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vanderbander.bsky.social
Vanderbander
@vanderbander.bsky.social
95 followers 470 following 190 posts
Alan || they/them || Ottawa-based artist & animator
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vanderbander.bsky.social
Nuking my data to post this during regular day hours!! I made a silly reel for Insta and realized I could share it here as well - I made blind boxes for my holiday markets ✨️
November 14, 2025 at 6:32 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Okay wait this time I did something about it
A pencil sketch illustration of Rune, a shadow tiefling sorcerer. Their arms outstretched, one raised, and one foot behind the other - seemingly mid-twirl. His eyes are closed and elements of their scarf and cloak have fanned out to show motion. The skirt of the cloak is cut into multiple strips, each ending in a metal tip shaped like a pointed draconic scale. Rune has short, slightly wavy hair, and two sets of horns. One protruding from behind very sharp cheekbones, and a taller set from the top of his head. All four are angular and pointed.
November 12, 2025 at 5:43 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction!!
#OneBattleAfterAnother
A drawing of Chase Infiniti's character, Willa, from Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. A screenshot study of a still from the film, the frame is drawn with slightly warped lines in a faded, dark navy blue ink pen. The same pen is used to draw Willa herself, with hatch lines used for minimal shading. She's staring screen right, in near-profile view, with a focused intent. The top of a gun she's holding is just visible in frame. Behind her, blurred and out of focus, are two nuns also practising their firing. They're drawn in lightly-sketched in shapes using pencil crayon. One is directly behind Willa, her arm raised holding a pistol that almost perfectly lines up with Willa's eyeline. The drawing is signed by the artist underneath, and dated 10-05-2025.
October 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Hi, I'm Alan! An animator & artist who wants nothing to do with gen AI. You can find more of my work at vanderbander.carrd.co, and my Patreon to see behind-the-scenes stuff at patreon.com/vanderbander

Thanks for stopping by ✨️
A portrait photo of the artist, Alan, shown waist-up standing in a park. They're sporting a bright red tote bag that says "TRANS WRATH" in white, surrounded by flames. They're wearing a light blue collared shirt with short sleeves, clear square glasses, and have short brown hair that's blowing in the wind. They're giving the camera a closed-mouth smile, and some words & images have been added digitally. Above them the words "Meet the artist" are written in bright blue on top of a white overlay, underneath which it says "Alan", with an arrow pointing at them. A couple doodles of flowers and lines are drawn near their face, and their pronouns "they/them" are written along the edge of the tote bag in the left. To the right side are three hearts bearing pride flags: trans, panro-ace, and nonbinary. Underneath those is a Dutch-Canadian flag. Another portrait photo of Alan, this time with the tote bag from before thrown over their shoulder, better showcasing the just-legible pins attached to it. One is a crow saying "FRICK", the second says "AI FUCKING SUCKS", and the third has their pronouns "they/them". Alan is smiling over their shoulder at the camera, and some text is written next to them over a fuzzy white overlay. "I'm a working artist based in Ottawa, Canada. I love telling stories, drawing, singing, animating, making comics, connecting with people, and fighting for a better world for everyone." A photograph showing three sketchbooks, with some pencil drawings of an OC (Atlas), a fluffy-haired D&D character (Oz the aasimar cleric), and comic thumbs for Amorem Metus. Words are written in bright blue in a point form, with space between each list item, on top of a white overlay with scratchy edges. "My main hobbies are >Dungeons & Dragons >drawing >videogames >making music and >inventing new projects to work on" Two photographs of a short-haired cat named Goose are edited together. The first fills up the top half, mostly covered by text, showing Goose snoozing in a cat bed, his face smooshed. The second photo takes up the bottom half, and shows Goose from above at an odd angle, with his head tilted upside down. Goose is mostly white with some tabby patches in brown, and a couple orange patches on his face. The text is bright blue on top of a scratchy white overlay "I'm married to my favourite person 💙 (my wife) 💙💙💙 and together we tolerate the presence of Goose!!". The hearts and exclamation marks are hand drawn.
September 30, 2025 at 2:41 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Order up! I love gearing up for comic production by drawing the protag kissing everyone !!
A line-only sketch of Cirrus, the cloud-headed hero, gently holding Atlas's face as he leans towards him, blush on both of their cheeks. A simple drawing of Quinci holding Atlas close, smiling at each other, both blushing, in front of a pink background. Atlas has a hand on Quinci's chest, and Quinci has a hand in the back of Atlas's hoodie. A simple drawing of Atlas and Cell sharing a kiss, Cell's left hand up against Atlas's jaw. Atlas and Cirrus sharing a kiss against a light red background, Cirrus leaning forward and holding up Atlas with one hand, and holding Atlas's hand in his other.
September 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
I go to a weekly drink & draw event and normally work on comic thumbs, but I was EXHAUSTED this week and just did a fun little lyric illustration! (Song is It Never Stops by Bad Books)
A ballpoint pen illustration of an androgynous young girl, Cell, with chin-length dark hair and blue eyes. She's posed awkwardly, in a partial crouches with one knee fully on the ground. Her left hand rests on the raised knee, on her right hand holds a melting ice cream cone against her forehead as she leans back, like she's about to fall. Her shirt is shaded with hatch lines, and her pants and hair are filled with dark grey marker. The ice cream and her eyes are coloured a bright blue, matching bold accent lines creating a partial silhouette. Next to her are hand-written lyrics in bold text: "I bet the future on an ice cream cone" with the words future and ice cream cone written in red, and the remaining words in blue. The illustration is in a small sketchbook, which itself is at a slight angle in the photo. The date 8/13/2025 is also written at the bottom of the page.
August 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
My setup at a market today!! Ottawa friends I'll be at Next Door again tomorrow, 11-5!! Today was such a blast and the AC in the building is extremely functional ✨️
A photo of Vanderbander's table display at an indoor pride market. The tablecloth is white, but covered in bright illustrations of flowers. There's a few bins of prints for sale, cards, stickers, mugs, pins, sketchbooks, and a collection of handmade fairy doors and smaller decor items. Pride flags are featured prominently amongst the display.
July 26, 2025 at 11:58 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Art Fight thread! A little too tired to setup a info card this year but apparently I didn't need one as I got hit with SEVERAL attacks out the gate. Here's my first REVENGE!!! The lovely Brent for @quietsnooze.bsky.social
A digitally illustrated portrait of Brent, from the webcomic Radio Silence, wearing a green sweater. He's facing forward, with his head turned to the side in a near-profile view. His mouth is closed, and eyebrows have the slightest upturn, giving him a wistful expression. His hair blows in the wind, slightly, and he's backlit by the setting sun behind him - leaving only scattered clouds in view over a gradient of sky blue to a soft orange.
July 15, 2025 at 5:33 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Ottawa friends!! I'll be at Next Door's Artful Market this Sunday 11-4 with NEW MUGS (featuring the return of some familiar legs...)
Two white mugs turned in opposite directions (with handles facing outward) sit on a wooden table, each with a cat illustration on them. The left shows a calico cat carrying a pride flag, tail up. The right shows a grey tabby, loafing, face flat down on the ground. Two white mugs turned in opposite directions (with handles inward) sit on a wooden table, each with a cat illustration on them. The left shows a grey tabby, loafing, face flat down on the ground. The right shows a calico cat carrying a pride flag, tail up. Two white mugs with black handles sit next to each other on a wooden table, revealing the full design of an illustration of Magikarp with human legs, wearing fishnet stockings, black sandals, and red nailpolish.
June 27, 2025 at 4:27 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
omg #makeaterriblecomicday2025 I love you, perfect timing. A great way to keep myself accountable. MAKE MORE COMICS WITH ME THIS YEAR <3
A six-panel comic drawn on alternating orange and blue post-it notes, depicting sketched self-portraits of the artist. Panel 1, shocked "An excuse to draw a comic??". Panel 2, pulling up their collar sarcastically "Well, if I MUST.". Panel 3, current artist conspiratorially says "I've spent YEARS putting this off." above a past version of the artist, who is thinking about making comics but NOT making comics. Panel 4, the artist dressed in a graduation gown with a thumbs up "AND I've graduated from animation school just in time for... NO JOBS!". Panel 5, artist looking off to the side shamefully "SO I'm all out of excuses...". Panel 6, floating head of the artist, excited, with stars in their eyes "and FULL of comics to draw!".
June 25, 2025 at 3:06 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Obsessed with this new tote bag I picked up at a Don Quixote in Japan
An image of a light beige tote bag. Printed on it in black ink is the word "FLEEK", underneath which is a drawing of a dog in profile, wearing a hat. Under the dog are the words "A gentleman is patient Dog". A Tamagotchi keychain is attached to the handle of the bag.
May 20, 2025 at 7:56 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Take the fictional characters quiz and post the first four you know: openpsychometrics.org/tests/charac...

This definitely paints a picture but omg DALE 🥺
May 19, 2025 at 6:54 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
No fools here, just some fun facts about my main OCs! I think I might do a few of these (feel free to ask questions!), it's a fun exercise ☕

#ocsky #ocart #characterart #sketchbook #coffee #CountMeIn
A drawing with ballpoint pen of Atlas, Cell, and Cirrus. All three of them are stating their coffee orders. For Atlas, it's a pumpkin spice latte (or other seasonal latte) - he's looking down at a coffee cup with his name on it with a smile. Over Atlas's shoulder in the distance, a tiny drawing of Cirrus is just visible over Atlas's shoulder, saying "Chai latte!". His face is drawn with a simple upside-down triangle for his mouth, and two near-dot eyes. Cell's order is a dark roast with cream, which she's saying with a rather intimidating look - her head tilted up to look down at the viewer. She's holding her cup up to her face - which may be the source of her ire as it appears her name was misspelled 'Chello' on the cup.
April 1, 2025 at 9:12 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
This came out SO CUTE. Mimi pretending to have actual cat qualities is my new favourite thing. It's not happened in-game yet but maybe I can manifest it.

#ocsky #ocart #characterart #dnd #illustration
An illustration of Rune, the shadow tiefling sorcerer, drawn with ballpoint pen and coloured with pencil crayon. They're seated at a table with a plate of chicken nearby, which their shadow illusion of a cat named Mimi is staring at, her chin perched on the edge of the table. Rune is smiling down at her, amused. Now coloured, Rune has dark grey skin, and bright red eyes and hair. His hooded scarf is a blue/green gradient, and they're wearing a mauve poncho. His amethyst crystal spellcasting focus is just visible behind Mimi.
April 1, 2025 at 3:55 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Happy #TransDayofVisibility !!!
I'm Alan, or Vanderbander, a trans nonbinary queer creator in Ottawa. I make illustrations, animation, and comics! Every story I tell is trans and queer, and when I'm not drawing I'm playing D&D ✨

Support my work at patreon.com/vanderbander 🏳️‍⚧️

#TDoV
A black and white digital illustration, lightly shaded, of an attic bedroom. The space is lit by a string of fairy lights strung along a bookshelf along the back wall, as well as a high up window next to it, that's partially shrouded by a curtain that's pulled up against the wall over the bed. Atlas and Cell sit on the bed, talking about something. Atlas has a soft smile as Cell speaks. There's a pair of bunny slippers next to the bed, and a bedside table shaped like a stump. The room is mostly clean with a few eclectic items. A sun-shaped rug, a mirror leaning against the wall, a bass speaker in the middle of the floor, a poster of Spiderman on the angled ceiling, a flower-shaped lamp on a desk, and a handful of plants on shelves and the railing in the foreground. A digital drawing sketched in blue with no colouring or shading of Atlas and Cell. They're posed as if lying casually on the grass, with Atlas knelt with his back to the camera, his face just visible enough to see a smile. Cell has her arms above her head as she rests against Atlas's knees. A three panel back and white digital comic of Dex and Kyle from the comic Amorem Metus. Two horizontal (short and wide) panels are stacked on top of each other on the left side. The first of these shows Dex, glancing down and to the side, blush high on the cheeks. "It's..." he says. In the second panel, the camera cuts closer as he turns to Kyle with a smile. "really REALLY okay." The third and final panel, vertical (tall and narrow), shows Kyle in profile, a light blush on his cheeks, looking down at Dex's hand on his shoulder. "Wh-" A marker illustration of two girls sharing a kiss. They're coloured simply, with bright saturated colours with no shading. The girl on the left has honey yellow skin and red-orange hair, with a purple shirt and darker purple sweater. The girl on the right has dark blue hair, dark pink skin, and a blue-purple jacket. The pink-skinned girl is cupping the other girl's face with her hand as she kisses her. Behind them is a white heart shape on top of a light pink background, on which is written "LOVE IS LOVE" over and over again in a light red. There's a small white border outlining the silhouette of the girls.
April 1, 2025 at 2:52 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Forest again! I have a soft spot for characters with wings, they're just fun to draw! He's preparing to cast Call Lightning, here.

#characterart #ocsky #ocart #drawing #sketchbook
A pencil drawing of Forest, an aasimar sorcerer whose magic manifests in triangular shapes, preparing to cast Call Lightning. It's a half-body illustration, Forest hunched over slightly with his right hand curled into a loose fist in front of him - engulfed in two overlapping triangles. A trail of far smaller triangles trickles upwards, simulating a lightning bolt. His other hand is held out to brace himself, as his wings are fully splayed - ready to take off. His head is lowered, staring off in the distance with focus and intent.
March 31, 2025 at 2:34 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Head empty draw Atlas 🌟

#ocsky #ocart #drawing #sketch #sketchbook #characterart #CountMeIn
A pencil drawing of Atlas, a young boy with curly blond hair. He's seated against a cushion of some kind, adhered to the wall. Visible chest-up, he's holding his left hand against his face, with his pinky held against his lips. He's looking off to the side, daydreaming. A few small flowers are doodled next to him.
March 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Oop forgot to post this yesterday, but finally got around to drawing Chappell Roan in That Outfit that everyone drew last year!

#drawing #sketchbook #ChappellRoan #ChappellRoanfanart
An illustration using ballpoint pen of Chappell Roan in her medieval knight outfit that she wore at the 2024 MTV VMAs. Visible chest-up, her head held slightly tilted up, eyes gazing into the distance as her mouth is open mid-song, flames burning in the background.
March 29, 2025 at 3:09 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Another Raven drawing!!! (collab OC with @selezic.bsky.social !!) I saw a ref post and was like... it's him. It's the boy. Casting.... a spell of some sort.

#characterart #ocsky #ocart #sketchbook #drawing
A character illustration with a ballpoint pen of a character named Raven, a wizard in training. He's casting a spell of some kind, one hand above and one hand below an orb that seems to be siphoning energy of some kind. Raven has an undercut, with a waft of dark wavy hair that falls in front of his right eye (screen left). He has a thin build, and is glancing off to the side. His cape is shaped like wings, with feathers coming off of the shoulders. The robe he wears has an asymmetrical opening over the right side (screen left) of his body, attached with two rectangular buttons of some kind.
March 28, 2025 at 1:27 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Looking forward to joining the ranks of comics about musicians and strategically avoiding drawing an entire drumset!! Cell plays a lot of instruments, but drums are her home.

#characterart #ocsky #ocart #sketchbook #CountMeIn
A pencil drawing of Cell Tchaikovsky, illustrated in a near-profile, looking up at her from a slightly lower angle. A drumstick is visible in her right hand close to camera, just in frame with motion lines indicating movement downwards, and a crash cymbal is in the bottom right. Two beams of light break the darkness behind her, and her head is tilted up, her hair swinging wildly and a single bead of sweat on her cheek as she plays the drums.
March 26, 2025 at 7:02 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Rune is very much on my mind these days. I haven't talked about this in-game yet, but none of my fellow players are on Bluesky (yet)! Alt-text for more context (:

#characterart #ocsky #sketchbook #ocart #dnd
A pencil drawing of Rune, a tiefling sorcerer. Rune is standing partially in profile, his body turned slightly away from the viewer. They're looking over their left shoulder back at the viewer, his left hand held up against their chin. Rune is wearing a cropped jacked with small spikes on the shoulder, and a hood of some variety (currently folded down). Rune is surrounded, and very slightly shrouded by, their magic. Teal spheres of various sizes. Rune's eyes are the same colour, both coloured in with pencil crayon. Text weaves a wavy path through the illustration, saying "There's something wrong with my magic." This is referring to the twist on Rune's Aberrant Mind subclass I added with my DM - a custom Wild Magic table with retooled functions and triggers. We've called it Sorcerer of the Fractured Mind!
March 26, 2025 at 4:13 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Happy monday! I love d&d. Have a silly Rune doting over a shadow illusion memory of their probably-dead wizard mentor's familiar ✨

#characterart #ocsky #sketchbook #ocart #dnd
A loose pen drawing of Rune the tiefling, crouched on the floor with their legs crossed and hands tucked up against one side of their face, staring adoringly at his shadow cat - Mimi. Mimi can't drink or eat anything, but Mimi is pretending to drink water to cheer up Rune as they're experiencing a lot grief right now. Rune's tail is perked up, and their face is quite simplified but clearly joyful and enraptured. Rune has dark grey skin, lightly hatched in, short black hair, and two sets of white, angular horns. One set emerges from behind their cheekbones, and the other set emerges from their forehead just above/behind their bangs. Mimi is drawn quite simply, but the silhouette of the tiny munchkin cat is still quite clear.
March 25, 2025 at 2:52 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Wrapping up the trio, Buttercup (she/they) is of course - an activist. Unlike their sisters, she's used her previous fame to build a relatively popular social media platform and uses this to promote various rights movements/protests and pay rent. 💪

#powerpuffgirls #fanart #Buttercup #sketchbook
Two pen drawings of Buttercup from The Powerpuff Girls, but 20 years later. Buttercup is an activist and tattoo artist, but primarily the former. The first drawing is a half-body of Buttercup holding a megaphone that they seem to be yelling into, likely while present at a protest of some variety. She has short hair that's gelled to be stuck up at the front, spacers in their ears, and is relatively covered in tattoos. The visuals of the tattoos vary from "trans rights", an eye, a raccoon, a knife, flowers, etc. A small doodle of a few stars is next to this drawing. The second drawing is a portrait, almost fully front-on. Buttercup's head is tilted down slightly, with a semi-confrontational expression that says 'try me'. Their mouth is a slight pout, eyelids lowered slightly but staring at the viewer, one brow down angrily and the other raised. This view shows off a tattoo on her neck of a silhouetted, angry dog/wolf of some variety - its teeth bared.
March 23, 2025 at 8:05 PM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Bubbles is a law student, and goes by Bailey (keeping Bubbles as her middle name) to be taken more seriously. She really wants to do good - for real. The workload has her exhausted, but she keeps at it.

#powerpuffgirls #fanart #Bubbles #sketchbook
Two pencil drawings of Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls, but 20 years later. She goes by Bailey, now, so she can be taken seriously. The first drawing is a half-body, Bailey holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other, a soft smile as she looks off to the side. He long blonde hair is tied up in a braided bun, two loose pieces of hair framing her face. She's wearing a button-up blouse tucked into a sleek black skirt. A simple drawing of some bubbles is next to her. The second drawing is a portrait of Bailey look exhausted, holding her head up with one hand. Her hair is down, and she has circles under her eyes. Her gaze is wistful, but focused.
March 23, 2025 at 12:30 AM
vanderbander.bsky.social
Thank you @quietsnooze.bsky.social for the idea!!! I landed on #powerpuffgirls but 20 years later. I pictured Blossom having gotten a liberal arts degree (creative writing?) only to work as a barista and now owns the cafe.

#fanart #Blossom #sketchbook #illustration
Two pencil drawings of Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls, but all grown up! Blossom has a bachelor's degree in creative writing, and like many who pursue a career in liberal arts - ended up working as a barista for so long she became the cafe owner. The first drawing is a half-body of Blossom pouring some frothed milk into a mug. Her hair is still long and up in a ponytail, but with shaved sides. She sports her iconic bangs, and now has small hoop earrings. She's wearing a simple long-sleeve shirt underneath an apron, which has a name tag bearing her name and a little flower drawing. Her expression is tired, resigned. The second drawing is a 3/4 front portrait of Blossom glancing off to the side with a small pout. Her ponytail is more visible, here. There's a small drawing of a flower next to the portrait, and underneath that drawing is written "cafe owner".
March 22, 2025 at 12:36 AM