Hey, AstralTempest, the author of Hidden Forge: Lucem Ac Tenebras, here! Recently, I picked up a hobby in animation and began posting my work on Youtube. I created a character with the same name as my pen name and intend to focus either on shorts about the character or telling stories under the guise of ‘AstralTempest the Awkward Adult’.
Since I have experience in sound design, music composition, image editing, and writing, I figured I may as well take the extra step and combine all of that with drawing, something I used to do all the time back in high school and college. Many of the animation channels on Youtube inspired the decision. I was just sitting there watching these little comic-style characters moving around on the screen and thought to myself, “I wonder if I can do that.” Then, fifteen-ish hours later, the project came together.
Although my main priority is still writing stories, I plan to make more of these little skits in my free time. I may even spin a narrative around the character in the future if it seems more doable. (It’s a lot of work, so a full series would take too much time out of writing, and I’d rather not do that.) Still, the creation process is something I’ve always enjoyed, and doing this is… like baking an enormous multi-layered cake for a baker? Hmm… Anyway, maybe it can turn into something great if I keep practicing. If it sounds interesting to you, please give it a look!