Chapter 30: Slowly Rising Upward

Adding texture to fur is incredibly difficult.

Of course, you can give it a rough attempt and make it look somewhat animal-like, but making it truly realistic is another story.

However, I wasn’t someone who settled for mediocrity.

I could bring fur textures to life with perfection.

“You see, the texture here is different, so I have to use a different coloring technique.”

I explained it in detail for viewers who might be curious.

There could be people watching the stream to learn how to draw, after all.

[+HurryAndLeave: Wait a second.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Is that a furry? No way.]

[Oh, hell no.]

[Why are you drawing this? Why this? Why?]

[LikeYogurt, please, stop joking around. Why are you doing this to us?]

[Pepe: Viewer count is at an all-time high, and this is the legendary bait-and-switch, lol.]

“Some of you might genuinely want to learn, so please keep the chat respectful,” I said sincerely.

Occasionally, I’d see comments from people saying they were improving their skills by watching my art streams.

“And for the record, this isn’t anything weird. It’s an official character from an anime, and this is a commissioned piece. I’m putting my all into it because it’s a paid job.”

[+HurryAndLeave: What?]

[+HurryAndLeave: Who on earth commissioned something like this???]

[Was it that guy from earlier in the forum?]

[No way, lol.]

[I thought the whole thing was fake, but someone actually paid for this?]

[What a lunatic.]

[Pepe: Well, at least the drawing is so good it’s worth watching, lol.]

Now, if I were doing this just to mess with viewers without getting paid, it would be a problem.

But that wasn’t the case.

But I was being paid for it.

And not just a small amount—it was quite a significant sum.

On top of that, the artwork wasn’t even remotely inappropriate.

There was no reason for me not to draw it.

“Since this is a commission, please don’t be too critical. The client might feel hurt if they see these comments.”

[It’s hard to criticize since it’s a commission…]

[Sigh, using the ‘commission shield’ is kind of unfair, lol.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Alright then, let’s just keep going.]

[Pepe: If it’s a commission, we don’t really have the right to complain, lol.]

[If you don’t like it, just leave.]

[Am I the only one who thinks the whole furry drawing was bait because of the chaos at the start of the stream?]

[It kinda does feel like that, lol.]

Ignoring the banter, I focused on finishing the drawing.

I added extra touches to the fur, enhancing its texture and giving it a glossy sheen.

How much effort had I put into this?

“…It’s done.”

At last, the artwork was complete.

[That took forever, lololol.]

[I got stubborn halfway through and ended up watching until the end, lol.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Honestly, the stream was a blast—if you ignore the fact it was a furry drawing.]

[Yup, it was fun.]

[But seriously, did it have to be a furry?]

[Pepe: At this point, I’m starting to like you more because of this.]

Even as someone who had zero interest in this kind of art, I could tell the drawing was absolutely flawless.

After all, I had poured everything I had into it.

“Well, that’s it for today’s stream. I’m exhausted…”

[+HurryAndLeave: Honestly, this much is more than enough for one day, lol.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Great job today.]

[Yeah, good work today.]

[The drawing turned out amazing, lol.]

[How much effort are you even putting into these? Jeez.]

[Pepe: See you tomorrow, bye-bye-bye.]

With the viewers sending me off, I ended the stream.

[The stream has ended!]

After confirming the stream had ended, I immediately sent the completed drawing file to the client.

I was a bit curious about how they’d react.

Not long after I sent the file—

Ding!

A DM arrived.

[PaysWell: Wow.]

[PaysWell: You did an amazing job.]

[PaysWell: I’ll make good use of it from now on!]

“…‘Make good use of it’?”

What exactly were they planning to use the drawing for?

Most people who commission artwork just set it as their wallpaper or something.

It was a bit suspicious, but whatever.

Not my problem.

With that, I moved on to check today’s stream stats.

I normally didn’t bother looking at these, but today felt different—it seemed like there had been way more viewers than usual.

[Today’s Stats]

(Counting from 10 minutes after the stream started)

Peak Viewers: 531

Lowest Viewers: 132

New Followers: 201

“Whoa…”

There had definitely been a big jump in viewership.

I wasn’t sure where all these new viewers were coming from, but it was a good thing nonetheless.

Still, the thought lingered.

So many people joined my stream just to watch me draw a furry character.

Everyone’s preferences are a bit… unusual.

[Title: Riske <<< That tail looks so luscious. Upvote if you agree, lol.]

[Content: (Photo) Seriously, this is ridiculously hot, lol.]

L: Dude.

L: Objectively speaking, though, the tail is really pretty… especially the curve—it’s like art.

ᄂ: Come on, man, stop making it so obvious…

ᄂ: Seriously, don’t let it show so much.

L: Posts like these just make me hate LikeYogurt even more.

ᄂ: LOL, they’ve been mass-producing furries.

[Author: HurryAndLeave]

[Title: Confession: Watching yesterday’s stream kinda did something to me…]

[Content: I know this is wrong, but… damn. I didn’t think the tail would look so luscious. I really thought I wasn’t into this stuff, but seeing it right in front of me… it’s just different.]

L: What do you mean, “different,” you idiot? Stop.

L: Ugh, seriously.

L: First you’re obsessed with Dullahans, and now you’re getting into furries? Come on, just pick one…

ᄂ: Seeing all this together is kind of overwhelming, not gonna lie.

ᄂ: And it’s not even a female Dullahan—it’s a male one, lol.

[Title: Forget the furry stuff—don’t you think the artist draws ridiculously well?]

[Content: (Photo) (Photo) (Photo) I didn’t realize they were this good until I checked out their Parangsae account. It’s insane.]

L: Looks like they studied art formally, lol. This doesn’t feel amateurish at all.

ᄂ: Yeah, no way someone could draw this well without formal training.

L: Even with formal training, this level is pure talent.

ᄂ: Absolutely. Tons of people practice but never get anywhere near this good.

ᄂ: I’m honestly jealous.

The next day.

As usual, before starting my stream, I checked my DMs.

The reason was simple.

I wanted to see if there were any commissions I could work on during the stream.

Even though I hadn’t explicitly said anything, most of my viewers seemed to know that I had a Parangsae account.

‘Hopefully, there’s a decent commission request in here.’

Hoping there wouldn’t be any requests like yesterday’s, I opened my DMs—

Sigh…

As expected, thanks to yesterday’s stream, there were plenty of absurd proposals.

Some people were asking to see my face, while others were suggesting things like drawing insects instead of furries.

These were completely different from the usual people who commissioned me.

So, I got to work quickly.

Block.

This one, blocked too.

I kept blocking one after another until I finally cleared out the nonsense and went back to properly checking my DMs.

‘As expected, no one really wants their commission drawn on stream.’

It wasn’t surprising.

After all, commissions were usually about personal satisfaction, and most clients didn’t want their requests displayed publicly.

Occasionally, I’d get someone who didn’t mind, but it was rare.

It was disappointing, but what could I do?

I’d just have to stream art whenever I got one of those rare commissions or focus entirely on personal art instead.

“Yawn.”

Unsure of what else to do, I decided to start my stream immediately.

I figured it was best to stream as much as possible before the new semester began.

‘Once the semester starts, I probably won’t be able to stream as often.’

[The stream has started!]

The stream went live, and viewers began to pour in.

[+HurryAndLeave: hehe hi.]

[Hi there!]

[LikeYogurt! Hello!]

[Are we drawing today?]

[Can you check the DM I sent you?]

[Pepe: Whoa, the viewer count has jumped up a lot suddenly.]

Familiar usernames appeared in the chat, alongside many I didn’t recognize.

It seemed like there had been a lot of new viewers joining.

‘…Why is the influx still growing?’

It didn’t make sense.

I had drawn a furry yesterday—not even a popular anime character—so why were the viewer numbers increasing?

Feeling a bit uneasy, I glanced at the viewer count.

[Viewer count: 131.]

Now it seemed like having over a hundred viewers was just the norm.

Not long ago, I barely broke into double digits.

Where were all these people coming from?

Unable to figure it out, I decided to move on and set up a poll.

“Alright, let’s run a poll for today’s stream. Vote for what you’d like to see!”

[Poll Options]

1. FPS Game
2. Battle Royale Game
3. Music Stream
4. Casual World Cup (fun ranking stream)

[+HurryAndLeave: What about an art stream? ಠ_ಠ]

[Bring back the art stream! Bring back the art stream! Bring back the art stream!]
[This is absurd.]

[Pepe: These guys are total masochists, lol.]

The reason I didn’t include an art stream in the poll was simple.

“We just did an art stream yesterday. I thought it’d make sense not to include something we just did.”

Besides, I didn’t have any new drawings lined up for today, either.

When I explained this, the viewers seemed to accept it.

They didn’t argue further and started voting.

It looked like everyone had their preferences for today’s content.

‘I wonder what they’ll vote for.’

If I had to guess, they’d probably want the battle royale game.

I remembered it getting a decent response last time.

With that thought, I waited patiently.

Eventually, the poll results came in.