, has a red letterman jacket and green plaid pants.

Before I drew this, she’d already gotten me with a cozy and moody tourbus piece of Bolton and Yorkie! I absolutely love the vibe on it!! Thank you!

Next I did this piece as revenge for artfight user bunnyhologram! He got me last year also, so I was happy to see a familiar face! As soon as I saw the angel and demon sonas he and his husband have, I knew I had to draw them! And it was such a delight to work on. I did this from start to finish in one day, which is unusual (but very refreshing!) for me!

A chibi styled drawing of two characters. They're both anthropomorphic, with the character on the left being an angelic cat, and the character to the right being a devil like lion. The cat smiles gleefully, holding the arm of the lion, and the lion looks away bashfully.

Here’s the piece they did for me (prompting this revenge) that has Bolton and Yorkie in the cutest loungewear!! I love how xe combined elements from several of their outfits to make such a fun and cohesive look! Thank you so much!!

Next I did this piece as revenge for artfight user wrenwrought! I was so immediately endeared to her character Noel! The illustrations she’s done of her have so much motion to them, that it made me want to make something that moved! It was a fun challenge for me making this piece loop!

A looping animation of a sorcerer clasping her hands which glow a warm orange. She's smiling gently, and her hair, earrings, and long skirt blow in the wind. She's overall dressed very elegantly, and is juxtaposed against a blue night sky.

Here’s the piece they did for me (prompting this revenge) that is so true to Yorkie and Bolton’s dynamic! I absolutely adore the piece, thank you so much!!

I submitted these four separately, but I drew them out like this so I share them here in their original “grid” form. From top to bottom, left to right, these are for artfight users: trinstargirl123, n0ahpog (it’s become a tradition to draw stuff for eachother for three years now!), mintlord, and Oiya. I had such a fun time translating each of these beautiful designs into this “mini chibi” style! I’d like to do more work like this in the future.

Four mini chibi styled illustrations. From top to bottom, left to right, the first is of a character who's strawberry themed from head to toe, with strawberries in their hair, the pattern appearing on the shirt and socks, and strawberry decals on their shorts and shoes. She's smiling happily and posing! Next is a woman with yellow hair, eyes, and sweetheart neckline jumpsuit with a furry stole and long gloves. Overall she's very elegant! And she stands with her hands on her hips smiling. Next is a little guy wearing all black clothes, and has black hair and a skull like mask that accentuates his sharp teeth! He's holding his hands together (which are behind long sleeves) and smiling with a sharp toothy grin. Last is a woman with spit leaf botanical hair. She's wearing a earthy green, orange and camel outfit, and is sitting on the floor next to a potted plant smiling.

N0ahpog did a wonderfully composed piece of Bolton that has such a serene vibe, trinstargirl123 did such a bubbly and ADORABLE piece of Yorkie, mintlord did a piece that captured Yorkie’s essence and expression perfectly, and Oiya did a wonderfully emotive piece of Yorkie ! Thank you all so much!!

Next is revenge for artfight user phantasiart! I decided to draw their characters Reale and Day , and since they’re roommates I thought it’d be fun to draw them getting groceries! I had fun working with these contrasting dark brown and pastel colors!

A chibi style illustration of two characters holding grocery bags and walking. The character on the left is walking backwards and is smiling brightly, kicking out his leg. The character on the right is walking with a more neutral expression, looking at the other character.

The piece they did for me of Bolton and Yorkie that prompted this revenge is so vibrant and beautiful! I love their expressions so much, they’re ready to have a fun day out skating!

Next is this revenge for CorviDaze, who also drew something for me last year! In fact, I used the illustration she did for me in 2022 as my discord icon for a whole year! So it was a delight to see something else from her this year. I felt bad though because she submitted her illustration for me on July first, and I didn’t finish this revenge and submit it until July THIRTY first (despite starting it in the first week of the month). Regardless of my own tardiness, I hope she liked it! I had such a fun time drawing her character Maia Tin, whose over the top design is just the kind of thing I love drawing! She reminds me of a Sailor Moon villain.

An illustration of a character with white short hair and salmon colored skin giving a ''rock on'' signal, smiling, and sticking out her tongue. She's got baggy jeans, and a bra with life preservers as cups.

She did this SUPER cozy piece of Bolton and Yorkie, I felt my jaw drop when I first saw it, I don’t know how she did it in the first day!

This one was a surprise for my friend Jessica! I love these characters a lot, and I wish more people did drawings of them! So I felt like it was my duty to sneak in at the last minute and draw them before the event ended.

A chibi style illustration of three characters. On both ends are two teddy bear styled character, with the one on the left being short, stout and orange, and the one on the right being slender, tall, and yellow. Inbetween the two is a boy with green hair and brown eyes, he's holding both their hands and smiling brightly!

This one is revenge for a fellow sapphic oc haver, Berry! I really wanted to go all out and do this one traditionally, but it worked against me and it ended up a little messier than I'd like for it to be. I hope the care and attention I put into it still reads because I really wanted it to be cool and good!

An illustration of two characters cozy in their bed. The character on the left is awake and smiling, the character on the left is sleeping and has her hand on top of the other character's.

This was in response to an absolutely GOREGEOUS piece she did of Yorkie (and Bolton in tamagotchi form) and his oc Cabby (and Sam in tamagotchi form). The color choices and expression of the whole piece blows me away! It's hard not to smile when I look at it!

And then last but not least! A piece for my friends Sarah and Rocky! I wanted to get both of them, and it occurred to me that two of their characters have a similarity I could tap into (being jerk killers). I actually ended up finishing this piece after artfight was over, which thankfully they were patient about. I hope the wait was worth it!

Two characters looking at a guy being a jerk and sitting on separate benches, but both thinking ''that guys such an asshole i should (redacted) him'' as they eat icecream. The people they're on this icecream date with sit next to them confused about what they're thinking.

In response Sarah drew this ADORABLE piece of Bolton and Yorkie at the beach. I love the swimsuits she gave them so much!! I'll have to remember them for the future, because they're spot on to what they'd wear!

And that's it! As I said last time, from the bottom of my heart: thank you to everyone who drew something for me this year! I keep it all safe in a folder in my computer and it lights up my heart, long after I first see it.

Please note: to those who sent me art, or have art I drew for them featured here: if you would like anything on this page changed, contact me! Also all pronouns are gathered from people's accounts. If you're listed here I got them wrong, or if you've changed them since the publication of this entry and would like that to be reflected on this page, please don't hesitate to contact me over that as well.

Since I'm posting this long after the event has ended, it's been announced that the winner of Artfight 2023 is Team Werewolves! Which means the team I've chosen has won two years (2023 and 2022) and lost two years (2020 and 2021). I might skip Artfight next year so I can put more focus into projects I'd like to do, but there's a whole year until then! So I could change my mind. We'll see how it all goes!