Hiya, sorry it's been too long and I haven't gotten around to answering my messages.

As some of you know I started my ADHD titration not long before my birthday. I'm now nearing the end of this titration period and found my therapeutic dose.

As some may also know, those with late diagnosis ADHD that medicated go through a period of depression. I have read and tried to brace for it. Even though I knew it'd happen, it didn't stop me from feeling the effects. And for a while I felt pretty shit, I won't lie.

But it seems I'm now at the end of this episode, and feel like I've levelled out and feel better. Though I wish I could say that was the end of it :')

While I feel better, and even more focused, I still felt the fatigue that my doctors thought would improve once medicated. It did not.

So a blood test was done aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand turns out I'm borderline B12 deficient, have low iron (borderline on deficient) and low folate.

With my folate being in that area where it could be a deficiency but not a diagnosed one, if that make sense? So that's going to be my focus to help alleviate the next few weeks.

So I will be taking a break, a proper one that focuses on my health. Don't worry I will still be around, discord, Bluesky, etc. Feel free to message me :)

I have been writing, mostly note-taking, if people want me to upload a story I worked on ages ago let me know. I'm not sure how people would feel if I uploaded just writings while my body recovers from this in the next couple of weeks. Comment below if you'd like to see these.

Thanks for your patience! I really love and appreciate you all <3

Can't believe I turned 40 today!

Gimme a hug!




Also shameless plug, if you'd like to buy me a coffee/kofi, I'd greatly appreciate it! Please don't feel pressured! A hug or a high five will always be appreciated too! <3 https://ko-fi.com/rayedrawsart

Man, seeing all the work I've posted in the last few hours, I have kept you guys well and truly fed ;)

I have a lot more in the works that I've been trying to catch up on so you will see more from me.
I have a few wips, and a few conceptual pieces I am working on. I had to take a bit of a break due to artblock. This happens to the best of us
and I'm sure we're all familiar with the spiral. You can't seem to draw very well, then you think you suck overall, and rinse/repeat. I needed
time to get out of my head and I am feeling a bit better for the break. Now I come back in full force. ;)

My birthday is on June 8. Its my big 40!

Where has the time gone :')

Some of you may already be awaer but a few years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I'll be starting medicine this week (titration) and hopefully
this will help me focus a bit more on work so I don't go too long between posts. I have a lot of ideas and a lot I want to show you. Having a modicum
of focus will definitely help with this.

Thank you so much everyone for being there from the beginning. Seeing as I started this account back in 2008, many have stayed with me since 2010
when I began to post. That's 15 years of my nonsense. You guys have been incredible. Whether you were there from the beginning or you just found me
a few months ago, each of you have my gratitude for the support and encouragement you have given me.

Here is to many more years!!

Two slots are open. Due to circumstances I am temporarily taking in comic commissions.

These will start at £100 please DM me for further details on this.

Prices are here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/53571864/

I do allow NSFW content of my characters.

Raye, Danny and Mark:
✅ for spicy
✅ Any gender
⭕ Fetishes; ask
❌extreme fetishes

Milly and Amberette:
✅ Spicy
✅ Women only
⭕ Fetishes; ask
❌extreme fetishes

Josias (Raye's dad)
✅ Spicy
✅ men only
⭕ Fetishes; ask
❌extreme fetishes

Lothar
✅ Spicy
✅ Women (though Lothar said he would happily let me do a spicy commission of him with another gender if we're friendly with the commissioner)
⭕ Fetishes; ask
❌extreme fetishes

I just want to take a moment to thank you all so much for your support. I had a lot of messages overtime and It's gotten beyond what I could reply to. I wish I could reply to each and everyone of you individually!

Art is such an important part of my life. It's a journey of growth and exploration, finding out who you are and want to be, all your thoughts and feelings and put that on the canvas. And knowing you're here for the journey brings me so much warmth and joy.

To everyone who has followed, thank you for choosing to include my art in your online space. You wanting to see what I create is something I deeply appreciate especially when there are endless other creators out there (especially ones more consistent than I am!)


And to those who fave my art – thank you for taking the time to engage and let me know something resonated with you. This fuels my passion and make the effort I put in feel truly appreciated.

So thank you, all, for those who actively participate to the people who support me in the background, knowing that the process, the art I create resonates with you means more to me than I can put into words. Knowing that there are people out there watching me grow, supporting me in many ways is such an incredible gift.

I just wanted to take the time to thank you all for your support. I'm excited to show you my continued journey and I'm excited for the future and see where my art takes me!

My goodness, I kept you guys well fed this month haven't i?

I have a couple more uploads for this week.

I'm Finally wrapping up a few sketches, the raffle winner is inked and nearly finished flat coloring.

I'm super stoked.

Just a reminder as well, my commission is always open so you can ask me at any time :) I have time this month to take on 2 more commissions

Congratulations to  bewilderedcougar to winning the FA raffle!

Make sure to contact me either through FA PM or much more preferably on discord : Raye_draws

thank you!!

Thank you for all those who entered, just letting you know I haven't forgotten! I will be compiling the names and entries and choosing someone either by tomorrow or Thursday the latest

thank you for all those who entered and welcome to the new watchers!

I am running a raffle! there are many ways to get extra entries¬

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/58231308/

Hi everyone! How’s it going?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful time.

I’d like to thank everyone who inquired about my commissions. I would like to remind everyone that my commissions are permanently open. I am taking limited slots every month but please don’t be discouraged if my slots are full, I’m more than happy to work something out with you!

I’m still recovering from my previous costume contract but I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things and drawing a bit more. Some sillier stuff and some canon stuff. I have a list of ideas I need to work through!

By all means, you are welcome to suggest some ideas, I’d like to hear from you guys to see what you like to see me draw!

I will be taking the rest of this year to finish typing out my edits for my personal project. I will be taking trades much later this year. In the beginning of next year I’ll be doing some spicy comics to get myself back into doing comics again. I have a fair bit of coverage to do the next couple of months due to the job-share receptionist not taking her holidays until nearly all at once. Unfortunately, that means 58 hr work week, so there is likely no art from me on those weeks. That said I have two weeks coming in November. So I'll do some Christmas drawings ahead of time haha. But I have a lot of plans to get to drawing, things that make me happy (some of which will be silly or canon) writing some stories of my characters, etc!

In regards to my costume contract, I have been making some serious considerations regarding it and while I haven’t committed to a choice I may end up stepping away from it until I can find a job that doesn’t eat up my weekends. This has been a tough choice but the stress of trying to get coverage and getting shit from two jobs is just not worth it. It’s not a choice I committed to, but it’s one I’m seriously considering due to various issues raised in the past. I won’t bore you with the details, you are very welcome to message me privately and I’m more than happy to go into details. But if I do make this choice it would mean more time to draw! This is very good either way so you will see me around more making silly memes or comics ;)

SOOO

How’s everyone doing??

That contract was intense. I'm glad to say I'm finished with it.

I will be tidying my workroom up and focusing on some personal projects for the rest of the year. Because of this, I'll be opening up commissions next month.

I will keep them open from here on but will limit myself to 2 to 3 slots at a time so I still have time to focus on trades and personal work.

I also have 2 young pups I'm training now (Named Pepper and Peanut), and they take up a lot of time, so I am limiting slots.
Previously I used to have a way to sort these out but I'm keeping it first come first serve and you're always welcome to take multiple or ongoing slots.

You can see my prices here: https://d.furaffinity.net/art/inaby.....ssion_info.jpg

If you want to support me in other ways, you can follow me on other platforms or look at my Kofi or wishlist

linktr.ee/raye__

I’m sure most of you have heard by now, that Dragoneer, the owner of this site has sadly passed away a few days ago.

This came as a shock to the community and the struggles he faced trying to take care of his health was truly heartbreaking.

I didn’t know him personally, but FA was a huge part of my life. This is the reason why I have kept going with art for so long. FA gave me long-time friends, connected me with people I now draw inspiration from, and let be me. I would not be who I am today if it weren’t for FA and this community. I owe that to Dragoneer.

Rest in peace.

So on Saturday it was my birthday!

I had a lot of fun, met with people, got some lovely presents, met with friends. It was such a busy day but so worth it. I essentially spent the entirety of my birthday money already haha! But honestly it was such a nice little break I needed. I have been back on my grid since Sunday.

I'm also really thankful to those who sent me birthday messages and drawings. Thank you so much, that was such a lovely thing to wake up to and I'm thankful for all of you for being such awesome people. Thank you!

Now for life, I didn't get to draw as much as I hoped, having spent a lot of time with friends. But the lovely trade-off is that i got really spoilt this year :)

I have the majority of the costumes sorted. I have more to do tomorrow but thankfully it's very easy stuff so I'm thankful it's not that much to do tomorrow. I am hoping I can get 2 of the 6 costumes done this week. I still need to drop off one set of repairs I've done.

I still have a lot of ideas and things I want to bring forward in my drawing. Thank you all so much for your patience. I didn't intend for my hiatus to take this much time away form me but i hope to come back in full force by August and really show you what I've been cooking!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend How's it going? any new projects you have in mind? what about future plans, do tell!

Hi everyone!

As it says above, my birthday is in two weeks and I have some time off coming from work! I'm very excited about this time off since I'm in desperate need to recharge.

I have some fun things I want to draw for this time.



Otherwise I've been keeping busy. Still trying to find time to draw, or at least sit down and render some things in my WIP folder.

This current contract has been super stressful. But I'm doing well so far. It's been good regardless of the stress, a lot more hands on than I expected and what was
pitched to me but I'm making sure I'm getting the rest when and where I need it.

So how about you guys, what have you been up to? Working on anything? How's life been?

I can't believe it's been 9 days since my last check-up. I will be honest, it feels a little longer.

I'm currently working on designing and I'll be going patterning soon. So chances, all of May I may be a bit radio silent.

My birthday is on June 8th, and I have time off then, I'll be around for the first week of June, making little slice-of-life things for Raye and co and maybe even finishing off the rest of the sheets I have XD

Though that goes into my next little side rant. One of the worst things about being a slow drawer and having a bunch of WIPs is that those who speak to me regularly, know I have been taking some art studies a bit more seriously this year. More than I have in previous years. This means that a lot of the work I have done, my style or process has since then changed and how I would approach it would be different.

Now for character sheets, I'm happy to let this slide and ink it as it would because they are used as reference, not something that needs to be 100%. So I'm much more lenient on this.

But for older trades or ones I started last year (that are meant to be "do whenever you can no rush" kind of things) I feel disconnected to already because I feel like I would have approached it much differently now. And I can't find it in my heart to continue something I don't stand behind of but that said, I don't want to waste all the effort I put into it, in particular the background. I may use just the backgrounds for the art fight, if nothing else at least someone would appreciate it even if it's not up to my standards anymore.

Speaking of! I finally made an account https://artfight.net/~RayeMatthews
I have uploaded my OCs (that have refs made) and well, I still haven't decided if I'll join in or spectate this year. It really depends how busy I am around July.
That's all for now

Tell me about you! How are you doing How's life??

Sup, it's been a while since I checked in with people.

How have you been? Keeping busy? How have you been feeling?

I have been... a little better I won't lie but thankfully I can't complain. Once I finish work this weekend I'll be hanging out with friends and having a chill day and maybe even treat ourselves to a little cafe to celebrate surviving an incredibly tough week.

Due to health issues, I've had to reduce a lot of things on my plate. Which also included some jobs in costume work. I still allowed myself one big job this year and I'm starting that work this week. Because of this art will be slow in the next few weeks. Maybe up until the show in August. It's a lot more involved than originally pitched and there isn't a lot of organisation this year so far.

I began prepping for my costume contract for the year it's going to be very involved with multiple bespoke costumes & props for background performers I'll still draw in between to keep my sanity but won't be as quick.

But I will be holding a raffle once the show is done and dusted to give people an opportunity to get art. So stay tuned :) (be warned the show premiers in August so we still got a little time)

Also, I'm considering joining art fight. I was a bit hesitant to because I doubt I'd be able to do a few bits of work with maybe some sketches in between. But I was assured that even if I only get one done it's really okay and that it's not about the quantity but how much fun you have. Also to thank people if they "attack" you so I may give it a shot. I haven't decided. So I'll let you know closer to the time :D

That's all for now. I will be a little slow in the next coming weeks. I have a few things sketched out so hopefully you'll see some work from me!
I also will be posting WIPs and sketches over at my other account  RayeMatthews if you're interested!

If you want to hear me bitch about sewing and chronically remind you to stay hydrated I'm on bluesky and twitter.

https://bsky.app/profile/rayematthews.bsky.social

https://twitter.com/RayeMatthews11

Good afternoon, how's everyone doing?

I'm doing okay. How's life treating you?


I'm looking to get some character commissions done. I have some extra funds this month and thought I'd like to support an artist where I can.
I've asked in multiple platforms, so please don't take it personally if I didn't choose you. I will always ask again when the funds are there :)

I haven't decided yet which character or characters I want done yet, though if I'm honest I'm kind of vibing with something between Raye and Milly.

I haven't decided on the theme yet, as I have a few ideas bumping around my noggin.

If you have commission price sheets please link them in the comments. Alternatively if you have worked with artists you trust with commissions feel free
to link them as well!

It's been a while since I checked in. How is everyone doing?

Hope the new year has been treating you well. I'll be honest, this year started rough but I'm rallying!

I made some artistic goals for this year and I'm happy to say I'm slowly working toward them!

One of them was making a sketch account  rayematthews
I want to make clear I'm not moving accounts, the above is an account specifically made for the WIPs and sketches and challenges I do on other platforms while this account is for completed works. There may be some overlap between the two but generally I am going to be most active here in my In_abyss account

I have spoken to a few friends and followers and a large chunk does not use Twitter/x, Bluesky a few had Tumblr but rarely posted or use it and some have KoFi for either support or a store but did not interact with artists on it. This is where I predominately post my WIPs, adopts or studies.

Understandably not everyone would be interested in having these constantly uploaded into their watch list, and one of the main reasons and appeal of a gallery site is to have it be incredibly consistent in terms of the work you upload and building an audience based on that. Considering I have predominantly posted finished works it would not make sense to have studies or especially OC challenges from other platforms get uploaded/spammed here. After talking to my friends and after some consideration I thought making a second account would be the best course of action since with Postybirb it is much easier to post across these platforms.

The account will not follow anyone back, please don't take this to heart as it's not a main account, with me following everyone on this account instead. Likewise, if you're not interested in getting WIPs spammed in your inbox you choose not to follow I won't take it personally.


I also think, on a personal level, having a gallery where I can see my WIPs and studies in chronological order would be a fun way to see how I have changed and progressed over the years. I hope you're excited as much as I am for this and look forward to seeing what you guys think!

Hi! How's everyone doing? For those who celebrate it, did you have a nice Thanksgiving?

As the journal title says, I'll be updating how I approach commissions from here on. I have come to find out that the random name picker I use seems to not be as random as I had hoped, with a few pickers picking the same few names much more than others.

Because of this, I will move away from raffles and instead use forms. I think this will be good as it does allow a lot more freedom for me and those who support me.

I forsee this being good as it will allow me freedom to pick and choose what I can do at the moment (such as I may have time for a sketch or inked drawing but not a fully rendered piece) and when I take it on.
I also forsee some issues with this method so I will have to do a lot to think about before I decide on this path.

As for raffles...

I will be going for random number generators as they seem to be very good (rather than name pickers) so from here on out.

That said, I have done raffles on Bluesky and Twitter/X with a large degree of success including fun free raffles YCH images.

Because I rarely see them on FA, I'm not sure what people think of them. Especially with people posting regular updates. It's a lot different on social media than a gallery site like FA

That said.

Would you guys be happy if I do the odd Raffle here?
What about raffles for YCH?

I may make one for the new year if people like the idea. :)

Anyone want it? It's first come first serve I'm afraid just comment below and I'll note you the invite

If enough people are interested I'll make another journal when I get another invite!

I post a lot of doodles and wips on bluesky for those already on there!


https://bsky.app/profile/rayematthews.bsky.social

Some changes have been made to my Kofi - shop.

Currency has been changed to USD as most people I know are US based and it makes things easier.

Commission prices will still remain in GBP in the meantime. I'm happy to do price conversion and work with you
regarding pricing or help with conversion.

I have some adopts still waiting to find homes.


I am hoping to save up for a drawing pad, many people recommend Ipad pro, it's a bit of a steep price, but what
do you guys use? Is it worth the price?

Please check out my shop!

https://ko-fi.com/rayedrawsart/shop

I'm nearly wrapped up with the current queue of Comms.

I will be opening up 2 slots for October. Feel free to send me a message on Discord!
Discord: raye_draws

Link to commission prices and info: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/53571864/

Hello everyone!

I have made a few Adoptables, I'm having an end of September sale and all adoptables are 25% off.

Please look at my Ko-Fi shop: https://ko-fi.com/rayedrawsart/link/SEPT2023

If you are not comfortable going through Ko-Fi please let me know, we can work something out.

Thank you so much!

The commission sheet can be seen here: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/53571864/

l be taking 2 limited slots for October.

All prices are in GBP

These are not first come first serve as I cross-post to various websites as well and it's not fair for those in vastly different timezones to not be able to try to apply for limited slots.

Previously, whenever I had my slots open it would have been the same few people to take them which left no space for others. While I'm thankful and appreciate their business, I want to try to be a bit more fair since my commission slots are very few and far between and I want to make sure people get a fair shot.

If you have any questions as to how I choose, by all means, ask!


Contact me on Discord: raye_draws

EDIT: Thank you everyone. Both slots have been taken. :) if I'm able to I have free time coming in November if I can I''ll open some more then.

I have alluded to my burnout but never spoke at length about it. I think in many ways I’m still processing what happened and what led to it. It’s hard for me to put into words what it was that I felt and continue to feel. I felt a little lost when it happened, but I have spoken about this at length with friends and even reached out to artists I admire (and to my surprise got replies back!) and it really helped me put things in perspective. It's very important to acknowledge the symptoms and always reach out for help when you feel like you're on your way or have burnt out. Sometimes people have different perspectives that may be able to help you.

First, I want to thank those who stayed with me through my long hiatus and continue to enjoy the work I put out even though it’s a massive shift in what I used to draw. This means more to me than I can ever express in words.

One of the reasons it’s so hard to talk about is that I’m not entirely sure when it all began. If I had to pinpoint where things were going wrong would be around 5 years ago. And 3 years ago I sort of just… disappeared. Not answering messages and maybe posting 1 or 2 bits of art that year. The truth is, I was debating whether or not to delete my account and just disappear for good.

Thankfully I spoke to my friends about what I felt and even reached out to some of my favourite artists and got a reply back. I held a very heart-to-heart conversation with one of them and it really put a lot of things in perspective for me. Being honest about what I was doing was difficult, especially to someone I considered highly but it made me realise what I was doing was incredibly unhealthy.

When I typed out what I wanted to say and even removed large chunks of text it felt like I just droned on. If you are interested in knowing in more detail, by all means, my notes are open.

In summary, I allowed people to dictate what I created, and I began to create artwork that I wasn't fully happy with because I just wanted to be relevant and liked. In many ways, I noticed I had regressed in quality and style and freaked out that I wasn't getting better with time. In many ways, I fell for the trap where I'd produce not because I liked what I did but because I thought it would get me noticed and liked.
After my heart-to-heart, I closed commissions for a long while and began to think about what I wanted. What I wanted to draw. What I thought was fun. I have changed. And after a while, it didn't feel right to hold on to a style I wasn't connected to.

This is why my style changed because I allowed it to naturally head in that direction. I’m now at the other end feeling empowered, content and emboldened. Even if it doesn’t get as much traction as it did before, the best thing that came out of this is that I am actually happy. Truly happy. I think this is why there is such a stark contrast in what I'm posting. I'm enjoying what I'm doing and every time I push just a little further. Just because I could do the style doesn't mean I should have solely focused on it.

I got to mess around and be playful with my work and got to a style I’m so comfortable with and feels like it's more "me" than the style I kept just for the sake of relevancy.

I am happy.

I’m still not fully out of burnout. Some don’t realise the effects of burnout can take so long to overcome. I know my journey will differ from many. In my case, being able to focus on what I wanted and needed from my art (as well as my own personal project) helped me gain my love for it back. Don't ignore your needs in terms of art. What you have to say to the world matters just as much.

In the next coming weeks when I open commissions again, I will do it with the knowledge and experiences of the past to make sure I don’t overwhelm myself or ignore my needs.