Dormant Passion

I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t come up with yet another ambitious, out-of-this-world idea. The AI images I’ve been posting so far have always been met with mixed feelings - on one hand, I genuinely like them, but on the other, I know they were mostly a necessity with the massive amount of work the server alone requires.

But lately, something has been on my mind.

Maybe… I should try illustrating NosTalgia myself?

It sounds a bit like madness… and yet, before I ever thought about creating a server, my greatest passion was drawing. It was the one thing I wanted to dedicate myself to completely. And to be honest - there were many moments when I wanted to give up on the server because I felt it was stealing time from my number one dream.

Now I’m starting to think that maybe it doesn’t have to be a conflict at all. Maybe instead of choosing, I can simply merge both worlds?
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In a New Light
When you have a passion and it gets pushed aside, you feel an inner unrest… My break lasted about three years, which is really a long time. It feels as if someone ripped your heart out. On the other hand, maybe that break was necessary? I had a big problem with my drawing because I fell into the classic trap so many artists know - endless practice and the belief that I was never “good enough.” But that’s a whole other story, so let’s leave it behind and try to look at everything in a new light, starting from zero.

After a lot of thought, I simply sat down and started to draw. I didn’t even have a concrete idea of what to make, but I knew I wanted to create one to three pieces to show on my blog and use them as a reset, a symbolic fresh start. I decided to treat them as if they were the first three drawings of my life. I came up with the idea to dig through my old, unfinished sketches and use them as a base, this time drawing them with my current abilities. It took me four days to create these works, so let’s move on to presenting each one.
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1. Heart and Smile
This is the first drawing in my new series, meant to symbolize a fresh beginning. I wanted it to be simple, clean, and warm. No epic scene, just a moment of honest emotion captured in a slight smile. It’s like a small breath before the road ahead, the first step in returning to drawing, and at the same time a sign that I want to create this world with my own hand as well.
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2. Soul in Wings

“Soul in Wings” is the second drawing in this series and at the same time the first one that instantly started to look like a scene from a larger story. I wanted it to carry a sense of calm amidst change - a moment where something gently awakens to life. The motif of wings and the butterfly became a symbol of the return of what was once my dream, now reborn through drawing and in the world of NosTalgia. This piece was meant to blend nostalgia with hope. Here, the style comes closest to what I ultimately want to achieve when illustrating NosTalgia...

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3. Wings of Perseverance
“Wings of Perseverance” is the third drawing and definitely the most tranquil of the three. I wanted it to feel like a moment frozen right before a decision, a scene where there’s no turning back, yet filled with silence and reflection. The falling feathers became a symbol of the weight of the path the character has to walk, and the gaze into the distance is not only looking at the world but also deep within oneself. This piece was meant to be more raw emotionally - less about hope and more about inner strength and what keeps us holding onto our dreams even when everything feels heavy.
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Summary
So the seed has been planted… But how exactly should I approach drawing NosTalgia? I don’t know yet. Maybe it will just be a few individual panels mixed with AI, or maybe I’ll completely lose my mind and illustrate everything myself. The most important thing is that I don’t have to blindly cling to the idea of a “NosTale private server.” I can create something unique and my own - as if it were my own game, built on the NosTale engine but with the soul of my personal story. The blog will slowly turn into a gallery of my drawings, and I’ll have to focus on capturing the heart of NosTalgia stylistically and emotionally through illustration. It’s going to be tough, but maybe this is exactly where the passion I’ve been missing for so long will finally awaken.