Tailsteak

What time?

The original

Well, the original was only done with 4 colours total, and while I did make some different decisions, obviously, I didn't want to diverge too far from the thing people voted for.

I guess what I'm saying is - I really didn't expect this one to win, there were a lot of other pictures that were more dynamic or that I did cooler things with the lighting.
But I get to see my girl being happy, and being herself, and I didn't know I needed that. So... thank you.

Man, I gotta be honest, seeing this picture as fully rendered as it is, it's got me feeling some feelings.
I've known Max for a while.
She was never perfect, but I forgive her mistakes. I accept the parts of her that came from me. I love the parts of her that I see in others.

Unlike last year's winner, I don't think this one works particularly well as a shirt or anything, but I could do it as a print, if anyone's interested.

we invented pornographic art tens of thousands of years before written language.

we invented the condom before steel.

Bread is older than war. Beer is older than borders.

We're better at making good things than bad. We've had more practice.

for anyone who may be losing faith in himan progress, remember this: we invented the dildo 27,000 years before the gun.

Finished version: Maxine Tabitha Fae Hellenberger (human, she/her) dances in a soft sunbeam, three cats playing along.

There, got it done! I went as realistic as I could with the cat anatomy, and I was pretty smeary with the effects, I'm really happy with it. What do we think, folks?

nerdlegame 1476 3/6
Dungleon 1459 3/6💠
Squardle 1461 4 Guesses Remaining
Referdle 1166 13/25

Not bad, not bad. Overall vibe from today's puzzles: "you got this". Let's hope they're right...

There are a lot of places where you can see that, but perhaps the first indication is her hair. Her eyebrows indicate that her natural hair colour is black, but the hair on her head is so bleached that, in places, it's actually white. She likes it that way.

I've mentioned, recently, that I've had a bit of a self-realization moment about just how *many* of my characters are emphatically *about* choosing who and what to be, and (for better or for worse) Max is a pretty good example of that idea.

I maintain that a sexy comic about identical twin sisters who keep inadvertently seducing each other's boyfriend-of-the-week would be a banger, and also that BmcE is utterly incapable of writing or drawing it.

WIP of Max (human, she/her) dancing with her (as yet invisible) cats, the winner of the 2026 Paletteuary vote.

I still have to add in the cats and then layer on some visual effects to reattain that initial feel of organic softness, but... as I said on stream yesterday, this might be my favourite pic of Max I've ever done, and the closest I imagine to the "real" her.

here it is up on the site for easier viewing! that was a lot of fun thank you @tailsteak.bsky.social
www.dhscomix.com/index.php?p=...
now back to more comics u say...

Early in Leftover Soup's (and, thus, bitcoin's) history, a reader offered to tip me a bitcoin.
Yes, a whole one. If I still had it today, it would be worth around 100K CAD.
I declined his offer to help me set up a bitcoin wallet.
No regrets.

nerdlegame 1475 3/6
Dungleon 1458 5/6💠
Squardle 1460 6 Guesses Remaining
Referdle 1165 17/25

Max (human, she/her) dancing with her cats, rendered in soft browns.

We have a winner! Votes have been tabulated, and the winning pic for #Paletteuary is: Max, dancing with her cats! This is the picture I'll be working on cleaning up into a proper piece! Thank you to everyone who participated this year.

The stream is streaming!
picarto.tv/tailsteak
Come on in and see who won the Paletteuary election!

ten years ago today no one clapped

On today's stream, I'll probably start with a tiny edit to that bigass comic commission, then reveal the Paletteuary winner and maybe put in some time on that, maybe work on that tarot card (I didn't get it done by the end of the month, so I really should focus on it!)

Cropped screencap from today's Forward, where Lee/Nina is looking confident.

Oh my gosh, it's Monday! New Forward!
forwardcomic.com/archive.php?...
Lee's feeling more and more confident in this rescue mission.
And yes, I'm streaming today, but only for 10 hours, 11am-9pm Eastern. (Gotta leave time for my yearly rewatch!) Come say hi!
picarto.tv/tailsteak

Actually, it's just a regular five-sided room, the perspective is just perfectly centered because we're dead center in the ceiling, looking down (the final image is gonna be tighter cropped in). Peep those candle flames!

A pentagonal room with five candles at the outside corners, a pentagram-in-pentagram design in the floor, a door to the north, and, in the center, Bellina Nyteshade (human, she/her) standing in the center of the floor, looking up at where we, presumably, are perched in some sort of magical chandelier.

Look at this absolute geometrical horseshit she's making me draw. Who has a pentagonal room in their house?

And you won't have to worry about those themes if you sign up on my Patreon at the $10/month level! Even if you only get two pieces a year, that pays for itself! (And the 1st is the best day to do it, if Patreon's plans to move us to subscription-day billing go through 😡)

Jun Ha (human, she/her) wearing a tattered and skimpy martial arts uniform, finds a magical gem in the minifridge of a trapped and haunted mansion. An albino raven looks on.

Several rats play poker in a hole in the wall, lit by a glowing mushroom. The scene is embellished with a bouncer, a waitress, and some under-the-table cheating.

A D&D party, aboard a pirate-ship-turned-tank, roll triumphantly through hell. The perspective is extremely skewed, allowing us to see everyone at the same time, and there are various magical effects going on.

Wanda Wix (human, she/her) wearing Disco Elysium garb and posed in a significant area from the game. (If you know the game as well as I do, you can see what stats her wardrobe is optimizing for!)

Hey, it's the first of the month, and you know what that means! 🥷New commission themes!
forwardcomic.com/commission.h...
You could get your art 50% off (as little as $60 for a full colour full body) if it features:
-Nina 🤖🚫👣
-Rodents 🐭🦫🐀🐁🐿️
-Ninjas
-Transformation 🧍☁️🧜

By the way, tomorrow's stream is gonna be cut short - probably by 2 hours, ending around 9pm Eastern. I gotta give myself time for my yearly tradition of watching Groundhog Day. I recommend y'all do likewise.

Paletteuary 2026 Choose which of this year's Paletteuary thumbnails get embellished/polished!

Okay, the 2026 #Paletteuary poll is live! Which sketchy thumbnail should I expand into a proper piece, or which piece should I expand upon?
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
I know it's a tough choice, so this year, I'm letting you pick multiples! (Though only one can win.)

I've said it before, I'll say it again:
One of the few conspiracy theories I believe in is that the Powers That Be (however you interpret that) encourage or possibly even create wild conspiracies, because the actual stuff, in the public imagination, can then get lumped in with, like, bigfoot.

Paletteuary 2026 Choose which of this year's Paletteuary thumbnails get embellished/polished!

Okay, the 2026 #Paletteuary poll is live! Which sketchy thumbnail should I expand into a proper piece, or which piece should I expand upon?
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
I know it's a tough choice, so this year, I'm letting you pick multiples! (Though only one can win.)

And you won't have to worry about those themes if you sign up on my Patreon at the $10/month level! Even if you only get two pieces a year, that pays for itself! (And the 1st is the best day to do it, if Patreon's plans to move us to subscription-day billing go through 😡)