Okay, folks! In light of recent events, I'm going to keep up what contributions I can to independent creators (within reason of my own accounting, of course). I've got a concept I'd like to try to see completed, but finding just the right artist isn't clicking in my brain.

The concept is that Molly is leaning over at her hips, and we have a first person view from just under her stomach. Low neckline on a loose shirt lets us see between her boobs out beyond. One excuse is she's decided this is the perfect way to talk to someone, so we'd see her face with nose kinda wedged between her breasts. The other is this is her idea of an environmental selfie, so we'd catch her chin and blurry scenery beyond the in-focus rack.

Are you an artist who's done an illustration for me? Want to make it a print?

YES, GO RIGHT AHEAD! (Just let me know, I've been known to buy 'em.)

Really, that's about all I have to say on the matter.

Just as a reminder type journal, I can be found both here and on other sites!

For those of you who wish to follow art I receive, consider Weasyl - the collections feature will notify you there when I accept a commission sent to me.
Check it~

If, for some reason, you still use deviantArt, well... lots of my older photography is there. I should get into it again, really.
devArt

If chirping is your thing, or is the term squacking, then you can catch random thoughts of mine on Twitter:
Bwack-buckaw?

Also, posting this to kinda just verify that yes, I do have a toyhou.se page.
Maybe I'll do something with it

Yup, you! I mean, I could make this journal all about where to find me on the Internet, but I'm not particularly interested in myself. I know, right, a furry saying that?

Anyhow. This goes particularly for artists, but y'all in general too. With certain things going as they are, I'd like to know where else people hang out. Do you have other galleries I should be watching you at? dA? Weasyl? Sofurry? Other sites?

Not for me, though!

So, a long-time friend of mine,  JayelleAnderson has a comic going, at http://www.anaria.net/ ! You should go check her out!

And, as well, she's holding a Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/JayelleAnderson - including a very limited (she will remove the option once that month is billed) chance at a commission slot. Worth a look, even the lower levels have cool stuff to 'em.

Hey folks! Got a question today that ended up letting me know that some people are using one of my characters' art as their profile photo on some kind of furry dating/hookup site. Cutting to the chase, not me!

Honestly the thought that someone would do this had me laughing so hard I hurt myself. I certainly don't think that impersonating me will help someone get any action, particularly as my characters are so recognizable that someone will find me on FA to reply instead of bothering with a site's pay-response system. You'll get better results being honest anyhow, even if you're looking for a fling, people who my name would get you anywhere with are likely to confirm at least, and are likely to know that's not my style.

That said, I kinda feel bad for people who use others' characters/character art. To have the personality they want down, then to not give that character their own form... I think your creation should deserve better.

Over the course of my years commissioning artists, I have come across a variety of mindsets on how people keep their clients in the loop. Some have struck me as more effective, and others... considerably less. From direct e-mails to posting your queue: each method has a purpose, advantages, disadvantages, and things it just cannot do. I hope to touch on what I've seen as a client, and what other messages these send to me.

E-mails -
Certainly a preferred contact means of mine. The two addresses I've given out are both checked with regularity, and are open whenever I'm online. When handling general queue updates for a prolonged queue, client at a time will leave a better taste in your clients' mouths. Things like "As a reminder, your slot number is X, we have completed Y just now. We are on track to have N commissions done per month, and expect to contact you for further details on ..."

Notes -
While similar to e-mail, on-site notes have particular issues. Normally you have to upload any WiP to a secondary website in order to forward them to the client, and you are at the mercy of the service hosting the note system. Many galleries are subjected to DDoS attacks or can simply fail at times, so have a backup handy if you are ready to contact your client.

Commission queue -
Posting your commission queue is an important thing to do, but it is a very passive means of communication. It functions well for informing the client who is curious as to what kind of work is ahead of them, and for building some trust with potential clients. Your commission queue is no substitution for active communication with your clients.

If you order your list, or use a Google docs spreadsheet to post it, understand that clients will see this as an indication that their pieces will be worked on in a certain order. If you do need to break from order, an explanation will help both current and future clients understand the situation.

WiPs -
If you are providing progress shots for the commission, please provide them in a fashion easily received by your client. Typically, I suggest you e-mail any relevant file to them, but if you use an image hosting site, make sure to send an update to them with a link to the URL! While it may be tempting to rely on people following you on a media site, don't. Your client may have legal concerns about the site's Terms of Service, or view this as just a grab for statistics.

Project sites -
Similar to posting your queue and WiPs in one location, various project and collaboration websites provide an excellent space for you to help keep what you need together. Again, though, consider these a passive means of contact with your clients, and seek other means of contact to at the very least inform them of updates to "their" project. Even if they sign up for the site, you cannot assume that it becomes part of their daily web surfing regimen or that they have their settings set to update them when you actually need them to get information.

Streams -
You have an interesting balance to strike while streaming. On one hand you need to keep a banter up in order to entertain your larger viewer base, but on the other you need to watch out for communication with your client if you're taking commissions. Streaming a commission allows for quick and effective feedback, particularly in a "before its too late" fashion, but only if you catch the "Wait! Not like that!". Also be aware that some clients have a difficult time with noise, so it may be better to not have a TV show playing for background noise, and don't let the audio level get above your own voice. Your co-hosts can cause problems for these clients as well, and don't count on them to let you know - they may be too embarrassed to admit to having a panic attack.

One thing I should stress above all is that what a client will appreciate most is the impression that you are making the effort to inform them.

Small jump this weekend, I guess I can attribute it to Rainfurrest? Well, no matter the cause, thank you for looking over my presence here on FA. More importantly, if you haven't already, go check out the artists I've commissioned in my favs list! They're the real stars of this show.

Journal to do happier things in! Jotting down some random(ish) commission ideas. At least, non-explicit ones.

"War Paint" - kinda a cute concept, here. Krinele drawing under her eyes and down her nose with frosting, perhaps "addressing" an army of gingerbread men. Has some slight relevance to a 'Spinner's actual UV-reactive markings, as they did develop as a form of identification during hunting of (and later combat with) nightmare realm creatures.

"Solar Powered" - Kivie sprawled catlike in a sunbeam, wings stretching and tails curled around her, yawning, in PJ's.

"Baby 'Spinner" - Mass of tails and cute, not much more needs to be said about this possibility.

"Noble Steed" - Did you know that Dreamspinners domesticated giant insects called Saber Stags? Yup, they're actually light-dream side creatures, not nightmares. At least in the particular dream world that Krin and Molly live in. They share some traits as 'Spinners, like UV reactive markings, and tend towards the nuclear cute side of appearances. Might be a chibi type picture, featuring a happy Saber Stag picking apples from a tree for its mistress.

"Boss! You're all sticky!" - A little more involved picture, having Molly's Saber Stag trying to clean her off after a flower's nectar spilled all over her, causing a tremendous amount of tickling to happen.

I may add more as time progresses, if people have random ideas this would be a good place to toss them.

My stances on this are twofold:

Copyright for art is not mine, I am only an interested third party (the commissioner). It's the artist's decision as to if they wish things to come down, and I will support whatever decision my colleagues make.

As the cases currently being put forth are using the artwork more for representation (at least the responsible ones) of what their character might look like, it doesn't threaten me as player of Molly, Krinele, or Kivie. Names aren't used in the cases I've seen, nobody's pretending to be the actual owner of my character (unlike other times)... So I'm less harmed than with other instances.

A new journal pushing onnaevilsmith, just her YCH auction's been over for a while. She's still a wonderful person who could use the exposure! Go take a look, and help her work through a stack of art cards! I hear she likes ponies...

Okay, posting a bit of a pimp to an auction. Not something I normally do, especially to ones I'm bidding on.

(Oh why am I doing this again? Oh, right... She's looking at other income sources)

Onnaevilsmith is holding a YCH auction of a nicely-posed female figure, either pondering putting on a triangle bikini top or perhaps just having taken it off. She's willing to work with any form of muzzle, bust size, etc. (just read the description!)

Anyhow, she's a wonderful colorist, and has very solid anatomy work, so have a gander.

I got this from numerous people, like LadySnakebite and... er... I deleted all the other notifications too fast after reading. Sorry ;.;

1. Are you single or taken?
Single~

2. Chocolate or flowers?
Chocolate flowers. Seriously. Those things are the shit and always half off the 15th!

3. Will you do anything special for Valentines Day?
I get paid tonight. I will buy food! =D

4. Do you LIKE like anyone?
Like like... is that valley talk? I like, like a lot of people. It's why I'm posting on a community website, duh? Would I be here if I didn't like people? ... Wait. I just remembered what some people are like around here, DON'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION. Please.

5. Were you dating anyone last Valentines?
Well, I did mention something that happened in the 90's and got someone to say "Oh, yeah! I remember that in college!" so I guess I dated someone?

6. Who do you want to spend Valentines with?
Probably this lady

7. Do you make a big deal about Valentines?
Nah. I mean, yeah the guy was martyred and all that, but really Saints are Saints and I don't think one needs to have a big deal made out of them particularly.

8. Have you ever had a secret admirer?
Well now it wouldn't be much of a secret if I knew, would it? Huh? Huh?

9. Would you ever write someone a love letter?
Just one letter? I suppose I could if I wrote it fancy enough.

10. Do you believe in Cupid?
That rings a bell, somehow. Isn't that related to the site that brings us Guys In Fedoras?

11. Do your parents give you presents on Valentines?
Well, there is a lot of chocolate lying around. I'm sure I could call that good...

12. Do you still send out Valentine cards?
I like to think of them as memorials to trees whose lives were cut short, imprisoned in a bottle and sent out to sea.

13. Do you like candy hearts?
Yeah. Much easier to eat in public than real hearts!

14. What is something you got last Valentines?
Serious case of gas, I tell you. I don't know what I ate, but man was the after-effect memorable. Never had my cat run from the couch so fast.

15. Is Valentines depressing?
Nah, there's some good burritos to be eaten!

16. How is your love life?
I love life. It's a hell of a lot better than the alternative in my opinion!

17. Have you ever been dumped on Valentines?
Nope, can't say I have. Honestly, I steer clear of situations where I could get kicked out of the car.

18. How many roses would you want to receive?
One nice hardy bush would be fine, the kind I can't kill.

19. Will you have a girlfriend/boyfriend this Valentines day?
I have many friends, boys and girls. I have them every day of the year at that!

20. Do you look forward to Valentines day?
I have to, means one day closer to when we get to clearance out all the candy so maybe we'll have enough room for the Easter candy at work!

21. Who was your last Valentine from?
My memory isn't that good, peoples!

22. Who do you expect to get a Valentine from this year?
I'll be happy if my cat doesn't fart on me! ... You know, in retribution for last year.

23. Who would you most like to receive a Valentine from?
I will accept kudos and praise from anyone, I don't have any one person who I particularly seek the well-deserved adulation of.

24. How many Valentines will you be sending this year?
I love you all, but am too lazy to send out individual messages conveying this feeling to the lot of you. So, you are loved, be happy with it.

25. Have you ever not received a Valentine?
Well, if you mean a Valentine as a specific type of card from people, probably. It's not like I fly high enough to register on radar, where they're all like "ooh, look at that hunk of sexy man-meat. I need to do something for him, oh I know... I'll wait until Feb 14th and hand him a card!"

26. What was the most Valentines you received in a single day?
Oh, God, I think that was back in Elementary school where the teacher made us all just walk around and give one to each classmate. If your teachers didn't do that because your school was too politically correct, GET OFF MY LAWN.

27. Have you ever received an anonymous Valentine?
From the above, damn. We never bothered signing those, it was just like "okay, fine. Drop, drop, drop..."

28. Have you ever sent an anonymous Valentine?
See above, dudes and dudettes~

29. Will you be sending an anonymous Valentine this year?
Nah. I'm pretty sure that this bulk "hey everybody I love you" thing will have my username attached. If it doesn't, well, damn. Okay, maybe I'll do something on Tumblr to a friend. Actually, now that sounds like a really good idea.

30. What was the best Valentine gift you ever received?
50% off Valentine's candy on Feb 15th. Every damn year. Can't even joke about it, that's just "NOM"

31. What was the worst?
My cat farted on me this one time...

32. Have you ever started dating someone on Valentines day?
Nah. Normally I've been convincing people to yell "GET OFF MY LAWN" at me long before Valentine's Day.

Yup. One of THOSE journals.

Seriously, though. To all of you who watch me, thanks. At first I was just boggled why people would even want to. I'll be honest, I rarely post art here, leaving it at my favorites so people can appreciate the artists' other works. However, I do what I can to see that I get the lot of you at least something out of your click! >.> Hence why I try to do occasional info posts, what-have-you's, and what-nots.

In this case, I'm going to do some warm fuzzies. As some of you know, like many people with an attractive character that has plenty of art, I end up with people appropriating Molly's name and/or likeness frequently enough. I wanna say, to those who let me know about these things, thank you. Sometimes something comes out of it, sometimes it doesn't, but I appreciate that you've got my back when these things spring up.

Another journal where Dat talks business thingies! All the thingies!

Okay, not all the thingies, just thingies that do their thingy thing and encourage me to return as a customer. Some parts directly related to commissioning an artist in the first place.

Personality - Speaking as an introvert, you know... the kind who has chickened out on writing this journal four or five times now, it's difficult for me to actually venture forth an idea to an artist. Comfort in talking to you (you know, approachability) is paramount, friendliness (not necessarily friendship) is great. Though there's some of you that I don't even know why I started talking to you in the first place but we're here now and that's that.

Involvement - I do appreciate being able to have input at the sketch process. It isn't critical, but in addition to hopefully providing a better piece of artwork, it does tend to make me feel appreciated as a commissioner. Stream sessions are great for this, as evidenced once by working with vinci_nicolaides to get Molly's markings explained well.

Timeliness - I must admit, prompt completion of work is a huge draw on my wallet. Taking a year and a half is much less so. Not completely defeating, mind, but that should be some good art. Contact in the mean time does wonders, I tend to be understanding if you have things going on but keep me up to date.

Groupies - Okay, not the best word, but it gets the point across. If you're a streaming artist, chat regulars who I get along with will get me there frequently. Conversely, I admit that I've kinda stopped working with some artists if only because the people who comment on every one of their pictures and hang out in stream chat just sorta... piss me off. Sorry, but it happens.

Cheers, peeps, that's what I've got for now.

Just things that come up, I admit, as bits of advice. Some of it is a rehash of a guide courtesy of the exemplary and wise genesisw, other bits are my own two cents based on further observations.

Webcam quality counts~ Logitech's newest version of the C900 series, the C920, seems to have had several improvements with pros in mind, particularly the screw threads. Don't think this is important? Consider Gen's cam is taped to her lamp - you could use the bendy tripods available (cheap) at local stores to attach it anywhere on a lamp arm and move it around at your discretion.

Engage! Particularly, engage your clients. People have more fun (and looser wallets) when you are engaging and entertaining. You can't talk to everyone, of course, just let people know you care.

Focus Music helps, yes. It makes a stream more interesting... just remember that music your target audience likes or is related to what you're drawing will work better than random noise. Background noise, though, is often distracting. If you're talking over a webcam's mic, remember it'll do its best to pick up everything in the room. Which brings me to -

Microphones A good headset does work wonders. Please! Procaster at least carries an ability to adjust mixers so you can directly take the audio feed off your music player without any echo, and then mix in your microphone. With this kind of setup, most mics won't pick up things like the cars passing by, your roommate's TV blasting CSI, or other things that may discourage viewers. I, personally, wear headphones to dampen these kinds of sounds when at my machine and having them forced into my mixer is distracting at the least - panic-inducing at the most with the wrong program in the background.

Occupy Yourself ... No, not in a dirty way. This isn't about that kind of stream. Basically, have a backup plan to keep people interested in case you don't have a queue or takers for in-stream commissions. Stock up on ACEOs (ATCs in most terminology, just more mercenary) to sell at a convention, perhaps. At the very least, you'll be drawing, improving your trade. Perhaps you'll give one of your viewers an idea about your abilities that'll lead to a bite.

Politeness I shouldn't have to go over the issues of reaping what you sow. If you're sick of a certain thing, please work a bit of politeness into refusing a commission. If a commissioner gives you an idea you particularly enjoy, let them know. If you've already accepted a piece and its wearing on you... well, just don't bitch about it. If you have to take a break from it and work on something else that's important, just work out a nice way to say it.

Don't Be A Doormat Seriously. People will abuse you if they can, don't let them. I suggest you follow Gen's general rules on dealing with troublemakers (no pun intended there) and deal with them individually. A simple "stay civil, don't be an ass" type rule works wonders. A good moderator you can trust to be fair and unbiased will be a godsend when you're busy, but please remember close personal friends may not be the most suited to the job.

Right, well, that's about all I can think up at the moment. I may come back to this later, may not.

Just what the title says. If I get anything, it'll probably be something minor from, well, the "short list" as it were. I don't have too many obligations still outstanding that I recall, but this rebuilding phase is part of keeping up with that.

Basically - con "season" (for me, that means Rainfurrest this year) is coming up, plus a vacation with the parents. While I can put the flight and associated trip stuff on a CC, ya gotta pay those off.

Alright! As I have more watchers than people I watch, which amuses me as a person who is a commissioner here, I shall... post a journal promoting artists I have commissioned and had works find their way here to FA here recently.

To start off, there's Tatious' recent works of Krinele and Molly. These were wing-it slots, up to her full discretion aside from the characters involved, and they worked out smashingly!
Little Striped Bikini of Krinele in... well, the titular bikini in question. Also on dA which likes png files better.
It's nearly summer time in the southern hemisphere features Molly, in weather-appropriate clothing. Provided you live down under. Again, on dA for better .png support.

Another good show is by Vera, whom I've wanted to commission for a long while as her stuff is absolutely awesome fantasy happily nested out there in left field with no apparent desire to come in. That said, Life of the Party is... well, I still smile even writing about it. Wonderous work, I admit I'd love to work with her again. Yes, she has no panties on, that's just how Molly rolls.

Lovely little place you have by Genesisw is one of her many, many postcards that she drew in stream. following up on her latest 24-hour comic's plotline "What You Can't Have" to some degree. You can purchase access to that plotline here, down under the comic near the armada of paypal links. You can read the story I wrote to go along with this portion of the story here, and more will be forthcoming.

Reclining Molly by Nim-Nim is flagged NSFW Tame, so it'll warn if you don't have adult submissions turned on. This is a... progression of the sketch from scoring The Cutest Skunk at auction, then proceeding to ask how much money I'd need to throw at Nim to get it colored. It's an amazing result of my money, and I'm quite grateful! A solid reminder that she looks as good on the departure as on the approach.

And by A_Blue_Deer, we have a picture of Krinele and Molly answering the door for trick or treaters. A popular house, certainly, though Krin's a little embarrassed at the costume Molly chose for her, though she's the sort to get used to it as the night goes on. Molly, again, is shameless - her only problem is that the costume didn't have see-through fabric on the top as well.

So, over at that wonderful LJ community known as Artists Beware there's presently a brief "advice for artists" type post about using PayPal's invoice system. From what I'm seeing it's a good handy system, especially for those artists who work in currencies other than the "commissioner default" of USD. It also lets you break down things like different portions of your commission fees, like showing how a picture starts from the single-character full-color, adds a second character, then a background, etc. You can provide discounts with an item having a negative price (example of a "preferred subject matter") or give it a bulk discount by percentage or dollar.

You can include, if it's under a thousand characters, some light TOS. If you like, you can leave it as payment due on receipt, set standard NET X terms, or set a specific date.

The trick is you need to have the commissioner's e-mail address. I've got my "big three" attached, that is to say my primary, gmail, and hotmail accounts. I'd actually done this in case someone would be more comfortable with a payment coming from the address they talk to, but it should be helpful for these invoices too.

Sometimes a note hits my inbox, or a shout hits my page, that just gets me giggling a bit. Particularly bad solicitations for commissions often do this to me. I'm not saying this with malice or anything towards advertisement (heck, this is the guy who asked people to suggest artists, including themselves, to watch and consider for commissioning), as honestly even when things are cut-and-paste flubs I get some enjoyment out of the scenario. I certainly don't mind getting watches from people who, to the best of my ability to tell, are hoping I'll visit their page, see their Comm TOS/prices, and drop some money on them.

Regrettably, at the moment, I don't have my usual non-discretionary reserves (i.e. in case of emergency) reserve where I prefer it - it's a few hundred short due to a non-discretionary (i.e. emergency... new tires) expense. This means that my discretionary budget is mostly shot for the time being.

Now, you may be asking what caused this post, and you'd be right to ask. ... *crickets chirp* ... Oh, an answer. Well, basically the trick is that I got a note over at dA from a commission artist that they really liked a commission that I got and they'd love if I would work with them. However, the note reeked of cut-and-paste, with some generic statement about how under-appreciated the commissioner is and blah-blah-blah... it didn't sound like he really paid attention to the picture in question aside from the title. This amused me to no end, but got me thinking about how to properly gear an artists' drive to woo money - I mean commissioners.

The ads on FA are relatively effective. I know that I've taken on a couple commissions through them. Some of the artists advertising I only really ended up considering after I saw the ad even though I had already noticed them, or even watched them.

Word of mouth, like way back when I think it was nim-nim or luckypan suggested in a journal that people like me should check out tatious. However, it's hard to control and trying to bribe people into it can be painful (as tatious recently learned...)

Direct contact has to be handled well to be at all functional. When done right, the least I'll do is give you a polite reply. It has worked with me in the past, but it takes me perceiving honesty in your message (instead of "I send this to everyone") and an interest in your artwork at your prices sufficient for an impulse-grade decision. Remember though that when you send a message directly to someone you have to engage them enough to get them to talk back to you.

Watching someone is similar to direct contact - chances are they'll view your page, so you've got a chance, but it's still hard to sell like that. This reminds me I do have a few "thanks for the watch!" messages to send though >.>

Another way I've seen effective is what genesisw does as a recent (to me) example. Work hard, draw great art that people fav, let your name get out there, do promotional things like livestreams and ACEOs and generally work hard at taking your new job seriously while keeping it fun. It works, quite handily, and will often result in a fair degree of word-of-mouth... "yeah, I'm watching an awesome stream, come on over, it's fun" can do wonders for loosening purse strings, ya know.

Anyhow. I hope someone enjoyed this rambling brought on by me getting a copy/paste note. Had the soliciting artist even so much as mentioned my character's name (aside from copy/paste the submission title) or engaged in any dialog, I might have done more than laugh with some friends at it and close the window. As it is, this might as well have been a romance fishing bot like I got over at myfur today and the note left me with much the same feeling.

Remember: most of you out there are really awesome artists - at least I'd like to think so. Your choice of advertising should reflect that and not sound like some regurgitated ass-kissing.

I wonder what the climate would be like if the world was doughnut shaped... as you may have read commentary about how RPG maps' tendency to loop at both north, south, east, and west means that the only shape the planet could have is that of a doughnut.

Hmmmm.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5754386

 tatious

This here fine young lady, whose high bar of artistic wonder is somehow surpassed by just how awesome she is to work with, needs bidders on an absolutely amazing auction she is doing. *tips hat* While I'm sure that my meager following is practically a subset of her generous flock, any of you that don't pay attention shall now have it brought to your attention that her rock auction should have far more bidding going on than it does.

Toodles.

Since I seem to have gotten a number of people watching me after these last few commissions, perhaps I could pick your discriminating brains a little bit?

Basically, I'm looking for suggestions on who to watch. There aren't quite enough (in my opinion) "S" type messages entering my inbox. Drop me a link or several, if you would. For those who've never done it, the format is as follows:

:icon databank: (without the spaces) will produce:
 databank
:link databank: (again, without spaces) will produce:
databank

Thanks in advance!

Well... I'm in the middle of a burst of uploading to "that other art site", better known as dA. It's kinda a good place for me to, you know, upload pictures of a wedding. With no furry influence at all and all that. There's also a few pictures in my favorites list that for various reasons never made it to FA that some people might enjoy seeing.

Well, aside from some derp on Furcadia deciding to take a very good percentage of the pictures of Molly and RP a character with her name as some sort of BSDM slave trainer. I'll fill people in on the outcome if I hear back from the Furc staff on this~

Quick edit on this: That character on Furcadia, "Molly Fullin" is not me and is used without permission. ... Just being Captain Obvious.

Edit the second: Same bloody thing goes for "Krinele Fullin"