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Some commission slots and I'm sorry for being hard-to-reach
10 years ago
General
Hello FA.
I know it's been some time since I've been around in a regular fashion, and for that I apologize. I can only really say that it's just been the continuation of an incredibly difficult year for me, and there have been a lot of complications that have cropped up that I sincerely hope not to have to deal with anymore (or at least for a long period of time.)
I think that in my last several journals, months ago, I had brought up in some small way this other job that I've had for a while. It's basically this job that has kept me away from the fandom for much longer than I'd like, so I figure I owe an explanation, at least to an extent.
I don't exactly make it super well known, though it's also not a secret, that I spent an awful lot of money going to school for computer animation. So that means that I do know how to do a certain amount of basically everything within the process of computer animation, and for the past 8 (almost 9 now) years, I have been trying to find a way into that industry. I love doing 3D art, and I have to admit that much of the time I enjoy doing it a lot more than drawing, although many of the skills do overlap.
For the past several years I've been working with my boss, whom I met while in school to start up a small, boutique animation studio. Needless to say it is a difficult proposition to make money doing this, and it has been a difficult ride, but generally I was only spending 1-2 days a week on our project. Well honestly, 1-2 days a week on that project generally meant 20-24 hours per week in 2 days, which is somewhat tiring, and that by itself caused enough trouble with getting work done the other days of the week.
But this year, we got some interesting prospects. Without going into too much detail, we had some high-caliber prospective clients on the line for a while, and we were also being unofficially advised by a small group of people at Pixar, and so things looked like they might be changing, but we had a deadline to get a lot finished so that we could impress some people. So in effect, since for some time I was doing almost all the 3D work myself on the project, it turned out that I spent a fairly long period of time working on the project for 10-12 hours a day, every day, to get our project to a point where we might be able to actually make some money off it. I was getting paid (very minimally) but I kinda thought it was worth it, in the hopes that I would be able to actually do something worthwhile in the 3D industry.
After basically killing myself over this stuff, I decided to take some time off from the project to recharge and try to take care of some of my other obligations, like furry art. Now I haven't heard from my boss in a month, and I don't even know if the studio is going to exist anymore. I know she has a lot of complications with her job and life, so maybe things just hit a brick wall? Who knows? It's pretty depressing to me, I'll be honest, especially after putting in so many hours at an extremely discounted rate in order to make things work. But this is the reason I haven't been around much recently, and why I've kinda fallen off the map.
I know it's not a great excuse, that my other job was crazy. But once things cooled down there, I looked at my list and it was of course still way too long, and so I've had my head down for the last month basically trying to just get some stuff done, and get a more realistic plan ready for the future. On top of that, at least until further notice, I will only have 1 job, which is doing furry art. I have to admit, I am looking forward to only having 1 job to worry about.
After all that, I was pretty burned out on art, and so I had a bit of sort of funky art block to work through again. I am probably still working through it. My main goal was first to finish all the commissions that I took last year, because this is obviously way too damn long to keep anybody waiting. And then I was trying to cut down my overall commission list completely down before taking on any more commissions.
It is still my goal to finish up last year's commissions as soon as possible, and my overall goal is within the next couple of months to cut down my commission list to between 5 and 10 commissions at a time, so that people don't have to wait as long for me to work on their art. But I have also come to a point where I am completely broke and do still have a lot of bills to take care of (student loans are a bitch) and so I've come to the point where I can't really put off opening commissions any longer at this moment.
I don't really know what the future holds at the moment, but I do know that I have to start being more involved in the fandom again. I'm sorry for being generally flakey this year, I promise I'll start being able to get things in balance again soon.
I'm also not exactly sure how many commission slots I'll be opening; it kind of depends on how big the commissions are that take the slots. But I can say that I've been working very hard to shorten the list overall, and I'm really hoping that after this round I can start making slow but manageable progress towards my goals. I just need to do it in such a way that I'm not killing myself and won't get completely burnt out on art, because that's not really helpful for anybody.
On top of that, I know I mentioned it before in my last journal, but considering I'm still, as usual, in a bit of a bad way financially, I think I need to bring up again that much of my artwork is available as a print over on InkedFur.com! There are a lot of great artists over there who deserve a lot of love and support. My page can be found here: https://inkedfur.com/creator/tsaiwolf/
I hate being a pushy salesman, but unfortunately you have to do some things you don't like in order to survive sometimes. So I'll probably be posting up a teaser later with info. I even have a few artworks over there that haven't ever been posted on FA, so you might see some new stuff!
I've also never done anything like this, but I have in mind a list of animals that I'd like to draw as anthros, and I was thinking about making some of them adoptable, either on a first-come basis or maybe as an auction. I don't love the idea necessarily, but I need to figure out some other ways of getting back on my feet as well. So let me know your thoughts!
So I guess without further ado, commission slots are going to be open for a little while. Please send an email to tsaiwolfcommissions[at]gmail.com if you are interested in nabbing a spot! And here is the current list for reference (I have a few people not on this list who are waiting for some changes or pending final approval to post up their piece online, but if you don't see your name then I've probably already gotten in contact with you recently.)
Commission Queue
Anonymous
Charismatic1983
FluxxOtterZombie
Dotas
Buckwolf89/Clefwolf
SwiftFalcon
CaptainOtter
Takum
Sangie
Gage
Alexi
Alastair/Redfield
I know it's been some time since I've been around in a regular fashion, and for that I apologize. I can only really say that it's just been the continuation of an incredibly difficult year for me, and there have been a lot of complications that have cropped up that I sincerely hope not to have to deal with anymore (or at least for a long period of time.)
I think that in my last several journals, months ago, I had brought up in some small way this other job that I've had for a while. It's basically this job that has kept me away from the fandom for much longer than I'd like, so I figure I owe an explanation, at least to an extent.
I don't exactly make it super well known, though it's also not a secret, that I spent an awful lot of money going to school for computer animation. So that means that I do know how to do a certain amount of basically everything within the process of computer animation, and for the past 8 (almost 9 now) years, I have been trying to find a way into that industry. I love doing 3D art, and I have to admit that much of the time I enjoy doing it a lot more than drawing, although many of the skills do overlap.
For the past several years I've been working with my boss, whom I met while in school to start up a small, boutique animation studio. Needless to say it is a difficult proposition to make money doing this, and it has been a difficult ride, but generally I was only spending 1-2 days a week on our project. Well honestly, 1-2 days a week on that project generally meant 20-24 hours per week in 2 days, which is somewhat tiring, and that by itself caused enough trouble with getting work done the other days of the week.
But this year, we got some interesting prospects. Without going into too much detail, we had some high-caliber prospective clients on the line for a while, and we were also being unofficially advised by a small group of people at Pixar, and so things looked like they might be changing, but we had a deadline to get a lot finished so that we could impress some people. So in effect, since for some time I was doing almost all the 3D work myself on the project, it turned out that I spent a fairly long period of time working on the project for 10-12 hours a day, every day, to get our project to a point where we might be able to actually make some money off it. I was getting paid (very minimally) but I kinda thought it was worth it, in the hopes that I would be able to actually do something worthwhile in the 3D industry.
After basically killing myself over this stuff, I decided to take some time off from the project to recharge and try to take care of some of my other obligations, like furry art. Now I haven't heard from my boss in a month, and I don't even know if the studio is going to exist anymore. I know she has a lot of complications with her job and life, so maybe things just hit a brick wall? Who knows? It's pretty depressing to me, I'll be honest, especially after putting in so many hours at an extremely discounted rate in order to make things work. But this is the reason I haven't been around much recently, and why I've kinda fallen off the map.
I know it's not a great excuse, that my other job was crazy. But once things cooled down there, I looked at my list and it was of course still way too long, and so I've had my head down for the last month basically trying to just get some stuff done, and get a more realistic plan ready for the future. On top of that, at least until further notice, I will only have 1 job, which is doing furry art. I have to admit, I am looking forward to only having 1 job to worry about.
After all that, I was pretty burned out on art, and so I had a bit of sort of funky art block to work through again. I am probably still working through it. My main goal was first to finish all the commissions that I took last year, because this is obviously way too damn long to keep anybody waiting. And then I was trying to cut down my overall commission list completely down before taking on any more commissions.
It is still my goal to finish up last year's commissions as soon as possible, and my overall goal is within the next couple of months to cut down my commission list to between 5 and 10 commissions at a time, so that people don't have to wait as long for me to work on their art. But I have also come to a point where I am completely broke and do still have a lot of bills to take care of (student loans are a bitch) and so I've come to the point where I can't really put off opening commissions any longer at this moment.
I don't really know what the future holds at the moment, but I do know that I have to start being more involved in the fandom again. I'm sorry for being generally flakey this year, I promise I'll start being able to get things in balance again soon.
I'm also not exactly sure how many commission slots I'll be opening; it kind of depends on how big the commissions are that take the slots. But I can say that I've been working very hard to shorten the list overall, and I'm really hoping that after this round I can start making slow but manageable progress towards my goals. I just need to do it in such a way that I'm not killing myself and won't get completely burnt out on art, because that's not really helpful for anybody.
On top of that, I know I mentioned it before in my last journal, but considering I'm still, as usual, in a bit of a bad way financially, I think I need to bring up again that much of my artwork is available as a print over on InkedFur.com! There are a lot of great artists over there who deserve a lot of love and support. My page can be found here: https://inkedfur.com/creator/tsaiwolf/
I hate being a pushy salesman, but unfortunately you have to do some things you don't like in order to survive sometimes. So I'll probably be posting up a teaser later with info. I even have a few artworks over there that haven't ever been posted on FA, so you might see some new stuff!
I've also never done anything like this, but I have in mind a list of animals that I'd like to draw as anthros, and I was thinking about making some of them adoptable, either on a first-come basis or maybe as an auction. I don't love the idea necessarily, but I need to figure out some other ways of getting back on my feet as well. So let me know your thoughts!
So I guess without further ado, commission slots are going to be open for a little while. Please send an email to tsaiwolfcommissions[at]gmail.com if you are interested in nabbing a spot! And here is the current list for reference (I have a few people not on this list who are waiting for some changes or pending final approval to post up their piece online, but if you don't see your name then I've probably already gotten in contact with you recently.)
Commission Queue
Anonymous
Charismatic1983
FluxxOtterZombie
Dotas
Buckwolf89/Clefwolf
SwiftFalcon
CaptainOtter
Takum
Sangie
Gage
Alexi
Alastair/Redfield
Just an idea I'm throwing in... You're free to take it or not x3
And I have to agree with others - YCH's seem like a good option. Different people have different feelings on them, but there's definitely plenty of folks who love them and are more than happy to spend a lot on them. It's definitely something to think about.
If your still open for commissions, email i will send because boy do i have a character i'd like to see you draw <3
I hope your thing does work out and you get some benefit from all the work you put in. Always remember you're doing things for yourself, so even if things don't work out - maybe try and salvage some of the work for a future project. And I hope it doesn't have a negative impact on your relationship with your friend/boss. They are probably feeling the same things you are.
Also... "welcome back" I'm super-glad to see you posting and involved again, as I really like your work - and I'm probably not alone in saying that!
Also I hope things over all get better for you and I just want to remind you that I'm here if you want/need someone to talk to. Was messaging Skruff about getting a gaming session going so hopefully you can join in on that as well. Also don't forget to check your phone once in a while, a snow fox may leaves messages there occasionally. >.>
Glad to see more art from you though and that you'll be able to do more, I'll get some from you eventually I promise. *snow fox hugs* ^_^
With your financial situation, are you open to donations? And when I say donation, I mean a giving of money without getting anything back?
Your work is amazing, and I still love the work you did for me in the past (and want you to do more in the future), and I want to be sure that you can continue doing what you love to do. I'm sure others would want the same.