I spend my days doing nothing but making art.

It feels like late night art posting time.

First, a few selections from that ongoing art challenge. Here's a worm's eye view of a tree. One hour.

And here's a still life of unusual objects. Mostly I had the song "Bad to the Bone" stuck in my head and couldn't pass up the opportunity for a terrible pun. I debated with myself briefly about whether or not to share this one here, but eh. I'm an artist, I'll own up to doing ridiculous things. I fancy how it turned out. Hour and a half, Paint Tool SAI.

Ted, my demon built from the results of a random character generator, makes a reappearance. Poor, misunderstood Ted. He really dislikes cute things, because they get hugs and he does not. Particularly teddy bears, what with their names so close to his as added insult. Everybody needs hugs. Even demons.

Most recent challenge was a 5-7 panel comic page. Based directly on a thing my cat really did the other day. He's never climbed on that book shelf before, but as soon as I put his brush up there, he climbed up, knocked it down, and stood by it meowing for brushings. He is the cutest.

So yeah. That's been entertaining. Have also done lots of perspective studies and derp speedpaints, refer to the challenge blog itself for all the things I suppose. I post my art to two galleries and multiple blogs, but none of them ever all contain the exact same things. Also I feel a bit big-headed saying that just now but I guess throwing my art all over the place is just good business or professional or something.

Sharing a random selection of commissions time! Have a stagtaur. I've gotten to do a few taurs lately that were departures from the usual cattaurs/chakats people tend to pay me for. Including skunktaurs.

Nude pinup commission for a hyena/maned wolf kind of dude. 6 hours.

Snow leopard taking a tiny fox out for a run. Refined sketch commission.

Commission in which I had the delightful opportunity to paint a modified Defiant-class starship. Close to 16 hours, only charged customer around 12 because this was a learning experience and I had to do a lot of fiddling.

Now, how about some work-in-progress things, I should put those on this blog more.

Still far from done. Fan art I perpetrated in the name of the challenge (I had to do an action scene that day) which is far from actually done. I'd love to put more time into this. It's depicting a scene from Cold Days, a Dresden Files novel by Jim Butcher. Expect more Dresden artwork in the future, I have an itch to use his gloriously described epic moments as guinea pigs for all kinds of painting/composition practice.

And a super fresh WIP set. Here's one hour into a commission from tonight.

And here's two hours into it! Familiar subjects can go really fast sometimes. I sure do draw a lot of animal people.

Here it goes, here it goes, here it goes again.

Time to keep up with the ol' blogosphere.

This month I am participating in a "30 Day Art Improvement Challenge" with a couple of friends! Today is day 7. You can see the blog of our collective efforts on that score over yonder: http://tripsome.blogspot.com/

14-hour painting commission for a very nice client and his fiancé. Very enjoyable to create, I love a good opportunity for colored-light scenarios. :)

An adorable 3-panel comic commission. Tamper with thermostat, receive cuddles!

Colored sketch commissions in general retain their popularity among my clients everyday. Here are a few of many, per the usual.

Personal doodle. My more hound-y persona is fun to work with sometimes; all the long limbs... I've been trying to run daily myself as well, to reach a similar state. Or at least to avoid purchasing too many new pants. Sitting in front of a computer drawing all day every day does not a toned individual make.

I also recently re-engineered my price sheet. Very anthropomorphic-focused, as that's where the majority of my money comes from! Again, say what you will about furries, but they are generally fantastic people and enable me to survive as a freelance artist.

Art Blog: Holy Cumberbunds it's The Holiday Season or Something Edition

Whoa dang that is simply too many limbs I am not sure I can math that high, please send help. Group sketch commission.

Colored sketch commission of costume swap shenanigans, one of many similar things. Kind of. I mean, there was one holiday colored sketch where a chakat was wearing power armor or something, that was a bit of a variation. But always a tree. Always. Even then.

Look it's another color ske--

PSYCHE. That was just one hour into a painting. Here it is another five hours later! I really enjoyed working on this piece because I had the opportunity to experiment with new lighting techniques and approaches to digital speed painting. I need to determine a means of encouraging commissioners to purchase paintings more frequently, I definitely prefer them.

Also interesting to note: this particular commissioner purchased a very similar piece from me almost exactly a year previously. This right here makes me immeasurably happy, because when I get to see direct indications of my progress as an artist I feel this past year spent surviving freelance has been worth it. Both paintings spanned a duration of approximately six hours.

Holiday icons of the matching couple-y variety! This is just a still compilation, but in the individual .gif versions the snow drifts down in the first set and the light of the ornaments flickers in the last set, because, uh... I have to use my BFA in Animation for something. Wow let's not think about that too extensively actually. Moving on!

To dispense with the Christmas trees for a minute, here's a doodle of Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, because the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher earned my adoration over the course of months past. I am nearly caught up! Just have to finish Ghost Stories and tackle Cold Days.

NO HARRY STOP BURNING DOWN HOUSES MY GOD. THERE ARE ELEMENTS OTHER THAN FIRE YOU KNOW.

At any rate the holidays are pretty neat because of all the business, thank you fine people of the internet for continuing to pay me to loaf in front of my computer and draw stuff. I have come to accept and often even enjoy this. I don't even have to put a shirt on. I am a responsible adult and I can eat ego waffles for dinner if I want. (But then my boyfriend gets home and decides to spontaneously cook me a real dinner while I am so engrossed in making art that I am not paying attention and feeds it to me. Bless.)

I really need to remember to update this more often, so that selecting cross-sections of recent work doesn't result in such gigantic torrents of art. But, here we are then.

Commission referencing a scene from the Doctor Who episode "The End of Time". 8 hours, Paint Tool SAI and Adobe Photoshop.

Quick, soft-colored sketches continue to be a large chunk of what folks ask of me. I think I've done 16 of them since I last blogged. The cat-taurs known as "chakats" continue to be a large customer base as well. You draw the extra limbs, they show up to the party! Literally. I host art parties on Livestream and people show up and pay me to illustrate their various critters and brainchildren. I've been at it regular-like as of late, it's my five-weekday income puller. Can't say I mind! I listen to music, sometimes audiobooks too; chat with my spectators... you know, life of excitement.

Tattoo design commission! More realistic than tribal this time.

I'll work in whatever style the denizens of the internet desire... sometimes, it's My Little Pony. There have been a few of those lately. Also more with the excess of limbs. Somewhere along the way it accidentally became one of my specialties! Commission niche powers activate.

It's rare that I find time for personal doodles, but now and again it happens. I love my cat he is so tolerant.

Reference sheet commission. Done a few of these lately, this was the largest. Drawing-wise, I mean. Also there are large dragon testicles, sure. Sometimes my job includes large dragon testicles. Don't ask me, I'm just the artist. I draw the things I am paid to draw. Weaponry, armor, and other such accessories are always interesting to work on though!

I didn't let the Hurricane Sandy thing prevent me from making them art bucks. The day of, by candlelight and without power, I poked twitter via my moderately informed phone (it would be a stretch to dub it a true smart phone) and wrestled up a couple traditional media sketch commissions.

Large group commission I have been working on - eventually this will be a painting. Frak yeah that's a Battlestar Galactica hanger deck.

Pet portrait commission of some very cute basset hounds! 15 hours, Paint Tool SAI and Adobe Photoshop.

A more "realistic" portrait commission of a chakat, 8.5 hours, Paint Tool SAI. I really enjoy painting commissions of any variety most of all. If I wind up remaining freelance it would be pretty neat to someday only do commissions on an hourly painting basis rather than taking more specific little fixed price sketches, icons, badges, and so on. With paintings I feel I can really work on technique and learn a lot with each piece.

I suppose that's enough for now. Commissions are presently in a holiday swing: did a bunch of pumpkin-pie eating icons and Thanksgiving feast themed sketches in November, and this month it's on to characters gathered around Christmas trees and donning scarves and santa hats. Even with a small, self-run business the Hallmark syndrome of "whoa it's xyz yearly occasion stuff themed to match it needs to be bought" drums up customers. It's interesting to participate in.

Long time no blog.

I neglected updating this blog awhile, so it's time for a smattering of recent artwork!

My most recent painting commission. 16 hours, Paint Tool SAI.

An amusing little speedpaint commission. Tiny chakats! About 4 hours.

One of my most popular commission types continues to be my soft colored sketches... this one was a birthday present to the fellow who created the concept of chakats, paid for by a bunch of different people.

Another random colored sketch. I've done over twenty of them since I last posted, ahaha. But this one contains a spider and spiders are adorable. DO NOT DENY THIS SIMPLE TRUTH.

Icons are another commission type I fill repeatedly. Here are four from a recent batch of fifteen.

Sometimes I do design work! The commissioner is having these made into embroidered patches.

Here's a painting of a rather muddy fox. I don't recall how many hours went into this commission. Some but not all.

To conclude this post with some personal work, here's a doodle of a me-shaped beast and a boyfriend-as-catloaf.

And a cel shaded cute thing I drew for my bffsy.

So that gives you all an idea of what I've been up to. Mostly illustrating furries, yes. They may seem silly but it's fun and doing so pays all my bills! Furries are the top secret awesometastic survival resource for recent art graduates everywhere. Shh, don't tell the other freelancers.