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Miguel Arguelles

@cmarguel.bsky.social
493 followers 618 following 180 posts

Hi! I'm Miguel and I like to program and also to art! 🇵🇭 He/him Feed of just my art: bsky.app/profile/did:plc:fihdrp55sy… 🇹 cmarguel.tumblr.com 📷 instagram.com/cmarguel ☕ ko-fi.com

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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I try to have two WIPs going on at any given time, but my iPad fucked up an update and it's likely all my Procreate art is gone forever. Here's the two pieces that were in progress and have had many hours of refinement since then. Unlikely I'll go back to these now.
unfinished digital charcoal drawing of sphene from ff14unfinished painting depicting ryoka, tyrion, and several unnamed nobles gasping at the sudden appearance of the fae at a banquet.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Human artists! Use one piece only to convince people to follow you! 🩸
A girl holding a broken and bloody knife close to her. Her eyes are offscreen and her shirt bloodied, her emotions guarded.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Anyway, go check out The Wandering Inn! And feel free to ask me stuff! I've left out a lot because, well, 1. character limits, and 2. I didn't want some dingus to come in thinking they're funny by saying "even bsky posts about it are too long"
Close up portrait of Erin Solstice, eyes off-canvas and shadowed. She holds a broken and bloody knife close to her. Her shirt is bloodied.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
And really, more than anything else, what appeals to me about this is how committed the story is to what I would call its central theme (see linked essay below for more): that treating everyone with dignity and compassion is far more powerful than any ancient eldritch being.
Erin Solstice dancing with the goblin shaman Ulvama.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I know how easy it is to dunk on its length, but even years into TWI, the author has still been able to knock it out of the park with emotional scenes, somehow covering new ground. This scene was particularly evocative, and more importantly, felt earned over years of character growth.
Erin Solstice sitting on a grassy field at night, staring in wonder at a night sky lit up with colored fire.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
I've always been surprised by just how much the author is willing to experiment! Their attempts at playing with genre don't always land, but are usually interesting. And keeping up with the varying tones is one reason I've always played with styles. Comedy! Horror! Drama! They've tried it all!
Erin Solstice making finger guns at the cameraErin Solstice, aboard a ship wracked by waves. She is ensnared by a Naga, and has one hand shackled. By her waist is a knife that she cannot reach, but her free hand secretly draws a magical circle on the ground. In the background is her inn, and a vague silhouette floats in the sky near it, observing events.A witch manipulating red threads, drawn digitally with fake ink brushes.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Over the years, I've drawn so much fanart of Erin herself, because I've always loved how her character grew. She gets a bad rap for being an airhead, and yeah, that's core to her, but she's so much more than that! And I've loved painting every milestone she's had as she learned more about herself.
Erin Solstice, rendered in five different styles, each encompassing a different mood--horror, comedy, drama, mystery, and a synthesis of all of these in front.Erin solstice, wrapped in a blanket, covered in blood, with war paint on her face.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
And conversely, it's quiet moments like these that serve to heighten the loud moments that come soon after. I'll concede that the pacing isn't for everyone--but for most of us readers, the so-called fluff is central to it! The burger selling, the stage plays, and yes, even the baseball games!
Four adventurers having dinner together at an inn. In the foreground is a human necromancer in white. Seated with him are an ant person, a dirty blonde haired half-elf with a skeletal hand, and a blonde woman with steel arms.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
"Slice of life" is often conflated with "cozy", but it turns out it's far from cozy! And that's because it contains slices of lives of people around the world--and many of these lives are ones that see death and mayhem on a regular basis, which makes the actual cozy moments all the more meaningful.
A knight carting around dead fish, being forced to keep working against his will by a magical contract, together with miners, farmers, and other workers, as a group of merchants cackles at them from above.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
to fishers, to kings. People, living their own lives, separately from the main character, but with resonating thematically... and eventually, weaving in and out of the inn's story. TWI didn't invent worldbuilding, but it leveraged the web serial format to do it in a way unlike any other.
A fisher girl struggles to keep her small bangka (a Filipino outrigger) afloat as it is pounded by waves and attacked by three-eyed fish resembling sharks.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
And yeah yeah, I know--"oh no, it's an isekai? and a LitRPG? I hate it already!" I won't deny that it does carry some tropes associated with those, but it goes way beyond that! Before I knew it, the story grew to encompass so much more--glimpses of lives of people from all over, from couriers...
A courier covered in tattoos runs along his companions--a variety of magical animals--on his way to make a delivery.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
It proved shockingly unpredictable, and while the inn remained core, it surprised me just how much variety there was to it. While this looks like something straight out of an anime OP, it is in fact very literal, and I painted this absurd scene to highlight the crazy directions the story goes.
A giant Erin Solstice wearing a flaming hat hovers over a giant chessboard, stylized as a battlefield, while a young man in white runs towards the camera, pursued by giant chess pieces.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Initially, I thought that this was as far as it was going to go... but it wasn't, as I expected, just an inn where random people come in to tell stories! Far from it! I painted this to illustrate that the inn isn't merely a hub for disconnected vignettes, but a central player in the world's events.
A montage of several dozen characters from The Wandering Inn, doing various activities in said inn. Erin Solstice appears five times in the pictures, participating in these activities.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Don't think of my art as spoilers... think of it as teasers. I started reading TWI in 2016, and it's been crazy watching it grow as my own art grew. Don't stop me even if you've heard this before--it's about a young girl who gets transported into a fantasy world. Things were so simple back then!
My first portrait of the main character, Erin Solstice. The painting comes from circa 2016 and is markedly amateurish.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Hey all! Today, The Wandering Inn (@thewanderinginn.bsky.social) celebrates its physical release, and I'm making a thread of the fanart I've done over the years, to gush about why I made these pieces, and hopefully, along the way, convince you to read it. Yes, YOU.
Colorful portrait of the main character, Erin Solstice, a young woman with chestnut-colored hair. Vividly colored fire swirls around her head.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Ooh... my art was not so good back in that era... lemme see if I can curate some that won't spoil much. There's some spoilers in here but they have no context, and some you won't even realize are spoilers until you get to that part
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
wait til you see what i imagine every time foliana shows up
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Half of it is posts just like the ones in that vid; if you replace the references, every single line he reads out is something I hear someone say about twi every week. The other half is posts like this:
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
After a long painting break for learning purposes, here is another Wandering Inn painting to break my inactivity. because it's cooler to like things than hate on them and boy oh boy for some reason people who hate TWI really don't want to let you forget it
The main character of The Wandering Inn, Erin Solstice, seen from behind, dancing with the goblin shaman Ulvama, seen from front, in a dark club-like atmosphere.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Been a while but I've not been idle! Still working on pumping those Blender muscles, this time in the class of Azusa Tojo
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
you'll fucking hate it
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
I've emerged from my Blender hole with my first try at 3d models+paintovers. I've actually been using Blender for a while now for lighting ref, but with premade assets--and I wouldn't paint over other people's models. But everything here is sculpted by myself, so now I'm allowed!
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Every time someone says she has no character development, or just dismisses the story entirely, I make a painting like this out of spite. "That'll show you!" I say to myself, not understanding entirely how I'm teaching anyone a lesson by making this. Also: sympathy for goblins is NOT her big flaw
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
100 endings I've been going down a 3d rabbit hole the last month or two, so I haven't done a lot of 2d paintings. I promise I have at least one more coming that's already mid-progress! #HundredLine #LastDefenseAcademy
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
It pains me whenever a well-known reviewer gives up after a few chapters and then makes a video to laugh about how bad it is. I have much longer thoughts, but all I can say in 300 chars is that I hope, in some small way, my art somehow can help prove it's actually very good. (how? dunno. but it is!)
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Happy #gwenpool and #ItsJeff day! (confession: I added Jeff at the last minute; I didn't even know Jeff was getting his own comic until the last minute when I was wondering what I should put in the lower left)
A painting of Gwenpool pulling up the corner of a comic panel, to reveal multiple copies of Jeff the Land Shark coming out
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
O brave new world! First project for my SmArt School class with Cynthia Sheppard. Any idea what's happening here? Maybe the quote already gave it away.
An illustration of an old robed man blowing onto his cane. Magic pours out of it and into the sky, carrying upon it the visible figures of a stout bearded man, a young couple, and a man holding a skull. The old man rides upon a boat carrying a multitude of items, such as a crown, a cauldron, and a tree branch. Below the boat is the curvature of the earth, glowing blue as blue streaks of light fall upon it.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
every time someone stops reading it early i pour one out for erin
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
"Who said anything about being done?" #gwenpool #marvel
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
water water froth and foam
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Trying to maintain a quota of one bigger piece a month, crossing fingers. This one's for Feb. Kinda crammed it in the last few days though (all for the quota).
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
quick tubipaint (that's when i paint random stuff while tubi plays in the bg, sometimes it's a tubi screenshot, like now)
A close-up portrairt of a terrified girl performing the "ssh" action.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Slacked a lot last year and made only like... 3 or 4 finished paintings? I'm gonna try to do better this year
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
and that brings this year's painting output to a meager... 3 or 4 paintings? Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Doreen Green aka Squirrel Girl
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 17/10/2024
Thanks for the thread! Always love it when an alternative to the other site enjoys an injection of new blood! I'm Miguel; I don't do art for a living but I greatly enjoy illustrating fantasy scenes!
An illustration depicting a yellowed photograph of an expedition team posing over an unearthed purple meteorite clutched by the skeleton of a dinosaur. Atop the photograph is a medallion made from a fragment of that meteorite.A montage depicting an assortment of characters from The Wandering Inn, including among them several goblins, drakes, gnolls, undead, ant people, and humans.A portrait of a necromancer, with his head split open as a visual metaphor to represent his ability to split his thought processes into multiple parallel thoughts.A tiefling girl fights against an elven boy in a fantasy video arcade. Her friend, a goblin girl, cheers her on, while her other friend, a human girl, studies. Observing them in the background is a dwarven truant officer and his giant rat companion.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 07/09/2024
She has faults, but I had to make this after seeing one too many people say she's "endlessly whiny and emotional" and never grows out of her flaws. Not wanting to kill goblins on sight is not a flaw, and treating sapient species like people and showing empathy is not "forcing her culture on others"!
A painting depicting Erin Solstice of The Wandering Inn at different points in the story, each conveying a different emotion and painted in a different style. A distressed Erin in a semi-realistic style, a goofy Erin in an anime style, a mad grinning Erin in an inked lineart style, and a ghostly Erin in an art nouveau style.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
I don't normally spell things out so explicitly but I did it here because even big Marvel fans would be hard-pressed to identify someone from one of those universes Marvel doesn't want us to know about--a universe where Spider-man is allowed to be happy.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 10/08/2024
What a difference 11 years makes
Side by side comparison of two portraits by the same artist, 11 years apart, of actor Emma Stone
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 15/07/2024
Been forgetting to share my class pieces, this is an illustration of life in the Necrocracy of Khelt, as seen in that one book I keep telling you all to read. This is a very long vertical piece so you may have to click it to see the whole thing, depending on how bsky crops the preview
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 28/06/2024
Arriving at Tural International Airport later today ETA 1600 Atomos Standard Time
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 21/06/2024
happy birthday erin solstice, sorry this is all i have time to make at the moment
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 29/05/2024
Proof of concept for a few new brushes I made... I wonder how much I'll be able to abuse these before people start thinking of me as "that guy who keeps using that specific gimmick brush"
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 03/05/2024
oops i was supposed to be doing homework but i made another one instead
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 03/05/2024
Read The Wandering Inn (note: image is not actually representative of the story)
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 15/04/2024
A rare physical painting from me. Have not touched actual paint in literally years, but I impulse bought a pad of Dura-lar after a bunch of people talked it up. Fun surface! Anyway, bring back the best MCU show, #AgentsOfSHIELD and yes it's canon to the MCU I don't care what you say.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 25/03/2024
Marcille would probably be terribly grossed out by Ceria, but they'd be united in disliking Falene. Chilchuck would get along with the Halfseekers, and Marcille would get along with the Silver Swords but they would be a very boring team. Laios and Senshi will try to eat crelers.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 24/03/2024
This is a visual metaphor, not an actual spoiler. Az'Kerash, the Necromancer of Terandria, has the ability of [Parallel Thoughts], letting him think about multiple things at once, at the cost of higher cognitive function. For actual spoilers, read The Wandering Inn at wanderinginn.com! It's free!
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 06/02/2024
No, it's not Nsiia... I do have SOME original characters in me, you know...
A woman in robes extends a flaming hand forward as she rides an earthen rhino forward. On the back of the rhino is a miniature savannah, a biome all of its own.
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 05/01/2024
it's amazing; this show is way too powerful for the casual tv viewer; i hate watching it but i am not hatewatching it
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Miguel Arguelles @cmarguel.bsky.social · 26/12/2023
Working overtime to increase my 2023 output before it's too late! For once, it's not related to TWI! Check the next post for an embedded process video (at least, I hope it's embedded... I don't know if bsky actually does that with Youtube links)
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