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Posting, by hand
Posted 3 months agoWelcome to my journal breakdown how I post finished commissions. If you are interested in how to post by hand without automation tools then this is the little guide for you.
Completed commissions are sent to SelfDugGrave (me) for posting, and delivery. I write all my own templates which do help save on time and stress. I never use bots to do my work for me. See the very end for the tools I do use, and how I adapt overtime.
● After that, it's uploaded to FA
● FA includes the link to the ko-fi download, always.
● Due to posting by hand, it's impossible to automatically include additional links at the start.
● Next the finished piece is posted on, Bluesky respectively.
● Both Bluesky and mastodon use "Alt-Text" which is hand-written in real time.
● Tags are not universal between these platforms, and are also entered by hand, in real time. Furbooru's tags are our preferred standard.
● Alt-text is copied to match.
● FA link is provided in both posts, on both platforms in order to loop back.
● Estimated time to post to all 4 platforms: (~10-45m)
● Successful uploads to Bluesky and mastodon, are then copied back into FA, via the description.
● If you are too fast, you will see broken or empty URLS.
● Additionally the Bluesky link is copied into the ko-fi post as a bonus.
● This helps as Bluesky is the preferred platform for our current audience.
● Lastly, the final stop is over in the Telegram Channel.
● The FA link is provided as it houses all the other useful links.
● It is forwarded it to you directly, if you originally messaged us on Telegram Channel.
● If you did not reach out on Telegram Channel, you will be provided the FA link where you originally messaged us.
● ko-fi is an exception, as you would already be notified in your DMs there.
● Also houses most of our own personal references for our characters.
● Pixelfed is currently under construction.
● we have plans to turn this into our main portfolio.
● SoFurry a backup, when/if FA goes down.
● SoFurryBeta we used to use also over FA. Once again, a not so lively platform. FA stomps out the competition.
● Pillowfort was promising as a Tumblr knock-off. The communities are very tight and small. No wiggle room. Paid invites really lock it down.
● CoHost appeared to be THE solution to almost everyone's needs. They are no longer running. RIP Eggbug.
● GitGay is where the public queue and FAQ was hosted. Please see the FAQ for more info.
● Trellolong long ago where we had the public queue. | Now I use, Gitlab! Way too bloated for what it is. Too demanding.
Now you have a better understanding on how I do things behind the scenes. Why this can take a lot of out me when posting multiple times a day, within hours. It can be done. Does not mean it should be done. Most can wait an extra day or so. This is also why I now push my BMC (Buy Me a Coffee) a little more frequently now, as this helps remind me there are those of you out there who do care about me, what I do, and feel that I deserve a little treat. My tiers are locked at $1, but in the bigger stretch if I have about 8 of you minimum, then yes I can head out and grab a coffee for reals, and sip it with the warm reminder that you are all proud of me, and happy with the work that I do. Thank you
I don't gatekeep with the tools I use, and I am very open to share and encourage others who are interested in doing things by hand to try these out.
Paper and pen - yup. I'm serious. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
Obsidian - massive workhorse, with a fantastic "everything everywhere all at once" and the ability to zoom way far out for a maximum overview.
Gitlab (or any flavor of git tbh) - I think it works a lot better than Trello, and is far far more streamlined, and easier for me to use.
There's plenty of other tools out there like Notion who can "do it all" and hey if that's what works for you, go for it. Maybe you don't like Obsidian because it's not FOSS, more power to you. Use ZIMWiki instead, it's pretty much the same thing, and extremely lightweight. Maybe you don't like Git at all and find it too confusing. I would suggest ignoring "fancy developer" talk and treat it like you would a blog, or Tumblr with an admin panel. Have a look at how I set things up, and you'll see it's really not that bad. Hell you can even store all your "journal" entries there if you really wanted (and it comes with RSS) so don't give up on Git too easily!
All that's left is a routine. Figure out what times work best for you, and manage your time carefully. If you have the ability to work with a friend, or partner, or even hire somebody else to help take some of the load off your shoulders, do that.
Completed commissions are sent to SelfDugGrave (me) for posting, and delivery. I write all my own templates which do help save on time and stress. I never use bots to do my work for me. See the very end for the tools I do use, and how I adapt overtime.
The Breakdown
● The full-res file is always uploaded first to, ko-fi● After that, it's uploaded to FA
● FA includes the link to the ko-fi download, always.
● Due to posting by hand, it's impossible to automatically include additional links at the start.
● Next the finished piece is posted on, Bluesky respectively.
● Both Bluesky and mastodon use "Alt-Text" which is hand-written in real time.
● Tags are not universal between these platforms, and are also entered by hand, in real time. Furbooru's tags are our preferred standard.
● Alt-text is copied to match.
● FA link is provided in both posts, on both platforms in order to loop back.
● Estimated time to post to all 4 platforms: (~10-45m)
● Successful uploads to Bluesky and mastodon, are then copied back into FA, via the description.
● If you are too fast, you will see broken or empty URLS.
● Additionally the Bluesky link is copied into the ko-fi post as a bonus.
● This helps as Bluesky is the preferred platform for our current audience.
● Lastly, the final stop is over in the Telegram Channel.
● The FA link is provided as it houses all the other useful links.
● It is forwarded it to you directly, if you originally messaged us on Telegram Channel.
● If you did not reach out on Telegram Channel, you will be provided the FA link where you originally messaged us.
● ko-fi is an exception, as you would already be notified in your DMs there.
Special Platforms
● Toyhouse is primarily used for adopts.● Also houses most of our own personal references for our characters.
● Pixelfed is currently under construction.
● we have plans to turn this into our main portfolio.
● SoFurry a backup, when/if FA goes down.
Inactive Platforms
● Weasyl used to be a preferred platform to FA. FA has far more activity. We tried for years to promote Weasyl and bring it back to life, this did not work out as you can imagine.● SoFurryBeta we used to use also over FA. Once again, a not so lively platform. FA stomps out the competition.
● Pillowfort was promising as a Tumblr knock-off. The communities are very tight and small. No wiggle room. Paid invites really lock it down.
● CoHost appeared to be THE solution to almost everyone's needs. They are no longer running. RIP Eggbug.
● GitGay is where the public queue and FAQ was hosted. Please see the FAQ for more info.
● Trello
Closing
Now you have a better understanding on how I do things behind the scenes. Why this can take a lot of out me when posting multiple times a day, within hours. It can be done. Does not mean it should be done. Most can wait an extra day or so. This is also why I now push my BMC (Buy Me a Coffee) a little more frequently now, as this helps remind me there are those of you out there who do care about me, what I do, and feel that I deserve a little treat. My tiers are locked at $1, but in the bigger stretch if I have about 8 of you minimum, then yes I can head out and grab a coffee for reals, and sip it with the warm reminder that you are all proud of me, and happy with the work that I do. Thank you
Tools I use
I don't gatekeep with the tools I use, and I am very open to share and encourage others who are interested in doing things by hand to try these out.
Paper and pen - yup. I'm serious. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
Obsidian - massive workhorse, with a fantastic "everything everywhere all at once" and the ability to zoom way far out for a maximum overview.
Gitlab (or any flavor of git tbh) - I think it works a lot better than Trello, and is far far more streamlined, and easier for me to use.
There's plenty of other tools out there like Notion who can "do it all" and hey if that's what works for you, go for it. Maybe you don't like Obsidian because it's not FOSS, more power to you. Use ZIMWiki instead, it's pretty much the same thing, and extremely lightweight. Maybe you don't like Git at all and find it too confusing. I would suggest ignoring "fancy developer" talk and treat it like you would a blog, or Tumblr with an admin panel. Have a look at how I set things up, and you'll see it's really not that bad. Hell you can even store all your "journal" entries there if you really wanted (and it comes with RSS) so don't give up on Git too easily!
All that's left is a routine. Figure out what times work best for you, and manage your time carefully. If you have the ability to work with a friend, or partner, or even hire somebody else to help take some of the load off your shoulders, do that.
My Service, My Time, My Worth
Posted 3 months agoThis journal entry is written to display part of my workflow, and show off exactly how my time is distributed.
I have written up the primary index and guides for
caffeinatedcultist
and manage the Carrd, website, all platforms, you name it- It's likely all me. Being able to be in multiple places all at once is pretty exhausting, but I am very proud of what I do. Sometimes I burn out and need to take a day or two off, because on average I push 12-16hr shifts of total active work time. Not many would dare do what I do for this long, and keep it together. I also don't encourage it!
For now I want to focus on my commissioning breakdown, and different types of ways I take on an order. Please use this guide as a reference point. I have FA Notes turned off, but you can always reach out to me on Telegram.
In some cases, if we need to discuss more details, or come up with an idea together, then approximately ~1h. This is not a problem if we discuss this up-front and I understand we need to take more time to talk about your commission. I only ask that you remain respectful of course, and please try to schedule something with me.
I am more than happy to help when there is confusion, but when it comes to direct hand-holding, and spoon-feeding, this is where I start to draw the line. This is where I will begin to charge for my time, which is only fair. Art takes time to make, and sometimes so does the order itself. It's up to you to decide how long you'd like to spend ordering. The faster I can get you processed, the faster I can add you into the queue, and get art going. Once that's all done, post-processing occurs.
This is why I have and use, Buy Me A Coffee | here!!
I lock my pledge tiers at $1, but this wont prevent you from tipping me manually as you see fit. Upon extreme cases, I will not invoice you for your commission, until you've paid me for my time, which will be discussed before finalizing your order. In pure kindness cases, if you do believe I do a good job, and you like what I do, or simply want to throw me some coin, I always welcome it!
SelfDugGrave wrote:"Thank you to those of you who do read my little posts. I am thankful there are a handful of you who do see me and all of what I do. I apologize for the times some of you have seen me falling apart and virtually killing myself for this work, and slaving away for others who realistically don't matter. I am slowly working on building up my own self-worth and trying to better myself and practice self-care more frequently. Learning how to say "no" is one of my bigger challenges, but thanks to you (you know who you are) your help is truly taking root in me and I think with time things will be better."
Coordination Cultist
90% of what I do is writing. The rest is fixing things, taking orders, and networking. All of what I do is entirely for free. See all those posts, and the alt-text? The descriptions, the cross-linking? Tags? All of that is sort of my bread and butter. I don't rely on or trust automation tools, like Postybirb (although I understand how it could be helpful) it's just not for me. I personally prefer to be upset at myself than a tool if something goes wrong. This way I can correct by hand, in the same way everything else is written and done. I build all my own templates, and keep everything organized both digitally and physically to help me stay on top of everything I manage and coordinate.I have written up the primary index and guides for
caffeinatedcultistand manage the Carrd, website, all platforms, you name it- It's likely all me. Being able to be in multiple places all at once is pretty exhausting, but I am very proud of what I do. Sometimes I burn out and need to take a day or two off, because on average I push 12-16hr shifts of total active work time. Not many would dare do what I do for this long, and keep it together. I also don't encourage it!
For now I want to focus on my commissioning breakdown, and different types of ways I take on an order. Please use this guide as a reference point. I have FA Notes turned off, but you can always reach out to me on Telegram.
The Ideal Process
If the original instructions are followed, this should only take about ~15-25m max.Active Discussion
In some cases, if we need to discuss more details, or come up with an idea together, then approximately ~1h. This is not a problem if we discuss this up-front and I understand we need to take more time to talk about your commission. I only ask that you remain respectful of course, and please try to schedule something with me.
Extreme Cases
Extreme cases, require me to spend over 1h, and sometimes even days to weeks to not only take the order, but process it beyond my control. This is due to several factors; Redirecting to the TOS, answering questions, repeating commissioning instructions, offering quotes, providing other information regarding rendering, canvas size, or even TAT and total estimated time for the commission.I am more than happy to help when there is confusion, but when it comes to direct hand-holding, and spoon-feeding, this is where I start to draw the line. This is where I will begin to charge for my time, which is only fair. Art takes time to make, and sometimes so does the order itself. It's up to you to decide how long you'd like to spend ordering. The faster I can get you processed, the faster I can add you into the queue, and get art going. Once that's all done, post-processing occurs.
This is why I have and use, Buy Me A Coffee | here!!
I lock my pledge tiers at $1, but this wont prevent you from tipping me manually as you see fit. Upon extreme cases, I will not invoice you for your commission, until you've paid me for my time, which will be discussed before finalizing your order. In pure kindness cases, if you do believe I do a good job, and you like what I do, or simply want to throw me some coin, I always welcome it!
SelfDugGrave wrote:"Thank you to those of you who do read my little posts. I am thankful there are a handful of you who do see me and all of what I do. I apologize for the times some of you have seen me falling apart and virtually killing myself for this work, and slaving away for others who realistically don't matter. I am slowly working on building up my own self-worth and trying to better myself and practice self-care more frequently. Learning how to say "no" is one of my bigger challenges, but thanks to you (you know who you are) your help is truly taking root in me and I think with time things will be better."
20250625 - Navigational Sheets
Posted 4 months agoCross-post directly from my Telegram Channel:
Here is the update some of you have been waiting for, and tbh I have been trying to figure out exactly HOW to do this. Now it's here! No really you can view all of them so far on my Gitlab repo!
So what is this? You're looking at a spreadsheet, yes. A spreadsheet that now documents each and all posts I make across our platforms.
Why is this special? Well. Like many of you are used to Trello, I figured I can do something much better and more my style and speed. 100% manual as per my usual flow.
Why should you care? This makes all posts easy to navigate to from anywhere. Now I can reference these and make sure I hit all marks when needed. -- As you can see in this sheet I am missing: Mastodon, Bluesky, Furbooru, and a few odds and ends there. Now I can go back and add them when I post the rest!
I think this is pretty cool, and it shows everything off in public in real-time.
Here is the update some of you have been waiting for, and tbh I have been trying to figure out exactly HOW to do this. Now it's here! No really you can view all of them so far on my Gitlab repo!
So what is this? You're looking at a spreadsheet, yes. A spreadsheet that now documents each and all posts I make across our platforms.
Why is this special? Well. Like many of you are used to Trello, I figured I can do something much better and more my style and speed. 100% manual as per my usual flow.
Why should you care? This makes all posts easy to navigate to from anywhere. Now I can reference these and make sure I hit all marks when needed. -- As you can see in this sheet I am missing: Mastodon, Bluesky, Furbooru, and a few odds and ends there. Now I can go back and add them when I post the rest!
I think this is pretty cool, and it shows everything off in public in real-time.
Public Queue Launch
Posted 6 months agoI guess it was only a matter of time before I simply sat down and just made a new public queue. I have outlined why I did not want to manage one both in the TOS, and the FAQ. However time and time again, people kept asking and it never stopped. So now I figure maybe there is a way I can give people what they want, and not put too much stress on myself. Then it hit me.
Why not just make it myself? No Trello. No random site. Just stick it back where it used to already exist. I wouldn't need to change much. It would be a single file, again just a list. Right? I already have a 700-word document on filenames and how I personally process and log information down for all this. So why not put two and two, together?
As much disdain I feel, I am happy to present something so basic, and you know what. I am proud of it.
For caffeinatedcultist
Public Queue | Wiki
Why not just make it myself? No Trello. No random site. Just stick it back where it used to already exist. I wouldn't need to change much. It would be a single file, again just a list. Right? I already have a 700-word document on filenames and how I personally process and log information down for all this. So why not put two and two, together?
As much disdain I feel, I am happy to present something so basic, and you know what. I am proud of it.
For
caffeinatedcultistPublic Queue | Wiki
Gallery Update
Posted 7 months agoLet's see. So I found out even more difficulties when working with Ko-Fi, and I know why other artists simply use it as a tip jar, and literally don't bother with it. It's such a pain.
Want to arrange your albums, maybe move a few photos to a different album? Can't do that. Not on Ko-Fi.
I went ahead and just deleted all the albums, for now. The gallery itself it already here on FA. Also on Mastodon. Weasyl. Pixelfed. Telegram. Etc etc.
I'm still actually trying to fix up FA stuff as I go. To avoid stress I try to tackle about 3-5 per day. Sucks I got sick but I think I'm finally over it, so im basically back in the full swing of things now! (yay.)
Already hit 100 on FA, and 300 on Telegram. That's pretty cool. Definitely want to celebrate that!
Public Queue is legitimately still down, you can read more about why this is from the provider: here! So with hat being down, I don't have a proper way to show off how the queue works anymore. I don't mind waiting for it to come back. I already moved from Gitlab. So I don't feel like moving again.
Commissions are going good, and eveything is returning to normal (again we both got sick so that set us back a tiny bit.)
That's it for now. Short short update.
Want to arrange your albums, maybe move a few photos to a different album? Can't do that. Not on Ko-Fi.
I went ahead and just deleted all the albums, for now. The gallery itself it already here on FA. Also on Mastodon. Weasyl. Pixelfed. Telegram. Etc etc.
I'm still actually trying to fix up FA stuff as I go. To avoid stress I try to tackle about 3-5 per day. Sucks I got sick but I think I'm finally over it, so im basically back in the full swing of things now! (yay.)
Already hit 100 on FA, and 300 on Telegram. That's pretty cool. Definitely want to celebrate that!
Public Queue is legitimately still down, you can read more about why this is from the provider: here! So with hat being down, I don't have a proper way to show off how the queue works anymore. I don't mind waiting for it to come back. I already moved from Gitlab. So I don't feel like moving again.
Commissions are going good, and eveything is returning to normal (again we both got sick so that set us back a tiny bit.)
That's it for now. Short short update.
Health update & FA stuff
Posted 7 months agoI am still sick yes, but I am recovering, and I am still resting a lot. However because those of you who know me, know I can't help myself. So when I have a tiny bit of energy, I try to tackle some stuff. So I've been slowly working through FA.
There's a new journal to explain caffeinatedcultist main OC/mascotsona Follower. Check it out, here. I went ahead and linked that journal back in every single post that ever mentioned Follower.
Next I added a splash of color on the profile to make it even easier to see when commissions are open. Profile: here.
I also went ahead and fixed up some former posts with broken links. Not eveything is up and running yet but that's okay. I'm getting there. This means I've tweaked the primary signature template to once again, have a splash of color! I added a line about "no AI or Machine learning." hopefully that helps. And I went ahead and added individual links to "price sheets."
Since we are not doing traditional commission sheets anymore. We have learned single example sheets with prices work a lot better. That's now included in the signature, so everyone can simply click on the sheet they want to look at. Each sheet will point to the next sheet in line, and I've marked it with a little ⭐ emoji so you can track where you're at. Neat!
I've reworked a lot of descriptions, tags, and even tweaked some titles, and organized the folders better.
All the static reference sheets should now be all uploaded, which means I've indexed them on the original sheet, here! yay!
I am working through backing up the former YCHs, but that is going to take me a little more time, and energy I don't currently have.
As you can see, even when I'm sick, I can still get things done, without overdoing it. I appreciate those of you who are concerned about my health, and have given me kind words of support, or even donated to help me get some OTC medicine!
There's a new journal to explain
caffeinatedcultist main OC/mascotsona Follower. Check it out, here. I went ahead and linked that journal back in every single post that ever mentioned Follower. Next I added a splash of color on the profile to make it even easier to see when commissions are open. Profile: here.
I also went ahead and fixed up some former posts with broken links. Not eveything is up and running yet but that's okay. I'm getting there. This means I've tweaked the primary signature template to once again, have a splash of color! I added a line about "no AI or Machine learning." hopefully that helps. And I went ahead and added individual links to "price sheets."
Since we are not doing traditional commission sheets anymore. We have learned single example sheets with prices work a lot better. That's now included in the signature, so everyone can simply click on the sheet they want to look at. Each sheet will point to the next sheet in line, and I've marked it with a little ⭐ emoji so you can track where you're at. Neat!
I've reworked a lot of descriptions, tags, and even tweaked some titles, and organized the folders better.
All the static reference sheets should now be all uploaded, which means I've indexed them on the original sheet, here! yay!
I am working through backing up the former YCHs, but that is going to take me a little more time, and energy I don't currently have.
As you can see, even when I'm sick, I can still get things done, without overdoing it. I appreciate those of you who are concerned about my health, and have given me kind words of support, or even donated to help me get some OTC medicine!
Reducing my workload
Posted 8 months agoTo cut down on my own workload, I'll be trying to switch to FA caffeinatedcultist for my primary index.
This means from now on I will not be multi-linking in posts anymore.
Eveything will remain the same inside the initial post.
Ko-Fi will always point to Bluesky in the comments.
Bluesky will point to FA and Ko-Fi.
Mastodon will only point to FA from now on.
Any other platforms, will likely all point to FA.
If you don't have an FA account, this shouldn't affect you at all. I make a very big effort to assure eveything is reachable regardless if you have an account somewhere or not. Ko-Fi for example would be priority as that's where you pickup your full-res file. You don't need an account for that.
I will also still forward your finished commissions directly to you, if you have Telegram and have DM'd me upon commissioning. Obviously if you don't have Telegram, or never provided me any of your platforms. I cannot reach out to you.
I will still manage the public queue on my own.
Thank you for reading, if you have chosen to read all of this. I appreciate you a lot. Tiny wins. They keep me going.
- Velvet
caffeinatedcultist for my primary index.This means from now on I will not be multi-linking in posts anymore.
Eveything will remain the same inside the initial post.
Ko-Fi will always point to Bluesky in the comments.
Bluesky will point to FA and Ko-Fi.
Mastodon will only point to FA from now on.
Any other platforms, will likely all point to FA.
If you don't have an FA account, this shouldn't affect you at all. I make a very big effort to assure eveything is reachable regardless if you have an account somewhere or not. Ko-Fi for example would be priority as that's where you pickup your full-res file. You don't need an account for that.
I will also still forward your finished commissions directly to you, if you have Telegram and have DM'd me upon commissioning. Obviously if you don't have Telegram, or never provided me any of your platforms. I cannot reach out to you.
I will still manage the public queue on my own.
Thank you for reading, if you have chosen to read all of this. I appreciate you a lot. Tiny wins. They keep me going.
- Velvet
