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Moving to FLO!
Posted 5 years ago.
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.
.
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I've stopped uploading new work on this account, and have moved to furrylife.online to archive my art in the future.
This account will stay up as an archive of my older stuff, but FA's inflexibility with name-changes and frankly terrible policies and interface makes me more than happy to leave despite how long i've been here.
Thank you for supporting me so far, and I hope to see you on any of my other active platforms!
FURRYLIFE.ONLINE
https://furrylife.online/profile/5143-mosspond/
TWITTER
https://twitter.com/mosspond_/
♥.
.
Follow Commission openings on my TG channel!
Posted 6 years agoI'm no longer announcing my openings here, but if you have telegram, I've just made a channel that will be specifically for comm openings! They'll have posts scheduled with links to google sheets/typeform at the same time that my twitter posts are dropped.
https://t.co/j7DwzAA51k?amp=1
https://t.co/j7DwzAA51k?amp=1
FA 3.0 Fix-- Make it look like 2018 (using Stylus!)
Posted 6 years agoHeya! I'm back again with a guide on how to make FA look a little bit more acceptable using Stylus! This is a super simple tutorial and will 100% save your eyes. You can even change your own banner!
Check it out here: https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....079912451?s=20
--
Note: Please use Stylus (links below) instead of Stylish, which apparently has had some security issues in the past. They're virtually the same, so all the steps will still work!
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/.....fhncgmne?hl=en
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fi.....addon/styl-us/
Check it out here: https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....079912451?s=20
--
Note: Please use Stylus (links below) instead of Stylish, which apparently has had some security issues in the past. They're virtually the same, so all the steps will still work!
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/.....fhncgmne?hl=en
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fi.....addon/styl-us/
FA 3.0 Critique (Conclusion: It's sad!)
Posted 6 years agoHAPPY NEW YEARS!!! So I woke up and FA updated their website which means, as ur resident FA design critic, it is time to REVIEW.
This is a repost of my twitter thread on why 3.0 sucks from a UI standpoint.
Spoiler: things aren't looking up in 2020, at least for this site
---
So to start off, this a critique based on the beta (2.0) layout. I'll do a runthrough of the actual improvements over the classic layout, but since beta has been around for years now I think it's a fair benchmark to go by. Also, FA's issues are largely experience and not interface based. Bad tagging, an excess of confusing menus, lackluster SFW support, and rampant issues with cp/zoo content. There's not much to say about it other than...just implement it, so I won't be going over that.
From the official announcement:
"The beta site design has been in development for some time and has gone through various iterations and changes in development. We’ve listened to your suggestions and incorporated vast amounts of user feedback into the final release. Additionally we’ll be rolling out new features and making incremental improvements to the design over time.
Designed with mobile, tablet, and desktop devices in mind, the new UI allows for a much smoother and modern site experience regardless of your device. "
--
So, with any website it's important to state your goals. From that above statement, we can see a couple of really solid goals pop up:
1. Listen to user feedback
2. Flexible UI (Can be used across devices)
3. Smoother experience
4. Modernize design
If we go by the metrics of classic, goals 2-4 have been met (to a degree). The site is much more functional on mobile, things are scaled well on desktop, and the experience is overall better. It's not a strain to use! With some strange exceptions (ie. folders), it does the job.
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....463458816?s=20
Good updates between 1.0 and 3.0:
- Bigger text
-Better image/text balance
-Overall more images
-More contrast in colour palette
-Better scaled buttons
I think the basics are here for a good update, but a lot of these considerations are surface level. Not to mention, they aren't all that well executed and don't meet the standard for what we can call "modern web design" at all.
--
Starting from point #2, "flexible", or responsive, web design is a trend that's been in since ~2015. We have screens of many sizes now--how do we make a site looks/works well on all of them? This is a huge point that sets older and newer looking websites apart, even if you aren't paying attention to it.
Let's take a look at 3.0 on 3 different devices- A large desktop, laptop, and phone (most common windows):
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....325043200?s=20
What you'll notice it that things get reeeally far apart on the biggest size, and actually looks pretty good on phones.
This is because the main body of the site was actually set to adhere to the maximum window size, which is very dangerous and not something modern sites do. Instead, we like to set a size that's slightly smaller than the average window, and leave the rest as white space. White space is super important in what makes a site comfortable to use!!
Check out these screencaps of Facebook before and after white space was added:
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....263004672?s=20
Going back to FA-- the edge-to-edge layout makes you feel as if there's no space to breathe, which is made worse by the new colour contrast, white borders, and thin breathing space:
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....653879298?s=20
Previously in 2.0, the dark boxes on light actually helped offset this by making themselves recede into the background! The grey wasn't distracting/contrasting to what's on top of it. Not to mention, the border is far less intrusive, and the margins a bit better. https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....346948609?s=20
Not to mention, the other "themes" are a total joke, and are totally unconsidered. The colours are similar, and there's no change in "feeling" (except light). For the amount of time that went into this update, these are probably the worst additions:
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....412936198?s=20
This is getting long so I'm going to end this with a last note on the logo update. I actually think the new logo itself isn't bad! But the change is another addition of the self proclaimed site mascot that is permanent and irremovable. One of the things that bothers me the most about FA 2.0-3.0 is the banner that follows you /everywhere/. Its vibrant, well painted, and absolutely distracting. It's the first thing you see on every single page (including profiles!). Since the site has never done a good job of actually making the mascot familiar and endearing (personal opinion), it just comes across as jarring and...self-congratulating? Especially on profiles, since you see it before anything else that user might have created.
---
TL;DR: FA needs to use whatever money they make from FA+ to hire a UI designer trained in the last decade, and maybe read the material design manual. 3.0 is totally underdeveloped for something that's been in progress since 2017, and its a disservice to treat it as a full update.
Anyways, if you made it this far... thanks for reading! I doubt anything will be done to change the site but I sure do love talking about it. If you disagree with any of my critique that's totally ok! I'm trained in a certain style and that's not everyone's cup of tea.
ciao <3
This is a repost of my twitter thread on why 3.0 sucks from a UI standpoint.
Spoiler: things aren't looking up in 2020, at least for this site
---
So to start off, this a critique based on the beta (2.0) layout. I'll do a runthrough of the actual improvements over the classic layout, but since beta has been around for years now I think it's a fair benchmark to go by. Also, FA's issues are largely experience and not interface based. Bad tagging, an excess of confusing menus, lackluster SFW support, and rampant issues with cp/zoo content. There's not much to say about it other than...just implement it, so I won't be going over that.
From the official announcement:
"The beta site design has been in development for some time and has gone through various iterations and changes in development. We’ve listened to your suggestions and incorporated vast amounts of user feedback into the final release. Additionally we’ll be rolling out new features and making incremental improvements to the design over time.
Designed with mobile, tablet, and desktop devices in mind, the new UI allows for a much smoother and modern site experience regardless of your device. "
--
So, with any website it's important to state your goals. From that above statement, we can see a couple of really solid goals pop up:
1. Listen to user feedback
2. Flexible UI (Can be used across devices)
3. Smoother experience
4. Modernize design
If we go by the metrics of classic, goals 2-4 have been met (to a degree). The site is much more functional on mobile, things are scaled well on desktop, and the experience is overall better. It's not a strain to use! With some strange exceptions (ie. folders), it does the job.
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....463458816?s=20
Good updates between 1.0 and 3.0:
- Bigger text
-Better image/text balance
-Overall more images
-More contrast in colour palette
-Better scaled buttons
I think the basics are here for a good update, but a lot of these considerations are surface level. Not to mention, they aren't all that well executed and don't meet the standard for what we can call "modern web design" at all.
--
Starting from point #2, "flexible", or responsive, web design is a trend that's been in since ~2015. We have screens of many sizes now--how do we make a site looks/works well on all of them? This is a huge point that sets older and newer looking websites apart, even if you aren't paying attention to it.
Let's take a look at 3.0 on 3 different devices- A large desktop, laptop, and phone (most common windows):
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....325043200?s=20
What you'll notice it that things get reeeally far apart on the biggest size, and actually looks pretty good on phones.
This is because the main body of the site was actually set to adhere to the maximum window size, which is very dangerous and not something modern sites do. Instead, we like to set a size that's slightly smaller than the average window, and leave the rest as white space. White space is super important in what makes a site comfortable to use!!
Check out these screencaps of Facebook before and after white space was added:
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....263004672?s=20
Going back to FA-- the edge-to-edge layout makes you feel as if there's no space to breathe, which is made worse by the new colour contrast, white borders, and thin breathing space:
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....653879298?s=20
Previously in 2.0, the dark boxes on light actually helped offset this by making themselves recede into the background! The grey wasn't distracting/contrasting to what's on top of it. Not to mention, the border is far less intrusive, and the margins a bit better. https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....346948609?s=20
Not to mention, the other "themes" are a total joke, and are totally unconsidered. The colours are similar, and there's no change in "feeling" (except light). For the amount of time that went into this update, these are probably the worst additions:
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....412936198?s=20
This is getting long so I'm going to end this with a last note on the logo update. I actually think the new logo itself isn't bad! But the change is another addition of the self proclaimed site mascot that is permanent and irremovable. One of the things that bothers me the most about FA 2.0-3.0 is the banner that follows you /everywhere/. Its vibrant, well painted, and absolutely distracting. It's the first thing you see on every single page (including profiles!). Since the site has never done a good job of actually making the mascot familiar and endearing (personal opinion), it just comes across as jarring and...self-congratulating? Especially on profiles, since you see it before anything else that user might have created.
---
TL;DR: FA needs to use whatever money they make from FA+ to hire a UI designer trained in the last decade, and maybe read the material design manual. 3.0 is totally underdeveloped for something that's been in progress since 2017, and its a disservice to treat it as a full update.
Anyways, if you made it this far... thanks for reading! I doubt anything will be done to change the site but I sure do love talking about it. If you disagree with any of my critique that's totally ok! I'm trained in a certain style and that's not everyone's cup of tea.
ciao <3
COMMISSIONS OPEN
Posted 6 years agoCommission opening details
Posted 6 years agoCommissions will open May 10th at 4:00 PM Central.
4 slots will be available! One will specifically be for a ref sheet that I will select, but the rest will be first come first serve as always.
Applications will be through google forms!
4 slots will be available! One will specifically be for a ref sheet that I will select, but the rest will be first come first serve as always.
Applications will be through google forms!
Commissions opening next Friday
Posted 6 years agoHi friends! The spring semester is almost over, which means I have time to work on commissions again! I will be posting the updated price/option sheet sometime next friday, and they will be done through google forms.
XO Moss
XO Moss
Where did the refs go?
Posted 7 years ago
One might notice the curious dissapearance of some ref sheets from the gallery. This is a side effect of my “spring cleaning” campaign to streamline my gallery better! Bigger ref sheets of wierd sizes are now residing in scraps, but viewable in the gallery from the REFS folder.
Xo Moss
Twitter Raffle!
Posted 7 years agoIf any of you have twitter and are so inclined, I'm running a 100 follower raffle over there! Enter for a chance to win a full body shaded piece w/ a painted background <3
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....14412605583360
xo moss
https://twitter.com/magicalmoss/sta.....14412605583360
xo moss
Ref sheet comms closed until March
Posted 7 years agoHi friends! I just looked at my queue and there are... 5 ref sheets in a row. I'll be doing what's there gladly but I'm preeetty sure I'll burn out if I add any more after that. Thanks for understanding!
If you're just dropping by and looking into a ref sheet, I'll probably open them back up around March! Feel free to drop me a PM and we can work something out :)
▼▼▼
xo nadia
Commission Q & Updates
Posted 7 years agoWelcome to the Commission Queue! This is a live list that will be regularly updated with progress/events for transparency.
**Please note that commissions are sometimes done simultaneously with priority given to people higher on the list. I will move down while I wait on emails etc. **
Time frames are conservative estimates.
PRICES HERE
PM me here or email me at nahdiasdoodles@gmail.com for a slot!
UPDATES ━━━━
3/16/2019 Spring queue clear! Official reopening late April; intermittent slots may open before then.
1/27/2019 Spring semester starts, Commissions Closed. Queued work will be completed according to schedule
1/22/2019 January queue completed, March queue now loading
S L O T S ━━━━━━━
1. --
M I S C
K E Y ━━━━━━━━
▽▽▽▽Scheduled
▼▽▽▽Sketch
▼▼▽▽ Payment 1 received
▼▼▼▽In Progress
▼▼▼▼ Payment 2 received
Wrist Update: It's over!
Posted 7 years agoThanks to a combination of sage medical advice of you wonderful people, an itchy wrist brace, and forced rest, the wrist issue is mostly resolved! Turns out it is early stage carpal tunnel, but I caught and smacked it down early enough that it won't be too much of a lasting issue.
Full steam ahead!
▼▼▼
xo nadia
Raffle Winners!
Posted 7 years agoEep I fell asleep! But here are the winners!
Painting: Dankedonuts (#18)
Icons: Fiorabeast (#24), SekeinoOkami (#6), Vityi (#35), Doggts (#35), Hytyle (#17)
▼▼▼
The winners should receive notes in a little bit. Thanks so much to everyone for participating! <3
xo Nadia
Wrist hurtie
Posted 7 years agoSo apparently 12 hours of Computer based art and design is bad for your wrist? Yeah.
Raffle will continue as scheduled, commissions in progress will slow but not stop. Taking breaks and a proper check up is on the schedule!
Take care of your hands artist friends!
xo Nadia
Raffle will continue as scheduled, commissions in progress will slow but not stop. Taking breaks and a proper check up is on the schedule!
Take care of your hands artist friends!
xo Nadia
Raffle time!
Posted 7 years agoWoot Woot, 100 watchers is here! It hasn't been that long since the last one but I said I would, so it's happening!
.....Later.
Unfortunately this weekend is production, which means I'll be out of the picture too much to handle the raffle properly all week long. Yay for press!
In the meantime, I'll be to making a fun design for the *promotional value* and thinking up what to put in as prizes! Maybe ref sheets?
Thanks for understanding, and happy Tuesday!
xo Nadia
▼▼▼
Twitter anyone?
Posted 7 years agoI made a twitter a while ago to post art but I've kind of neglected it since... mostly because I couldn't really find any furries around? I know you guys are out there! post your @s and I'll give a watch :0
(I'm @nahdiafur!)
xo Nadia
▼▼▼Raffle Completion + Some Schedule Notes
Posted 7 years agoHey Y'all!
With SirathDraken's piece done, the Raffle is officially complete~ Yay!
▼▼▼
Since we have quite a few people around now, I'd just like to take a quick moment here to make a update about my general work and status. I'm about a month into my first semester of school this year, and things are getting busy! Because my practice isn't actually illustration, I get more opportunity to unwind by drawing but during project it gets quite tight.
I'll be closing down trades because of this, so sorry to everyone who has contacted me about that recently!
While nobody is waiting on commissions at the moment, I also want to mention that every third weekend of the month I work 24 straight hours for production! since I generally have a short completion time, this is really the only thing that drags it on for a while. It's a blast, but it does mean that I become very busy leading up to and during that time. I'll do my best to give a forewarning individually!
That's all for now, but feel free to chat with me about whatever! I'm always looking to have a good conversation, or learn something new :D
xo Nadia
▼▼▼Raffle Winners!
Posted 7 years agoThe clock tolls 12, and RNGesus has spoken! The winners for this raffle are...(drumroll...)
1st. SirathDraken (#4)
2nd. Aewenor (#20)
▼▼▼
I'll be sending notes to the winners, but thanks to everybody for participating! I'll be running something again once the big triple digits come rolling for sure.
xo Nadia
50 Watcher raffle?
Posted 7 years agoHey Lovelies!!
50 watchers is growing close, I can almost smell it! You guys have been so supportive, and I'm absolutely going to host a raffle to say thanks! First though, I'd like to know what kind of stuff everybody would like more? I've come up with a couple options here... but ah, indecisiveness will kill me someday.
▼▼▼
OPT 1 : Painted YCH (with full BG) with two slots
OPT 2 : Custom Flat shaded full body (1st) and Flat shaded bust (runner up)
OPT 3 : Basic Ref sheet and Shaded half body (Winner picks, runner takes the other)
▼▼▼
If there's something you'd like to suggest, I'll take note as well!
Nadia out xx
▼▼▼
The First One
Posted 7 years ago IT BEGINS
I've been putting off making an FA for literal years, but here we are again! No bs this time. You might remember me from Flight Rising some years back or tumblr a little more recently, but I love doing paintings and doodles of all kinds!
I love just having a chat about furries or video games (or both!) so feel free to chat
▼▼▼
Uploads will be REALLY fast for the next day or so a I put up the accumulated works from Before ™ 