Totally non-obligatory!

Here is my wishlist on Amazon: http://amzn.com/w/2PH2RUZL2V95O mostly art textbooks because I have so much to learn still!

My two favorite charities are also:
https://www.heifer.org (please, if you're at a loss for a gift for a friend buy a friend a cow/sheep/goat in their name, this charity helps so many people I can't even express, they've empowered whole communities of women. Incredible work).
and
https://www.mainelyratrescue.org (rats rule!)

Just to remind again,totally non-obligatory =)

Money is tight for me this year, so instead of posting your own wishlist which I will never be able to fulfill, please feel free to post references to a character or two. I'll be picking a couple to do ballpoint pen watercolor sketches over the next couple weeks =)

Use this form:
Christmas theme ok y/n? If not, what theme?
Character ref links (up to two characters):
Very brief description, personality etc:
Adult ok: yes/no/only tasteful nudity/YES PLEASE

Well, didn't get quite as much done as I hoped, threw my lower back out (I'm assuming because I had a foot injury last week and probably hurt it when limping) but I did manage to work through some of it and finish Ace's badge and some sketches which i will post soon. Took today off from my office job to recover, since I couldn't imagine getting up and sitting back down as I helped people with equipment.

Am greatly looking forward to the holidays,  atraties is working overtime until Christmas day. Since we've had limited time together we've been making it special--I never really watched the StarWars movies (*gasp* I know) so we're starting at IV and making our way through them. Enjoyable =) We've also been trying out the StarWars mini's game which I'm not too bad at =D

Yesterday was the first day our new baby rabbits left their nest, poor mum was inundated with the bravest ones who kept trying to sneak some milk out of her! She feeds on a 2 times a day schedule, so they were out of luck. She's a good mum though, bathing them thoroughly and acting as a footstool so that they could sample food from her trough. So cute!

I've been studying up on new watercolor techniques today, since I couldn't move about freely. I learned some new ways of controlling watercolor paint that I can't wait to try out!

Have  Anbessa's last painting in the mid stages, carefully glazing the background. I'll try to post a WIP when it's in a less ugly stage--I've found my work ALWAYS reaches this odd stage where I'm convinced it's ruined right before it all comes together. Should be finished relatively soon.

I should be finishing up most of the smaller items on my list this weekend as well, the plan is a good 16 hours of studio time between tomorrow and sunday to get caught up. I also need to post a couple random things. Everything finished this weekend will go out by wednesday next week. I will be posting a sketch for  wolfattwilight's pet portrait and a finished badge for Ace. Next is a sketch for WeirdWolf.

For the next month I am running a sale on my Etsy account, 10% off your purchase for the weekend: using the code FADA1110
My shop is here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Stormslegacy?ref=si_shop you can find critter jewelry, small art, etc.

If you like my pet portraits, I am offering lovely parchment gift-certificates that can be given as gifts, that way people can choose for themselves how their pet is to be represented. These start at $38.50 which includes a pet portrait of a single animal, shipping of both the gift certificate and the cost of shipping the portrait in the US.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WmrWUEIJo&feature=youtu.be

I've been studying from so many books so long, how is it I'm only now learning that highlights can be BSed so well? o.o

Feeling brave? You heard me =) Random porn grab-bags.

I have at least 15 each of male and female. You tell me me which sex and I ship out to you a grab-bag of old prints, sketches, original ATCs and even a recent full-color watercolor original in a couple. I need some funds and need to clear out the storage space in my studio and this seemed like it might be a fun way to do it =D.

$8 each, 2 for $15

I will ship multiples in the same envelope, if you want each "bag" separated (like when buying for friends) let me know =)
Shipping is $3.50 in the US with DC and $4.50 first-class abroad (if porn is legal to ship to your country).
Payment through paypal.

Comment here if you want one! I will note you payment instructions.

If you like male horses you are in even better luck, I draw them so much that I can make a bag that's just pony for you, just let me know in the comments. I might even be able to make a couple unique ones if you need =). I'm afraid all other species are just random, sorry!

I can guarantee you:
-You will get at least 3 pieces, some bags have up to 5
-at least one thing in each bag will be a 8.5X11 color print
-No repeats within a grab-bag (I try to vary the species as well unless asked, but no promises)
-Everything in the bags is anthro
-Everything is the sex that you pick (you may ask for a mix, that's cool too!)
-Most of the sketches are more recent but the prints are older. A couple prints are minor misprints, I usually put those in bags with originals or with 4 or more things.
-if you buy 2 bags there will be no repeats, I cannot make that promise for 3, 4 or 5 although there will be at least one different piece in each envelope.
-if ordered and paid for in the next couple days all will be shipped by friday, and if ordered by this weekend the rest will be shipped monday

Lastly, I can tell you that most people that bought them at Furfright came back for more ^_^

So much to write!

So the hurricane passed us by with minimal damage, thank god. Several trees fell and there was some minor damage to the driveway but nothing like the Hell that's going on in NY and NJ. My heart goes out to y'all.

FF was great! I really enjoyed seeing new and old faces =) I got to chat with old friends and meet some awesome new people, it's why Furfright is easily my favorite convention. This year we brought my dog Rico. I couldn't believe how well-behaved he was! A little over a year ago we were nervous that his reactivity meant that he could never go anywhere or do anyhing in the public and yet we even had a fire alarm and a wait outside with a crowd of a thousand people without any incidents! We've been working so hard on his behavior, I'm thrilled to have evidence that we're getting good results =)

I spent most of FF behind my table or in the Zoo finishing commissions from the day before. It was a bit hectic =)

Also, kinda random but I am now the moderator for the breedable dragon community run by  Blitzava. Escorander Estates is a breedble sculpture game where real genetics play a strong role. You can find me on the forums keeping things in check (although it's really not needed, people are pretty awesome =D)

Two weeks ago I went to a big local art event called Paint and Pixel in Northampton. I had my portfolio evaluated by five experts in the field of illustration including Greg Ruth, David White and Rebecca Guay. I was very lucky to be given this opportunity, it was awesome to hear critique from those in the business. The advice I was given (none of them communicated with each other) was very consistent. Essentially, the biggest problem with my work is that my style is lacking. According to 3 of the 5, my skills with watercolor are competent and strong enough to be considered professional however my style is limiting me in the commercial field. Rebecca Guay gave me some tasks to help me overcome this barrier that will take some months to complete. Essentially, I'm going to try to purge my current style and start from scratch, this time in a directed manner that will end in something I can sell better. My goal is to get noticed by Wizards of the Coast and hopefully get art on a Magic card someday =D. I was amazed to hear that not only did they think it possible but that I could do it in a reasonable amount of time if I fix my style. Wish me luck!

I will be finishing all of my current list before beginning these tasks. Once these commissions are complete you can expect my work to go into some awkward pupal stage for a while as I muddle through things. I'm going to try to focus mostly on pet portraits to make money as they already have a specific style I use and I don't think they will interfere with the process.

My next convention isn't until Arisia 2013, so that will give me plently of time to calm down with things.

Will try to write up a report when i have a little more energy. In the meantime trying to prep the house for the oncoming hurricane. I'm a bit nervous as to what will come, here's hoping it's all hype and not, as some have been saying "the perfect storm." Hurricane Irene was really bad, so I'm nervous as to what may come.

It shall all blow over, no?

I've been practicing and reading a lot, and thought I might share some of the resources I've been lucky enough to have either stumbled across or recommended to me.

EBooks
If you read nothing else in your pursuit of art, read Loomis. I'm not just saying that because it's FREE (yes, FREE) but also because they are some of the best books on the subject of drawing out there. You can download PDFs of them here
http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/
You can also buy hardcopies for inexpensive on Amazon.com if that's more your thing.

Websites:
http://www.ctrlpaint.com/ for digital painting mostly but has some great tutorials that can be broadly applied
http://talesofamalthea.com/ Terryl Whitlatch's site on creature design

Blogs (too many to name, so a couple of my favorites):
http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/ Gurney of Dinotopia fame's blog. Wonderful stuff =D
http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/ One of my favorite places to read for inspiration, kept by a number of professionals in creature design and concept art. So much to learn!

There are some awesome resources available on Youtube. Some of my favorites:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ProkoTV.....eature=g-all-u Proko, has several head tutorials using the Loomis method, and is currently doing a series on facial features.
http://www.youtube.com/user/fzdscho.....e=results_main Design School with Feng. Great stuff.

Gesture Tools
The first has some awesome tips to get you started. Gesturing is the #1 thing that will improve your art, I highly recommend giving it a try. After you have a bit of practice at that you can also try drawing from videos.
http://artists.pixelovely.com/pract.....igure-drawing/ Pixielovely--great layout and wonderful stuff, both people and animals
http://lovecastle.org/draw/ has some limited animal resources, has an engine for hands and faces which is helpful.

Lastly, as I am fairly far from most zoos, for animal subjects one of my favorite places to go to for videos to sketch from (remember the photos are copyrighted, you can copy for private practice but never for finished works. I recommend sketching from videos, you'll find you get a lot of life to your work):
https://www.arkive.org

I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention all of the resources available at Conceptart.org. There's a lot of great advice and tutorials. The key is to not be too timid—there are some strong personalities on there. I recommend a lot of looking and listening to get the lay of the land before posting, some of the people can be a little harsh to newbies. Just be polite and don't let that discourage you.

Am making progress, in the late stages of the horse commission for Anbessa and in the first layers of the shading on the tigress, waiting for that to dry =) I am trying out some new knowledge on how to plan out the values in the composition based on Andrew Loomis's Creative Illustration and am finding that I am getting much better results than with the planning methods I've previously used.

Two weeks from now I will be at Furfright! I was confirmed as a dealer last year, so am ready for selling! Yay! I will be offering some slots for badges there, and will take some home but I have a limit of 10 badges this year, unless I get though the at-con ones quicker than expected. I will be selling prints, pendants and earrings.

On the homesteading front, the latest breedings on the rabbits didn't take, our poor buck must be experiencing heat sterility after we had a heat wave in July. Not one of the three girls was pregnant. Sunny, our californian doe has been replaced by Delight, a Cinnamon bun. We were not happy with the temperament of the Cal and will not be trying that breed again despite it's high productivity. Coureton and I want to stick with the heritage breeds.

We purchased some heirloom garlic breeds from a local farmer to start planting this year and we are trying to save some of the seeds from our current crop of tomatoes. I can't wait to plan the vegetable garden for next year.

I've gotten all smaller outstanding projects done, and significant progress has been made on the three paintings on my list. I expect to post the refined sketches this weekend, I have the largest one done, fixed most of the anatomy issues in the tigress, and am in the process of elaborating on the background in the two smaller paintings.

I got half the packages out, I have a couple more things to ship and then am finally caught up completely.

Also I quit my second job! I put in notice and my last day was 2 weeks ago. I've been using the extra time catching up on a lot of housework that had been neglected and also packing for the new studio. I didn't realize quite how over my head I had become, it really became apparent recently. I'm in the process of creating a realistic schedule so that does not happen again. I also hadn't realized the effects on my life that it was having--I was extremely unhappy with the situation and think it may have been a driving factor in the depression I suffered recently.

In other news, our rabbits are doing well! Our American Blue female is now at breeding age and boy is she beautiful. She could easily be the rabbit in the photo on the standard, a lovely mandolin shape, and beautiful blue coat free of white hair. We should have our first purebred litter this fall, and hope to add her genetics to recovery efforts. We would like to show her when we get the chance, but sadly weren't able to enter her in this past show. Maybe next spring =)

I've been a little over my head with the sheer amount of work I've needed to get done in "real life" recently. That said, things are about to change:  Atraties got a new job that looks solid and once debts are paid we are in a long-term financial position that I will be quitting that second job within the next month or so, and will focus more on the art side of things.

I've been a bit slow in shipping due to the car-sharing and other issues, most things currently on my list should ship this weekend, I will let individuals know when things go out. With how busy things have been, time kinda ran-away with me and what seemed like a short delay turned into a month or more, I apologize >_<. I have no real excuse, just lack of awareness. .

For the next two months, my work plans are this: Color the Capybaron commission tomorrow night, along with the pendant commission. Next, the plan is to tighten up the sketches for  Anbessa's projects, adding hints of a scene for each of the two singles and plotting out the perspective of the last piece with a T-square. While I do this, I am also using my free-time when at work to produce ACEOs and sketches for quick paintings of my little ponies in the style of this: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/8196985/ with the goal of three colored pieces by Tuesday next week. This will ensure that I have some nice, clean works on my table at Bronycon because it is possible that my pinups will not be well-received. After Bronycon in two weeks, my art-time will no longer be split between commissions and prints and I will clear out my list completely. I will not be taking on any commissions for a while afterwards, so that I can recover from these past few months.

In September  Blitzava and I are signed on to do a booth at the big Pet Expo in Boston. Expect to see a lot of pet portrait-type things from me in the late summer until then.  Blitzava and I are plotting out a one-shot comic together, to-be-announced later this summer hopefully, and after that experiment I will seriously sit down and start getting to work on mine so that I can release it.

My home-studio is in the last stages of being completed, you can see a photo of my partner putting in the lighting here: http://hillsidehomestead.blogspot.c.....s-growing.html I am so excited! This was the reason we bought the house, and it has been delayed from the original date of completion by close to exactly a year due to all sorts of trouble. I've been working from my kitchen table which is not set up in any way for an artist, so this should really improve my quality!

Once that is finished I hope to use the space to produce larger and better quality illustrations for my portfolio. I would like to get very serious about art, and I feel I've demonstrated a level-up recently. I'm now at that intermediate stage where things look how I mean them to, though I still have a ways to go on composition and backgrounds.

Thank you those who stopped by my table for Anime Boston, Nauticon and Anime Next! It was wonderful to meet so many awesome people!

I am currently closing for new commissions but may reopen in late summer or fall. This does not affect anyone on my current list. I've been having the beginning tinges of burnout due to the convention season and some events in my "real" life, so after Bronycon and finishing everything on my current list I plan to take some of my rare free-time for myself on my own projects.

I have some awesome commissions on my list though, and really look forward to doing them! I finally get to do more watercolor, which I greatly enjoy. I will probably no longer offer non-badge marker commissions regularly, except as pet portraits.

The rats are doing well, though i'm really hoping they are adopted soon. These two girls are the very past of their group, surprising since they are such pretty colors and one is so sweet. The rabbits are also doing well, we've been giving them toys to play with. Dawn's babies are friendlier than Sunny's. We also got new rabbit, Twilight. She's a purebred American Blue, this time in Blue. She and Umbra will hopefully produce some lovely babies, probably in a mix of black, white and blue. As always, more pics and news at the Hillside Homestead, kept by  Atraties and I http://hillsidehomestead.blogspot.com/

Ugh, I spent the day playing phone tag between my referring doctor, the hospital that performed a procedure, and my insurance company. Yesterday when I got home from work, I came back to a nice big bill in my mailbox--my insurance company refused the bill because they said I had visited an out-of-network carrier.

I'm frustrated, as I had dotted the i's, slashed my Ts...I went to a PCP and he told me I needed an ultrasound done to help diagnose pain I've been having. I told them I was uncomfortable with the place they were referring me to because my insurance is limited, but they said that I had their referral etc...I then proceeded to talk to the hospital and the billing receptionist had actually delayed my appointment for 20 minutes and ASSURED ME that she had looked into it and this was definitely covered. I told them, I have a limited plan and cannot afford it if she was wrong...she told me it was fine.

It wasn't covered at all. When i contacted my insurance there's no record of her contacting them at all.

Now I am slapped with a bill that's over $1000. I *just* paid $800 in taxes because there had been a mistake and my employer had been taking the wrong amount, and because my art is self-employed I owed other taxes on that to the state as well (to-be-fair, that I had planned for and had saved...the rest not so much). That drained the remaining amount in my savings.

And the most irking thing is that the ultrasound didn't even find anything--with the conditions I'm looking at timing is crucial, and we were off this time. That 1k is for nothing. In order to get diagnosed I may have to have several done. I don't even know. I'm trying to get my insurance to cover a portion because it HAD to be done and they would have had to cover it if I went in network--I might be able to manage the difference if there is one.

I will be opening for commissions to help cover costs. I may consider taking on a painting as well, if someone is interested. More details will follow.

Pics available at ourblog, I'll try to take some nice ones and post them over the next couple of days ^_^

http://www.hillsidehomestead.blogsp.....bies.html#more

8 fat, sassy and healthy newborns. No runts, peanuts or still-borns. For a doe's first litter that's pretty impressive! It looks like they're all black agouti, I think with silvering, but only time will tell! The genetics of cremes seems to be debatable XD

Expecting our first litter of rabbits tonight! They have a Creme De'Argent mother and American Blue father. Should be beautiful little agouti bundles of joy.

Dawn began her nest this morning, She chewed through the cardboard box we had added to her shelter and built the nest up behind. We helped make sure it was lined properly and are hoping that all goes well. It's her first litter, so while we are full of high hopes the reality will possibly be that none make it. Only time will tell.

Unless the female has some interesting genetics in there, my guess is that the litter will be half and half blue agouti and opal. Will post pics when they are born =D A second litter is due in two weeks because we couldn't get the other female to take the first breeding.

For rescuers among my watchers, I promise I didn't go from rescue into BYB schemes--these are meat rabbits and are bred because for health reasons  atraties are having difficulty becoming vegetarians (me, poor iron absorption, him, missing 8 feet of intestine and cant' process vegetable matter as well) and we decided the best way we could fight industrial meat was to grow it ourselves. Our rabbits have a lot of space, toys, attention etc. They just so happen to also give us edible babies. We also chose at-risk breeds so that our breeding program will help contribute to genetic diversity (we'll be focusing on American blues and creme lines when we can find good stock to match ours with.)

Pictures of the parents:
http://hillsidehomestead.blogspot.c.....here.html#more

I've been in the mood to sketch but lacking ideas, would anyone be interested in a quick round of sketch commissions? I will take 5. Payment is through paypal, and these will be finished this weekend.

My sketches have only gotten better since last round, for an idea of where my skills are please check out my recent scraps.

Characters can be rated G-X, anthro, feral, human, taur...any species. Clothes are good.

Sketch Prices are:
$7 Bust
$10 one character full-body
$15 for two characters (bust or full depending on pose and the complexity of the characters)

These are blue and grey pencil on white cardstock. I'd prefer not to ship (rural PO hours and working two jobs means I'm a slow shipper,) but if you would like the original shipping is $2.50 extra.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Because of the ability to put pictures in the journals, my DA journal is easier to read:
http://stormslegacy.deviantart.com/.....Sale-296652135

Several of my prints got damaged last convention, and I need to recoup some of the losses to get more printed. The damage is very minor unless otherwise stated. These prints are $5 off my normal price before shipping costs. They include all 4 of my most popular paintings, so if you'd been interested in getting a print of one of my watercolors, please check it out =)

I am taking a couple pre-order badges if anyone is interested, provided communication goes smoothly they will be done for pickup on friday of the convention. I offer 10% off all pre-orders, you can see my badge examples in my signature, or see it laid out with photos here:http://stormslegacy.deviantart.com/journal/Price-Sheet-252985334

Badges only, I won't accept preorders for anything else.

Got into Nauticon for one of the artist tables!

It's a 21+ convention for anime/sci-fi/geekery in Provincetown MA. I'm really looking forward to it!

The best part of all is that it's at the Cape just for the start of the summer season. I haven't been to the beach in a couple of years and have been dying to go. I plan to spend some time near the shore if possible =D

Have been very busy, but things are starting to smooth out, and with the changes in weather, things feel a lot more manageable. This winter was very depressing, and despite the "mild" winter in the valley, in the mountains we spent a lot of time taking care of snow.

I just turned 26 the week before last, and as I hit the end of my mid twenties, I find myself a bit nervous about the future. I'm working very hard in two jobs that are fairly dead-end. I mean, I enjoy one of them, the receptionist position in a department in the local university, and it's a pleasant place to work, but unless I plan to do administrative work, it's not where I see myself in 5 years. I'm good at it, but it's sad how few people respect the real work it takes to be academic staff. In the past year I've had so many people ask me the question "what are you doing here?" and not realizing it can be quite hurtful.

I studied to be a biologist, and really wanted to go into environmental science or Ornithology. Unfortunately most of my actual experience is with laboratory work, and I've found that as I've gained more experience I've had more and more difficulty working in a lab--I have an anxiety disorder and am afraid of chemicals, a terrible handicap that hasn't been mitigated with treatment. At the moment, for my second job I work part-time in a lab in an assistant position that is thankfully also heavy with administrative and billing work. Despite the fact that I am paid nearly minimum wage (yay loopholes -_-) I don't think I could find another position I can do in the industry without anxiety attacks. In the fields that are my dream like environmental science, it's expected that you work for free in the various internships that guard the door to sort those "truly dedicated" to the field. The reality is I don't have the resources or the support to do that. Many of the environmental jobs have been cut because of the recession, and a number of the jobs left are working for the very corporations I'd want to fight against.

Because I don't want to take on the risk of going for a second degree that may be worthless, I'm holding back until the situation improves. In the meantime I work so that I can have healthcare through an employer and decent benefits, even if the pay is low and the people treat me like I'm stupid because I don't have a PHD. Needless to say, it can be depressing, even when the work is OK. My new dream is to get to a point artisticly that I can feasibly conceive of living off of it alone. To that end, I have been studying almost every waking hour. This is why I haven't been producing much. I've been copying page after page from anatomy text books, measuring out perspective, studying light and form...and it's why the stuff I have been producing looks very different than the stuff before it. I hope, for the better! And i plan to stay with mostly animal subjects, because I do feel that my broad knowledge of animal behavior and anatomy will come in handy, so my degree isn't totally useless!

I will be taking on more work in the future, now that things are getting more steady. I did shut down my commissions temporarily, as I prep for Anime Boston which is usually my best convention of the year sales-wise. I hope that after the convention I can slow down the studying and produce some real work. I will be working towards producing true portfolio pictures and hope to have more to share with you soon. Also, I will be moving all of my adult art to a new account, as I want to separate this name from any adult work. I will announce it a week before, however if there is a particular piece you enjoy please save it because I may not reupload it if I don't like the quality.

And on a note for people who are studying art as well, I had the most amazing revelation when studying page 48 of Loomis's "Successful Drawing" (you can find a free online copy here: http://alexhays.com/loomis/) I had been struggling very much with perspective and hope that little trick solves the problems I'd been having. Maybe it will work for yours as well? I felt like my brain melted for a moment XD

I now has one.

If you love cute animal pics and art, as well as ramblings from a crazy gal from the mountains of MA then you may want to consider taking a look:

http://stormslegacy.tumblr.com/

Do share yours!

For valentine's day I did a post on the Hillside Homestead on the hidden costs of a rose.

http://www.hillsidehomestead.blogsp.....s-of-rose.html

Trust me, if you knew what chemicals they are slathered with, you probably wouldn't be sticking your nose in them. Since they aren't food items, it's perfectly OK if they're contaminated with neurotoxins o.o.

Please check it out, comments are appreciated =D

I got an IPad for Xmas and have been looking for fun thigns to put on it:

I like Sim games and I'm also looking for an app that can act like workflowy.com does (brain-mapping, i think it's called?). Anatomy apps rock too!

I prefer free buy am willing to pay if the app is real good.

I only have a couple so far, so it's unlikely I've tried much. Suggestions? My favorites so far as Pocket Frogs and the Skulls by Simon Winchester.

Bah. Am down with a cold, felt that tickle in my throat last night and woke up with headache, sore throat and muscle aches. DAMMIT. here's hoping for a fast recovery. Better a cold then the flu that's been going around >.>

 Atraties lost his job last week (it's a long story) so we're back to a whole new schedule. I wish these major life-changes would end already. We're also dealing with winter, which has thrown a wrench in some of our living as we have no way to clear our very long driveway.

I'm putting in many hours between two jobs, so that is why I keep going in and out of contact. It's a long commute and I share a car so it's been hell. I'm very glad to be employed but I'm just exhausted. The new semester has started at the college, so my days have gotten helluva busy!

I'm currently working on a painting for  windNCR and once that is finished I will be posting the rest of the MLP series, and a badge for  WolfatTwilight

And for other commission updates, I am shipping out  Sasukes badge tomorrow morning.