This is kind of a big update, sorry for the wall of text!

Select Your Hero:

Select Your Hero, the Overwatch fanart anthology book I was a part of, was fully funded! We were worried for a bit when we had one week left and less than ¼ of costs covered, but you guys really pulled through! Thank you to everyone who ordered a copy or reblogged or shared with friends!

Books are supposed to arrive sometime in April, at which point they’ll be available from my Storenvy, as well as at conventions, with the option to put a custom drawing on the book’s empty page!


Zenyatta Dakis:

I was a little disappointed with the turnout for the Zenyatta daki in comparison to Genji, at first. I realize Zenyatta is a far less popular character, but I had a lot of people excited about Zen while I was working on him, so my hopes were high.

I did get enough preorders to fund a shipment, so that’s not a concern. I realized a bit too late that the timing on this one was less than optimal, with everyone paying taxes and then waiting on refunds. I’ll have to see how big a shipment I can get with the money from preorders, but I’m either going to open a second preorder window or offer the stock at preorder prices for a limited time, so those of you who were trying to wait can still have a fair chance.

I also think some people were waiting on the genyatta one, but I’m beginning to worry that the appeal may be too niche to be feasible. I’ll probably have a sort of sign-up sheet to gauge how many people are seriously interested.

And yes, I do have more dakis planned, both Overwatch and not, don’t worry.



Art & Life:

I dunno what happened exactly, but yesterday and today have been suddenly much better art and mood-wise than pretty much the entire rest of the month haha. I have a new adoptable waiting in the wings and ideas for several more on the way. Also started some watercolor practice that’s turning out really nice, so I’ll have a new original available soon.

I’ve been thinking about my brand and online presence lately. I own the domain spartadogillustration.com, but I know fuck all about coding or how to find a server or anything like that. I know how to modify the code for tumblr themes, and that’s about it. Also wondering about the practicality of it, for the type of work that I do. I don’t know many people who seek out the personal websites of furry artists or fanartists. They just go to their FA, Tumblr, etc. Websites always seemed to be more for people looking for “””professional””” work, which is a whole other world that both intrigues and terrifies me. On the other hand it would be nice to have my TOS and contact info all in one place, but the idea of updating a portfolio of sorts sounds exhausting too.

I’ve also been considering making an Artstation (or rather, actually using the one I have rather than just logging in to fav stuff). It’s kind of the same issue, where it’s more for industry professionals, or people looking to become industry professionals. But I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be a bad idea to surround myself with that kind of artwork and experience, even if I’m unsure about that particular career path. It never hurts to make connections, right?

And finally, on a similar note, I’ve been wondering if I should divide my business a little bit. I usually advise artists against this, as it just kind of scatters clientele rather than redirect them. But I’ve noticed I do two very different kinds of art: my default style, which is more, well, stylized, and usually erotic or at least suggestive, and my super realistic pet portraits and wildlife art that’s meant to be matted and framed and hung up on your wall. And I’ve noticed a pretty big disconnect between the two in terms of attention. The people who follow me for my Overwatch fanart or furry porn probably don’t care about the 8x10 graphite on toned paper fully rendered snow leopard piece I just finished, and the people who like my realistic display pieces and want a pet portrait might be a bit put off by the giant horse cock and rampant Rule 34 that litter my galleries lol. It’s also much harder to market the more realistic work when I have so much of my default style in between.

I’m not sure what I’m going to do regarding any of that just yet. Just stuff I’m thinking about.

Also, before anyone asks: commissions are still closed. Slowly working through the waitlist, trying not to push myself too hard. Thanks for your patience!