Hello, Jessica Peffer here – one of those dragon artists. It’s been a long time since I actively worked on NeonDragonArt, my art site. In fact, it’s been offline nearly a decade!
In that time I’ve been working with an amazing team on Flight Rising, a browser-based virtual pet game about breeding, customizing, and battling dragons. I was a co-creator on this project, working with our team on FR is a full time job!
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I had a difficult time separating my personal time from working on the game. I worked from home, and I was a co-creator. I had a great deal of personal and creative investment and ownership in the project. Because of this, it felt like anytime I was drawing, I should be drawing for Flight Rising. If I started to draw personal art I would feel guilty; couldn’t that time be spent on the project? Even if I’d worked a full 8 hour day, it felt like any more time spent on art should be used to get ahead on future updates. There was no work/life separation or balance.
For first few years of Flight Rising we had a small team. It was vital that each of us pulled as much weight as we could for the game to have regular updates and the players to have the attention managing such a community required. As time went on, the game and our team grew. We now have a dedicated community manager, and a whole team of talented artists creating amazing art for the project every week.
The situation changed, but my approach to my time and art did not.
A decade and one middle age ADHD diagnosis later, and I’m starting to carve out dedicated time for working on Flight Rising. Rather than doing my work at any time of the day, any day of the week, I’m now setting aside dedicated hours for my job on the FR project.
This has helped immensely. Is it work hours? No? Did I work all my work hours? Yes? Great! I can do whatever I want with the rest of my day, responsibilities managed and weird project-guilt assuaged!
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Which brings me back to Neon Dragon Art, and my strange little art. It’s been a decade and change since the site has been online, and I’ve been largely inactive on social media. I want to start posting my new art again, exploring new ideas, and trying to work with some of my weak areas.
While I love dragons and will never stop drawing them, I also love creature art of all types. If I’m going to start posting art again out the blue, it seems like if there was ever a time to rebrand, now is it!
So while I will keep Neon Dragon Art online as an archive, I’m going to be posting my new art and works here, at my new home on Strange Little Creatures.
If you knew me from Neon Dragon Art: Hi, nice to see you again! It’s been awhile, eh?