Thank you to everyone who tuned into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
Welcome back to the dust, Brave Souls.
Tonight, I want to start with a conversation about Themes.
Not just for the stream, but for the world of Szaahel and the work we are doing this year.
We are almost done with the sketchbook. And as we move forward, I believe it is important to have direction. I want to stay in the vein of Worldbuilding via Play, but I want to focus on four specific pillars that make a cohesive world.
The Four Pillars of Szaahel
I’ve broken down my study for this year into four distinct categories. This is how we build the IP out:
NPCs (First Week): Character design, anatomy, clothing.
Locations (Second Week): Landscapes, architecture, the environment.
Ecology (Third Week): Monsters, flora, fauna, the bestiary.
Factions (Fourth Week): Mercenaries, political figures, merchants—the social fabric.
This is the kiln, the potters table, the workbench. This isn’t polished or finished work; this is bringing you into the rough drafts.
The Blueprint of Nostalgia
As I’m drawing tonight, I’m listening to Sade. There is a guy on YouTube, Setsukin, who has a Sade mix that is just fire.
I grew up on R&B and Jazz, and I didn’t realize how much it does for me as a creative. It’s weird—how is it that smooth R&B makes me want to draw monsters?
I think it’s because those artists are the Blueprints. They took their time. In an era of microwave content, they made slow, well-thought-out projects.
When something is good, it’s hard to deny it.
Seeing the Mundane
Tonight we are doing figure drawing. I’m using reference from an Instagram Creator, I believe her name is Jag. When she first came out, she got flack for being too muscular. But I’ve always rocked with the rebels.
This is the job of the artist: To make the mundane extraordinary. Or rather, to accentuate the mundane.
To find beauty in a broad shoulder, a smile, a curve, and make people see what you see.
I tell my wife all the time: “I wish you could see you the way I see you.”
When you draw someone, you are telling them: I see you.
It is humbling for people. Life is hard. We often feel invisible. When an artist stops and captures you, it does something to the soul.
The Dangerous Art
There is an article floating around about AI companies hiring writers for what is effectively propaganda.
It takes artists to craft a narrative. It takes artists to make you question your place in the world. That is a superpower.
I have a controversial hope.
I hope to create something so profound, so human, that one day it ends up on the Banned Book list.
Not because it is hateful. But because it is so intimately human, so universal, that it reminds people of their free will. It reminds people of their sovereignty.
That is dangerous to the powers that be. Knowledge without wisdom is detrimental, but art that reminds you of your own power? That is revolutionary.
If the world becomes a dark place and they start banning books, I hope my story is on that list because it refused to let the human spirit die.
The Bones Speak
I ended the stream with a Divination Roll.
Last time, we rolled three sixes (an 18).
Tonight? Two fives and a six. That’s a 16.
The dice are hot, Brave Souls.
Even when the universe gives you broken eggs, you make something.
But when the universe gives you a 16? You better make the best use of it.
The Ask
We are building something strange and beautiful here in the desert.
Come sitt the Bench: Join me on the live streams (Fri-Sun) as we cycle through the Four Pillars.
Support the Art: If you want to see these sketches become pins or prints let me know which ones and drop comment below!
Spread the Word: Tell a friend about the Brew.
If you are still here? Thank you.
It’s your boy Howler.
Have a beautiful night.
