Greetings!

And so it is, that ash seeketh embers… Oh, wait, it’s too soon for that! After all, the year has just begun!

For newcomers, I’m IridiumArt, a Brazilian professional graphic designer, illustrator and comic book writer with thirteen years(!) of joint experience – five years as a comic book writer and eight as an illustrator and graphic designer – and this year I’ll complete 14 years of art industry overall.

That is an achievement in itself, indeed. I’ve seen many others come and go over the years; the art industry isn’t as merciful as many people think and we witness many talents quit rather than stay. Recently, I came across a fellow artist who decided to quit professionally and revert back to being a hobbyist artist – someone with exactly my age and a career which painfully mirrors mine.

Personally, I neither chastise nor judge her, but I do feel sorrowful over this mostly because the very same thought comes to the minds of almost every artist, regardless where they are from or the media they work with. Making a living of art became increasingly difficult over the years, and not all artists want to constantly bend over backwards and reinvent themselves to please social media’s every trend or whim.

Which brings me to this article’s first topic – my social media presence and how I pretend to run it from now on.

New Tidings for My Social Media

My professional experience as a Graphic Designer comes mostly in the form of Social Media Manager. Yes, I work far better with social media for others but myself.

I’m mostly reserved and low profile, which makes the whole social media affairs ghastly and appaling to me in general. I grew up in forums and slower-responding websites (which gave us similar experiences to those of Reddit, for instance) and I mostly prefer them as a contrast and respite from the faster-responding, overstimulating social media we have today and thus I have always struggled with my own brand so far.

I’ve tried fitting in, at least when it came to my drawings and how to showcase them, but the seeds hadn’t bore the fruits I was hoping for. Instead, I’ll go back to the content making which had always fitted me best – longer range YouTube/ streaming videos.

My Social Media Timeline and Streaming Experiences

I actually started streaming in 2017 on my current (and only) Twitch Account, with the sole purpose of registering what was supposed to be my retirement from a MMORPG called Tibia (which I stopped playing on 2025, by the way). After that, I’d stream just on special occasions because I didn’t feel that much confident on streaming on a regular basis – that, and I didn’t have much time to do so.

My former (currently lost and deleted) YouTube channel hosted my activities in Tibia – boss checks and hunts, quests and in-game events with server friends and acquintances, but streaming only came back in Brazil’s 2020’s Comic Con Experience, which was completely held online and served as one of my major appearances.

Recently, I went back on streaming for comic book events as means to promote my works and those of the publisher that I’m currently part of – Black Buffalo Publishing.

My Communication Approach

I’ve grown up surronded by public servants and lived among public offices; my first internships were under public institutions, so my way of marketing and communications had to fit the institutional language and be balanced with modern trends. Therefore, I developed a further taste for low stimulation, slower, better received pronounciation, technical language and objectivity when delivering messages to crowds online and in real-life.

So, I decided to lean on everything I’ve learned and done so far; a technical, journalistic approach has always been true and tested for me and should prove to be easier to adapt rather than I try to communicate in a way which is unfitting to me. Also, it better suits my age – after all, I’m no longer a teenager nor I am in my twenties.

How Old am I, really?

I’m 30 years old – and I’ll be 31 on March. I never had qualms with my age; truth to be told, I felt a sense of relief and freedom when I finally left my 20s behind. I feel wiser, more mature and more self-assured than I was a few years ago, and I think my language should reflect that.

Instead of trying to appear younger (higher pitches, dramatically fawning or even smiling wider than it’s healthier for my face muscles), I’ll lean into the advantages my age gives me – wisdom, experience, maturity and the freedom to have a no-nonsense, straight shooter approach to the subjects I want to talk about.

Streaming Schedules and Runnings

Therefore, I’ll be back to the streaming and vlog scene this year – I re-created my YouTube Channel and TikTok profile and bound them to my Twitch account. That way I’ll be able to optimize my recordings and even create a few clips mixing with my drawings and other overlays.

Also, the idea is to stream weekly on Mondays or Tuesdays; when I become a public servant, I intent on streaming at least twice a week. The streamings’ contents will range from my own career and perspectives to a few gaming sessions to rant and rave. Either way, I’m really excited to do it – and I hope I’ll see you there!

Kind Regards and Happy New Year,
IridiumArt.