Long time no post!

If you haven't noticed already, I haven't been super active on here lately. My last art post was about 6 months ago, which is the longest I've gone without posting on here ever, I think! It's time to move on. I'll be honest, for the last few years, FA has not been useful at all for me. I have over 10,000 watchers on here, but I'm barely able to scrape 100 views on most of my posts, and rarely get many comments. While views/comments aren't everything, it certainly is discouraging to post to a platform where I feel like I'm shouting into a void. I think most people are here on FA for NSFW art, which is fine and well! But this place no longer really serves me and I don't feel the need to advertise my art to an audience who is mainly here for content I do not offer.

I don't plan on disabling my account at this time, or deleting my artwork (might just move everything to scraps?) - but I believe this will be my final post here on FA. I thank all of you for supporting my art & career over this past decade, and if you so choose, please feel free to continue following my work on one of the following platforms:

★ My Website

★ Patreon

★ Twitter

★ Instagram

★ DeviantArt

★ Telegram Commission Opening Announcements

Thank you all so much!

-Nico

Hey everyone! If you haven't heard yet, I'm heading out soon to AUSTRALIA! It's my first time leaving the country so I'm very nervous but also very excited. I'm going to visit my dear friend Sunneflyer for the first time, and the two of us will be traveling to the Great Barrier Reef as well!

So, I'll be gone for about TWO WEEKS! Art updates and replies will be slow if not non-existent during this time, sorry about that! D':

Thanks for all of your support, and I'll be back with new posts before you know it!

-Nico

Finally taking the next step in my career - making a Patreon! I've been wanting to for ages but I was really intimidated by the process & making sure I could keep up with rewards.
After a LOT of work I think I came up with the perfect solution!

The main thing I'm doing is offering a Patron-exclusive Sticker Club! Members of my Sticker Club & above tiers will receive adorable stickers, mailed to their door every month! Each month's sticker design will feature a different plush animal with a plush food item! Stickers will be 3x3", printed on weather-proof vinyl. As of right now, I have no plans of selling the stickers outside of Patreon.

I'm also offering downloads of high resolution artwork & even some PSDs, so you can see how I work! This should be a fantastic resource for those who want to learn more about how I color, and I'm so happy to help! I'll also be posting every fursuit reference I do there each month, since I don't post them all anywhere else online!

If that wasn't enough, I'm even offering some PSD art templates, particularly of my popular icons such as the Sushi & Chibi Face icons! I'll be adding more in the future too!

Finally, my highest tier offers a more custom touch! Each month, you will receive a personalized thank you card with my artwork printed on it, mailed to you! Inside, you'll find a small head-shot sketch of a character you choose, whether it's your favorite cartoon character, one of my OCs, or your own fursona. And each tier also includes the sticker club, too!

P.S. - Don't worry about me "pay-walling" my artwork, or making commissions only accessible through Patreon. I have no plans of doing either of those things! All of my finished artwork will still be posted online for you to see. Patreon is just a great way for people who want a little bit more to help support me a bit more too. ♥

Thank you all so much for your support, and please, check out my Patreon page if you have the chance! Even if you can't or don't want to pledge right now, I'd love to hear some feedback!

www.Patreon.com/NeonSlushie

Super excited to announce that I'm going to be a Guest of Honor at Painted Desert Fur Con!! EXCITE! Check out their website for more info!

If you want to go, you can use the code "neonslushieGOH" at checkout OR the link this link to get 10% off your registration!

I hope to see you there, I can't wait! :D

💖🌵🌄

Hey everyone!

For those of you who do not follow me on Twitter or just missed it, I started a new way of taking commissions for references this year.

It used to just be a free-for-all where I would stay open all the time and people would submit applications for fursuit references through my website and I would complete them as I go - I was able to handle this method for the past 5 or so years! But demand has been increasing a lot, and the last month of 2017 that I was open, I got about 50 commissions, which is more than I can complete comfortably in my turnaround time.

I have decided to stick to monthly openings, opening the 1st of every month and only taking the first 20 applicants, and the commissions would be completed before I open again the next month. This is a very comfy amount that I can complete without struggle, and would hopefully allow me some extra time to work on personal art, relax, and maybe take other types of art commissions as I feel like it. Sounds great, right?

Well, the problem is that now my clients have to race against each other to try and even get a slot, and if they don't, do they just have to keep trying and trying again? Month after month? What if they're never fast enough?
I'm not the type to just go "too bad, so sad" and leave it at that. I want to work with my fanbase/clients to figure out a method that will work best for everyone, and importantly, best for me too. I don't want commission opening to be so stressful on everyone, and I want everyone to have a fair shot at getting a commission, if they want to. It shouldn't have to be such a crazy struggle. I opened for commissions January 1st at 10pm, and I got 35 applicants in about 10 minutes.

The temporary solution I've come up with so far is that the ~about~ 10 people who applied but did not make it in this round will automatically make it in when I open next month, assuming they still want the commission and are ready to pay for it. After those slots are sorted out, I will open the remaining slots to the public. This method seems to have some good potential, but are there any ways I can improve it?

Here are some other thoughts I've had, as well as other popular methods of taking commissions. I'll give my thoughts on them below:

1. First-Come-First-Served.
This is what I'm currently doing, and while its technically pretty fair, I still feel bad for those who might have slower internet, are international and have to wake up at odd hours, or have a lot of character information to type up/paste into the commission form. It's an alright option, but I want to know what works best for YOU - a potential client.

2. Raffle Style/Random Pick.
Another option I've considered. This one is maybe the most "fair" to everyone, but it still leaves a lot of potential for people to feel left out, as the "winners" are completely random. If I did this style, I would probably have to leave my commission form open for 1-2 hours if not more, which would lower everyone's chances of getting in because in that time frame I could get 50-100 commission applicants, instead of just 20-30. If I did this method, how would I handle the people not chosen being able to get in for the next round? I probably wouldn't be able to do that with this commission option.

3. Artist's Pick.
This is of course a tempting option, to just pick and choose my favorite designs and only do the ones I love the most... but... with my fursuit references I want everyone to have a fair chance of getting a reference, I don't want to only do "the prettiest designs". It's so tempting, but it's definitely the least fair on my clients.

SORRY THIS IS SUCH A WORDY JOURNAL! This is really important to me and I want to figure out the best option! Your honest feedback is really appreciated. Please comment if you have any ideas for me.

TWITTER POLL - VOTE ON YOUR FAVORITE OPTION

Thank you all so very much! Your support truly means the world to me.

I just made a Telegram Channel for commission openings and art related announcements!
It is free for anyone to join!

https://t.me/NeonSlushie

It's a channel, not a group, which means no message spam! Just a quick and easy way to be instantly notified when I have commissions open or another neat art offer!
Perfect for those who want to get commissions but always miss my openings!

As of this past Thursday, I am officially a graduate from College for Creative Studies, the school I've been attending the past 4 years.

This is huge for me. I don't talk about it much, but college was a real challenge. CCS is a fairly prestigious art school, the workload was more than overwhelming at times, and learning to be on my own out in the world was scary.
My first few years I was so sure I would give up and drop out- but that's just not my way. I take challenges head-on. I'm not one to give up easily under pressure. Not to mention the fact that I was doing full-time classes alongside full-time work (concept art). Not too many people can say they've been able to do both, but I managed to make it through! Proud to say I now have a BFA in Illustration.

This final year at school has been one of the best years of my life. Everyone in my class banded together as one beautiful, supportive family. Everyone is SO talented and so unique, it brings tears to my eyes to think that I won't be able to see them every day now like I've been so used to. The class of 2016 has such bright futures ahead of them and I'm so thankful I got to know them all.

With this long chapter of my life behind me, I look forward to my future and the opportunities that lie ahead. The freedom of no homework and classes will allow me to expand my business and brand of "NeonSlushie" and what that means.

Future plans:
-Expand NeonSlushie.com into a larger website that incorporates more of what I do- not just concept art
-Open an online store for my merchandise
-Offer more frequent commission openings for things besides concept art (badges, paintings, icons, etc.)
-More adoptable characters! Put my design skills to use
-Get more involved in the community/conventions
-Move out! Me and one of my best friends hope to get an apartment/house together soon

And in general just focus on improving my life :3

As incredibly sad as it is to move on past such a huge and important part of my life, I am very excited for what the future holds for me.

-Nico

Just putting a reminder here that I am ALWAYS open for Basic Concept Art!!

My concept art is great for fursuits by any maker! I can work in different styles by request, even realistic!
I have been doing this for over 5 years and have worked with several fursuit makers. I know what is and is not possible on a suit and can help you make the design work in 3-D form!

My concepts are very affordable and the turnaround time is very very quick!

If you are interested in commissioning Concept Art from me, just read all of my information here and follow the directions! There is no rush as I have unlimited spots! :)

Thank you everyone for all of your support over the years! I truly appreciate it. :D

www.NeonSlushie.com