I've picked up some long-ago started projects and came to realize I might need to start smaller. I don't have a lot of seed money to play with at the moment, so the larger scale dolls I had in mind aren't really feasible right off.

So...if I were to do some tiny art dolls (I'd be aiming for 3" to 6" or so in height), what kind of critters would people be interested in? And how much would you be willing to pay for them? These would be the simplistic soft-body sort of critter with a hand-painted cast resin face and/or hands/feet. They'd be great little computer sitters or dashboard companions.

I might look at getting a Kickstarter fund going as a fail-safe so I don't bleed myself dry financially making molds. It would also allow me a little more room for planning multiple small-scale dolls rather than just one and offering them as rewards at different price levels. Some ideas I have:

- Rodents. Probably hamsters or chinchillas. Thinking of these for the tiniest doll.
- Baby owls.
- Cute monstery things (no solid ideas just yet, but monstery things are fun)

I joined up yesterday. If you like virtual pet sites and like the idea of being able to breed cute little dragon critters, come join me! I'm there under the username dragonfyredawn!

For anybody who might be getting sick of seeing "Go vote for this on Threadless!" attached to most of my uploads as of late, I apologize. I've been in a creative rut for a long time and it seems that Threadless's design challenges are giving me the mental push I needed. Ideas have been flowing, so I've been running with them. The possibility of one or more of the designs eventually getting picked up doesn't hurt either.

The reason why I ask for votes and comments each time I have a design up is because those really do affect my chances of being printed. I'm not a known artist, so I'm plugging from what avenues I can. It would be nice if I eventually become known enough over on Threadless that I know I stand a decent chance of getting printed, but I'm not there yet. So every positive comment and 5-vote I get counts. Thanks to anybody who has been voting!

I caved and finally joined up on Tumblr. It's going to be art-centric, not planning on reblogging or anything. I'll be posting sketches and works-in-progress there that I won't be uploading anywhere else.

http://dragonfyredawn.tumblr.com

I am not leaving FA, just wanted to say that first. But for those who might be looking for elsewhere to go, this is where I can currently be found:

My own site: http://www.dragonfyredawn.com (costume gallery is updated regularly, portfolio is added to when I have something worth adding)

Deviantart: http://dragonfyredawn.deviantart.com

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dragonfyredawn

Tumblr: http://dragonfyredawn.tumblr.com

Weasyl (art, working on uploading some of my older stuff): https://www.weasyl.com/profile/lokis
Weasyl (costuming, active): https://www.weasyl.com/profile/dfdcostumes

I know I haven't posted much in ages. My hands have been full between my conventional day job (which is a creative mojo killer) and freelance costuming. The vast majority of my creative output over the last year or two has been in the form of fursuits, so if that kind of thing interests you at all it can be seen at  dfdcostumes

That said, I've nearly overcome one of the major ruts that has been in the way of me doing regular art. Within the next two months, my student loan should be gone. No more stressing about getting enough freelance work to cover payments. With that burden off my shoulders, I should be able to actually take days off and relax for once. I'm starting by taking one day a week to do things just for myself. Some days that might mean doing nothing, others it'll mean I sit down and doodle.

So basically, hopefully I'll start being a little more active here again in the next little while. I apologize in advance if I end up doing a lot of fan art for whatever catches my fancy at the time. Relaxing means I get to sit down and catch up on all things I've been missing out on, and a lot of those things give me silly little ideas. Given the creative dry spell I've had, I can't argue too much with those whims!

Because I can't get it down to a manageable size in a Flash file, I figured I'd share the link to it this way. This is the cheesy stop-motion animation I did for GISHWHES. It called for the loading of Noah's Ark two by two, then the ensuing flood. Everything was improvised with what I had on hand, then I set up shot it fairly quickly. Not perfect, but man was it fun to do!

I did a look around YouTube, and I don't know if I inspired others (being one of the earliest GISHWHESians to upload), or simply had the most unique spin on the "and one set of critters was too stupid to get one the ark" idea. I saw lots of dinosaurs. Anyway, a lesson in why we don't have unicorns, courtesy of childhood nostalgia and the Irish Rovers "Unicorn Song" :P

https://youtu.be/x7mhu8ByD0k

GISHWHES (Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen) finished up last night. What a week!

I'm not holding my breath on winning it, but I think we can be proud of ourselves. My team completed 67/152 crazy-ass challenges. Most of what was left was either nigh impossible to accomplish, or a logistical nightmare.

While I am going to enjoy working on the commissions I've got lined up, it's going to be odd not running on a creative high while doing things like...making a portrait of an actor out of skittles or creating armor out of kitchenware. The insanity of this was so much fun!

...and I wore cheese. I can't believe I wore cheese. Let alone managed to make it look good...

I realize that Hurricane Sandy is in the forefront right now, but a natural disaster hit my hometown last week (and if Sandy takes a different path than projected, it could potentially add to the already devastating damage). They got an insane amount of rain that caused some nasty flash floods. The town itself is mostly unscathed but all the major roads, including part of the Trans-Canada Highway, were hit hard and it's only this morning that the southbound section was repaired enough to be reopened. A motel and a car dealership were badly damaged.

There is one couple that was very unlucky and their home got hit full-force with a flash flood. It's a total loss - it's a minor miracle that it didn't get completely swept into Lake Superior along with their vehicles and the road. They (and their pets) got out, but they have nothing left. I've known these people for years. Deb works at the same school my Mom does and Jim was my chiropractor before he retired about ten years back and turned to pottery full-time. Jim's workshop and gallery were also wiped out in the flood.

It broke my heart to see these photos this morning. I visited them during my trip up north a few weeks ago. I was standing in their livingroom listening to Jim talk about the chemistry of pottery glazes as he showed us some of his favorite pieces. This is what's left: http://groomerguy.blogspot.com/2012.....awa-flood.html

If you can spare any money, a fund has been started to help them get back on their feet.

http://www.gofundme.com/1etilk

A few days back I brought a friend to Atlanta so she could see the Center for Puppetry Arts (http://www.puppet.org). I'm glad I'm not the only one who turns into an overgrown kid when being only a few feet away from Jim Henson stuff.

If anybody here is close enough to Atlanta to go, it's well worth it. Especially if you grew up on Jim Henson's puppetry. There's stuff from Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Fraggle Rock, The Muppets...

I really want to take some of their puppetry workshops when the opportunity presents itself. I am a costumer, so I could learn a lot from that branch of creative building.


And speaking of puppets, I'm going to get to see the War Horse stage production. I remember seeing previews and being blown away by the puppet-horses. By lucky chance, the touring company is showing at the Fox Theater next month and the tickets aren't hideously expensive. Should be fun!

I had stopped using Twitter for a long time, but I'm trying to make use of it again. There will be more random commenting than I had before, but there'll also be WIP project photos posted that I won't be posting anywhere else. Just in case anybody is interested and all.

My name on Twitter is dragonfyredawn

Day job, commissions (mostly costuming related), dealing with four-year-old worker's comp BS, developing some stuff for a webcomic that I probably can't debut until I leave my day job, thinking about a personal costume I've been developing with the help of my husband...

Also, I've hit a milestone on my student loans - I'm over the halfway mark. I still have a long way to go, but at least it's visibly progressing and every lump sum payment drops the daily interest charge down a bit more. If things work out, I may only have this hanging over me for another year and a half or so.

I don't plan on inundating you all with pony-related stuff, but I have to admit I'm in the process of doing my first My Little Pony custom...and I'm having far too much fun with it. I've dabbled with sculpture before, but always stress about messing it up when I'm doing something from scratch. This doesn't have that so much, for some reason. The first custom is done, other than the re-rooting the mane and tail.

My husband's encouraging this - he's already commissioned me for a second custom to give to a friend of ours.

I do apologize to the non-Pony lovers out there. I promise my gallery won't be overrun with My Little Pony stuff, but some will be showing up.

Also, if it makes things somewhat better, both customs I'm working on are geeky sci-fi things...the first is Firefly-related (given, it's geared to a particular fan-group I'm part of and not specific to any of the characters in the series itself), the second is going to be a Cylon-pony.

Along with some other made-and-ready-to-ship costume items, I just listed a whole bunch of small rabbit tails in a variety of colours on FurBuy. Check 'em out!

http://www.furbuy.com/seller/Silverfang.html

It's now September, so I'm opening up my hangman badge commissions again! Order now and get yours in plenty of time for Halloween or any creepy-themed conventions or parties you'll be going to! Examples:

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/842836/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/888903/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4557947/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4589978/

Price is $40, including First Class shipping to anywhere in the world. Drop me a note if you want to buy one!

Yesterday, this piece hit 1000 favorites: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2503248

Never in a million years did I think that silly thing would become the most popular piece in my gallery...

And hey, if people didn't know, I do have swag with that design on it!

http://www.cafepress.com/idontyiff
http://www.cafepress.com/idontyiff
http://www.cafepress.com/idontyiff

...is primarily my day job. I've got some changes coming that will hopefully leave me with more energy, more drive and less of a desire to throttle the customers who make stupid comments. I current roast outside for the vast majority of every shift, so I have no energy to do anything beyond any current commissions I happen to have when I get home (and most of those have been costuming related for the last couple months). I'm suppose to be switched to an inside position very soon, and will also be more mobile than I currently am. Both of those should make me feel more like myself and I'll hopefully have more of an artistic drive as a result.

As a side note, despite the coming improvements in my current day job life, I've decided to look at going back to college to earn a second degree. One that would serve me much better where I live so I won't be stuck in the soul-sucking job I currently have forever in order to pay the bills. I'm currently looking at how I might manage to accomplish going back to college without destroying myself financially (since I already have a student loan in my home country to deal with because of my first college degree)...but I really need to get the training I need to get a job that's challenging and more satisfying. My current day job is neither.

While I'm not fully separating galleries, I did decide to have a gallery just for my costuming work. It'll help keep that stuff in one place, so it'll be easier for potential costuming clients to find my work.

http://www.furaffinity.net/user/dfdcostumes/

I will still be posting finished costuming works here, but that gallery will have everything costuming related. That includes the smaller pieces and works in progress.

Hours at my day job have been picking up. Yay for more reliable income!

However, I feel like I've been stagnating with my art and so on. I haven't been doing enough creative hands-on work on my days off. I LOVE getting commissions because they give me something to work on (and, y'know, they make the whole trying-to-pay-down-student-loans thing easier). I can and do work on commissions in a very timely manner. I pride myself on a quick turn-around.

But I haven't been as motivated to work on my own projects for some reason. I'm trying to change that. Right now I've got a few things in the works...

1. Resin taxidermy eyes. Since I make masks, I figured it'd be worth trying my hand at these. I've got a handful of blanks cast, so I should be able to play with them soon.

2. Heart of Brass pendant(s). I've had the materials sitting around for this for awhile, but was a little unsure of the whole working with metal thing. Turns out jeweler's saws are kind of fun. Kind of slow though, so my husband's helping me out by cutting out the initial blanks with some of his armory tools. With a little luck, I might have one of the pendants ready to show in a day or two. If the first goes well, I'll be making more, each a little different.

4. Art in general. If I don't have any specific projects in mind, I need to do something artsy. Sketching. Doing something with random thoughts I have. Trying something I haven't tried before. ACEO's. Something! Anything! I'd like to do more finished and complex pieces, but I need to get out of this rut even if it means expelling a few more of those thousands of mediocre drawings that are supposed to lurk in every artist before they get to the good ones.

Thanks for the answers in my previous journal. I'll leave things as-is.

As for swag... I don't know how it happened, but my silly little "I Don't Yiff" design ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/2503248/ ) has garnered nearly 1000 favourites. So apparently people like it. I've still got the Cafepress shop up and recently added a bunch of new items.

http://www.cafepress.com/idontyiff

Aside from the usual shirts in various cuts and styles, stickers, etc I had up before, I've added PJ sets, iPad and iPhone cases, various drink bottles and even a couple jewelry pieces.

Since the otter is nearly done (didn't get it done last week as I had hoped because of some other things popping up), I've decided to give doing head base commissions a try. I've got one commission up on FurBuy right now:

http://www.furbuy.com/auctions/1021805.html

My current scanner is now several years old. While it's still working fine, it's not compatible with the laptop I bought recently to replace my slowly dying older laptop (if it weren't for my laptop being a 64 bit version of Windows 7, I'd be able to get an updated driver for my old scanner!). So, I need to replace it and since I got some cash for Christmas...

Does anybody have any personal reviews on the current lower-end Epson Perfection line of scanners? I'm not entirely sure which model I'm going to end up getting - I just know that I've been happy with their earlier scanner models in that line.

I am not having a good day, so shortly I will be trying to distract myself with art. I have a stack of ACEO cards sitting around ready to go. I intend to put 'em up on Etsy as I complete them, unless folk want to outright commission one.

So, what would you like to see? Generally speaking, I do fantasy stuff and animals/nature. I'm open to other suggestions, but ideas within those categories would be best.

If anybody remembers my journal a few months back about a friend who had his cockatiels snatched away by a bird rescue organization, courtesy of his spiteful ex...

Things have FINALLY turned around and been resolved. The organization in question has been nothing but unprofessional in their dealings with the situation. Any other animal rescue would return pets when provided with proof of ownership (in my friend's case, this included both vet records and statements from the folk who gave them the birds in the first place), but this one clung to false surrender paperwork provided by my friend's ex. The result? My friend spending a lot of money to try to get their beloved pets back.

So, long story short - after months of fighting with the rescue, it all came down to five minutes in front of a judge. The judge promptly called bullshit on the rescue's stance all these months and gave the order for the return of the birds to my friend. He does not have them back yet, but the rescue would be incredibly stupid to ignore this court order. If all goes well, he'll have his feathered family members back home by Christmas.

I don't have it yet, but I just ordered the replacement for my current laptop. It's a mid-range "budget" model, but the specs still put my current laptop to shame (it is around five years old, after all). I'll be picking up the new computer Friday.

This also means I can get back to focusing on paying down my student loan. Here on out, unless something truly catastrophic happens, all the money from my art commissions and costuming sales (less art supplies, when I need them) will be going toward the loan. If business stays decent, I might actually get it down by an appreciable amount in the next 3-5 years.