So there was a month there where I wasn’t able to draw because I had major surgery. It was the last time I would be able to get that surgery and have insurance pay for it all, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it - couldn’t really afford to miss work.

Now that I’ve recovered, I’ve hit another snag. Due to issues with family, I and my partner no longer have a place to live. This is a long story, and I wish I could tell you all what has happened - I owe it to you all - but at the moment all I can tell you is that it involves welfare fraud committed in my name and some extreme emotional abuse. I have no close family willing to have anything to do with me, and I’m about to begin a very long uphill legal battle.

During this time, I’m going to keep up with my commissions as much as possible. I still love my artwork, I still love all of you. I just can’t seem to go a day without some kind of problem financially or life wise. This is exactly why I don’t take payment before I start a project.

Again, I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I want to thank  Raheemme for the support and love he’s given me, as well as others. You know who you are.

If you want to help, consider donating to my PayPal at https://PayPal.me/deviantstarboy
If you donate, please add a note with your username and I will put you in a list for a free one character sketch when this is over.

If you don’t have the money to donate, please don’t worry! Your thoughts and support matter so much to me. I apologize for the delay and hope I can get back in the game very soon.

-love, Bullydog

Hi guys. Bully here.

Just a slight notification - we're now approaching the fall and winter season.
This means several things. For one, although I put a lot of hours into commission work, my primary career is retail. I have two retail jobs that will take up a majority of my time during the holidays, so my queue will turn over a little more slowly. Not six months long slowly, but slowly nonetheless. If you need a commission, especially a large one, by Christmas, I suggest you order it soon.

Second, I have the possibility of going in for two different surgeries this winter - one medical and one cosmetic. We'll see about that, but it may put me out for a bit. I would like to continue working during my recovery time but depending on how drugged up I am that may not be possible. I'm saying this because I don't want people to think I'm making it up when that time possibly rolls around.

Art trades will be indefinitely canceled during the season so that I can focus on paying work.

That's all. Feel free to ask questions below.

Bully out.

Commissions are currently on hold as I spend the weekend at Anthrocon in Pittsburgh.
Monday I will resume coms as usual. If you see me, please feel free to talk, high five, take pics. I'll be giving out business cards and if you have something for me to draw on, I'll do ten dollar sketch coms or five dollar bust sketches.

See you there!

Computer's working again.

Trying to get tablet to work.

My computer crashed again because I’m an idiot, we’re fixing it, I’m fine, slight delays with commissions but hopefully I’ll be up and running again by next week.

If you wanna contribute while I'm down just send donations to deviantstarboy[at]gmail.com on Paypal.

When I come back I'll probably have the Patreon up and running for Kami ni Saki.

... If for some reason one day I have a huge fanbase with a million people saying "Yeah fukken Bullydog best artist everr" even tho that will be a lie

IF FOR SOME REASON THAT HAPPENS

Y'all better not be a bunch of white knights who attack people over having characters that look like mine.
If I ever find out that my followers are a bunch of rabid assholes who go after other artists for stupid shit, I'mma bring a beat down. That's not what I want for me or my identity as Bullydog.

Just for reference, if you guys suspect that someone else has stolen one of my designs, poses, ideas whatever, just shoot me a note. Seriously.

This has been a presentation by Bullydog's Wishful Thinking, brought to you by: yeah right, you nonce, you'll never be popular.

I have a Trello now. It is public, if any commissioners would like their names removed for privacy purposes, just let me know.

https://trello.com/b/MoR9GkQ1/bully.....ommission-list

I had a couple people asking where Masato's pictures are, and I just forgot to post a journal about it with all the moving stuff.

Someone submitted a nasty callout on me on some stupid Tumblr that actually just got abandoned today, that ain't important, I already resolved the callout and none of what they said was true. Anyway, the callout centered around Masato and I needed to adjust the info on them so this doesn't happen again, so I just decided to take down all the pics and resubmit them later.

Masato is not being deleted, and the series with him and Subaki will be continuing.

Oh, and PregWolf wins the contest.
There were only two participants. :u

Hey followers. Thanks for reading yet another of my shitbag journals.

I've had a rough year and a half down in the southern US and my fiance and I are just tired of it. We got a really good offer and on August 31st, we're packing up our scant belongings and heading back to Philadelphia.

I don't know when I'll be completely settled down, but I will work on commissions as much and as often as I possibly can. If you are on the queue, your position will not be moved, and any deadlines I have given for commissions already in progress should not change. The TOS for commission refunds will be in place - if you don't get your commission within one month of paying, you are entitled to a full or partial refund on a case-by-case basis. My moving will not change this.

Swear to god I'll prop my laptop and tablet up somewhere to keep drawing. I'm not gonna be that person, you know? "oh, look at all this shit I'm going through I can't possibly do commissions right now"

By commissioning me and demanding your money's worth you are helping me. Any further support is appreciated but not required.

Thanks for reading!
Bully out.

Yeah yeah, I hate these too.
Bear with me, it ain't gonna be a whole load of unreasonable crap.

Arright, so you commissioned an art piece from me. Here's the terms of payment:

Payment by paypal only, I don't have any other method atm.
Paypal address: Deviantstarboy[at]gmail.com
As a commissioner, you have these rights as far as payment:
- Payment up front when I begin the piece OR
- Payment in halves, half when I start and half when I finish OR
- Payment up front in full when I take you into the queue, or at any time between queue placement and starting
I don't recommend the third option until you've commissioned me at least once or twice so you know that you can trust me.
As well:
- If two months passes after you've paid (full or half) and I still have not produced at least significant progress on your picture, you have every right to request a full or partial refund.
Yes, you heard me. You get your commission within two months. It's usually closer to a couple days or two weeks at max. Unless something horrible happened to me, there's no excuse for it.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND FUNDS AS FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
Paypal takes a small portion of my income when you send money for "Goods and Services". This is goods/services. When you send via Friends and Family, it does not take away that money. This is not a good thing. I need to claim this as income and all funds transferred for "friends and family" do NOT get counted as income. This isn't a bonus or a tip for me. Do not send as friends and family. Do not cover the Paypal tax.

The terms of contact:
- I prefer contact by Telegram/Discord because I can get to you faster, but I do get to notes reasonably quickly as well.
- My Telegram username is d@bullydogfurs and will show up as Bullydog. My Discord username is Ashbel#0011. You have every right to contact me at any time, even to ask about a possible commission.
- I will use whatever method you prefer in order to send you WIPs of every step and ask for alterations of your piece, like, "How's the size of the tail here?" and "What color do you want the character's dress?". For this reason, Skype/Discord is preferable since I have to host each pic on Imgur otherwise.
- If you would like to remain on my Telegram/Discord contact list, I may possibly send you little reminders about things like group YCHs, auctions, adoptables, and other things I think you might like. If you don't want this, just let me know. I will never give your addy out to anyone.

The terms of commission:
- You have every right to haggle on the price that I give you for your piece, but don't be a dick about it. I've been told by almost everyone that my prices are extremely fair for what you get and the time you get it in.
- That doesn't mean I'll be a dick to you if you haggle. Be cool with me and I'll be cool with you.
- You have every right to ask for an alteration to a piece if you want something changed. This is why I send WIPs on every step. It could be something like "Can you add some drool here?" or "The belly's too small". I will change it. But the sooner you spot the problem or decide you want an alteration, the better. It'll be damn hard to change the size of a limb or the position of a hand when I've already finished coloring it.

Regarding Deadlines
In most, if not all situations, I will simply go by the order in which I have been commissioned. Under few circumstances will one client take precedence over another. HOWEVER, if a client needs a commission done in a set time, especially a very short deadline usually not allowed by the queue, I will rearrange and meet the deadline if possible. That means if a client comes to me and says they need a badge done by the time they leave for a con the following week, I will have to rearrange my schedule in order to get this new commission done. I will not force people to pay rush fees in order to skip lines, and rearrangement will be done completely at my own discretion. Please do keep in mind that the price may or may not increase by a tiny amount to allow for the new workload. I will make sure that all commissions get done in a timely manner and those that get rearranged are still allowed to go by the 2-month window rule.

The terms of art use:
- You have the right to post any piece you paid for anywhere you want. You may repost it to FA, put it on DA, slap it on Instagram, whatever.
- You have the right to ask me NOT to post a piece to my gallery IF you are not posting it publicly. If it's a picture of you and your partner or just for personal use then you can ask me to keep it private, and it won't be in my gallery.
- You also have the right to request that your art not be posted to my Tumblr.
- You DO NOT have the right to remove my signature, which is minimal and doesn't bother anyone.
- You MUST credit me in some way on any media you post your piece on, even just saying "Art by Bullydog". Really, that's the minimum. Do you have to link back to my page? No, but you can.
- In return, I will credit you as the owner/commissioner of the character. You own the CHARACTER, NOT the piece of artwork itself. You paid for the fair use of it and that's all good.

Terms of Furvilla Painties:
- I don't put my signature on Painties, and that's for your benefit. For that reason, I ask for at least some form of credit on the profile of the villager it was used on. Again, a simple "Art by Bullydog" will do.

IF YOU BREAK ANY OF THE RULES POSTED HERE:
- I have the right to never draw for you again.
- I have the right to block you from my page.
- I do not have the right to make a callout page for you, because that ain't my bag.

We cool? Cool.

Go follow it and I'll follow you.
Also I'm kinda annoyed right now so my sentences are quite short.
Fuck you.
Not really, I just needed to say it.

http://bullydogblog.tumblr.com

... is not glamorous.
... is not beautiful.
... is not desirable.
... is not something to fantasize over.

Since joining Furvilla, which I kinda wish I hadn't done, I've seen massive amounts of... well, tumblr bullcrap mostly.
Today I saw a thread about "trans headcanons"
"I like to imagine such and such from this anime is trans! Here's a picture of them with massive horrible mastectomy scars?

Why?
Why would you want anyone to be this miserable?
Why would you want someone to cry and hate themselves?
Why would you want someone to go through the ups and downs of hormone therapy?
Why would you want someone to have to undergo massive reconstructive surgery in order to fit their body image?
Why would you want someone to worry about someone calling them out when they go to the bathroom, or try on clothes?
Why would you want someone to be turned down by someone they like because they don't have the right body?

Why would anyone idolize that?

I don't want that.

I don't want to be seen as a transguy.
I want what all of us want.
I just want to be me.

I hate this generation.

To those who have ordered commissions from me and are currently waiting in my queue:

Bionichound (paid)
Armtyom (paid)
Kraz
Logan
-Rags-
SouthernRabbot
Chibi_Tiger

I have been asked to stop drawing for a few days until the swelling and pain in my wrist subsides. I can't move my hand very well and it's almost impossible for me to even color. Please forgive me. You may keep in touch with me via my skype, and for those who don't know it, the screenname is deviantstarboy.

Thank you for your patience.

What I'm reading this week:

The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
I love fairy tales. In a storage unit in my hometown I have two enormous leatherbound collector's editions of Hans Christian Andersen and Brothers Grimm fairy tales, and I miss them dearly. I'm not as fond of Brothers Grimm as I am of HCA, but I like them just fine. My favorites of this collection are "The Juniper Tree", "One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes", and "Snow White and Rose Red" which is vastly different than the classic Snow White.

Fairy Tales from Far Japan by Susan Ballard
This was an unusual book to pick up. I had to get it from the closed stacks section, and what I received was a canvas-bound, Microfilm reproduction of the original 1800s reproduction of a 1700s book, with folded pages. I have to say holding a Microfilm reproduced book is extraordinary.
Anyway, these are classic Japanese fairytales and they're wonderful. This volume comprises of everything from Momotaro to the tale of Susano, but because it was written in the 1700s by an Englishwoman a couple things aren't the best translation. For instance what is definitely a Tanuki (raccoon dog) in one of the pictures is described as a badger in the tale - but that's understandable, since English readers in the 1700s would have no idea what a tanuki is. Please pick this book up if you possibly can.

Tokyo Ghoul
Yes, I finally went and picked it up. I do have a complaint about this, first. The artist's painting is exquisite, but he can't draw hands or feet very well, and his sketchyness is a definite turnoff in some places. That being said, I am completely enthralled in the story. He uses just the right amount of darkness, turning something as simple as food into a very trying, traumatizing experience. I'll be sad if this turns out to just be a battle manga, but so far I am definitely seeing the appeal of this series.

Midnight Secretary
This M-rated manga from Shonen JUmp sister company Shojo Beat is... seriously underrated.
I didn't really know what to expect when I realiked it was going to be basically a vampire sex story, but it's actually far better than I expected. (Basically at this point I'm picking up any Volume 1 manga that looks interesting) The mythos they use is heavily based on the idea of devout Christianity in Japan, which is uncommon enough for a vampire to live there pretty peacefully. The vampire, a company executive, is a major playboy and is constantly inviting hot chicks over to drink their blood. His new secretary, dowdy-looking Satozuka Kaya, is there to make sure everything he needs is done perfectly - but he'd much rather have a pretty girl, until he realizes her value to him and how cute she really is under her glasses and tight-pinned hair. Unexpectedly worth a read.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei
One of my favorite mangas simply because of its absurdity. Author Kumeta Koji is a satirist who uses this manga to point out the things we take for granted in everyday life, especially in Japanese society where commonplace things are actually very strange once you really think about it. The main character is unsuccessfully suicidal homeroom teacher Itoshiki Nozomu, whose last name can be written with the characters for "Zetsubou" - "Despair". The other characters are all bizarre and mostly female students - a girl who is obsessed with perfection, an optimist who sees the good side of even the worst things, a crazed stalker, a yaoi fangirl, and a girl who speaks only in rude and nasty text messages among them. Read this to lose faith in humanity.

What I'm reading this week:


Puella Magi Madoka Magica
I usually have a policy against reading manga that were based off the TV show and not the other way around, mostly because you're not usually going to see anything different and it even takes away from the experience. I've already made this mistake with Wolfs Rain when that was popular - manga sucked and left out so much that the story hardly made sense.
I like Madoka Magica for the ute costumes and the concept it's built around, but if there's one thing I HATE, it's timeline fuckery. Time travel and paradoxes never make any sense in any way whatsoever. When a show reverts to timeline fuckery I just start groaning. But I've decided to try reading the manga, and it's a pretty good representation of the anime. There's a whole host of spinoffs in manga form, including Mami Magica, Oriko Magica, and Tart Magica, so I may read those as well.

Black Butler
Yes, I'm reading it. Maybe now all the fangirls will leave me alone.
I'm well aware that Black Butler is past the prime of its popularity, but for some reason, it's still everywhere. Shirts, socks, wristbands, backpacks. I don't get it. I tried watching the anime at the height of its popularity and what I got from it was bishie-boy fanservice and nothing substantial to the story, and Queen Victoria rolling furiously in her grave from her depiction as a 12-year-old oversexed shota.
But I'm giving the manga another shot. I can't help it. Despite how much I hate Black Butler, I can't ignore the fact that it's one of the only manga out there that indulges my master-servant fetish.

Sailor Moon (short stories)
I've always been a big fan of Sailor Moon, but those older readers know that originally, the Sailor Moon manga was published in some pretty irregular volumes by Tokyopop. Now there's a new translation by the American branch of Japanese publishing powerhouse Kodansha (who also publishes several works by Clamp). These volumes are wonderful and leave nothing out, but I found something missing from them that I enjoyed in the Tokyopop publications... And then I realized all the short stories were gone!
Now Kodansha has out two volumes comprising of all the short stories, parallel universes, and (my favorite) Chibiusa's Picture Diaries left out of the 12-volume run, including the long arc "Princess Kaguya's Lover". Fans of Sailor Moon should definitely read.

Stories for Young People by Oscar Wilde
Several weeks ago, I tried to take out a couple books by Oscar Wilde, who wrote The Picture of Dorian Gray, one of my favorites. Wilde was an incredible writer who spent time in prison simply for loving another man, and was widely known to be bisexual at the very least if not outright gay. But in looking through adult fiction (and then asking about it) I found out that my library didn't have a single book by him.
Or so I thought. While checking the children's section for E.B. White (I'll be doing another book club on Trumpet of the Swan later), I noticed Oscar Wilde's name on the shelf. In the children's section? No way. So I grabbed it.
Stories for Young People is a collection of, believe it or not, fairytales by Oscar Wilde. Compiled by Merlin Holland, Wilde's only grandson, it's a wonderful exploration of human interaction, love, and loss. I've only read one so far, "The Happy Prince", but I found myself staring blankly out into space for several minutes after finishing it, before realizing I was crying. For those who love fairytales, this is an absolute must.

Yu-Gi-Oh!
What? Yes, I'm reading Yu-Gi-Oh. Why shouldn't I? No, it's not all just people taking children's card games way too seriously. At least, not for the first four volumes.
Yu-Gi-Oh actually starts off as a pretty dark manga where Yugi's alter ego forces those who "trespass in his soul" (mostly bullies and cheaters) to play deadly Shadow Games with horrific penalties. Seriously, first episode he plays knife chicken with a dude and it ends with the guy hallucinating wildly for the rest of his life. They play everything from explosive ice hockey to cannibalistic Tamagotchis before settling on... you guessed it... Duel Monsters, the popular card game for kids. Still, it's worth reading for a million reasons. The Duel Monsters saga that fans of the anime are familiar with doesn't start until Volume 8, and it's STILL more hardcore than the anime.

Mollusites are a semimagical closed species created by Bullydog.
Species sheet: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20572741/
Species base and pricing: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20572704/



About the Species:
Mollusites are a mammalian, egg-laying species who are more parasite than anything else. Their bodies are more of a shell for the actual creature, the tail that protrudes, as if "bursting forth", from their backsides. They can either form their own bodies, or the transparent, jellylike eggs can be implanted in another creature, where the tail then grows out of the host animal.

Mollusites are instinctually drawn to magic, but have none of their own. They are predators who acquire magic from other beings, by way of consumption. This could be anything from making tea of dragon scales, to eating unicorn flesh or swallowing fairies whole. The more magic they consume, the larger the tails grow; thus, a young novice or a Mollusite who refuses to eat magic will have a very small tail, while an elder or one who consumes a lot will have a long, much heavier tail.

Habitat:

They live either alone or in tribes, most often on savannahs, in temperate forests, rainforests, by freshwater sources, or in wooded tundras. Their habitat usually dictates the size of their ears and the amount of fur they have; a savannah-dwelling Mollusite will have short, coarse fur, while one who lives in cold temperatures will have a longer, thicker coat.

It is very rare to find a Mollusite living in a city or dense civilizations; this is because cities are not conducive to magic and in fact suppress its growth. On rare occasion you may find one who has chosen to don traditional clothing and live a civilized life, but no matter how much magic they may physically consume, they cannot retain it. For this reason, any Mollusite who is found living in a city will have a faded, muted, or fully gray-scale color to their tails. Those who still retain color will not have it for long, and growth of the tail stops completely. Despite this, some of the species find city life can accommodate them just fine, and do not struggle to live without their magic.

Diet:

As mentioned, Mollusites consume the bodies of magical creatures with magical properties, which is what helps their tails grow. They are omnivorous, but have a particular liking for meat. Manticores, sphinxes, and dragons are among their favorites, but with their small size, it's easy to see why a lone Mollusite would not go out of its way to take on a more powerful predator. For this reason, they prefer more defenseless creatures like unicorns, fairies, pixies, or nymphs.

"Vegan" Mollusites do exist - those who choose not to eat meat and instead subsist on a diet of magical plants or even stones - but their tails end up far smaller than those who eat meat. This is not to say that they have no magic; they do at least have a slightly stronger magical imprint than novices or those who eat no magic at all.

Aside from their magical diet, they are fond of eating roots, nuts, and various fruits and vegetables. They are also known to cook their meals, even those made with magical meats.

Gender and Mating: Probably NSFW!!

It is well known that Mollusites produce only a single egg at a time in most cases, though very rarely twins may be lain together. But the mating rituals and genders of the species are overall a mystery to most.

Natural Mollusites (those who are not implanted in the bodies of other creatures) are born hermaphroditic, with both male and female organs, including internal testes and uterus. The fascinating thing is that unlike other hermaphroditic species, they do not remain this way. They retain both organs until the first time they mate, but what end they're on determines their permanent sex. For this reason, an unfortunate Mollusite can be forced to become "female" against their will.

That being said, "female" and "male" are very fluid among the Mollusite species. Female and male pronouns are more of a preference than a sure thing, and some choose to forgo gender specification entirely. To a Mollusite, there are no boys or girls: there are only those who can bear children and those who can't. This is why you may meet one who has "female" sex organs but who goes by male pronouns, or vice versa.

Mollusite do not develop breasts in general, for they often feed their children as birds do, or implant them in the bodies of other creatures as mentioned; but in rare cases, one may develop mammary glands and produce a magical sort of milk, whether or not they do have male sex organs. Finally, if a Mollusite participates in a threesome or group sex for their first time, it is very possible to retain both sets of organs for the duration of their life.

Design Parameters:

As mentioned, a Mollusite's coat is determined by their habitat, but their body shapes are almost always the same unless they are growing from another creature. Their ears can vary in shape and size, but are usually larger the warmer their climate, and smaller as it gets colder; it is however possible to see a transplanted Mollusite with larger ears who has moved to colder areas and vice versa. Their tails, paw pads, tongues, and sexual organs are almost always the same color, even in host creatures (as the parasitic "tail" consumes the body internally), and this usually extends to the irises, though a Mollusite can also have a different eye color based on its parental lineage.

The tail is always a bright and unnatural color except in those, as mentioned, whose magic has faded, ranging in any rainbow hue. The tail will never be more than one color unless the creature subsists entirely on an overly powerful magical source, which it must keep close at hand in order to keep its magic up; otherwise this mixed color can muddy quickly to brown. Yes, this means no rainbow tails. Just be happy you already have a special thing.

The coat colors can range from russet to black to fawn and back again, but are always naturally occurring furs - there's no need for bright plumage when the tail already stands out so much. Coat patterns vary not just from area to area but also just from creature to creature. Some may exhibit patterns depicting bones, while others may simply be seal point or piebald coats just like equine and feline creatures. Parasitic Mollusites, therefore, will be the only ones who exhibit extravagant or unnatural coat colors like pink or blue.

What I'm reading this week:


Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
One of my favorite books, and among my favorite movies, Memoirs is a beautifully written fictional account of a geisha's life in the final era of Kyoto's geisha district, right before the height of World War II. Golden's proselike descriptors and similes incur the traditional Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic, and I really love that. However, this is still a fairytale version of Geisha life, and it shouldn't be taken as fact.

Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
Another of Spinelli's lesser known works which should be among his greatest. Wringer follows a boy's growth into double-digit ages and the fear that he associates with that - because in his little hometown, ten year old boys become wringers, whose duty it is to break the necks of pigeons after they are shot at the annual Pigeon Day. It's an amazing story of personal growth, discovery, and hiding oneself among friends who demand that you be a certain way.

Let Dai
A Korean manga, called manhwa, that is among my favorites to this day. This one's difficult to get ahold of in libraries, but if you can swing it, please consider picking it up. It's dark, thoughtful, tantalizing, terrifying and above all too close to the drama of real life. The cast of characters is as vast as, oh say Days of Our Lives, but the focus is on Jaehee Yoo, a good boy high schooler who has never strayed outside his bubble; and Dai Lee, a dangerous and fearsome gang leader whose sights are set on Jaehee and the girls who call him their friend. A beautiful and desperately sad boys' love set in modern-day Seoul.

Loveless
This one was quite famous back in the mid-2000's when Tokyopop owned the rights to its English publication, but in about 2007 it went on hiatus, had an anime that tried to wrap up the storyline (and did it miserably), and disappeared into the ether. Now completed under Yen Press, Loveless is back with all the catboys and catgirls you could want.
I like Loveless, I really do - but I personally believe it has far too much going on that could all be made into different stories. Catboys who lose their ears with their virginity, bound couples who fight with spells forged in prose, the mysterious death of a brother and the man he left behind, a secret organization who for some odd reason meets in the chatrooms of a video game... These are all nearly entirely separate storylines that could be made into books of their own. I'd read one just about the cat ear thing. But since Loveless has so much going on in it, it's easy to lose sight of what the story is truly about.

A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Most everyone knows this one, and are desperately waiting for this supposed Netflix series they're making. I own all 13 books, but they're in storage somewhere and I wanted to read them again, so here I am at the library. Snicket's tongue-in-cheek writing and the way he portrays the smart children amidst bumbling adults is truly comical. I love the way he writes his characters and makes them all so very interesting, even if they're boring as sin.

What I'm reading this week:

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
On the reading list of many college and high school students, Catch-22 is a classic American novel about bombardier pilots in World War 2 and is chock full of dark humor and tongue-in-cheek observations. For those that enjoy that sort of thing, this book is a riot.

Nana
A long shojo manga series about two girls with the same name who are vastly different. Anyone who has read Paradise Kiss will recognize Ai Yazawa's highly unusual manga style and the huge influence fashion has on her work. Brimming with drama, it's hard to put this one down.

Comic Art Propaganda
I love the history that comics and propaganda have in common, and this nonfiction book explores it very well. From racist strips to Captain America to traditional Japanese woodblock prints depicting battles against the Chinese army, it's a great view of how comics have been used to influence our views on things, but I personally did not feel the author was very well-researched on a couple things.

The Gothic Tales of the Marquis de Sade
I felt it was time to read some of these. The Marquis didn't just give his name to our darker fetishes, he revolutionized sexuality in an era where sexuality itself was frowned upon. He was insane in the best ways and his writing is lovely and appropriately inappropriate. Those who enjoy his work or want to know more should also see the film "Quills"

Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and (artist)Kerascoët
A short and terrifyingly gorgeous comic in stylish watercolor. I did not expect this book to go where it did, or even to begin where it began. What you think you're reading is a fairytale - what you get is a provocative and frightening view of human nature and the fickle way we treat life. I picked this up on my way home from work today and I've already read it twice.

Hey guys.
In my recent Art Vs Artist I mentioned my obsession with going to the library.
I highly encourage reading and if you have a public library near you, I beg you to go and maybe even check out some of the books I've been reading. I read a huge variety of things, so you'll get manga, nonfiction, fiction of all kinds in here.

Here's a little of what I've been reading lately:

xxxHolic by Clamp
A fantasy/occult manga series by world-renowned mangaka group CLAMP. It's not as well-known as Chobits or Code Geass but it's a must for anyone who loves ghosts and spiritual shit. I'm on volume 13 of 19. This one also crosses over with one called Tsubasa. I'll be reading that afterwards.

Brick by Brick - How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry
If you like LEGO or even just like business or marketing, you need to read this book. It's fascinating and delves into the rise and fall and rise again that LEGO followed over its long history, even chronicling what led them into the red in the early 2000's.

Wandering Son by Shimura Takako
Another manga, but this one may be hard to find. It comes in hardcover volumes and I believe it's still ongoing - my library has eight volumes and the back of the last one says there's a ninth. Without giving too much away, it's about a pair of elementary schoolers - a girl who wants to be a boy, and a boy who wants to be a girl. It's wonderfully written, cute, and a great look at being transgendered without the main character dying at the end. I'm looking at you, Boys Don't Cry.

Crash by Jerry Spinelli
Spinelli is one of my favorite authors, so you'll be seeing a lot of his works in my reading lists. Crash is a simple and wonderful schoolboy book following the topics of bullying, jock life, and environmental issues. Sounds weird? Read it anyway.

Bakuman by Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba
The team behind Death Note comes back to write a manga about a pair of middle schoolers who come together to write manga. I find it hilarious that they're writing about Shonen Jump and submitting this to Shonen Jump. Anyway, this one's pretty popular so I'm sure you can read more elsewhere, and watch the anime. It is fun, though.

Some of you have already seen the small series that I've been pumping out, this monochrome series on Masato and his brother Subaki's conception and growth through pregnancy.

I'm about to tell you guys just how ambitious this project is. I'm very excited about it.

I've always wanted to do a series chronicling someone's entire journey through pregnancy, from conception to delivery. Who better to do it with than Masato, our cute little unicorn?
That's only half of how crazy this project will be.
The third part of the story, showing Masato's baby bump, asks viewers to vote in the comments for how many foals Masato will be carrying. I wanted to have viewer participation on these things, because it's fun.

But it won't stop there. Later on I may ask whether the foals should be boys or girls, which parent will have more influence over the genetics maybe.

And then the real fun starts.
Later on I'll have some group YCH pics so you can join in Masato's story. It could be attending Masato's baby shower, joining him for a prenatal yoga class, all kinds of shit.

At the end of the series, you can look forward to a collection of pictures of Masato's delivery. That'll be fun for some, or you can skip over it, because he's just so cute with his round tummy you'd rather just look at those.

But near the end of this run, I'm going to start an auction. Masato and Subaki are happy parents-to-be, but they're not quite ready to have a family yet. So like many parents, they'll be putting their children up for adoption.
And you, my fellows, will get to adopt them.

That's just a little of what's ahead for this series. Have fun!

This journal is open for past clients of mine to tell other people what their experience with me was like, as a businessman and as a person.

That means if you've gotten a commission from me before, I implore you to comment on this journal and say exactly what you think!
That means your satisfaction with any of the following or more:
Interaction
Pricing, haggling
Timeliness
Satisfaction with the finished product

I want to know these things and I want others to know them too.
NO COMMENTS WILL BE HIDDEN IN THIS JOURNAL.
That means if you have something bad to say, say it. This isn't me asking for people to boost my ego. This is a reference for future clients who may wonder what it's like dealing with me.
The ONLY comments I will hide are comments from people who did not actually commission me or have interactions with me in a business sense.

Have fun!

Personal journal log:

This week has just been a ride. A good ride, but rough.
FA obviously isn't my main source of income. I've got a main job and a few side things to expand my job experience and money and all that, and FA has been a huge help - I wasn't sure whether or not to come back, but it's nice to not eat plain rice for every meal.

I don't think I've been pushing myself too hard, but it definitely wears on me sometimes. I would get up at 4 in the morning, take the train to my temp job, work for eight hours, come home, eat, do a commission or at least part of one, and then conk out. Luckily that was only for four days, and it did pay off in the end.

The other problem is my wrist. Two years ago I suffered excruciating pain in my right wrist and spent several months getting scans to find the problem. An MRI finally revealed that I have a fairly large cyst between my bones there pushing on a whole lotta junk. Surgery was the only option... And my insurance refused to cover it.

So it's still there. It doesn't bother me a lot unless the weather changes a lot, or if I'm working nonstop, but when I'm writing freehand or doing a lot of coloring, I start to notice a twinge, and after a while the pain starts shooting through the nerve of my middle finger.

Even if I could pay for surgery, it would put me out of drawing for a few months. I don't know if I could do that. And could I even ever draw again? They'd have to move all the muscle and tendon and bone to get to this thing.

No. I think I'll be okay. Just for a little while longer.