Riley is celebrating their birthday, working on a new costume project, & announcing big changes for 2025!
Pick your platform:
mythimorph.com/twitch
mythimorph.com/discord
Pick your platform:
mythimorph.com/twitch
mythimorph.com/discord
Big changes are coming! I have been working on a writeup since New Year's day but it's been challenging for me to organize my thoughts.
I was able to talk about it during the birthday stream & will be fully explaining everything in more detail, but the highlights are as follows:
-I am not vending at conventions anymore, for the foreseeable future
-I will be hosting weekly Livestreams
-I am building a new internet home & online merch store
-I am reviving my work on creature suits
These changes will be making a significant impact on my work & the way I communicate with you. I will be changing my relationship with social media. I will be changing the way I provide order updates. Change can be scary but it is necessary to adapt... or die.
I have been silent because I am currently working on reconfiguring the entire structure of my business—for the better (I hope)—& haven't been motivated to invest much into the existing systems. I haven't yet messaged all my clients individually, but it is my intention to!
Mythimorph Labs is currently in maintenance mode... please stand-by!
I was able to talk about it during the birthday stream & will be fully explaining everything in more detail, but the highlights are as follows:
-I am not vending at conventions anymore, for the foreseeable future
-I will be hosting weekly Livestreams
-I am building a new internet home & online merch store
-I am reviving my work on creature suits
These changes will be making a significant impact on my work & the way I communicate with you. I will be changing my relationship with social media. I will be changing the way I provide order updates. Change can be scary but it is necessary to adapt... or die.
I have been silent because I am currently working on reconfiguring the entire structure of my business—for the better (I hope)—& haven't been motivated to invest much into the existing systems. I haven't yet messaged all my clients individually, but it is my intention to!
Mythimorph Labs is currently in maintenance mode... please stand-by!
Quick update: Today I'm making improvements to the Trello order tracker/queue, including working on adding my final convention orders from MFF, ANW, & FC to the list!
Today was quite possibly the first work day of the year that I've worked non-stop & left the lab satisfied with my accomplishments, (even managed to entirely avoid social media doomscrolling!)
I haven't been able to get "in the zone" for a long time—unfortunately my productivity is directly tied to my emotional stability & I've been struggling an awful lot with mental health in particular. So this was a very welcomed change.
I did some major organizing of folders on my hard drive & ended up hyperfocused on fixing small but important (to me) problems to my branding & product style guides for 2025.
These were things like adjusting the visual rules for shirt template scaling, cleaning up imperfections in my DNA logo, & rebuilt part of the Puppy design to make it more practical for me to work with. All this allowed me to finally prepare the oldest shirt templates on my list that are now ready to be sent to the printer.
I also got around to putting together some custom hybrid mockup designs for client approval & did another editing pass on my new client email/Telegram template... bringing me one step closer to my goal of directly contacting all outstanding clients on my list.
Even though some of these things weren't strictly necessary nor of the highest priority, what I finally allowed myself to indulge in today was scratching that itch a bit... This gave me a boost to my overall mood & made me satisfied with the work I accomplished, giving me a positive relationship with my career again.
I'm trying to wind down for bed but I don't fully want to stop work... that could be a good sign (but I am also wary of overworking). Unfortunately the drive behind inspiration is rarely convenient. I'm usually going to take advantage of it when it comes around.
(...This was supposed to be a quick update)
I haven't been able to get "in the zone" for a long time—unfortunately my productivity is directly tied to my emotional stability & I've been struggling an awful lot with mental health in particular. So this was a very welcomed change.
I did some major organizing of folders on my hard drive & ended up hyperfocused on fixing small but important (to me) problems to my branding & product style guides for 2025.
These were things like adjusting the visual rules for shirt template scaling, cleaning up imperfections in my DNA logo, & rebuilt part of the Puppy design to make it more practical for me to work with. All this allowed me to finally prepare the oldest shirt templates on my list that are now ready to be sent to the printer.
I also got around to putting together some custom hybrid mockup designs for client approval & did another editing pass on my new client email/Telegram template... bringing me one step closer to my goal of directly contacting all outstanding clients on my list.
Even though some of these things weren't strictly necessary nor of the highest priority, what I finally allowed myself to indulge in today was scratching that itch a bit... This gave me a boost to my overall mood & made me satisfied with the work I accomplished, giving me a positive relationship with my career again.
I'm trying to wind down for bed but I don't fully want to stop work... that could be a good sign (but I am also wary of overworking). Unfortunately the drive behind inspiration is rarely convenient. I'm usually going to take advantage of it when it comes around.
(...This was supposed to be a quick update)
I have alluded to this before, but now I am absolutely certain, & it's a primary reason as to why I often find it hard to share updates: I am struggling with something called perfectionism writing OCD.
This is why I don't respond to clients in a timely fashion—not only do I feel an intense guilt & always assume negative judgment with all these delays (many outside of my control), but when I finally get the courage to open a message, it takes me 5 hours to re-write one paragraph twenty times or tweak until it's perfect. It's stressful for so many unnecessary reasons.
This explains why I have this constant fear & anxiety over using the "right" words in the "right" way. I am overly concerned about ensuring as much of my intent & information & tone is communicated properly... not just because of a perception of external concequences, but also because of the rediculous need for it to "feel right". I won't know what that looks like until I've experimented with a dozen different ways to write the same sentence. This is why I care about grammar & correct punctuation so much. I also heavily use the thesaurus.
This is why I make such heavy use of the edit function on Telegram when I catch an error. I often feel the need to go back & tidy things up even though I know the recipient will probably never see or realize this was done, so I'm doing it largely for my own satisfaction I guess. I will review the things I wrote over & over or day after day constantly making adjustments. There's no edit button on places like Bluesky, so I am very discouraged from sharing anything on those platforms. I also am obsessed with the formatting; it's like a stressful challenge to make it fit within a character limit while feeling like I need to keep the wording consistent across the board.
This is also why I am so stubborn about having someone to help do any of this for me. My perfectionism won't easily allow me to feel comfortable trusting anyone else to represent me & take over part of my work. I know I can have near impossible double-standards for myself, so I don't really want to burden anyone with these interpersonal issues & introduce possible resentment. I certainly cannot afford to pay for such a service either. Asking for & finding areas where I can direct that help is difficult.
I just sort of thought being a perfectionist was part of my personality, but it's way closer to being a compulsion. Perfectionist tendacnies affects or interferes with a lot of other areas of my life too. Sometimes this is a useful tool, such as my compulsion to want to tidy things up & keep them orderly seems to be countering the stereotypical ADHD problem of doing chores/cleaning... I actually like those rituals. But clearly there is a point where things go too far (like the hours I've now spent writing this instead of sleeping because I can't relax until this is done/posted, & even then I may worry it's not good enough yet & will still go back & edit it bit by bit until it locks in & I can't touch it anymore [like me adding this sentance because that's literally what I'm doing right now, 2 days later, having re-read it at least 5 times since it was first posted. SEE?] . It's all a compromise in the end I have to accept).
Long story (not) short, I finally have an explanation for what's going on here... & knowing is truly half the battle. I plan to talk to my new therapist about this next week.
This is why I don't respond to clients in a timely fashion—not only do I feel an intense guilt & always assume negative judgment with all these delays (many outside of my control), but when I finally get the courage to open a message, it takes me 5 hours to re-write one paragraph twenty times or tweak until it's perfect. It's stressful for so many unnecessary reasons.
This explains why I have this constant fear & anxiety over using the "right" words in the "right" way. I am overly concerned about ensuring as much of my intent & information & tone is communicated properly... not just because of a perception of external concequences, but also because of the rediculous need for it to "feel right". I won't know what that looks like until I've experimented with a dozen different ways to write the same sentence. This is why I care about grammar & correct punctuation so much. I also heavily use the thesaurus.
This is why I make such heavy use of the edit function on Telegram when I catch an error. I often feel the need to go back & tidy things up even though I know the recipient will probably never see or realize this was done, so I'm doing it largely for my own satisfaction I guess. I will review the things I wrote over & over or day after day constantly making adjustments. There's no edit button on places like Bluesky, so I am very discouraged from sharing anything on those platforms. I also am obsessed with the formatting; it's like a stressful challenge to make it fit within a character limit while feeling like I need to keep the wording consistent across the board.
This is also why I am so stubborn about having someone to help do any of this for me. My perfectionism won't easily allow me to feel comfortable trusting anyone else to represent me & take over part of my work. I know I can have near impossible double-standards for myself, so I don't really want to burden anyone with these interpersonal issues & introduce possible resentment. I certainly cannot afford to pay for such a service either. Asking for & finding areas where I can direct that help is difficult.
I just sort of thought being a perfectionist was part of my personality, but it's way closer to being a compulsion. Perfectionist tendacnies affects or interferes with a lot of other areas of my life too. Sometimes this is a useful tool, such as my compulsion to want to tidy things up & keep them orderly seems to be countering the stereotypical ADHD problem of doing chores/cleaning... I actually like those rituals. But clearly there is a point where things go too far (like the hours I've now spent writing this instead of sleeping because I can't relax until this is done/posted, & even then I may worry it's not good enough yet & will still go back & edit it bit by bit until it locks in & I can't touch it anymore [like me adding this sentance because that's literally what I'm doing right now, 2 days later, having re-read it at least 5 times since it was first posted. SEE?] . It's all a compromise in the end I have to accept).
Long story (not) short, I finally have an explanation for what's going on here... & knowing is truly half the battle. I plan to talk to my new therapist about this next week.
NOCD
Writing OCD Fears
Perfectionism and writing OCD fears deal with concerns about writing things perfectly or in a highly specific manner.
[Notice] Today through Sunday I will be unavailable. However, I have a whole day of sitting in an airport on Monday & I intend to dedicate this time entirely towards client messages & updating the Trello!
This is expected to be a bit challenging for the reasons I outlined in my last update, but I am really wanting to change this behavior. My brain has been exceptionally unkind to me the past two years & I've often felt helpless in my own body & very confused as to what's wrong or how to fix it.
The first step seems to be exposing myself to the discomfort that my compulsions are seeking to aliviate, (much like "facing your fears") so I can work towards breaking this cycle. So against my better judgement I am choosing to try to be more casual, open, & even vulnerable on my "professional business account" to help me be less concerned about the way I am wording things. Maybe even misspell some things & not go back to fix them, who knows!
Problem is that I'm also ADHD so I tend to ramble. I will type out whole stories & then decide that's an overload of information & delete it. I have to work like ten times harder in order to create & send messages, holding them back for a long time because it's not "perfect enough yet".
I am challenging myself to not re-read this message at all before sending it & not to go back & edit it. (Oof)
I guess this just my way of trying to show my audience how much I really want to fix things & how difficult the most basic & trivial things have been for no good reason. If there's a chance that people can relate & this post helps others, then I think it's worth putting it out there.
I definitely don't feel that I am deserving of your continued patience with me & this guilt of not being like my old self has gotten pretty paralyzing, which causes inaction which compounds the problem! I am terrified about my financial stability going forward facing so many challenges at once. Thankfilly I have an incredible support network of friends & professional resources.
Thanks for sticking by me 💜 (I'm suddenly tearing up quite a lot on this plane now, geeze).
I think what awaits me on the other side of this plane ride is going to help me a lot with my troubles [holy hecc TURBULENCE right as I type this. I mean a loooot. woah, adrenaline]
[Whew it stopped]
I know this is kind of a weird update post... I figured it was better than radio silence from me at least.
So I'll see you Monday! ^^
Be excellent to each other
This is expected to be a bit challenging for the reasons I outlined in my last update, but I am really wanting to change this behavior. My brain has been exceptionally unkind to me the past two years & I've often felt helpless in my own body & very confused as to what's wrong or how to fix it.
The first step seems to be exposing myself to the discomfort that my compulsions are seeking to aliviate, (much like "facing your fears") so I can work towards breaking this cycle. So against my better judgement I am choosing to try to be more casual, open, & even vulnerable on my "professional business account" to help me be less concerned about the way I am wording things. Maybe even misspell some things & not go back to fix them, who knows!
Problem is that I'm also ADHD so I tend to ramble. I will type out whole stories & then decide that's an overload of information & delete it. I have to work like ten times harder in order to create & send messages, holding them back for a long time because it's not "perfect enough yet".
I am challenging myself to not re-read this message at all before sending it & not to go back & edit it. (Oof)
I guess this just my way of trying to show my audience how much I really want to fix things & how difficult the most basic & trivial things have been for no good reason. If there's a chance that people can relate & this post helps others, then I think it's worth putting it out there.
I definitely don't feel that I am deserving of your continued patience with me & this guilt of not being like my old self has gotten pretty paralyzing, which causes inaction which compounds the problem! I am terrified about my financial stability going forward facing so many challenges at once. Thankfilly I have an incredible support network of friends & professional resources.
Thanks for sticking by me 💜 (I'm suddenly tearing up quite a lot on this plane now, geeze).
I think what awaits me on the other side of this plane ride is going to help me a lot with my troubles [holy hecc TURBULENCE right as I type this. I mean a loooot. woah, adrenaline]
[Whew it stopped]
I know this is kind of a weird update post... I figured it was better than radio silence from me at least.
So I'll see you Monday! ^^
Be excellent to each other
MFF Friday orders have now been added to the Trello & those clients contacted
I finished rebuilding a handful of Metamorphic templates for some of my oldest shirt orders, using the new 2025 style guides!
Today's batch (that is now incubating in my partner shop) was for orders that include both a printed shirt & another shirt type or handcrafted product
Today's batch (that is now incubating in my partner shop) was for orders that include both a printed shirt & another shirt type or handcrafted product
MFF Saturday orders have now been added to the Trello & those clients contacted
MFF Sunday orders have now been added to the Trello & those clients contacted. I've still got like 50 unread messages in Telegram, I see you... I'm getting there!
Aaaaand now ALL of the Anthro Northwest orders have been processed too! 🎉
MultiStream with DJ Recca & Avian Invasion is now over, but I've just about finished stuffing my duct tape dummy!
(Also chat made me jump into a pile of packing peanuts & take shots out of a syringe)
AND we met the tip jar goal, so live viewers got to vote on the next Metamorphic design! Learn which species won by turning into Friday's stream
(Also chat made me jump into a pile of packing peanuts & take shots out of a syringe)
AND we met the tip jar goal, so live viewers got to vote on the next Metamorphic design! Learn which species won by turning into Friday's stream
Live on Twitch with Avian Invasion for a little bit this morning! Working on the next Metamorphic species design that was voted on during Wednesday's stream
mythimorph.com/twitch
mythimorph.com/twitch
Twitch
Mythimorph - Twitch
Design, Create, Transform! Mythimorph Labs specializes in design, cosplay, & illustration with a focus in creatures & characters. The art of Riley "andraconix"
With today's stream, the next Metamorphic species concept has now been completed. 🎉 I will be revisiting soon with fresh eyes & then hand-vectoring the design so it can be officially added to the catalog
It will be released to the public after the completion of my new website, buuuut you can always catch a live stream or become a Syndicate member to get a sneak peek 👀
Crowdfunding for design releases is a new experiment! This allows you to influence the creations that are brought to life in the lab. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, so that I may be both compensated for the concept art & can dedicate focus towards the species folks are passionate about 💜
I will be developing this system further in the coming weeks
It will be released to the public after the completion of my new website, buuuut you can always catch a live stream or become a Syndicate member to get a sneak peek 👀
Crowdfunding for design releases is a new experiment! This allows you to influence the creations that are brought to life in the lab. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile, so that I may be both compensated for the concept art & can dedicate focus towards the species folks are passionate about 💜
I will be developing this system further in the coming weeks
All of the FC orders are now added to the Trello & those clients contacted!
I have finally finished processing all my convention orders; so thank you so much once again for your patience. If you have made an order with me & I somehow missed you please let me know. I will now be able to start combing through the rest of my unread Telegram messages oldest to newest
I have a side gig working at a 4-day event this week up in Seattle & then will working remotely while out of town for the following week—I'm celebrating multiple birthdays for two of the most important people in my life (Avian Invasion & DJ Recca) :3
I've also had some really impactful therapy sessions recently, so mental health has been improving too
I have finally finished processing all my convention orders; so thank you so much once again for your patience. If you have made an order with me & I somehow missed you please let me know. I will now be able to start combing through the rest of my unread Telegram messages oldest to newest
I have a side gig working at a 4-day event this week up in Seattle & then will working remotely while out of town for the following week—I'm celebrating multiple birthdays for two of the most important people in my life (Avian Invasion & DJ Recca) :3
I've also had some really impactful therapy sessions recently, so mental health has been improving too