So I had a quick question for an idea that I had planned for an article. I was thinking about doing a history archive of some of my drawings starting from 1998 to the present, and how my style had changed, as well as some history behind some original characters that did and didn't make the cut, but I was wondering if this would count as a retro article or as a smurf photog article?

This would most likely fall into the "Photog Smurf Approved" article category. Which still receives RetroRatings from readers, so you can benefit from them just as much as a normal article. The designation is merely a way to let folks know ahead of time not to expect the subject matter or time frame to adhere to the normal parameters.

alrighty. in the meantime i'll wait for the option to return to a saved article since i'd assume that it'll be quite lengthy

That feature should be ready now. I'll double check though.

But to be safe, considering the upcoming transfer of the site files and database - which hopefully is coming SOON - you may want to save the article (at least the writing portion) offsite as well.

UPDATE - Yes, the draft save and recover functions are working properly.

can do! i usually use microsoft word for that kind of thing. where exactly is the feature located? i was assuming that it'd be on my profile page

Correct. When you click the SUBMIT button from the Home page or Articles page, you will notice that below the text editor there is the option to "save as draft", which when clicked, sends the draft to your profile page. From there, you can re-open it or delete it.