I really do want to get back to producing art more regularly, and I'm gonna try! But the last couple years have been really crazy. I had a kid AND got into the SCA, which means on top of having a new, tiny boss I also suddenly picked up like 3 extra hobbies that I've been putting some time into. But I think if I can still at least put out something new every month-ish I'll be pretty pleased with myself.
I'm not gonna open commissions yet, I want to get back into a better personal schedule that allows for art to happen on a regular basis first, but that will happen probably sooner than later.
If anyone has specific characters or things they'd like to see from me, let me know! I'd love to have some more ideas for things to work on while I'm warming up / getting some new material posted here.

Alright folks, I've got 2 weeks off work starting Monday - and that means I'm opening commissions!

Doing 5 slots at a time, but I'm also doing a special vacation bonus rate - 50% off my current pricing structure!
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/31355481/ -> usual prices, which means:

Bust sketch $5
Inked Bust $10

Full body sketch $10
Full body Inked $20

Add flat colors to sketch or inked for $5
Add shading for $5
And a simple background for $15

*costs per character, so for 2 characters at inked full body it'd be $40
paypal is katarinblack[at]gmail.com

Slots:
1. Chatin (complete)
2.
3.
4.
5.

So the last year has been a friggin trip, guys!

The spawnling is already a year old and ADORABLE, my marriage is still doing well, and I'm finally feeling stable enough that I really, reeaaallly need to dust off the tablet and knock the rust off my drawing skills.

So! I need your help. My plan is to post at least SOMETHING every week. Even just a loose sketch. If any of you happen to catch that I haven't made a post on schedule (aiming for Sunday posts for now, may adjust once I get back into the swing of things), you have my official permission and humble request to bother the shit out of me.

I will also be opening up commissions, but I have to work up a new graphic and want some new pieces up first. Keep an eye out for that post later on.

So, life went from 0 to 60 really quick xD
I'm pregnant (yay!), my wife's going to start HRT this year (yay!), work is sending me to one of our international offices for specialized training at the end of the month (hence the cutoff), and between mine and wife's cars we've thrown about a grand into repairs over the last couple months. This has basically tapped out our existing savings and wife's car is still having issues and badly needs to be replaced before baby happens.

And so: Commissions are open!

Please, dear gods, anything helps XD

I'm going to do this name-your-price style, since that generally seems to work out best.
If you like having an idea for a starting point, think like $5-8 for a sketch, $10-15 for inking, $20-25 for colors, etc.

(also, any IRL friends on here, sshhhhh! I'll make an official FB pregnancy post later and I haven't told my mom yet)

Life continues to do stuff and I keep getting distracted. But! I've been bitten by the Bug of Inspiration again, so updates will be happening.

I've also been thinking of doing some adoptable sets for funsies, is that still a thing?

Ask me things!

Upcoming plans:
Right now I'm getting back into the swing of things by redrawing my poor neglected characters. Isabella's done, working on Rosa and Billie now(the Rat/Mouse couple).

If there are any of my characters you'd really like to see in the queue leave a comment! I've got a few more that I'll definitely be doing (Cream the Slime, Christopher the Fox, mine and my partners' sonas) but I will gladly redraw the entire stable if folks want.

After that I'll probably draw some porn. I've got at least one fun idea on a backburner already.

I've also got name-your-price commissions open. I'll probably keep that up until the beginning of October, and then I'll do some other theme/deal on commissions - so if you're waffling, keep that deadline in mind.

Interest checks:

1: I really like those hatching-object adoptables, and the last time I did it I managed to sell most of them. Do folks still like those? I had a lot of fun with the last one I did.

2: Specific commission sales - I'm thinking character sheets? I enjoy working up a character from only a written description. Otherwise I'll probably do a Halloween-theme sale for October.

Let me know what you think, or if there's something else you'd like to see from me that isn't on this list!

Life has been a whirlwind the last year! I have a house (that needs some serious work, augh), jobby-thing is still going pretty smoothly, fiancee is still unemployed, boyfriend got a job and now we all live in said house, my car is making some concerning grindy sounds, and fiancee has still not gotten to start HRT because of money things.

So, I am going to get back into posting more regularly here, and try getting some commission work again.

Name-your-price is pretty much what it says on the tin, though I reserve the right to refuse a commission if the difference between the requested piece and the offered price is absurd and/or insulting.

If you like having an idea for a starting point, think like $3-5 for a sketch, $5-10 for inking, $10-15 for colors, etc.

Oh! And I finally got a better program than GIMP! I'm using MangaStudio5 now, so please, give me lots to work on so I can get more practice with this, its amazing but SO different from GIMP, which I used for yeeeaaaarrrsssss, so this is a big shift for me.

How do you regular-producers-of-things do it?
I mean, I doodle almost every chance I get, but I can never manage to finish things.

I really want to produce finished things more often, but its been so hard lately. Between my grandpa's death, shifting weather patterns making my arms ache, the new job+commute meaning I only have about 3 hours of free time on weekdays, and then splitting my weekends between my two partners, even when I do have free time to draw I just can't find any motivation lately.

I know setting myself a schedule would help, at least so I stay on top of my other chores and dont feel so overwhelmed by all the stuff I have to do (chores don't take long once I do them but man, the "oh gods so many things" feeling makes it hard to get them done).

I also keep coming up with more ideas for stories I want to do, either just as writing or in short-comic format. Came up with a whole new concept this week, sigh. More things to just never actually see through to completion.

Hm, maybe I guess even if you cant think of ways to help the motivation issue, which of the projects/concepts have you seen me post would you like to see me keep working on?

Life. It keeps doing things. So many things.

First off, I'm going to be keeping my current "sale" prices. They're lower than I'd normally price things, but I need to lure in business somehow, and I'm not prolific enough currently to garner a large base just by posting new art all the time. I will be making a snazzy new commission info image soon.

Price range:
Sketches: $2-5 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7212854/)
Lineart: $6-10 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11728729/)
Flat Colors: $11-20 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6970627/)
Cel Shading: $21-25 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10640943/)
Full Shading: $26-40 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9955146/)

Second - Life. Holy tits.
I'll be living at my dad's place this and next weekend to house/pet-sit while he and his wife are down in Florida. My Grandpa officially has stomach cancer and it's looking like he won't last much longer. The dog isn't too demanding as long as I'm somewhere she can see me, so I'll probably be doing a lot of drawing this whole week.

For happier news, while my Fiancee is still likely to be out of work for a while (since I now commute 2.5ish hours a day and we currently only have 1 working car), Boyfriend continues to look for work that'll pay a living wage, and once he gets that, the 3 of us plan on all moving in together. That requires money. So these sales prices will be in place for quite a while as, on top of my full-time office job, I plan on upping my commission/art output in order to save up enough money to get Cat's car legal and running again AND have a down payment ready.

I'm looking to have ~$20k built up for housing. That way I can either comfortably afford all the initial fees for a rental (including whatever ridic pet fees they'll come up with for my snakes) or a real down payment on buying a townhouse if we all decide to go that route. I'm hoping Cat's car won't cost more than $600 to get working again. Aside from renewing the plates and insurance its only problem is that its been sitting in the garage for a couple years now xD

So, TL;DR version: I'm looking to sell enough commissions to help put a dent in the $20.5k+ that I need to raise. While there isn't a time limit on this, the sooner I can stop living in this moldy unfinished basement (seriously, this place has to be a health hazard), the happier this ferret will be.

Figured I was due for a new journal. Still offering commissions in the price ranges posted below. My production speed is a bit slower now due to my new work/commute (2.5 hours on the road every day right now, ugh), but turnaround should still be under a week.
For any piece at Lineart or above I'll send a rough to be approved. Send payment after you've approved the rough.

Prices posted in a range. Pay whatever you want within the range for the style you want.

Sketches: $2-5 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7212854/)
Lineart: $6-10 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11728729/)
Flat Colors: $11-20 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6970627/)
Cel Shading: $21-25 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10640943/)
Full Shading: $26-40 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9955146/)

I can also do Character Sheets/Turnarounds (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4841755/), which will be completely pay-what-you-want.

And yes, I can draw porn for you. Follow the above pricing guide for that.

No real sob story this time, I'm just overstretching my finances a bit playing catch-up with all the things I'd fallen behind on when I had less money to work with every month, so I need to cover my ass.

I'm having one of those "can't afford to pay bills AND buy food" months, and Fiancee is still waiting to hear back from the potential job (they're running her background check now), so you guys get to reap the benefits of my desperation :D

Prices posted in a range. Pay whatever you want within the range for the style you want.

Sketches: $2-5 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/7212854/)
Lineart: $6-10 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11728729/)
Flat Colors: $11-20 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6970627/)
Cel Shading: $21-25 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/10640943/)
Full Shading: $26-40 (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9955146/)

I can also do Character Sheets/Turnarounds (http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4841755/), which will be completely pay-what-you-want.

And yes, I can draw porn for you. Follow the above pricing guide for that.

I'm going to be revamping my commission prices, to something resembling actual "time/effort involved = cost", instead of just "oh gods please just throw me some pocket change". I love doing commissions, but its hard to really stay on task when what I'm getting paid for a piece would barely pay for a coffee.

I'm still hammering out details, but I think it'll be something like:

Sketch - $10
Lineart - $20
Flat colors - $25
Basic shading (cel-shading) - $30
Complex/full shading - $40
Backgrounds - +$20-50

That'd be for full single-character pieces though, and haggling is allowed. Super-complex character designs would be a little more expensive, depending on how long it would take me (wings are a pain, but would cost less that a mecha character lol)

Also my van is pretty much dead. I have no idea how I'm gonna afford a new car. Ugh >_< At least I can walk to work I guess.

Stupid wobbly weather patterns and constantly changing pressure. Really wreaking havoc on my arms. Day 3 of not-drawing and I am going batty. Its looking like it'll be at least another few days, too T_T wwhhaaaaaaaahhhh. So I'm pretty much out of commission for the rest of the month, since I'll be behind on my ask blog by the time my arm's good to go again. Really wish I'd built up a buffer for that -.-

I haven't had any bites on my commission sales, and I know I haven't been posting a ton, which I'm working on, but aside from buying an ad slot (which I can't afford. Money is stupidly tight right now, really. Ask me how I'm loving ramen as 50% of my dietary intake, I dare you), do any of you lovely followers have suggestions for getting more exposure? Like, should I do more fanart? More porn? Anything specific you think my gallery is lacking? I really would like to know.

I'll be continuing the reference sheet sale until I sell the slots, and I'm still doing "name-your-price" regular commissions. I'm about ready to give up on these sales though, I'd get just as few bites if I did properly-priced commissions, and then what few I got might actually pay for something -.- I don't want to sound bratty or anything, but Fiancee is still unemployed (turns out my state's got the worst unemployment rate in the midwest or something, color me shocked), I'm barely making enough to pay the bills, and my car is in desperate need of maintenance. I love doing commissions no matter how much money I get for them, but $5 doesn't go very far right now.

I'm doing a special sale on reference sheets. They're fun and good practice, and I really, really need new tires xD (and also food, I like food lol)

I'm going to have 5 slots each for Simple and Full character reference sheets. These are the only slots I will open for this specific sale.

Simple sheets ($10) will have a color pallet, front and back view, basic stats, and either important details or a third pose (profile or 3/4).
Simple Ref examples:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8966798/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5799839/

Full sheets ($20) will have 3 views and a detailed head shot (or a 4th view for a full turnaround), color pallet, any character stats you want included, and one outfit if you'd like (if you want a clothed ref sheet then I can include an additional outfit)
Full Ref examples:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5492457/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4841755/

Simple slots:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Full slots:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

And if you like my work but can't/won't be buying a ref sheet, I'd appreciate if you could signal boost this <3

Commission slots:
1. Taken
2.
3.
4.
5.

Commissions are still open, and still Name-Your-Price. I need all the help I can get right now. Azure's still looking for a job, but as soon as she gets one we'll be working on moving into our own place. I've got vet bills for the critters I just took on as fosters, and Azure's looking to start HRT soon, which means medical bills (thankfully we're near Chicago so it should be manageable, but even with an informed-consent clinic to go to there are still appointments, the actual prescription cost, and sperm-banking to pay for). My turnaround time still isn't where I want it to be but I'm working on it. I may expand the number of commission slots I have open if there's enough interest.

Also, I've been feeling a bit of a fan-art kick lately, but I can't decide what to draw. Anything you folks would like to see?

Bwuh, so where did this month go already?

Shiny new office job is going well, Everyone likes me and I've been impressing my superiors with how quickly I've been picking up on everything. None of the work is especially hard, mostly just monotonous paper-pushing. I wish it paid a little more, but its still such an improvement over my last job that I think I can deal with sticking to it long enough to see some decent raises.

Azure's still looking for a job >_< job market out here is still pretty screwed, I lucked out on a family connection sending me news of the job I've got now. Hopefully that'll be fixed soon, because we both really want to get our own place as soon as we can manage.

Facilitated a bit of a reptile rescue over this weekend, transported 4 snakes and 3 geckos from a friend's ex's house where they were getting pretty neglected. Most of them are in good shape but 2 snakes and one of the geckos need to see a vet, so that'll be fun to scrape up money for. Their momma is going to help out as much as she can at least. And she declared that the adult pair of Columbian redtails are mine now. I almost don't believe her, but its not the first time she's done that. They're both major sweethearts though, super chill, which is really good considering the female is 7' long haha. Biiig baby. I had been planning on paying her in installments for them once I had the room anyways, so for now they're being fostered with a friend who actually has the space.

I think I might finally be getting back into the groove of things with my new schedule. I don't know why its been taking me so long to adjust this time, I've been running down so easily lately. Got a lot done this weekend though, for the first time since I started the new job. Mostly just a matter of getting that kick in the butt to START doing stuff, and then usually momentum takes care of itself.

New job is going really well so far! Yay! I ended up starting a couple days early, so I've been there for a whole 4 days and can just about be left to myself already. A lot of random little things I'll just have to memorize in order to get right (because of course a whole bunch of companies that need the exact same thing can't actually be bothered to work by a uniform system), and once I actually get it all down its gonna be super monotonous, but all of my coworkers are super nice even if I have almost nothing in common with them (working in an office full of middle-age to older women lol), and the money and benefits are definitely waaaay better. Really, if all I have to complain about is that my work is monotonous? I'll be alright, haha.

Still adjusting to the new schedule and everything though, don't think I've even really touched my tablet more than once since I started, excluding the weekend. Should figure it out soon enough though, and then my production will get back to normal. really need to set myself up with a proper, color-coded schedule XD



Commission slots:
1. taken
2. taken (outside project)
3.
4.
5.

I'll probably do a separate update for March later, but right now I'm expecting to be fairly busy. I got a new job! I start March 4th, its an office job. I'm free of retail! FREEEEEEE! Well, after this goofy week of getting suddenly switched back to day shift so that my replacement on overnights can get some training in before I'm gone.

The hours and pay are going to be a big improvement, but I'll be learning a whole new skill set so come March my production will be all sorts of unpredictable for at least a couple weeks (not that it's great right now. Depression + 3rd shift + Life = "fun" times). BUT I've got a week off between jobs, which I'm planning to use to get on top of everything and get myself all prepped for the new schedule and workload. Actually being able to have a stable, regular sleep schedule that isn't completely at odds with everyone else in the house will be really really nice, and should improve my general productivity by at least 300%.

Oh, I also finally made a Weasyl account: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/jcorvus There's nothing there yet, but I'll be working on updating it pretty soon. Have to figure out how everything there works XD


Commission slots (Feb):
1. Taken
2. Taken
3. Taken (group project thingy)
4.
5.

Commission slots (March):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What age where you when:

01. Lost your virginity? Hrm, that would be 16? Or maybe 15.
02. Lost someone close to you? Not really anyone yet, I wasn't close to my maternal grandparents, and my dad's parents are still kicking.
03. Consumed alcohol? Ooh gosh, around 16-17 I think? Paranoid insomnia got its butt kicked by vodka.
04. Received a kiss? 14, not counting the childhood friend who had a crush on me when I was like 6, lol.
05. Went to the hospital? For myself? Not since I was born. I've gone a few times with friends for support though.
06. Had a broken heart? 18-ish? There were a few.
07. Lost a pet? Ooh gosh, the cats that were around before I was born. I think I was 7 when they died.
08. Got arrested? Hasn't happened.
09. Broke a bone? Not yet either. I'm sure I've dented a few though.
10. Got a job? 18, during my first year of college.
11. Got a boyfriend or girlfriend? 14 was my first, though it only lasted for 2 weeks lol, bit of a false start.
12. Went to a concert? 13, got to see David Bowie on his Reality Tour :D
13. Met someone famous? 22-23? I met a bunch in a few years since I helped a friend with his table at a few sci-fi/horror cons. Some british dude from Battlestar Galactica got me sick (gave me a big can of Guiness after I was already drunk, whoops. Also I've never watched BG so I have no idea who he played).
14. Got in a car wreck? No wrecks, been in a few minor accidents, first was when I was maybe... 9? Just a fender bender due to rain.
15. Dyed your hair? First time I was like 13, my friends' mom was dying all our hair since we all had oily hair XD
16. Flew on an airplane? Infant, like a year old or so.
17. Went to another state/province? Forever, most of our family lives at least one state away.
18. Went across the country? 22, drove from Illinois to Louisiana for a halloween road trip :D
19. Went to another country? Never, yet.
20. Got a tattoo? Not yet, but I have plans. Hopefully I'll get my crow done this year.
21. Had a piercing? My mom got my ears piercing-gunned at Wal mart when I was 13... I got them re-done a few times due to things, but my ears kept reacting poorly.
22. Smoked pot? 16-ish again? I did a lot that year lol. Then I developed a smoke allergy.
23. Smoked a cigarette? Clove cigs for a brief period when I was 18, but I was doing it wrong and made myself so sick on them that the smell still turns my stomach.. and then smoke allergy XD
24. Went to Disney Land or World? Never, not really sad about it.
25. Had A Long term relationship? Define long? We'll go with 16-18yrs old.
26. Dated somebody of another race? 22? I'm losing track of my years now lol. Somewhere around there. Phillipino friend I'd kept in touch with after high school.
27. Passed out from drinking? Never blacked out, but I'm fairly tiny so it doesn't take a whole lot for it to make me really sleepy.
28. Became a furry? 19-ish is when I started to deliberately try to draw furries.
29. Went to your first non business / work related convention? Oooh, 14? something like that. Anime Reactor, back when that was still a thing that didn't suck.

People seem to really like the name-your-price commissions, so I'm gonna keep those going (and remember that they cover all commission types! Sketches, fully shaded pieces, ref sheets, etc), but I think I'll be capping it at 5 per month.

Work is getting rougher, I'm looking for a better job, I'm probably going to be doing some concept art for a friend's game, and I really really seriously plan on getting at least one of my own personal projects completed/well underway in 2013. I have too many ideas, and dammit I need to at least actually DO one. I'm planning on making a short comic featuring my fluffy alien darkstar, I have like 4 other comic ideas of varying lengths on the backburner, there's still that furry dating sim type dealy I've been kicking around forever. I also need to brush up my portfolio a bit if I ever want to get an actual art job.

Commission slots for January 2013:
1. Taken! (outside commission)
2. Taken!
3.
4.
5.

I just made it through a 10-day stretch of work that encompassed 2 different sales PLUS Black Friday. That sort of killed my production speed since I spent most of my not-working time sleeping. But now I've got 2 days off and then I'm back to a more normal schedule (as normal as overnight retail shifts ever get at least). So I'll be banging out the commissions for my 2 taken slots hopefully during my days off. Every time I finish a commission the slot opens back up, I have no plans on stopping these name-your-price commissions as long as people are showing interest (so please, show some interest! ;P). I do also run a drawn ask blog and I'm planning on working on finally FINALLY trying to polish up my real portfolio so I can look for a "real job" early on in the new year, but paid work is still top priority and unless something really serious happens, I will always guarantee a 1-week MAX turnaround on paid work.



Slots:
1.Taken!(complete!)
2.Taken! (complete!)
3.Taken! (sketches sent for approval)
4.
5.

I've picked up an occasional art model gig at a local studio that does classes for all ages, and wow! Just being there and looking at everything and listening to the teacher help the kids (I was modeling for some high schoolers) and critique them made me remember just how bad I've been slacking! Expect to see some possibly poor-quality art over the next month-ish as I force myself to draw things I know I need more practice at XD I am waaaay past due to start fluffing my portfolio back up anyways.

Name your price commissions are still going! Check the reference image for an example price range: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9168687/

Alright, so things have been getting rough. My full-time job barely pays me enough to cover my bills and basic expenses. I'm hoping to be able to use the money I make from these commissions for a few things. I have some kind of big car expenses that I have to get done this month, and I also need to get the car a proper check-up before winter hits. I'm hoping I don't need new tires, but its likely. I would like to be able to upgrade my critters' equipment. I want to have some bras that don't hurt after wearing them for an hour. I want to be able to send my partner to a doctor so she can finally start on hormones. I want to be able to start setting aside money so I can stop living in my mother's basement. I want to be able to put enough gas in the car that if Azure gets another job offer that involves a long commute, she can go for it instead of having to turn it down.

I know there are other people out there in much worse situations who need and deserve your help more, but if you like my art and still have some cash to spare I would really appreciate any help I can get.

Commission info:
~Name your price
~All subjects and art types/styles
~Livestream commissions available
~-Times are limited for livestream. I work overnights but have some time off coming up. Mostly evening/late night, early morning is also possible, but I'm usually asleep between 10am-5pm(I'm in the Central timezone).
~I DO reserve the right to refuse requests that are blatantly taking advantage of this offer (ie: $5 for a fully shaded chimera-taur with a full background).
~I work well off of written descriptions, but ref images obviously make my job a lot easier and are appreciated.
~I currently only accept paypal(katarinblack=a=gmail.com
~I will have 5 slots open at a time, to make sure I don't bite off more than I can chew

Slots:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Halloween commissions will be open until the 25th! The only requirement is that the piece is at least somewhat in theme (as Isabella's "costume" is demonstrating).

I only accept paypal currently.

I work well off of written descriptions but reference images are always appreciated, especially with more complex designs or patterns.

Single-Color Sketch: $8
Inked: $10
Rough Color: $15
Clean Color: $20
Shaded: $30