Happy Easter! I might consider drawing a bunny later. Meanwhile...


The "Talk About Yourself" Meme!

stolen from  dingbat


0. We all know what we call you, what about the folks at home? Whats your name?
Well right now all the folks at home don't know my real name either. So either K or Sharra.

1. How tall are you?
5'5"

2. Natural hair color? (if you can remember it)
Light brown/dark strawberry blonde

3. What about eye color?
Brown

4. What orientation are you?
Right side up

5. Are you single, taken, or undecided?
Undecided

6. What do you do in your spare time?
Browse imgur, play board games with friends, read LOTS of books, and occasionally draw

7. What's your job?
Drawing, and tech/customer support

8. What's one thing you like about yourself?
I have amazing tits

9. Alright, now what about something you dislike about yourself?
I am too out of shape to pole dance

10. What's some things your friends noticed about you when they first met you?
I have amazing tits (Actually I have no idea)

11. Of what faith/religion are you(if any at all?)
Hedonist

12. Do you drink?
Every time I draw

13. Do you smoke?
Not anymore

14. What are your fears?
Not knowing something

15. What are your dreams/goals?
Buy my own place, have a steady job that gives me time to pursue my hobbies, find a man I can happily settle down with and have wild crazy sex with too, and own a cat

16 .Ever had any crushes/ex's in the past/present?
So many I'm thinking of starting a ticker

17. Who's your best bud?
Dennis the Tiger

18. Alright, you got the cravin' for munchies, what'cha reachin' for?
Cheez Its

19. Favorite drink?
Iced tea, sweetened

20. Favorite color?
Blue

21. If you had any super power, what would it be?
Telekinesis

22. Favorite movie?
Jurassic Park or Nausicaa and the Valley of the Winds

23. Least favorite food?
Bell Peppers

24. Quick! You have only one meal left before you die!!! What is it?
Steak tartare, crescent rolls, garlic mashed potatoes with a rich brown gravy, and creme brulee for dessert.

25. What do you drive/wish you drove?
Honda Fit - The Fit is go :D

26. Most disliked bug?
Centipedes

27. Most hated pet peeves?
Passive aggression, perpetual lateness, and constantly putting other people down

28. Dislike in life?
Bigotry and intolerance

29. Most annoying?
Spongebob Squarepants

30. Most disliked TV show?
Toddlers and Tiaras

So any of you who have asked me about commissions have probably been redirected to my Commissions page:

http://ksharra.com/?page_id=86

As you can see, the list is pretty full.

But I just finished unpacking all of my stuff into my new apartment, I don't yet have a job, and I'm looking to get this queue out of the way, so the first 5 people on the list have been contacted!

If you are one of the top 5, check your emails, please, because in two weeks if I don't get a reply, your name gets bumped and the next one on the list is up. You'll get one chance to be moved to the bottom of the queue, and if I get to your name again, you'll get a second chance to claim your commission.

I figured I'd go ahead an post here as well as sending the emails, just in case people aren't checking their emails as often as their FAs, and also so people lower on the list can know that the queue has finally started moving! I'm sorry it's been so long, life has been getting in the way for far too long, but now I have time and motivation and I plan on using it.

Also I'm looking forward to posting my latest practice piece, I'm still working heavily on it, it's the one I'm doing for the tutorial, as well as fan art for an amazing artist who has been teaching me so much.

So... yay arts!

Stealing this idea from  kandlin -

Do you have a question for me? Ask, and I'll do my best to answer! Personal questions, art questions, business questions, etc. are totally okay. Though I'm not going to give you my SSN or any credit card or bank numbers.

Ask away!

Rather, I hate their stupid Procaster. It's a resource whore that sucks up all my CPU on my laptop, making streaming impossible. The music skips, the stream lags, and worst of all, the pen strokes from my tablet take up to a FULL SECOND to register.

Fucking Procaster.

I want a different way of streaming. One where I can stream art without killing my CPU. One where I can talk into a mic and play music, and watchers can hear. Without having to use VOIP (*cough* join.me *cough*). WatchTail was great until they went belly-up and decided to take down the site for an indefinite period.

So, who knows of a good service that would work? Because while I'm laid up in bed with a swollen ankle, I sure as hell am not going to go to my standing desk to use my more powerful PC to stream (which still doesn't like running Procaster because I swear that little whoreslut of a program likes to take as much CPU and memory as you've got). And I wanna draw.

---

---

EDIT: Saying stuff like "I run Procaster and X, Y, and Z on my computer with no problems!" A. does not help, and B. just serves to infuriate me even more because now it feels like Procaster hates ME, personally.

I am not the only person with these issues. I don't want to hear about how much more awesome your computer is than mine, or how magically Procaster works for you.

Please stop.

---

---

Stolen from  Muzz

What color are your underwear/panties?
Black.

Do they have a design?
Nope.

Girls, what color is your bra?
Black.

Is there a design?
Nope. But there's a little dangly silver charm in the center.

What color are your socks?
Brown and grey.

Is there a design on them?
The REI logo. Their socks are crap but they're cheap and wool.

Are you a virgin?
Nope.

Happy that way?
Oh hell yes.

What is your favorite sex position?
Doggy-style or tied down spread-eagle.

What is your sexuality/sexual orientation/What the fuck do you consider yourself?
Bi-curious.

Do you look at hentai?
Used to. But only with friends during strip truth-or-dare Jenga. (True story.)

Real porn?
Only for art reference. No, seriously.

Do you read smutty/porn stories?
Once upon a time, long ago, in a land far far away.

Do you read/watch/look at gay porn/hentai/stories?
Only for art reference.

Who was your first kiss with?
My first boyfriend. No one in the fandom.

Are they of the opposite sex?
Yes.

Have you ever kissed or had sex with someone of the same sex?
I've kissed a girl, not had sex.

Is there any one of your friends that you would ever consider having sex with?
I really shouldn't give anyone hope like this, but yes.

Do you have any piercings other than your ears?
Yep.

If so, where?
Nipples. But you knew that.

Do you have any tattoos?
Yep.

If so, where?
One on each bicep. One is a scarred-over dragon (which is actually kinda cool because it's a raised design), the other is the logo from my website.

Have you ever been pregnant/got a girl pregnant?
Nope. And hope to never be that way.

Ever done any illegal drugs?
Technically, not really. It was semi-legal in the state I was in at the time.

If so, which ones?
Marijuana, medically prescribed.

Have you ever cheated on someone?
Yes. Multiple times. (I was a wild child in my earlier years.)

Ever been cheated on?
Yes. Multiple times.

Have you ever been called a whore/slut?
Yes, but only in the sexy sense. I WAS called a homewrecking cunt once, though.

Do you own any sex toys?
Yes.

Have you ever had a sexual fantasy involving a relative?
No, but I do consider one relative pretty sexy-looking.

Have you ever masturbated?
Uh, that IS what the toys are for.

Have you ever taken a naked picture of yourself?
Yes.

Have you ever taken a naked picture of someone else?
Nope.

Are you on any form of birth control (the pill, the patch, etc)?
Ya damn right.

Have you ever written/drawn smut/porn?
...are you serious?

Do you swear in front of your parents?
Not much if at all.

Do they care?
I have ultra-religious parents. Child of a preacher and a missionary. I'm sure this suddenly explains a whole lot.

Are you uncomfortable yet?
Nope. That was easy.

Are you taking this quiz of your own free will?
No, I'm being forced down onto the desk and having my fingers rammed against the keyboard in the correct order of letters to type sarcastic replies.

I just learned today from  Dustmeat that my friend, Waarhorse a.k.a. Henry Bestwick, died this past week of a heart attack. He was a really sweet guy, funny, caring, and always good for a hug and a laugh. We always had such a great time when we saw each other at conventions. I'm gonna miss him so much...

Picture of Waarhorse in uniform: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandys.....er/4870770960/

Original journal: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3242190/






...I'm gonna go cry now.




EDIT: I just got confirmation from his sister, he died 3-2-2012 and they're holding a funeral mass for him this Friday.

Submission has been deleted
by the owner




I was looking through my Favorites today, and saw several of these big gray exes. This makes me sad. Why?

Everything I fave is either a thing of beauty and inspiration, or a piece of artwork done for me (and sometimes both). Seeing something like that being deleted implies to me that the artwork I cared so much about that I wanted to save it in my Favorites list for posterity... meant NOTHING to the person who created and shared it. My Favorites list is diminished by the lack of these pieces, and I don't even have a record of what I've lost. It's just gone.

If you share a piece of art, a tutorial, a work of some kind, please, leave it online. No matter how much you think it sucks, no matter how you dislike it, or it reminds you of something terrible, there may be someone out there who has seen it and been inspired by it. Taking it down is like deleting a small piece of beauty from the world, even if YOU don't consider it beautiful.

No matter how fed up I get with the fandom, no matter what kinds of changes my life goes through, I intend to keep every piece I have ever shared online for people to enjoy. Look through my galleries and my personal website. You will see old pictures I cringe at whenever I see them. You will see artwork of ex-boyfriends that hurt me deeply or that I'm no longer on speaking terms with. You will see deeply emotional pieces from times in my life that I would rather forget. But I won't remove them. Because it might have touched someone out there, and I'm not going to take that away.

Note: This does not apply, of course, to pieces specifically marked as temporary, like WIP pieces or auctions or LiveStream notifications. Obviously, if you say "Don't fave this because it will be taken down", it's my fault for faving it.

I've been watching some art streams, thinking about my processes, learning and experimenting, and I find that I have a problem with consistency. What I do now and what I'm planning on trying (once I have my tablets in hand again *shakes fist*) is different from what I have documented in my current Paint Tool SAI tutorial. And I'd like to document my processes, not only for you guys, but to help myself remember how I did this cool trick, or got that great texture, and so on. I do a lot of mimicking others' techniques as well as a lot of trial-and-error experimentation, so I forget what works vs what fails.

So once I get my tablets unpacked, I plan on:

1. Doing a new piece or two to try some new things, and...
2. Writing up a new tutorial for you and me both (which I will probably keep updated for my own sake as I learn, but will upload updates to share as well).

Meanwhile... I'm twiddling my thumbs and watching streams to learn new things, taking notes as I go. Here's hoping some of this effort shows in my next pic.

...Speaking of which, I need something nice and generic to draw for practice. Any suggestions? NO, I WILL NOT DRAW YOUR CHARACTER. NO, PLEASE DO NOT ASK. However if there's a species you've been longing to see or a pose that might look nice, feel free to suggest it! Who knows, Flinters, you might just see a kangaroo.

Yay, I'm now living in Chicago! I just drove in yesterday, and right now, I'm living with a friend for a brief spell while my new place gets a slap of paint and some new flooring.

THIS SUCKS.

Why?

Because I thought my stuff (which is being hauled by a moving company) would be arriving shortly after I got here, so I packed up all my art supplies, including MY TRAVEL ART TABLET, along with everything else to be picked up by the movers. And now I find out that, because of the renovations, I'm going to have to delay the delivery of my stuff for about a week or two. I want to draw, have time to draw, and can't draw.

I'm an idiot. Travel art tablet is for travel. Moving to Chicago counts as travel. Argh.

So I would love to be streaming art and practicing my lineless coloring and working on leg anatomy and so on, but I can't, and it's driving me nuts.

Rest assured, however, that as soon as things are fixed up and my stuff comes in... my art muse will suddenly vanish and I'll have a million pressing things to do. >.< FML.

Just kidding, I'm sure I'll have plenty of things to draw, so stay tuned! *fingers crossed*

Sorry, I would draw you a pic but I'm going out to a movie tonight. Damn! Such a great opportunity, too, I might have to make up for it tomorrow if I can.

I know what I'd like covered in chocolate... But I dunno if he'd be into that.

So I found a new service I could do streams on. It has amazing picture quality, and you can zoom in on the pic, or give over control of the mouse to others or whathaveyou.

But there's no sound.

I love chatting with you guys, but would you rather sacrifice sound for image quality? Vote!

Apparently American Express has decided that Paypal has been monopolizing the online transaction world for long enough, and they started their own service called "Serve".

http://www.serve.com

It looks a lot like Paypal. They have fees similar to Paypal. You can hook it up to a bank or credit card, like Paypal.

So how is it NOT like Paypal?

They allow adult stuff. As a matter of fact, the main restriction they place is whatever you sell has to be legal. (So beastie and kiddie porn, right out, but I never did that anyways.)

Oh yeah, and if you sign up now, they give you $10.

You heard me. Get PAID to ditch Paypal. That's enough money to buy a new icon of yourself flipping Paypal the bird!

I'll be checking it out more when I get home, and I suggest you do the same, but if it turns out to
be good, totally spread the word, and tell your favorite artists so they can start using it too!

---

EDIT: Got questions? Ask them directly to Serve by tweeting Serve - because I don't have all the answers and I'm having to look it up online. Or look it up yourself! I'm working right now!!!

---

EDIT #2: Forgot to mention: "One of the things you forgot to mention (and one of the things I kinda sorta love about it) is the physical card. It can 1, be used at anywhere AmEx is accepted, and is linked directly to your online account (which you can access at any time through their website OR through their app, which is available for iphone, android AND windows phones), and 2, functions as a "bank" debit card. Don't wanna fish around for places that take AmEx? Head to an ATM and take the money out! They let you do this once a month for free, then there's a 2 dollar charge every time afterwards (which is totally acceptable, they ARE a business after all).

This in and of itself is perfect for artists around these parts. They do have a monthly limit of $2500 in withdrawals, but very few artists around here make enough scrap from their art for that to be an issue."

Thank you  ryonekochan for sharing!

Well that was fun!

First off I'd like to say, GOOD LORD, I need to bring more colorful decorations, posters, and flashing lights to my table, because apparently I was invisible! I have had SO many people say "What, you were at the con/in the Dealers Den?! I never saw you!!" Probably because I was right across from the steampunk table with all the shiny pocket watches and walking canes. Like I said. INVISIBOO.

But all that aside, I did pretty well... sort of. I sold TONS of prints, which is awesome. I was able to get rid of a few more things, like t-shirts and buttons and magnets... not as much as I'd like, though. I'm really trying to get rid of them, it sucks carrying inventory on airplanes. I did enough sketchbooks to keep me busy during work hours, and 2 badges. 2! At this rate, not worth me bringing my markers, I may just switch over to watercolor because all I use my markers for is badges, and those things take up a LOT of space... yeah.

And for those people looking for me on Friday... Yeah I wasn't there. Bit of a snafu with scheduling and flight delays wound up with me not arriving until well after close of Dealers Den on Friday. And I didn't discover the con suite until Saturday night. I'm used to the con suite being a small hotel room with snacks and drinks, and there being a separate hangout room... Nooooo, they were the same, and I didn't know it, so I didn't go until way late. Oops.

Also, no room parties, art jams, drinking, or dancing. I never get invited to the cool kids' parties anymore! *sniffle pout* Oh well. I guess it comes from gradually turning into a socially awkward shut-in with chronic pain and long periods of disappearance.

Super awesome thanks to people for Canadian Coke and Coffee Crisps, toffee nut mochas, deflowering sketchbooks, steak dinners, long talks, smokes, rescue from awkward conversations, and beautiful fiddle music. You all know who you are.

---

So, tl;dr - Con paid for itself but I missed out on seeing tons of people I KNOW were there. Stayed busy but didn't work my butt off, was pretty relaxing.

3D Pictures here: http://phereo.com/ksharra/album/4ec.....501560a0000ca/

Regular con pics here: https://picasaweb.google.com/101154.....174832/MFF2011

Standing at the airport, flight just got delayed an hour and a half, so... Fun fun fun. I'll get there eventually!

Stolen from  FalconMcCooper

Where are you staying?
The Hyatt Regency O'Hare

What day are you getting there?
Friday evening

Who will you be with?
Me, myself, and I. Srsly. *sings* o/' I'm all aloooooone.... o/'

Who will you hang out with during the convention?
Everyone I can! D: Though I'd love to catch some time with friends I haven't seen in ages. I dunno who's gonna be there!

Are there any panels you might be attending?
Probably not, I'mna be working my ass off.

Are you attending any stage or public performances?
See above answer. Ass.

Will you be suiting?
Does the most awesome tiger hat in the world count? My roomie made it for me. :3

Do you do free art?
Uhhh... ^oO^ *runs and hides*

Do you do trades?
Maybe. Sometimes. It's a rare thing.

Do you do badges?
Yup!

Do you do commissions?
Yup! I'm even thinking about trying watercolor commissions, but I'm a little scared and don't know if I should or not. >.>

What are your limits to drawing?
See rules here: http://ksharra.com/?page_id=86

What is your gender?
Hawt chick.

How old are you?
29. Oh god, I'm getting old.

How tall are you?
5'5"ish.

Are you taken? Are you looking for a 'mate'?
I am totally taken by this awesome hawt younger guy who rocks my world. You cannot compete. Do not try.

Can I talk to you?
Yep! Please do!

Can I touch you?
I'm starting to realize the less I touch people, the less con crud I get. >.> But maybe.

How can I find you?
I'll be at Table 77 in the Dealers Den. ALL THE TIME. Or look for the awesome hat.

Can I visit your room?
There's really not going to be any reason to. I'm rooming alone, not single, and not throwing any parties.

Can I buy you drinks?
Sure, as long as I watch them being poured. I knoooooow what goes on at cons. >.o

Can I give you stuff?
As long as it's not contagious.

Can I hug or snuggle with you?
Maaaaaaybe.

Are you nice?
I hope so. ^^;

How long are you going?
Friday to Sunday

Do you have an artist table?
Yup!

Do you have prints/CDs?
I will totally have prints. Buy them please.

Will you have art in the Art Show? General or Adult sections?
No art show this time. I had to auction all my art to afford to make it to the con.

If I see you, how should I get your attention?
Say my name. By which I mean K'sharra. Which is pronounced "kuh-SHARR-uh". I also answer to Bob.

Where will you be most of the time during the day/s?
Dealers Den, chained to my table, slaving away and starving myself stupid.

What/where will you be eating?
I have no food plans whatsoever. I expect I might get dragged places, but otherwise it will be beef jerky.

Can I come with you for food/fun/etc?
PLEASE. o.O

Can I look in your sketchbook?
Sure!

Can I draw in your sketchbook?
Sure!

Can I take your picture?
If you have to, I suppoooooose. Cameras don't like me and make me look fat.

What's your goal(s) for the con this year?
Make enough money to cover the cost of going, and see people I haven't seen in years.

https://plus.google.com/107453185966006181862

I finally have a Google + page just for my furry stuff! I will try to keep it updated with my art news, and not flood you with updates. If you're waiting on an auction or commission, our just want to hear about my creative process, or get convention updates, follow me here!

https://plus.google.com/107453185966006181862

Hey guys, sorry about my recent absence... I know, I have a couple pieces due (a sketch from Rainfurrest and a badge from before, as well as a make-up pendant that got lost in transit), and I've actually been working on things here in the background...

...except that I apparently caught Con Crud 2.0 from the Rainfurrest staff meeting last weekend, and it knocked me on my ass. I've missed 4 days of work now, and I think it's turned into a case of bronchitis.

So patience, and I'll be getting the art done asap. I just don't want to be mailing you guys a bunch of cleverly packaged sick germs.

So I have this roommate who is a total sweetheart. He's single, mid-30s, furry, and looking for love. Not like nookie-love, but an actual relationship. Interested?

Info:

- Long blonde hair
- Mid 30's (I'm thinking about 37ish)
- About 5'7"
- Not fat or fit, just comfortably snuggly with great legs
- Fun and outgoing, very social
- Likes to go places and see things
- Enjoys lounging outside and doing geeky things on his laptop
- Loves helping people
- Smart, funny, thoughtful, but a bit scatterbrained
- Knows how to cook
- Pic available on request
- Currently a student studying some kind of IT computer stuff
- Furry, but not the creepy type, no weird fetishes or nothing
- Enjoys tabletop roleplaying games
- Unitarian (Christian/pagan mix)
- Loves cats (has 2 purebred Bengal cats of his own)
- Smoker (mostly clove cigarettes, not the green stuff)

tldr; He's a really sweet and thoughtful laid-back guy looking for someone local to settle down with. If you live in the Seattle area and are interested, gimme a buzz, leave a comment, or send a note to  dennisthetiger.

Holy cow! That was a bunch of work! *wipes sweat from brow*

I haven't worked at a convention in several years now, so I'd forgotten what it's like to pull 10-12 hour days doing barely anything but drawing. Literally, I got my first commission Friday within 5 minutes of setting up my table, and I had a steady stream of work coming to me for the rest of the convention until I closed up shop on Sunday. o.O

Many thanks to my roommates and  databank for supplying me with munchies and drinks, and thanks to  dingbat for bringing me coffee and helping man my table while I was away for brief bio breaks. Seriously, I did NOT expect that, and it was totally awesome of you. A million thanks.

The art show went kerflunk. I sold two pieces: my swimming otter huntress piece, which was really old and I was sad to see it go for as low as it did but that was my fault, and that ridiculous looking deer jacking off in the woods, which was a completely failed attempt at a new style of coloring, and it went for way too much to someone I hate. So I get rid of a pic I hate, and take the money from someone I hate. Win/win! I'm kicking myself for not pricing the otter higher though. It's one of my better non-adult works. Whoever got it was very lucky, imo.

The paintings I did didn't sell at all. That makes me really sad. I was very proud of them, and they were some of the very few original pieces in the whole show. Meanwhile the prints hanging next to my stuff went to auction. Seriously, you guys' priorities are screwed. I was considering taking the remaining works to MFF to try and sell it at the art show there, but thanks to some ill-timed bills coming due, I may have to auction the pieces on Furbuy or whatnot to even afford the flight up. And I'll be starting on that commission queue I've built up, to help out with bills. So expect new art. Woo.

I tried out a new style of badges this con, usually I've been doing the typical rectangle badges in a holder thing, but this time I went for the more freestyle laminated badges. About the same size, a little larger, but no borders. I like it, it was easier and more liberating, so I'll probably be doing my badges like that from now on.

I'm still totally baffled by why people buy the prints they do. My older pieces from back in '06-'07 sold better than my newer stuff, which is much better quality and has a lot more detail and more accurate anatomy and more creative posing. The old stuff... well, kinda sucks. But it's still selling. Which confuses the hell out of me. Seriously, if you bought an older print of mine, can you explain why you chose it over the newer and better stuff?

I'm not even going to try and list all the people I met and was happy to meet, there's way too many, and I don't want to leave anyone out. But you guys were all awesome, and I wish I'd had more time and less workload so I could have BS'd and hung out and chatted more than I just barely did.

I didn't get to make it to any parties, and hell, I didn't even have a single drink at the convention. But I got to go home every night and spend time with my boyfriend, which was pretty cool. I barely got any sleep during the con though, thanks to homework and a screwed up sleep schedule. 3 hours of sleep the first night, 4.5 after that, and I have no idea how much sleep I got Sunday because BF and I had a fight and I went to bed drunk and tossed and turned and woke up halfway through the night and so on. Thanks to lack of sleep, I was an emotional wreck and pretty much only mentally half there.

The anatomy panel I got out of, well, I was able to get to it 20 minutes late, but walked out because it wasn't really what I expected it to be... I didn't actually see any anatomy talk going on. The Life Drawing panel, well, thanks to the idiots running programming, I didn't know if I was going to be the model, the teacher, or the bouncer. Turned out I was the bouncer. Hour and a half wasted checking IDs and guarding a door. I didn't get to actually teach anyone anything, which is a first for me. Usually I'm running at least one panel at RF. Not that I didn't TRY to get some panels, so I'm sorry guys. I really did sign up for doing panels on marker coloring and anatomy and Paint Tool SAI and all kinds of stuff, and got stuck with... being a bouncer.

So, how did it go overall? It was WORK. It was hard, it was busy, I barely enjoyed myself, and I didn't get any time to relax. Art show sales were abysmal and depressing, table sales were pretty decent but probably a bit low because of my proximity to a certain popufur (I swear to gawd every time someone looked at my stuff, they glanced over, saw Dingbat, and got all wide-eyed and migrated immediately to her stuff lol), but at least my con expenses were minimal because I didn't fork out for a room.

In short, it was hell, and I'm glad it's over. No post-con depression for me. Time to start getting ready for MFF, and dealing with the parts of life that got neglected in the con rush.

Well, things are going a bit better a far as Rainfurrest... I say a bit because there's still a few irritations to deal with. For one, RF staff fucked up my name in their art show listing in a big way, which has me a bit peeved. For two, their registration hours and location are nowhere to be found on their entire website, excluding the digital calendar which is refusing to work so I can't see it.

But... I did get them to remove me from the poorly scheduled anatomy panel (semi-unintentionally) so I don't have to stress so much about an early arrival. And the laser printer got fixed and handled the prints beautifully. And then after I printed everything out, my replacement printer arrived. But it all worked out in the end.

I am having some issues with page layout stuff... Apparently all my free options like GIMP, Paint.net, and Open Office all suck for doing things like graphic pricing signs and so on. Any suggestions that don't involve money or torrenting?

NSFW for language, but I assume if you're logged into FA, you're really not concerned about work protocol.

---

So Rainfurrest.

FUCK THIS SHIT.

I have been having nightmares about this convention. Literally. Like wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat unable to get back to sleep because FUCK things are not going well.

My printer is broken, and the replacement still hasn't shown up so that means there won't be time for me to do prints on it if it arrives any later than, oh, TONIGHT. And my roommate's laser printer is fucking up, it's doing this weird dragging strip along one side, which he's trying to figure out JUST NOW. Despite the fact that I asked him to look into this about a week ago, in case this EXACT FUCKING THING happened.

Why am I so stressing about this weekend? Well gee, let's see. One, I'M BROKE. I can't afford to go out and have a print shop make a bunch of (extremely fucking adult) prints. I can't afford to go buy a cheap used printer to save me from this situation temporarily. And I can't afford NOT to have prints to sell at the con.

ALSO, I'm pissed off at the people who scheduled the con, because they put me on a panel on Thursday night. An ANATOMY PANEL on a fucking THURSDAY. When no one will be there. Gee, no one needs to know anatomy, let's schedule this when no one will show up! Fuck you guys in the ass with a porcupine tail. And that's not even why I'm upset. I'm upset because, thanks to this incurable disease I've managed to contract from god knows where, I have NO fucking vacation time, so I'm having to pull 10-hour days all week to be able to get FRIDAY off. Oh wait, but I have to get off work on time Thursday so I can run a panel no one is going to fucking be there for? Whoops, looks like I'm pulling 11-hour days. FUCK. YOU. SO hard.

Not to mention I'm a teeeeeeeny bit stressed because this is the first convention I've actually been a dealer at in, oh, a few years thanks to my health, and I'm kinda scared that I'm going to wind up a ball of pain by the time the convention is over, I don't know if my markers have dried up in the interim, and with all this stress, I'm really not feeling artistically inclined, so I know any work I do is going to be shit.

*twitch*

...so I'll see you all next weekend at Rainfurrest! Can't fucking wait!

---

Update: Laser printer is fixed! There will be prints!

So my lovely new printer that I was going to use to make prints for Rainfurrest? Fucked up. A piece of paper got jammed, and now it's spitting ink when I try to print anything. Tried cleaning the print heads a few dozen times, reseating the ink cartridges, checked for anything still stuck in the printer... No luck. So I get to call Epson support!

Also, WA DOT has decided that Rainfurrest weekend is a GREAT time to close a section of 405 (edited to fix) - the main highway I would usually take to get to the convention each day.

Stolen from  dingbat because she is awesome and this is cool.

Stuff you might want to know as far as seeing me at RainFurrest:

Where are you staying? - Home! I live less than an hour from the convention.
What day are you getting there? - Friday morning, most likely.
Who will you be with? - Me, myself, and I, though my roomies are also attending.
Do you do free art? - No.
Do you do trades? - I'll probably be pretty busy so I'll be really selective about them, if I even have time to begin with.
Do you do commissions? - Yup! I'll be doing sketches, inked drawings, possibly some color badges.
Do you do badges? - Quite possibly. Yes. Maybe. My markers are finally hitting their age limit!
What is your gender? - I'll give you three guesses.
How old are you? - 29
Are you taken? - Not yet!
What suits will you have? - I don't suit.
Can I touch you? - I like hugs.
Can I talk to you? - Yup! If I've got my head down doing art, feel free to bug me.
Can I buy you lots of drinks? - Yep! NO VODKA.
Can I hug or snuggle with you? - Hugs. No snugglies.
How tall are you? - 5'5"
Are you nice? - No, I'm an eeeeeeeeeevil temptress out to steal your SOUL.
Are you cliquey? - Not really.
Do you have an artist table? - Yup, I'll be sitting with  dingbat
Do you like parties? - I do indeed!
If I see you, how should I get your attention? - Say my name, I tend to space out and not hear you otherwise.
Can I hang out with you? - Uh, maybe. Depending on how busy I am. I'mna try to take it easy...
How can I find you? - Look for the brown hat with the sparkly thing on the side!

---

Also, some additional pics from MFM:

https://picasaweb.google.com/101154038273531174832/MFM2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCKmpxuSs6_yi_AE&feat=directlink

So I'm back from MFM! On Sunday. This is entirely my fault, there was a miscommunication and I thought we were scheduled for checkout on Sunday instead of Monday... Oops.

So about half the people I had expected/hoped to see at MFM weren't there. Sad tigress. Especially since this is the first time in a long time that I have been to a furry convention while single. Sorry dudes, you missed out. Bwah! But I got to see some good friends, rehash old times, and drink a FUCKTON of Barq's. I love Barq's. Om nom nom Barq's. MASAMUNE YOU ARE THE GREATEST!!!

It was weird getting used to the new hotel. No, I wasn't there last year. This was my first time at the new digs. It was strange because MFM is kinda my "home" con, it was the first convention I'd ever been to, and it's been the same for so long, I wasn't expecting how much it changed. It seemed a million times smaller, for one (might also be the fact that a lot fewer people showed up, but myeh), and for two it was hard to find people and things without that central hangout area the old hotel had. But I grew to like it all the same.

I totally did not sell anything. But I got some good sketches, and spent a huge amount of time in the art jam with a white gel pen and a virgin sketchbook, drawing some insanely detailed doodles on the cover. It is still a virgin sketchbook of awesome (think 11x14 smooth Bristol pages, baybee) and I have no idea what I want the theme to be, but this will be the sketchbook I hand out for real quality artwork to be done. As soon as I stop being terrified of what I want to go in it. Virgin sketchiebooks are scaaaaaary. I will likely post a pic of the cover shortly, in all its sleep-deprived glory.

I missed the one panel I wanted to go to, and three awesome things were all scheduled at the same time. I totally should have gone to the comedy thing and drawn while listening to funny stories.

A million thanks to P. Moss for showing me her Copics and chatting art stuff, and Señor Groat for chatting about boobies and correctly guessing my bra size. (I WILL find that anime that has the boobs blowing in the wind, I swear it!) And Tattooed Rat totally owes me a Mike's Hard Lemonade or three. *insert dramatic chipmunk moment* And a final thanks to Wesha, without whom I would never have made it to the con, and who got me some awesome rich Russian chocolates and hugs.

---

And now, for linkies!

I had a lot of people asking me about my shoes! They are toe shoes. They are AMAZING, and no it doesn't feel like you have anything between your toes. They strengthen your ankles, they help with back problems, and you can totally walk over rough-chipped gravel and not have your feet hurt. They've been an absolute lifesaver for me, because with my miserable back, weak legs, and large wide feet, it's hard to find shoes that are comfy. If you want a pair, go here:

http://vibramfivefingers.com/index.htm (Note: Fila also makes a toe-shoe called Skele-Toes, but I can't vouch for their quality, so if someone has those, lemme know how they are!)

---

I also had a lot of people commenting on my belt pouch. It's, like, the Batman utility belt for everyday use. It holds as much as a purse, but doesn't put strain on the back/shoulders, which for me is a lifesaver since with my fibromyalgia, any weight on my back threatens to put me in paaaaaaain. If you're interested in a belt pouch, all the various styles, colors, and materials are available here:

http://mishuboutique.com/shop/ (I'd LOVE a leather one someday, but they're godawful expensive. The canvas ones are great though.)

---

Finally, some of you might have noticed me running around taking pics with my phone. Which had two camera lenses. Because it takes pictures in 3D. I love my Evo 3D, it's so awesome. I have posted a small sampling of the pictures I took to my Phereo 3D gallery here:

http://phereo.com/ksharra/ (Click the Mode button at the bottom of the pics to view the pics different ways. My faves are Wiggle and Crossed, but Crossed can hurt your eyes quick.)

Also, if I took a pic you want a copy of, please hit me with a note, because I'm very selective about my photography and I won't be posting much of anything here or online because I like keeping this gallery mostly art-based.

---

tl;dr - READ THE FSCKING POST DIMWIT. lol. Or go look at purty pics. Purrrrrrrty. Pics. Time for sleep.

Next con: RainFurrest! See ya in two weeks!

Heading out to MFM shortly, hope to see you guys there! I won't be at the Dealer's tables, I MIGHT try making Artist Alley one day if I feel up to it, otherwise I'm gonna be taking it easy and hanging out.