Hi, I'm clover. I don't talk much — that is to say I don't talk to people much. It's a much different story when I'm free to spout my every thought to nobody in particular, as I'm sure you'll see by looking at this page or any of my social media profiles. I'd like to change that someday, but it's not an easy task. I'm a man in my 30's living in the United States, and if you know me it's probably because of my art.
It's cliché, but I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. I was the kid who drew all over everything. Stacks of printer paper fell before me. One of my grade-school teachers called me "The Doodle King." Fast forward to 2017 and, following the release of Night in the Woods, I found myself drawing fanart for /nitwg/ before deciding to post it to tumblr. My philosophy was and remains to this day, "I drew this because I want to see it, maybe someone else out there will want to see it too." I took on the name clover after the appearance of my signature, not really expecting to ever be known by more than 5 people, and long story short after some very fortunate reblogs I am where I am today.
I am a video game enjoyer with a preference for single-player story games. I've been playing Team Fortress 2 on and off since 2009, while also frequently dipping into the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, Destiny 2, and Super Animal Royale, among many others. While TF2 is likely the most influencial game of my life, my all-time favorite is Hollow Knight due to its art, music, and lore, which is probably evident if you've seen the avatar I use on most sites. Tunic is a close second because of its unique gameplay experience; please play it! I'm also a massive life-long fan of Pokémon, but haven't played any new games since Ultra Sun & Moon due to some personal disagreements with how the games are developed. My boycott doesn't seem to be working, but I digress.
In the last couple years I've also tried to get back into reading. I was a prolific reader as a kid but dropped off hard after video games began more easily capturing my attention. I strongly favor sci-fi, and have thoroughly enjoyed Project Hail Mary, The Murderbot Diaries, and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. I'm always looking for recommendations! I'm blessed to have a phenomenal local library to borrow from and think it's one of the most important institutions a community can have.
I've wanted to have my own website for a long time. In my youth I fiddled around with some free simple site builders, but never really learned anything of substance. The urge continued to grow after living through the collapse of tumblr, some hostile rule changes on FurAffinity, and finally the Twitter exodus to Bluesky following the 2024 US presidential election, but beyond making an account on Neocities I hadn't done much to act on it because it was so intimidating. At the beginning of December 2024 I happened to glimpse a guide that was posted on Bluesky by one "Blake Watson" about how to use HTML and subsequently create your own website. That guide, "HTML For People," was invaluable for me as someone who had zero prior knowledge and has a hard time sitting down and learning new things. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to make a website — and you should! Having your own space on this hellish modern web is so valuable, and I find it a lot easier to manage than pinned posts and a handful of specialized sites.
I'm a supporter of trans rights, gay rights, women's rights, and any other rights for any people who are just trying to live their lives.
I think "AI art" is not only a blight on humanity, but a dual misnomer. Let me know when actual artificial intelligences start making art, because that's something I want to see.