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The original inspiration
I had originally posted this print for sale back in October 2021 on my Etsy shop (but never sold a single one). Coincidentally, that was during my first “career break.” I was still employed at Twitch, living in Irvine, CA, and took a 3-month leave of absence (which is like a sabbatical, but without pay). It was around the height of the Covid pandemic and before going back to work, I took on a personal 30-day challenge to watercolor every day for 30 days. In hindsight, I’m glad I took on this challenge, as opposed to completely squandering the time with nothing to show for it. This was painted on Day 7 (created before ChatGPT came out):
I chose this subject matter because after the first few days of practicing basic swatches, brushing techniques, and following tutorials, I wanted to make something a little more familiar. It was almost Hallow’s End in World of Warcraft, and to celebrate the season, I picked Sinister Squashling, which is a pet I have in WoW.
By Day 10, I remember wanting to give up watercoloring because it was harder than I’d expected (what do you mean I’m not instantly good at anything I try for the first time). But I persevered and completed the challenge. The original was painted on 140 lb Canson cold press watercolor paper.
Why now (in 2026)?
Fast forward 5 years and I’m on my second intentional career break, but this time I quit my job altogether, without another one lined up. This September, I’m trying to figure out if I can earn money through my creative endeavors, partly to see if I can extend my financial runway and partly just to see if what I make would be of value to someone else (outside of corporate).
The holidays are coming up so I figured I’d go through the archives to see what I can sell, and I chose this piece to stock in the store because it’s “easy” and appropriate for Halloween, which is coming up soon.
Why I like this piece
When I dug up the original Photoshop file with the scanned image, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my past self had also included a layer in the file with printing specifications. This is printed on the same watercolor paper used to paint the original, then cut down to size using a manual paper cutter.
What I noticed though, was that the outline seemed washed out. I think it’s that way on the original as well but I decided to hand ink the lines and I think it looks much better afterwards. This adds to the time it takes to process the piece; instead of simply printing it, I also trace the original lines because it looks better and I’m more proud of that look. My hands get more easily cramped after having pregnancy-related carpal tunnel syndrome a couple years ago, and after re-lining one painting, they cramp up but I think it’s worth it. Maybe in the future if these start selling wildly, I will fix it in the Photoshop file itself but for now, I am hand-drawing these.
Left: printed; right: printed and outlined
I don’t play WoW anymore (does anyone actually ever quit?) but I still have fond memories of it during its heyday. I remember the countless hours of trying to put out fires in Goldshire, not really understanding what I was doing, trying to do it efficiently with multiple randos by throwing buckets to each other, and also trying to put out the fires alone when nobody was around in the wee hours of the night. I also remember being so stoked to win the Headless Horseman mount because it was pretty rare back in the day, while this Sinister Squashling pet was easier to obtain.
Now you can also own this pet to hang out with you as a print – buy it from my Etsy store: etsy.com/listing/1081948944/sinister-squashling-framed-watercolor. Use promo code: SQUASHSTORY for 10% off as a reward for reading this far. Thanks for the support!
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