Not struggle to pay my bills while in college and then dedicate my time to becoming a full time illustrator.

This is great!

Grew up poor, and swore to never be poor again. Went into software and became a dev for a decade. Realized I hated it after a decade of overworking, burnout, and stress related health issues. Went back to school for graphic design and am loving it.

I have one for my office background that is great. Got it from www.nearlynatural.com

It has some seam issues on one side of a branch but if you are a few feet away you can’t tell. The other side is flawless though

I don't plan on getting a subscription so the AI slop aspect is irrelevant to me (they don't train it on your work so it's still better than Adobe) but the merging of the apps is quite nice. Looks like some other minor upgrades too. I'm willing to give it a try.

This and his other books were absolutely pivotal in me wanting to be an artist.

Also Flowerpunk's bestiary is my excuse to go nucking futs with the weirdest possible creature designs I can come up with.