iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Very excited to share “We Have Always Been Here”, a Pride month collab with my friend Megan!! Learn some foundational moments in queer history with our 16 page zine :D Includes topics such as the first trans clinic, the Stonewall riots, and more 🌈 Check it out now in my sh0p 👀👍 #queerzine #zines

product photo of the zine held in front of a bookshelf. Its cover is a collaborative full color illustration featuring 2 queer couples standing in front of a Pride parade float. The title, “We Have Always Been Here”, is made of a collage of different fonts and colored letters. Underneath is the subtitle “Moments in Queer History”.

photo of the first page. The title “Welcome!” is followed by the text, “This zine acts as a guide to select foundational moments in LGBTQ+ history, helpfully illustrated and easy to understand. Bring your curiosity and your learning cap!” Beneath it are self portraits from both artists, a text balloon stretches from each one as the doodles introduce themselves. Rachel’s portrait is colored in shades of blue with pink accents while Megan’s is pink with blue accents.

photo of an interior page with the title “First Trans Clinic”. The artwork is colored in shades of blue with pink accents and is placed throughout the text.

photo of the last page of the zine. The title reads “In Conclusion…” followed by the text, “We hope you consider using this zine as a starting point to learn more about queer history. There were millions of queer siblings who came before us whose stories were erased, forgotten, or kept secret. It's our duty to preserve their legacies, especially those who fought bravely for our rights. Their spirits live on in the queer people of today as we continue the fight for acceptance & happiness.” Beneath it is a full color illustration of 4 queer people having a picnic. 1 of them strings up a banner which reads, “We have always been here and we always will be!”. Underneath the drawing is a QR code for resources.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Happy Pride!! 🌈 You can find me at 2 different events in Iowa this month. See replies for more details :)

A poster called Upcoming Events that details the artist’s tabling events: 1st is Trans Lives Festival on June 6th from 10am to 5pm at First Unitarian Church. 2nd is Des Moines People’s Pride on June 20th from 4pm to 8pm at XBK Live and the Annex )masks required and provided). Drawings of cryptid characters and a Pride parade float decorate the bottom.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I’m picking these valentines up from the printer tomorrow and will be shipping them all week! Things are DARK. Bring a little silliness to your February with some deep sea valentines. As with all merch on the Squid Facts Shop, sales support @skypeascientist.bsky.social Get em at SquidFacts.net

4 valentines in a grid, a pelican eel with the words "You make my jaw drop", an anglerfish that says "You're my light in the darkness", a grimalditeuthis that says "I find you a LURE ing" and two octopuses and a snailfish on the skeleton of a whale that says "I've Whale Fallen for you" lmao. The octopuses are making a heart with their arms together.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

pumpkin spice doodlemancy 🎃 @doodlemancy.com · 22/11/2025

hello fellow artists. google has fallen. pinterest/duckduckgo AI filters don't work. do not despair; here is a list i made of places to find reference images without having to sift through piles of worthless garbage: doodlemancy.dreamwidth.org/20757.html 🚯 #NoAI #HumanArtists #ArtistsOnBluesky

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

geneva 🖍️ nycc I-07 @gdbee.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Supurrnova

Illustration of a celestial woman holding a supernova containing a tuxedo cat. She's wearing a frilly periwinkle dress, periwinkle ribbons, and has white long hair. The cat is curled up cutely in the supernova. Drawn by gdbee, Jan 2026

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Panel Party (Working on Comix Cleric!) @panelparty.net · 09/12/2025

Introducing Comix Cleric, a web framework that makes it easier than ever to make and host your webcomic YOUR way! Crafted BY comic creators FOR comic creators and jam packed with features, you can learn more by checking out the Kickstarter NOW! #comic #webcomic #webcomics #kickstarter

kickstarter.com

Comix Cleric - The Indie Way to Host Indie Comics!

A web framework that makes it easier than ever to make and host your webcomic YOUR way! Crafted BY comic creators FOR comic creators!

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Cryptid Cards Vol 2 are here!! 18 all new cards featuring fan favorites like the Loveland Frogman and the Grafton Monster. This set also includes some item and location cards that reference my upcoming webcomic, Cryptid World Tour 🌎👣💌 #TradingCards #CryptidArt #ArtSky

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Happy Halloween 🎃 Bigfoot, Mothman, and Nessie are celebrating by carving pumpkins at Dee’s house. Thank goodness the shrinking spell worked or Ness wouldn’t have fit in the door! And hey, who’s that lurking outside…? Cryptid World Tour - coming soon 👣🌎💌 #Webcomic #CryptidArt #ArtSky

A digital illustration. Bigfoot, Mothman, and Nessie sit around a circular table covered in pumpkins, candles, and Halloween themed cookies. Bigfoot holds a knife as he carves something unseen into a pumpkin. Mothman and Nessie watch on curiously. In the background, Dee, the Jersey Devil, is grabbing candy from a bowl on the counter. Their ear twitches as if hearing something. Outside the window behind them, Hidebehind stands with her hand pressed longingly on the glass. The interior of the house is decorated in various Halloween decor.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

I think I’ve said this before but why is photographing prints and stuff such a hassle 😭 Least favorite part of being an artist

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Doing my first outdoor market tomorrow, come say hi if you’re in Des Moines!! I’ll have my usual wares plus a new Halloween themed Cryptid World Tour print 👻🎃🍫

A Halloween themed illustration of Hoyt Sherman Place by Adam Baldus with the text, “Halloween Horrors at Hoyt Sherman Place, art fair, October 30th, 4pm to 9pm”. I added a small drawing of myself with a text bubble reading, “I’m a vendor!”

A promotional image showing a Halloween themed print of cryptids carving pumpkins and some cards from volume two of Cryptid Cards.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Jasmine W. @mythjae.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

The Traitor & The Wretch is a grim fantasy with a surprisingly tender romance between two minor villains trying their best to outrun their terrible fates. Written by me Illustrated by @skulkingfoxes.bsky.social Cover art by @fusspot.rip With editing by @cknightwrites.bsky.social

A trope map showing the cover of The Traitor & The Wretch, with the two main characters. It reads: "Minor villains dungeon-crawling their way to a happy ending." "On the run from an entire kingdom that wants them both dead." "This guy helped raise a Chaos God to bring about the end times (he's not coping well)." "This guy tried to kill the Prophesized Hero (it ended badly)." "Enemies-to-Lovers" and "Mutated cave creatures! Undead horrors! Endless pitch black caves! Somehow, it's a romance!"

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

For my friends in Iowa, I’ll be tabling at the Van Meter Visitor Festival this Saturday! Come out and celebrate Iowa’s very own cryptid. You can get tickets upon arrival or right now at www.chadlewisresearch.com/shop but be careful, they might sell out!

A poster for the Van Meter Visitor Festival. It features a drawing of the Visitor and text that states, “September 27, 2025. 11:30AM to 6:00PM. Veterans Reception Center in Van Meter, Iowa. Admission $10.”

An advertisement for new artwork, showing off a new Visitor print and a preview of Cryptid Cards volume 2.

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Pip Wren @lollibeepop.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Free Palestine forever 🇵🇸

An illustration that says "free palestine" with drawn elements representing familiar Palestinian cultural iconography

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Market prep is so exhausting tell me why I just spent 3.5 hours hand stamping blind bags and I'm not even done yet 😭

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renata 🎷🐅 MELB CAT LOVERS FESTIVAL OCT 17-18 ✨ @gremren.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

train-crossed lovers 🚃💕

An illustration of two giant cats cuddling on top of a train track, as a train waits on the side for them to move.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Finally got the prologue and first chapter of my webcomic drafted!! Hoping to get the prologue pages done and ready to post by end of September 🤞

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

A queer wedding gift #commission - my client’s friends are getting married this week!! Congrats to the brides, so happy to be part of their big day 🌈💕 #ArtSky #QueerLove #LesbianWedding #Illustration

A digital illustration of two young women embracing each other and smiling happily next to a field of yellow and pink prairie flowers. A small heart is above their heads.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Cranky Professional Organizer Bitch @totallydonna.kitrocha.com · 07/05/2025

I've never run a single ChatGPT prompt. Not once, not even to see what it said. I've never generated a single image, either. And I have no regrets about this. I don't need to do it to know that I don't want to.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Some new stickers, all your favorite Little Guys!! Mothman, Fitz, and… that Spider Guy, too 🕷️ #artsky #artshop #smallbusiness

A product photo of three stickers, each is labeled with its name. The first is Mothman waving happily, the second is a poorly drawn parody version of Spider-Man, and the third is a small drake named Fitz wearing tiny boots with its tongue sticking out.

An individual photo of the Spooder-Man parody sticker. Text says “just your friendly neighborhood sticker!”

An individual photo of the Mothman waving sticker.

An individual photo of the Fitz sticker.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Caitlin G. DeAngelis @caitlindeangelis.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Everyone in the past was neurotypical, which is how we got things like this single-author, eight-volume encyclopedia of ferns

eight leatherbound books all titled "FERNS" volumes 1 through 8

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Fun fact: aliens are queer! Show off your extraterrestrial encounter with these silly pride stickers I made 👽🌈 #artsky #artshop #lgbtq #prideflags #stickershop

A product photo of a sticker, it’s an astronaut reaching out to touch fingers with an alien in a UFO. A rainbow pride flag trails behind the UFO and text in the center says “aliens are queer, they told me”. Text at the top of the image reads “8 different designs”. A second sticker with the trans flag can be partially seen behind the first.

The same design with a rainbow flag and the text “aliens are gay, they told me”

The same design with a transgender flag and the text “aliens are trans, they told me”

The same design with a non-binary flag and the text “aliens are queer, they told me”

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

A #commission for my client's daughter's birthday!! 🎂🥳 I had a lot of fun with the prompts "reading comic to small dragons" and "enjoys Pokemon". So happy to be part of her special day! #commissionsopen #artsky #kidlit #illustration

A full color digitial illustration. A girl sits on a toadstool in a forest reading a comic to three dragons, one who sits on a toadstool across from her, one who sits on the ground holding a stuffed animal, and one who is distracted chasing a butterfly. Magic flows out of the comic book and above the girl's head, showcasing characters from the comic book - they resemble Pokemon characters.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

My sticker photographing assistant for today was Very Helpful as you can see (he tried to lick all of them) #morkie #artshop #artbusiness

A hand holds a 3 inch tall Mothman sticker. In the background is the partially obscured face of a small white dog who is sniffing the sticker.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Learned about a cryptid called the Hugag recently, still thinking about them… weird moose thing with no knees, so true 👍

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Olivia When @oliviawhen.com · 20/04/2025

Some little illustrations of dogs reading to use up the last paint on my palette. #art

A yellow lab holding a pencil in their mouth sitting at a desk made of negative space, with books on shelves behind them. A green lamp and some papers with a big question mark written on them are on the table.
These are all spot illos on white bgs.

A terrier pushing a library book cart with their head while a grey and brown chihuahua rides on the top shelf.

A Lhasa Apso reading a newspaper at a desk in a chair. Their fringe covering the edges of their eyes.

A painting of floppy-eared cream and brown spaniel lying down with their head in the crease of an open book.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

✿emily✿ @gentlyburns.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

👉🏻👈🏻

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

🥖Kekeflipnote🥖 @kekeflipnote.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Apparently Adobe popped to Bluesky like a flower in Spring. And then ended like that.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Inês Dinis @inestheunicorn.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Team Duck, Chick or Chicken? 🦆🐔🐤 Clay pins perfect for Spring are waiting for you on the shop! ✨️ www.inestheunicorn.com

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Every time I plan a booth layout I make a digital collage mock-up first, I think they’re funny (and also very helpful!!) This one is for a cryptid themed event in September - gotta fill those holes with new work over these next few months 💪

A pieced together photo collage showing OP sitting behind a large table. Things like art prints and stickers are sitting on display shelves. Some items are just black box outlines showing there's nothing made to go there yet.

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Kate 🍄 @kateammann.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Happy International Asexuality Day!!!🖤🩶🤍💜

Digital illustration of a crow holding an asexual pride flag in its beak.

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Reposted by Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ )

Rowan Kingsbury 🌸 @rowansugar.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

It’s here!! My first ever Book Birthday!! You can now find Avery and the Fairy Circle"" In actual, real life stores!! I hope you all enjoy this sweet little story of fairies, botany, and friendship and I can’t wait to hear what you think! bookshop.org/p/books/aver... #art #kidlit #newrelease

Illustration- a fairy girl with orange hair and a girl with dark curly hair picking and eating blackberries together. Reads "Out Now"

Mock up of a book cover that reads "Avery and the Fairy Circle - Rowan Kingsbury - Flying Eye Books". There is a girl and a fairy on the cover, smiling, with ferns and mushrooms around them.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

I realized lately that I’m bothered by the lack of word count info in book spaces. Page count is harder to understand when I’m gauging length/reading time Page count can change based on format, word count is always the same - I wish listings had word count alongside page count is what I’m saying 😭

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

The more I draw Moth the better I get!! I’m learning the way he is shaped. When people say “draw something over and over to improve” they mean it lol I’m excited to do this exercise for Bigfoot and Nessie, too!! #webcomic #cryptids #mothman

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Houndsaint🔜 MFF @houndsaint.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

the teeny tiny

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cuteosphere @cuteosphere.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Artists feel pressured to make new art too quickly at the moment. Normalise artists fucking disappearing for months. Just walk off into the woods for a year and come back with a single sketch. It’s good for you

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Slowly realizing that a lot of my characters are non-binary in a "doesn't really care about/relate to gender" sorta way This is entirely me projecting, I just didn't get it until recently lol

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sarah webb! @sarahwebb.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

“The Nymph caught the Dryad in her arms.” 🍃✨

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Just spent all day making a font for my webcomic (to make lettering faster) and improving two old fonts of mine, it was exhausting but worth it!! 🫠 Calligraphr my beloved, shout out to that funky little font making site

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LH @truffke.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Humblewood oldies: some mapach inks!

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

My biggest storytelling flaw has always been wanting to say too much, esp in a comic format 😭 I’m trying to shave some scenes down rn while scripting bc the intro bits are simply too long and at this rate it’ll be 75 pages before we even get to the 3rd main character and start the actual premise-

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indui @monstermonger.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

i love when i look at a window and find a cat there #arttag

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nnie @nnie.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

If you make rest something you can only do when everything is done, you'll never rest, and you'll never complete anything. Life is a constellation of cycles and there's always going to be something to work on. Rest is part of how you take care of you so you can take care of the rest.

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Elliott Blackwell @elliottblackwell.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Describe your ideal life:

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Olivia Just Wants Tech To Be Fun Again @kingdomfantasy6.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

I can't believe I have to say this. Setting aside a whole fuckton of politics, Deepseek is STILL generative AI, STILL uses stolen data (OpenAI's data is stolen), and STILL causes all sorts of environmental issues. Don't use it. Not even for a joke.

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

The character designs in my upcoming cryptid webcomic are very simplistic, so I wanted to test how expressive they can get - it’s been lots of fun!! Here are some I’ve done of Mothman (aka Moth) so far <33 #webcomic #mothman #cryptids #cryptidart #wip

A collection of small Mothman drawings from the waist up. Each one is in a box labeled with the emotion he is expressing - angry, confused, curious, thinking, amazed, and concerned. Half of the pleased and annoyed squares can be seen cut off the left side. The Procreate interface is seen around the edges of the screenshot

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Kasey Gifford @kaseygifford.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I hope when alien archeologists uncover me and my wife's remains they mention what good friends we are on our museum plaque.

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elizabeth @strawberrymothco.com · 26/01/2025

My beanie babies <3

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Rachel Hendel ( ᐛ ) @cyraofthesea.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Hello friends, I’m making some fake book covers for my portfolio and the first thing that came to mind was “Sherlock Holmes and the Great Muppet Escapade” 🕵️‍♂️🐸💥 Which I imagine is some sort of middle grade crossover adventure, would you guys read it?? 😂

media.tenor.com

kermit the frog and fozzie bear are sitting in a car

Alt: Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear sway back and forth happily in a car while Fozzie drives and Kermit plays his banjo

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Krispy @feathernotes.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

You're not going to be able to draw everything perfectly in your comic, ur gonna have weird looking cars or buildings, or hands- And i want you to know that's fine Readers spend seconds per panel- as long as things are clear narratively, keep going! Dont get stuck on making every panel a masterpiece

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Roxi Horror 💀🌸 @roxiqt.com · 25/01/2025

"Things might be tough but it's great for artists! They'll create more!" You might not believe me but going through a lifetime's worth of stress Every Single Week for years and years- is actually not the optimal set of circumstances that inspires artists to create

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