Okay, I have some very good news! My mom surprised me with a 2TB hard drive yesterday, and my computer is now back up and running! Now, I'm starting from scratch here, so it'll take me at least a few days to get back to work. I have to install all my software, set up all my drivers, contact any companies I need serial codes or download links from, clear out my dropbox account and set it to auto-back-up all my work files and etc. ...but we're back in action now and that's pretty amazing!

I still don't know what data recovery on the old drive is going to cost, so I'll post another update when I know more about that. But for now, hey! Good news! It's great!

I'll be hard at work getting my computer ready, but I'll post another journal once I'm working on commissions again.

Thanks to everyone for being so patient, and I'm glad to have some good news for once!


-Excess

I don't really even know what to say anymore, I'm kind of in shock. I had written a big explanation here about what's going on in my personal life and where my health and finances are at right now because I feel you all deserve as much transparency as possible, but I've deleted it because I don't want people to think I'm making excuses or trying to garner sympathy. You've all been patient enough with me already, much more so than I could ever ask for. I'm trying to maintain what little bit of professionalism I have left. I don't want people to feel sorry for me, and I don't want anyone to feel like they can't contact me for fear of affecting my health. Please, if you have any questions, any concerns at all, please do contact me. I will answer you, I haven't forgotten anyone, and I won't avoid or ignore anyone who contacts me regarding late commission work or trades. I never have, and I never will. I will always respond to every message I get. You can reach me via email at excess-0[at]hotmail.com
What I will say is that I've been working my ass off to get these commissions done, and done to at least the standard you paid for, before Christmas. But I have more bad news.

Last night, really late, my hard drive died. I haven't even had it that long, I'm pretty sure it's less than 2 years old. There was no warning, nothing, it just locked up and started clicking and wouldn't even boot into bios so I shut it off immediately.

The rest of my computer is fine, my tablet is fine, everything else, at least for now, is fine. But the hard drive with nearly every single commission file on it is dead. I tried to save the files, but had no time, and couldn't risk damaging the files permanently by trying to troubleshoot the drive any longer. It's making that awful clicking sound, and running it like that for any length of time at this point would very likely destroy the files on the drive. I can't afford to risk losing those files completely if I haven't already. As it stands, I should hopefully be able to recover the files with a data recovery service, but it will cost anywhere from $350-1000. I'll be able to get an exact quote once I can take it in and have it assessed. The place is out of town, but I'll call in a favour and get a ride as soon as I can. When I know more, I'll make another journal to keep everyone posted. I have no idea where or how I will get the money. I've already sold or pawned anything I had that had any decent resale value a long time ago. I do not have a credit card, and can't get one because I am in the process of applying for ODSP(Ontario Disability Support Payments.) Without a fully functional arm, a functional brain, and a functional computer, I have no real ability to make money anymore. I'm a very resourceful person and I've managed to tough out a lot of things over the last 6 years or so, but I'm not a miracle worker. I'm lucky to still have a home to live in, and I'm very grateful that I'm not on the streets right now. I've had some pretty close calls.

In order to get back to work again, I have to replace my hard drive at the very least, and get an external hard drive to serve as a vault for all my working files because I can't afford to have this happen again. It's something I've been meaning to do for ages, but money has been so tight since my arm stopped working and my computer is pretty new, so I didn't make it as much of a priority as I should have. I was honestly more worried about my tablet, because it's more than 5 years old, but I definitely haven't had the money to upgrade that. I've never had a hard drive die so quickly before. I feel really stupid for not taking more precautions, regardless of my financial situation, I should have done better. Needless to say, the last few years have been a profound learning experience for me.
Replacing the hard drive so I can get back to work, and getting an external to back up files, will cost $150. With Christmas coming up, I might be able to pull some strings with the family and make that happen. Fingers crossed, again, I'll keep everyone updated.

In the meantime, I'll work on the traditional sketches I had set aside while I was working on the really big digital projects. I can always plug my scanner in to someone else's computer, or scan them at the library and get them sent to the people waiting for them. I don't have many left to finish at this point, the biggest hold up is just the big digital commissions I've been working on, and the slow work pace because my wrist is starting to really degrade again from everything I've been doing with it, and my mental health is degrading from a combination of stress triggers both professional and personal. I just don't have many resources left, and I'm really sorry, but I'm doing the best I can.

I'm sorry, everyone, for all of this.
I want good news for you.
I want to come on to this site and post a journal that says "Everything is going great, all the owed work is done! I'm healthy, happy, excited about the future and I have fun comics and stuff to share with you!" ...but I don't have that news to share. I'm seriously considering not doing commissions anymore in spite of it being my only real source of income, because it feels like life is trying to tell me that I'm not made for this, and I'm just too stubborn to take the hint.


As always, I love you all. Thank you for being so patient with me. I'll keep you posted. <3


-Excess

Hey everyone, I don't know if you've all heard about Dragoneer's new recruit, but the dude apperantly has a really shady past and a habit of misusing delicate personal information, so now FA has a pretty serious privacy risk.

I know I'll take a real hit for this, but I have to distance myself from FA almost completely, and I hope you'll understand.

I need my notes, because I still owe a few commissions and all the reference links and info for them are still stashed in my notes, but those will be done by the end of the month, and once they are, I'll be disabling notes, and probably comments as well. Instead, anyone interested in a commission once I eventually reopen will need to contact me by email or on one of my other sites(tumblr, weasyl, etc). I'll post up a journal with a form in it, all my contact info, and a link to make everything really super simple when the time comes. I'll be posting journals or submissions here occasionally for a while just to notify my FA exclusive followers of commission openings and other opportunities, but I won't really be using FA beyond that anymore.

*GIANT EXASPERATED SIGH*

I am going to be investing more time and energy into other sites, because although FA is the only site I have ever really had steady commissions through, and I need to sell art to survive because I don't really have any other source of earned income(I can't work a "day job" for personal reasons), FA is just so unreliable, and unprofessional, and now it's downright unsafe.
So, that said, here are links to my other profiles on other sites, I check them just as often as I check FA, and I actually post some things to them that I don't post here, so that's pretty neat!
https://www.weasyl.com/profile/excess0
http://excessiveexpression.deviantart.com/
http://excessofficial.tumblr.com/

Please, please, PLEASE, if you love my art and you want to follow and/or support me, please follow or +watch me on one of these other sites. I love you all to death, you rock, you all keep me going. But FA isn't safe to use anymore, and it's just such an awful site to begin with. I can't use it anymore.

This sucks extra bad, because I was going to start posting all kinds of hype about a comic I'm creating in the late winter/spring, and a patreon account I'm launching to support that comic, and just all kinds of cool merch-type stuff... I have COOL STUFF in the works to show you all! With FA being like this, now I know I won't be able to reach as many people. I have a lot less followers on all my other profiles combined, and that's just terrible because gosh. I WANT to show you all my art and keep you all updated on my commission progress and just everything, you know? I want to share the fun stuff!

Damn...

Thanks to everyone for understanding, and for hanging in there with me through everything, especially this past year. <3


-Excess

The Punk Bat auction is now closed. Congrats to  sabug8 for the winning bid!
A huge thank you to everyone for their support!

Auction will close in about 7 hours, at 10pm EST tonight.
Current bid is $50, so go here if you want to sneak in a bid before the auction ends!
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/14807916/

Good luck, and thanks to everyone who's bidding!

Bidding starts at $35 CAD, auto-buy at $150 CAD, and I will include a custom fully-painted portrait icon if the bidding hits $100.
Auction ends on the 22nd at 10pm EST.

Go here for more info, and to bid:
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/14807916/

Well, I guess FA is back online. I'm really not impressed with the whole thing, I basically lost a week's worth of work on commissions, and the character auction I launched was just completely botched.
I will re-launch the auction on monday, and it will run for a full 2 days, so no worries! Everyone has the weekend to prepare, and people will actually get a chance to bid on it this time(assuming FA doesn't crap out on us again!)

Just a friendly reminder that I am also on Weasyl, Tumblr, and DeviantArt, all of which I check almost every day for messages, and I can also be reached by email at excess-0[at]hotmail.com if anyone ever needs to contact me when FA is down.

Thanks for hanging in there, everyone!

-Excess

I've decided to auction off my nsfw Punk Bat character, instead of keeping him all for myself. ;)

Bidding starts at $35, and the auction will end on the 16th at 10pm EST.
Go here for more info, and to bid!
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/14779711/

 Danies is awesome, has a really unique style, and is open for some very affordable commissions right now!
Check out their price list here: http://www.furaffinity.net/commissions/danies/

 doirn is a super talented and wonderful person, has very reasonably priced commissions, and is unfortunately living in a dangerous situation right now! They're such a sweet and lovely person, and they really need to make some money as quickly as possible so that they can get themselves and their husband into a safe and stable home.
So if you're in the market for awesome art, check out Doirn! They're taking every commission they can get right now, and working around the clock. Every little bit counts. Their commission pricing and info is here: https://docs.google.com/presentatio.....d.gebf9d182_00

If you're not buying right now, or don't have the funds, that's totally okay too. I'm in the same boat. If you could signal boost this link, that would be awesome. http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6176298/

Thank you so much!

I designed a punk, bat-inspired NSFW character a while back to combat an art block and I was going to make adoptables, but then the design ended up being so distinctive and I just don't really have time to do a batch of adoptables right now because I want to focus on owed work. I thought about keeping him for myself, but I don't really need another character right now.

Can I get your advice? Should I auction him as a character?

Here's a picture of him from my tumblr: http://excessunrated.tumblr.com/image/96763378394

Hey everyone!

I know I've been viciously inactive lately, on pretty much every website. I've been trying to focus as much as possible on the work I owe, and on my health, instead of maintaining an online presence.
The good news is that I'm making progress on art again, thanks to a combination of new medication, exercises/stretches and a LOT of laser therapy and chiropractic work on my arm. I've sent out some sketches recently from the Halloween queue, and anything that's been completed and sent out at any point is marked "DONE" on this list: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/5190768/ If yours is marked as finished but you haven't received it, please note me with your current email address. I've sent all these out to the email addresses I have on file, but after as long as it's been, I know it's possible that some may have changed.

If you don't have yours yet(and it's not marked done), you will very soon, likely within the next month if things keep going the way they are now.
After that, I have 4 larger commissions to finish, and once they have all been completed I may tentatively open for commissions again. Although I will be taking very few at any time to ensure that I am not overwhelmed again.

I'm also going to begin posting art again, as I finish what's in my queue. So there's that to look forward to!

So that's the update for now! Thank you again, to everyone who has been so patient while waiting for their commissions, and to those who are still watching for new art from me! You have all my love and appreciation. I really couldn't do this without you.

-Excess

So, my 2-3 week inpatient stay ended up being closer to a month, and I feel a bit shell-shocked from all the clinical interviews, therapy groups, and just generally intense experiences. I'm happy to be out, and I've got both good and not-as-good news to share. I want to share my diagnostic summary, and a bit of what I'm doing now on an outpatient basis.

(I'm going to preface this by saying that I am located in Canada, and diagnosis's in general are kind of hard to get here compared to America, so I hope no one will find it unusual that I had to go through so much to get mine, and that I only got diagnosed with a few things. :P)


The not so great news is that they did not have the necessary experience, the time, or the facilities to confirm a DID diagnosis, although it was unanimously agreed that my reported symptoms are consistent with the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for a DID diagnosis, and that is prominently mentioned in my psycho-diagnostic summary. The psychologist I saw was totally awesome for general diagnosis's, but was pretty ignorant on the topic of dissociation, and generally didn't seem to believe much in dissociative disorders(she was pretty old, and had a lot of traditional beliefs and ideals around gender as well, that absolutely biased her professionally), although when I asked her if she felt my symptoms were based in fantasy-proneness or delusion she firmly asserted that she felt my symptoms were definitely due to a traumatic childhood, and were dissociative rather than psychotic in nature, and absolutely centered around identity. She felt I was not fantasy-prone at all, in spite of being very creative. So while she had some pretty out of date ideals, and generally didn't seem to understand how dissociation works, she was at least familiar enough with it to determine that was the nature of my symptoms.

(So now for the good news!)

As such, I have been diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Dissociative Features, rather than separate diagnosis's of PTSD and DID. I feel like that's okay. My psychologist and the intern I'm seeing as follow-up emphasized that I could seek further assessment with a specialist to confirm a DID diagnosis if it is important to me, but that this diagnosis will allow me access to the same resources, and being a less controversial diagnosis, might allow me to avoid some of the stigmas around DID. I haven't decided yet if I want to continue to seek out diagnostic clarification, but for now I'm pretty tired of all the clinical stuff, and I'm more interested in focusing on my recovery.

I've also been diagnosed with Agoraphobia and Panic Disorder. It was mentioned that I should begin by seeking recovery from these issues in small steps, apply for disability and focus on my recovery and eventually my education and/or volunteering rather than getting back into the work force. However, it was advised that if after dealing with my anxieties, and when I am ready to work again, should I still find myself having difficulties with concentration, distraction, procrastination, and hyperactivity, that I should pursue a diagnosis of ADHD as a next step.

It's also worth noting that while I suffer from several prominent symptoms that initially resemble psychotic disorders, I demonstrate good reality testing, organized and goal-directed behaviour, and I don't meet the diagnostic criteria for a psychotic disorder. The psychologist instead thinks that my symptoms are stress-induced, shouldn't worsen with age, and should be manageable with good coping strategies and a healthy lifestyle. So that's good!

So, all in all, I'm pretty satisfied with that. I feel like in spite of being a bit biased, and a bit inexperienced with dissociative issues, the psychologist and intern were thorough and careful in their analysis, and my diagnosis's have brought me a lot of validation and some great recommendations for recovery(as scary as they might be!)

As far as recovery, I'm supposed to apply for ODSP(disability) and stop working so that I can focus on my health. This was a real slap in the face to me, because even with how much it had been asserted that I was not in working shape(and as much as it was suggested that I could volunteer if it made me feel better), I still feel obligated to make my own income. There's a lot of guilt around that for me, but my disproportionate expectations, my overly critical self-views, and my maladaptive workaholic behaviours are noted in my diagnostic summary so... well, there you go. I guess it's time to let it go, actually face my core issues, and change the way I'm looking at myself and my life. I need to redefine what success means for me. So I'll be finishing the work I owe, and then I'll just be focusing on my recovery, and letting my illustrative business focus on personal projects instead of commissioned work.

I'm also going to be seeing a therapist, attending outpatient group CBT at the hospital, going to local mental health support groups, and generally trying to get out of the house more. This is going to be really hard because, well... I'm agoraphobic. But I'm already making the first steps, and I'm committed to following through with it.
I'm also following up with the psychology intern who did most of my assessment, just for a couple of months on an outpatient basis.
I'm also going to continue to take melatonin at night and try to maintain a normal sleep schedule, which hospitalization has helped me settle into really effectively.

So that's that! I want to thank you all for being so patient while I was away, and for all your awesome support! I'll probably not be online a whole lot over the next week or two while I adjust to being at home again after that intense hospitalization, but I'll be answering messages reliably after that, and I'll try not to be totally absent in the meantime. :P


-Excess

I'm not able to speak very openly about this, but I will be in the hospital for about 2-3 weeks starting on the 21st. Please don't worry, I'll be alright, and this is potentially a very good thing. But I won't have any access to my phone, internet, or any electronics at all. I will be totally unreachable during this time. If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me at excess-0[at]hotmail.com before the 20th so I can answer you before I leave. <3

I am working on commissions until then, progress is slow, but I am back to work. I won't be accepting any new commissions until my existing ones are completed, sorry! I've had a few inquiries, and I'm just simply not comfortable taking on anything new for any reason until my owed work has been delivered. Thank you for understanding!

If I owe you some art, please don't worry! You haven't been forgotten, I still have all the references and information, as I keep very thorough records, and if I need any additional information from you, I will contact you directly when I am working on your piece. I am very sorry about delays. My health is very poor right now, or I would have better results for you.

Thank you all for your patience and support! I couldn't make it without you!


-Excess

I'm still struggling with a host of personal issues, some of which have gotten very severe.
I'm working as much as I am able to on art, but I'm often not able to get much if anything done. I'm seeing multiple specialists about it, and I am currently doing everything within my power to get back into working shape, but I don't know how long it will take. I haven't been spending much time online for these reasons, so it may take me a bit longer than usual to respond to messages, though I promise I am not ignoring anyone.
I am unfortunately no longer able to talk too specifically about any personal issues on any of my art profiles online, as I have been contacted by a very unwelcome ex-boyfriend from some years ago who has recently been stalking these sites for information about me.

Thank you so very much for your patience and understanding.

-Excess

Okay! So, my wrist is slowly getting better. I still can't do much art in a day, but it's better than it was last month, and it'll only get better with time. Because of my slow work pace, I'm still not taking on any new work. Though I am financially destitute at the moment and I'm not really sure how I'm going to handle that. I have been making some jewellery, and it's all being listed on my Etsy account as I get it finished and photographed, but I'm focusing on getting my current art queue done as quickly as possible, and generally keeping my online presence active and updated. Trades and personal art are kind of on hold at the moment, because I need to finish my outstanding commissions.

If I owe you art and you're waiting for me to get it finished, I'm very sorry for how long I have kept you waiting, but I am working as fast as I can and no one has lost priority or been forgotten. Believe me, if I could get it done faster for you I would do so. When your art is finished or I have a WIP for you, you will be the first to know!

I'm not updating FA very much these days after everything that has gone down here lately. I'm glad to see people are switching to weasyl, as I personally feel it is a much more professional site. I've been updating my profile there fairly regularly, so if you want to see new art from me, that's the place to be! Check it out: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/excess0

If you want to browse or buy my jewellery, my Etsy shop is here: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ExcessiveExpression
I am incredibly grateful to anyone who buys from me there, as it is currently my only source of income and I am really struggling to catch up on art fast enough to take on any new work to pay bills with.

I also have an F-list for anyone who might be interested! Ahaha~ Don't look at meeee
https://www.f-list.net/c/excess

Okay, so that's pretty much it for now! I'm really sorry about my slow progress, and I wish there was more I could do about it, but I'm already doing everything I can. I'm kind of just stuck playing the waiting game.

Thank you all for your incredible patience!

-Excess

OKAY SO. My poor stylus appears to be 300% gone forever, so I bought a new one and it should be here Friday. In the meantime I've dug up my old Graphire4 and I don't know if it'll really do the job BUT I WILL TRY IT ANYWAY. It couldn't hurt.

I went to another appointment for my wrist today, which means it hurts like hell and I can't really use it for 24 hours but TOMORROW IT WILL BE AWESOME so hopefully I can get a ton of work done tomorrow afternoon. I've also been told to wear a wrist brace at night and I'm hoping that will make a big difference. More money I don't have but WHATEVER as long as it fixes my wrist so I can work again then I don't care~ WRIST BRACES ARE EXPENSIVE THOUGH WOW. Like $30 and up, I had no idea. I guess that isn't that much but I'm on an artist's budget here like... it seems almost cruel that they make things that broke people are likely to need cost so much more than they really should. I'd be surprised if a brace of that size contains more than $10 worth of materials, and they make them on assembly lines in a matter of minutes so it's not like they are expensive to make BUT I DIGRESS. I got one anyway.

The good news is that the good Dr. Walsh says my wrist is healing really well, and while the pain from my tendonitis will just take time to go away, resting my wrist has really paid off in that the bones themselves have stabilized in the position they are supposed to be in, and don't seem to be in any danger of popping back out of place. WHICH IS A HUGE SUCCESS YAY AWESOME THAT IS WHAT I WANTED TO HEAR. *confetti* That means it shouldn't get any worse, and while it'll take time to really get better, it is looking like it'll totally go away in a matter of months and as long as I am responsible about my work habits from now on, it shouldn't come back. ;u;

I'm so excited! I mean, not only will I be back in working shape and able to tackle that, but the pain will go away, and I might even be able to do personal art on a regular basis alongside commissions, which is something I haven't been able to do in so long because I just wasn't capable of working that much in a day, and I had to make sure that all that energy and physical capacity went into paid work and trades. I'm just so excited at the prospect of working without the pain, and being able to put energy into drawing OCs and personal stuff again. I've missed that so much.

It's also worth mentioning that I have my etsy shop up now, and I'm slowly listing jewelry there. You can check it out here! https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/ExcessiveExpression

I only have a few bracelets there now, but I have more bracelets and some REALLY cool necklaces that are waiting on a photoshoot, so those will be up soon too! Look forward to hand carved wooden pendants, beautiful gemstones, and some really wicked vertebrae necklaces! They're so cool that I'm struggling to sell them because I JUST WANT TO KEEP THEM ALL AHAHA. I'm a selfish jewelry maker. :P But they'll be up soon and I'll post another journal once they are so that you guys can snag one for yourself!

Stay tuned!


-Excess

Of all the horrid luck. This is unbelievable. My tablet pen, which is ALWAYS in the same spot, has gone missing.

I don't know what to do. I was more sure of where that thing was, than the location of my internal organs. I have had enough bad luck, and now this. I guess these things happen all at once. Ugh.

I'm tearing my apartment APART looking for this thing. I can still do traditional work without it, but that's it, and I have a lot of digital art to do too. I have no idea what to do if I can't find this. I'm already behind all the work I was going to do today. I'm so upset. I'm SO frustrated. I'm going to see if I can get a replacement locally, and dodge any shipping times if it really comes down to that.

The other day I saw this tracking device thing that hooked up to a phone, so you could track whatever item around the house that you had lost. And I was like "What would anyone ever do with that." and right now I can just fully understand the practical application of that thing, and I am kicking myself for not having a second stylus around like

what was I THINKING only having one?!

It was bad enough that my stupid arm stopped working for me, and now my tablet stylus is missing. I just cannot believe this.

I'm so sorry, to everyone I owe work to. I don't deserve your patience, you are all so incredible for putting up with these delays from me. ;n;


I'm just so sorry, everyone.

Jeez FA, what the heck.

I would have done more during that time, but FA was down so I was shit out of luck. Anyway, I have some good news! Today was my second chiropractor appointment, and it turns out my wrist was HORRIBLY misaligned, and I have a bit of tendonitis. I'm going through some laser therapy as well as some tissue work, and I have to switch some of my desk equipment around(start using a vertical mouse, lower my keyboard, use my tablet on a lap desk), as well as adhere to some stretch routines... but my wrist should heal up and all the damage is totally temporary as long as I keep taking care of it. YAAAYYYY~ With the exception of the day immediately after each treatment appointment, I'm able to work!

With that in mind, I'm back to working on commissions, and if you're waiting on something from me, I'll have it to you shortly!


Now, that said... This wrist injury has really forced me to sit back and evaluate what I'm doing with my career, and I've come to a lot of hard realizations about the realities of trying to do commissions on FA for a living. The truth is that while it can be very rewarding, and I have met some amazing people in the process, it doesn't offer me an income substantial enough to afford free time to work on personal and long-term business projects. I have to work so much to pay my bills this way, that I just don't have time for anything else. It's not healthy, it leaves me very broke most of the time, and I just don't have the time or energy to do what I really want to do, like make comics, write stories, make music, and maybe even go outside every now and then! There are so many things I can do, and so many stories I want to tell. I'm left feeling like the next step forward for me might be to give up doing art for a living, so I can afford the time to produce other things.

So, I'm finishing up what I have in my current commission queue, and while I'll probably still do a few commissions here and there in the future, I'm going to be focusing on jewelry. You'll definitely still be seeing art from me, but it'll be mostly personal art, trades and collaborative stuff with other artists.
I have some great connections both local and online in the jewelry business, and it's definitely a very viable business option for me, with much better financial prospects. You can find my jewelry blog here for now: http://excessivejewelry.tumblr.com/ There's not much posted there yet, but I'll be posting updates there regularly from now on.
I will have an etsy shop up and running very soon, with quite a few pieces up for sale right away, and more to come! I'll post a link here when that happens, and I'll slowly be creating jewelry accounts on deviantArt, Twitter, Facebook, and probably some other sites as well. Though my account here will remain focused mostly on illustration.

I'm sorry if anyone is disappointed by this news, but I feel that at this point in my life, it is the best step for me to take. I also feel that it will mean that you will all be seeing art from me on a much bigger scale, if a bit less frequently, because I won't have to work within a budget so often. My goal is to begin work on my comic within the next 6 months, and have a new page up every week, though I'll talk more about that when it's closer.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!


-Excess

Hey guys!

I wasn't going to talk about this, but I wanted to ask if anyone has some tips for either changes to my work desk, changes to my equipment, or just any other general tips for dealing with wrist pain.
I've only been doing digital art seriously for around 3-4 years, and prior to that I focused on traditional art almost exclusively. I spent almost all my time sketching, inking, painting, or otherwise creating art with my right hand. I think I averaged around 10+ hours of art PER DAY, for YEARS. But I never had any wrist pain, or arm pain at all beyond some basic muscle soreness or hand cramps from working so much. Nothing chronic or intensely painful.
However, since doing digital art, I have noticed that I tend to draw more with my wrist when working on my tablet, rarely using broad sweeps at all. At first I thought I had just developed a bad habit, but when I draw on a traditional sketchbook I go right back to drawing from the elbow, and my art is MORE precise if anything. So it's not that I've lost that ability. It's something about the tablet.

I use an Intuos medium tablet, and the surface area is fairly large, though I certainly do have to make very fine movements to get precise lineart. For the last year or two, I have had wrist pain while drawing. Recently it has gotten so bad that I can't draw as much as I used to. My turnarounds for art used to be REALLY quick, and I've had to adjust them because of how many breaks I need to take now. This is a huge problem for me, because I know that I am capable of being more efficient and working harder, I want to produce more art, and this wrist pain has made it so that I can't do any personal art, because I have to strain so hard to get enough commissioned art done in a day, by the end of the day I can't push myself any harder to do more art, so I have set aside all my personal projects like webcomics that I was working hard to develop up until now. It's a problem.

I get some relief by wrapping a rag soaked in witch hazel around my wrist while I'm drawing, and it numbs some of the pain and makes it easier to work. But I need a real long-term solution. I tried some traditional pencil sketching last night, and there was no pain at all and I barely bent my wrist the whole time, no problem. So I know it is something specifically with my digital art workstation.

Has anyone else experienced this intense wrist pain while working on digital art? Do you have any suggestions for what I could do to my desk or my equipment to make this easier on my wrist?

I'm going to see a specialist in January when I can hopefully afford it, and he should be able to tell me where the damage is, and what can be done to repair my wrist, but I'm more concerned with what I can do to prevent this from happening again and minimize risk.

Any suggestions would be incredibly appreciated!


-Excess

OKAY so after a couple extra-weirder-than-usual days, I'm back to my normal self and BACK TO WORK. I've got lots to catch up on, since I had intended to really grind at things this week, and the week is half gone now, but I'm doing my best to recoup and make up for lost time. Thank you all so much for your support, and I am sorry if any of you talked to me and I seemed really weird because I just was not myself for a couple days there. BUT I AM GOOD NOW. So no worries. <3

If anyone has any concerns about their commission, please feel free to note me or shoot me an email, and I'll be happy to answer any questions and clear up any concerns. If not, just sit tight and expect to hear from me by the end of next week with either an update on your commission, or your finished sketch(if you had bought one from me around Halloween.)

Thanks again, for your patience and all your support! I'm feeling infinitely better now. c:

EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT IT IS MY BIRTHDAY TODAY. I don't know if that really matters, but I am 21 and it's pretty great. Though it's not as big a deal as it is to some other people because I live in Canada and I've technically been the legal drinking age for 2 years now BUT HEY. Gotta celebrate the little things, right?


-Excess

Hey guys!

So, for those who aren't really interested in the personal stuff, I'm just going to say that for very serious health reasons I'm required to take it easy for a couple days. So I might be a few days late with commissions, but I'm doing my best to still reach all the deadlines I gave you. I'm just putting this up so that if I am late with some things, you will know in advance to expect that, and know that you won't be waiting longer than a week in any case. Thank you for your understanding!


For anyone who is interested in the details, I'll offer a short explanation here, though I'm still not really functioning at full capacity, and I don't remember most of what happened to me.
Last night there were some personal issues with my boyfriend, who suffers from very serious depression. This has been an ongoing thing that we have worked our best to cope with, but last night seemed to be a breaking point for him, and I had to call the police because I was no longer mentally capable of either helping him or personally coping with what was going on. They showed up, and a crisis nurse was brought to the house shortly thereafter, and some plans were made to connect both my boyfriend and myself with some mental health resources(therapy, psychiatric appointments, etc.) to help us work through some issues that are very much in need of being addressed. For me, this is a really big deal, because while my boyfriend has coverage for that kind of help, I don't. I haven't been able to get help because I simply can't afford it, and I need to see specialists that are only available in other cities that I can't afford to travel to. This crisis nurse seems to feel that she can get me those resources affordably, and I have really high hopes for that. ;u;

So after the crisis nurse and police officers left, my boyfriend was just kind of overwhelmed and panicked, and I was very overwhelmed and not really totally "there", and he started talking about how we needed to evaluate the relationship and how healthy it is for each of us, and... I can't remember anything after that. All I can remember after that point are foggy, confused bits and pieces of the evening. I'm not even sure what order they happened in. But apparently I just stopped responding normally, and instead started to repeat words and phrases from memories as far back as 5 years or more ago. Then I started to shake and vomit, and I can remember that my head hurt incredibly. Eventually an ambulance was called, and I was taken to emergency care. I was given fluids, gravol, and painkillers through IV until I was able to articulate some of what happened, and my personal details(name, address, phone number, etc.), I was given a CT scan, they did blood tests, and other physical exams, and while I had a ton of pain and other symptoms, there was no clear physical reason for why I would have those issues. It was determined to be a response to extreme stress... I guess my brain just finally kind of gave up and self-destructed.
So... my memory is still really bad. I can't fully remember who I am right now, and I can't remember much of anything else either. My memory and personality are slowly coming back, but the doctor has told me that I need to take some time to recover and not stress about anything until I'm stable again. I'm groggy and confused, but things are slowly making more sense, and I'm trying to get back into working shape as quickly as I can, since I know I have deadlines to meet right now(I can't remember them all, but I keep really careful records so I won't miss anyone, don't worry!)
I don't remember if I know how to draw properly just yet, but it's coming back to me gradually, and I'm sure I'll be okay soon. I just have to take the time to recover properly or I could cause more serious health issues for myself.

Again, I am really sorry about any delays. I don't want anyone to think that I am making excuses, and I do take all of this very seriously. I know I owe work, and I'm so sorry if it is not delivered absolutely on time. I just can't risk any further health issues, and as of right now, I'm not capable of completing the work correctly and I don't want to deliver sub-par results. I want you all to get what you paid for! <3

I'll make sure to keep things updated, and I expect to be okay again fairly soon. It just might take a day or two for my brain to "reboot".

Thank you for your understanding!

-Excess

Whoo! So my internet is back up and everything is looking good. I'll have art to show off later tonight, and hopefully some preview pictures of some of the jewelry I've made so far that will be up for sale some time this month. c:

It's good to be back!

-Excess

The sketch sale has ended! Anyone who has already contacted me has a slot, and sketches will be closed while I finish all the ones from the sale, but other commissions are currently open for anyone who's interested. c:

I'm also switching ISPs and will be offline until the 4th, some time in the evening. Sorry if I don't answer your messages until then! I'll come back with plenty of cool stuff. :D

Thanks to everyone who bought a sketch! Happy Halloween!


-Excess

The Sketch Sale has officially launched, and you can find all the information here: http://www.furaffinity.net/full/11915211/

Slots are unlimited but the sale will end at midnight on Oct 31st EST, so act fast to snag one!


Slots:
1.  communistprime DONE
2.  addotrail DONE
3.  werevixen x2 DONE
4.  narsassus x2 DONE
5.  darth-kitsu DONE
6.  tiamet64 DONE
7.  becky-raptor DONE *
8.  mastermastel x2 DONE *
9.  kurone DONE *
10.  kobra- x3 PAID *
11.  yark-wark DONE *
12.  jasirilion x2 DONE *
13.  draggy DONE
14.  gix.the.nightstalker DONE *
15.  kristendeity +colour DONE *
16.  justjasper PAID *
17.  portlypossum x3 PAID *
18.  poesraven DONE *
19.  punkaroo x2 DONE*
20.  cgibby DONE *