Greetings!

This post was supposed to follow the pattern of the Bluesky, Tapas, Fliptru and Zinnes‘ ones. However, that won’t be the case; you see, my DeviantArt account currently is my oldest digital art presence, and I hold it very dearly on my heart. So, I believe it’s time for a ride on Memory Lane.

DeviantArt – the Beginning

I created my DeviantArt account on March 5th, 2012; at the time, I was on my Senior High School year and it was an emotional, rough year for me. I was completely unsure and insecure about the next stage of my life and I had just gotten out of my first relationship, which wasn’t a good one and could have become abusive had I lingered on it.

Back then, I had a blog dedicated to one of my first works – The Blue Moon Knights. I also tried to recreate the website to host it but I deleted it and put the work on the shelf; I fully intent on remaking it, though.

DeviantArt came as an option to pave my way as a digital artist, for I used to scan and post my works there; I was still on pencil-and-paper era, and I still have many physical portfolios from my first creations, dating as far back as 2006(!). DeviantArt felt like a safe space, even when I came across vicious, sharp comments disguised as feedbacks (we still lived on that Internet era).

And so it was that IridiumArt was born with a different name: SakuraHayesStudios.

College and Account Lost

On 2013 I graduated from High School and went straight to college. In Brazil, we get on college through either tests (for public universities) or private tuitions (private colleges); I managed to score enough to go to the university housed on my home state, and so my journey as a Graphic Design Bachelor began. The problem was that my DeviantArt account ended up taking the toll for it.

Due to the hectic schedule I had, I stopped posting on DeviantArt; also, I lost the access to the original account email. As a consequence, I no longer had access to that account, but I refused creating another – even though I got tired of the old name I used there, I couldn’t bring myself to abandon it completely.

I also suffered an enormous, paralyzing and crippling art block on the first terms of my graduation, which hindered my personal creations and portfolio. I felt like an impostor, as if I wasn’t deserving of calling myself an artist. I halted my art, and I didn’t feel like posting my drawings most of the time, and the social media didn’t feel like solace or comfort. Instead, DeviantArt became some sort of digital mausoleum of the innocence and hopes I used to have of becoming a professional artist.

Account Recovery & Current Plans

Last year, my very good friend and mentor Jean Pedroso (who is also a kickass comic book artist and writer) advised me to recover my DeviantArt account, for he wanted to gift me with a temporary premium plan there. By then, I had completely forgotten about DeviantArt and I was unsure my old account still existed.

Turns out, it did exist – it was still there, waiting for me with baited breath. After an excruciating, long period of talks and proof-presenting, I managed to get a hold of my old account, and it felt as if I was looking at my 17-year old self once again. This time, I was looking at her after we already survived the perils we were living back then. I was able to finally embrace, take care of her and understand her feelings as none did on the past.

As I changed my account name, I also could mourn the losses of my past for the first time. I could acknowledge and bury my regrets after healing from them. I could put SakuraHayesStudios to rest and re-emerge as IridiumArt and it felt as a full cycle. Though I’m not completely up to date there, I have long-term plans for DeviantArt, which you can read about below.

Current Projects on DeviantArt

• Aylie Anthology: will be posted fully once finished in all hosted languages, with separate featured albums, in August.
• Brigadier Bits: will be posted fully on July, date to be determined.
• La Miseràble: will be fully posted on May 13th, 2025, Aurelia’s Birthday, in all hosted languages, with separate featured albums.
• Menmar: Will be fully posted once finished in all hosted languages, with separate featured albums;
• Oneiropolos: will be fully posted on April 3rd, 2025, in all hosted languages, with separate featured albums.
• Behogár Bradana & Saoshyant: will be posted fully once finished in all hosted languages, with separate featured albums.

This list will be updated whenever a new title is added to the library! You can click on the image above to see my profile on DeviantArt and my wall posts!

Also, I’ll be reposting my illustrations on DeviantArt from now on, and I’ll separate the oldest ones by year, so that others can see my progress throughout the years.

Kind Regards,
IridiumArt