The following was a response to a former client of mine, but thinking it over, I believe that it is something that would possibly benefit others by making it public. I've removed all details about the art service that I have completed for this person in the past to keep things anonymous on that end. But all advice that I thought might be helpful for those going through a creative slump is kept in.

Granted, I may not be the best at giving advice, but I do care about each and every one of my followers to I do try. Take what I say with a grain of salt.

I want to start out by saying that there really is no shame whatsoever in having a character on the creative pile that you haven't used, yet.
I have a universe that I have created with 300+ active characters (including side characters that don't get much 'screentime') as well as about 100+ character ideas that I've been mulling around with over the last few years that have not yet come to fruit. With a peanut gallery that large, it's impossible for me to give them all constant attention. So I just let them sit around in my head and I'll work with whomever is dominant at the time.
There really is no shame in this, and no reason to let it get you down.

However, I also understand what it's like to be in a slump and doubt your own abilities. It's something that all creative types go through and you're really not alone in that regard. I don't think I know a single artist who has not felt like that at one point or another. I most certainly have. In fact, I remember several occasions that I felt so lousy about my own work that I wanted to quit all together.

The important thing is how you handle the situation. Are you going to let those feelings overpower you and win, making you give up something that you potentially love, or do you want to keep doing something that you love doing. If you have even the slightest inkling of wanting to continue, don't give it up. You will be giving up any chance of that joy of creation in the future. And if you do give it up, I guarantee that is a decision that you will regret making.

If you have been away from the creative process for a long time and want to come back. everyone handles their comeback from a hiatus differently, so I'm not sure if I can give concrete advice. But how I handled mine was to just draw. Don't worry about coming up with something you like or thinking it's not good enough. Just do it. You may not come up with a masterpiece, but at least you will be doing something productive. And who knows... in all that doodling, maybe you will come up with something that you like.

My biggest advice is to not make knee-jerk reactions when you are feeling down. Making important decisions may not be the best idea since when you do have a sound mind since it may be a decision that you regret making.

I hope what I've said has helped. Or at least made sense.

Since this has happened to me four times in two days (as well as a number of times before this), I feel enough disgust about it to say something publicly.

DO NOT message me asking me to buy one of my personal characters. I decided long ago that no amount of money would ever part me from my world or personal characters, so they are NOT for sale. I find this incredibly rude and maybe even a little borderline offensive because each of my characters are very personal to me and each represent a puzzle piece of my personality, my life, or who I am as a person.

This includes any adoptables that I have purchased, because like all of my characters that I have created for myself, are with me for the long-haul. I buy adoptables partially to get cool designs that I would have thought of myself and/or I see a niche in my universe that it will fit into. As soon as I buy something, it has already been fitted somlace into my story. If you do not see art of something that I have purchased, there could be several reasons for this... mostly because I work full time on commissions and have very limited time to work on personal art, so it may take me a while to get around to drawing a specific character. Also, remember that I don't post everything I do for myself publicly, so you may be art of that character that you may not see. DO NOT automatically assume that because I don't have art of a particular character in my gallery that I am not using it.

So yeah, TL;DR. Don't ask to buy my personal characters from me. You will only succeed in annoying me.

If I keep getting messages about the like, I will start whipping out the ban hammer, unfortunately. Don't want to, but maybe it's the only way some people will listen.

Hey all!
After much consideration, and the approval of some of my friends, I'm actually laying out two new rules for anybody who wants to use any of the original species of the Azure Wheel Galaxy. My open species are free for anyone on good terms with me to use (If I haven't banned you from any of my galleries or blacklisted you from any commission/adoption services I offer, then you fit this category), but since the species and my universe are very special to me, I do feel a need to lay down new ground rules.

I will be rewriting my species rules in the next week or so, but these rules are already in place.

1. This goes without saying, since you'd think it would be common sense to do this when using the brainchildren of someone else... but it is required to ask permission to use the species and then show me what you've done so I can approve it. I won't hinder your creativity too much, but I do need to see how my species and headworld is being used. If you do not do this, then I will consider your character to by unlicensed and they will not be considered part of my headworld's canon. Plus it is just polite to do this.

2. I don't want an army of characters with super rare traits for their species running around, so to prevent this from happening, creating a character with rare physical traits for their species will require a small donation. Don't worry, creating a character with all common traits will always be free. And I will even allow 2 or 3 uncommon traits for free (the number depends on how uncommon said traits actually are and how noticeable they are). A donation will only be required for the super rare traits and the amount will once again depend on how many traits and how noticeable or rare they are. This will not effect characters who are already made.

Thank you for your understanding.

My stream regulars and I use a lot of inside jokes, terms and lingo that may be confusing to new members. As such, I’ve put together this list of ones that seem to confuse new members to the stream to hopefully clarify things without me constantly repeating things. There are others that I’m probably forgetting, so I will add them as they come to me. Or as more are created.





Bitchfits
Said by: Jet Primarily.

(sound effect) The noise an angry budgie makes.



Bitchtits
Said by: Jet and Chimera primarily.
(adjective) When someone is being overly cranky.



Boodge/Bewdge
Said by: Jet primarily. All other Stream Team members say it.
(Noun) Refers to budgereigars… AKA budgies or parakeets. Small birds commonly kept as pets.



Caveman/CaveWoman
Used by: Ulario, Jet and Chimera primarily.
(noun) Used to refer to any of the five “stream team” members who normally communicate through ventrillo when they are forced to communicate through text chat for any reason. Refers to the “caveman” days before Ventrillo when we ALL had to use text chat.


Davik's Hair
Said by: Ulario
(Expression) Apparently, floofing Davik's hair (one of Ulario's characters) is good luck.



Dildo Assassins/Dick Cupcakes
Said by: Ulario, Jet, Chimera
(Expression) Usually used as a reference for when Newie walks in on a questionable conversation…. Which happens quite frequently. “Dildo Assassins” and “Dick Cupcakes” were the first two questionable topics that he walked in on. To this day if Newie is not in stream and we miss him, we try to summon him by mentioning these two things.



FIRE MAGE SMASH!!!!!!!
Said by: Jet primarily. Chimera and Ulario sometimes say it as well.
(expression) Originally referring to a fire mage with freakishly large hulk arms. Now used as an inside joke to describe any fire mage character.



Little Shit
Said by: All Stream Team Members
(Noun) Chimera.



Mah Boys
Said by: Ulario

(Noun) refers to any of Ulario’s male Ultimarian characters. Shae, Davik and Ared in particular since those are her three mains.



MEH!!!!!/ Mehmehmehmhemeh
Said by: Only Jet and Ulario allowed to say it. Any unauthorized mehs will be dealt with by Jet.
(sound effect) The noise an angry budgie makes.



MIMI! Stop breaking time and space!!!!
Said by: Ulario Primarily.
(expression) Mimi, one of the regulars in chat will often perform actions that break time and space.



MUG!!!!!
Used by: Ulario Chimera and Jet
(expression) Back in the caveman days before we used ventrillo, I was forced to use my ipad to keep tract of chat. During that time, Autocorrect brought the stream many laughs. Usually at my expense. One day, autocorrect decided to turn the term “OMG” into “Mug”.



Not my circus, not my monkeys!
Said by: Ulario
(expression) When Ulario says this, it means she really couldn’t care less about what’s going on.



Pid-GIN/Pidg-eon
Said by: Jet
(Noun) Pidgeon



POOFA!!!!!
Said by: Jet Primarily
(expression) mostly referring to a fluffy bird, but can be used to describe any fluffy animal.



Potato Bird
Said by: All Stream Team Members
(noun) Refers to Ulario’s Quaker parrot, Dexter. He often sits on his perch all poofy and round, resembling a tuber.



Sphere burd!
Said by: Ulario, Jet, Chimera
(expression) when a bird is so fluffy that he or she resembles a perfectly round sphere.



Stream Team
Said by: Ulario Primarily
(Noun) Ulario, Jet, Chimera, Nuwame and Newie. The five members that use vent.



The Flying Panda
Said by: Jet and Chimera primarily. Sometimes Ulario.
(Noun) A Chinese restaurant in Chimera’s universe. Whenever it’s someone’s birthday we tell them they are being sent to the Flying Panda to celebrate.



The O.P. Couch
Said by: All Stream Team Members.
(noun) A couch located in the chat room that is shaped like a pig. All anthros that sit on it turn into plushies until they are removed from the couch.



Wereakeet
Said by: All Stream Team Members.
(Noun) Jet’s “fursona”, an eight foot tall were budgie.



Worm Feet/WHURM FEET!
Said by: Jet primarily. The rest of the Stream Team says it too!
(noun) Budgies have long, pink toes that resemble little worms.

For St. Patrick's Day, I'm offering discounted commissions that fit the theme! That means for $50 you can get a commission done in my basic coloring style... or for $100 you can get a commission in my new Radiant coloring style!

These pictures are one character and will be in full color. They will be done before St Patrick's Day.

You can look at the differences between the styles here:
http://tracivermeesch.com/coloringstyles.html

Here are the themes that you can choose from:

Green Beer
Your character with a mug of green beer, 'Nuff said!

Leprechaun
Your character dressed up as a leprechaun. Pot of gold is optionsl!

Snakes
Your character with snakes, your character as a snake... as long as there's snakes in the picture, it will fit the theme!

Green Overload!
Your character wearing green! Green background! Green accessories! Green! Green! Green Everywhere!

Kiss me, I'm Irish.
Your character looking cute while wearing a kiss me I'm Irish shirt. If you or your character are not Irish or of Irish descent, the word Irish can be replaced with the name of your character's species. :)

Have another idea for a theme you want your character in? Talk it over with me and we can work something out.


If you want a slot, comment below with your character references and details of what you want.
Must be paid for within 24 hours of me approving you or you lose your slot.
I will show you a rough sketch to make sure I'm drawing your character right, but the pose is up to me.
I'm opening limited slots to the public for now (since my VIPs/Stream Peeps already snatched up most slots)... but I may open more if I know I can get them all done before St Patrick's Day...

1. SkylarBird
2. Nuwame

Reserved Spots:
StardustDragon (x2)
Lykos_Thebes
NewEnglander
JetDelta7

Just a heads up that 2016 calendars will be discontinued after March 1st! So if you want one, this is your last chance to get one!

Female:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/traci-verm.....-22227536.html

Male:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/traci-verm.....-22274643.html

Zodiac:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/traci-verm.....-22365554.html

I'll be finishing up my current queue of Mardis Gras pictures tonight, and I feel like I can squeeze in one or two in before Fat Tuesday. So I'm opening up some more slots for them. I plan on finishing these in the next few days, so you must be able to pay immediately!

As usual they are $50 for standard coloring and $100 for Radiant.

1. SkylarBird
2. NewEnglander

Since I'm going to be finished with my current round of Valentines Day commissions, I'm going to open up another round of commissions.

Since I don't think I want to do another round of love day stuff, so I'm going to be oding Mardis Gras or Carnivale themed commissions! I had a ton of fun doing these last year, so I'm offering them again!

Plenty of beads, feathers and bright colors. :)

I'm offering discounted commissions that fit the theme! That means for $50 you can get a commission done in my basic coloring style... or for $100 you can get a commission in my Radiant coloring style!

These will be done in time for Mardis Gras, which is February 9th! :)

I'll be opening up three slots for these for now. I'll open more if there's enough interest and enough time for me to complete them in time:
1. JetDelta7
2. Yuri_Bloodfang
3. HeroesFanboy138

I wasn't sure if I was going to do these this year, but I ended up pinching a nerve in the shoulder of my drawing arm. I let it rest a few days and I'm doing much better, but it still feels a little off so I'd like to get some massage therapy done to it this week to make sure I'm at 100%. These special commissions are to help pay the bill for it.

For Valentines Day, I'm offering discounted commissions that fit the theme! That means for $50 you can get a commission done in my basic coloring style... or for $100 you can get a commission in my new Radiant coloring style!

These pictures are one character and will be in full color. They will be done before Valentines Day.

You can look at the differences between the styles here:
http://tracivermeesch.com/coloringstyles.html

Here are the themes that you can choose from:

Cupid
Your character drawn as cupid.

Candy
Your character drawn with chocolates, conversational hears or any other candy that fits the theme.

Plushie
Your character drawn with a plushie of another character. This can be another of your own characters, a friend's character (with permission) or a mainstream character (Sonic, Krystal, Mickey Mouse, whomever...)

Cheesy Valentines Day Card
A pin up of your character with a really, really bad pun. Look here for examples of what I'm talking about:
#
http://editorial.designtaxi.com/news-dc0702/1.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2zm0D0Y7H.....ine-charge.jpg



If you want a slot, comment below with your character references and details of what you want.
Must be paid for within 24 hours of me approving you or you lose your slot.
I will show you a rough sketch to make sure I'm drawing your character right, but the pose is up to me.
I'm opening three slots for now... but I may open more if I know I can get them all done before Valentines Day...


1. AvianBritish
2. StardustDragon258
3. Yuri-Bloodfang

This news makes me sad, I absolutely adore that man. :(

On a side note, I put on the Labyrinth soundtrack as a tribute and Dexter (my quaker parrot) starting dancing to it and I joined in. David Bowie's music is among his favorite to listen and dance to. Especially Magic Dance. I just thought I'd share because I find it cute.

Okay peeps, this is a subject that I’ve been tiptoeing around these last few months. Mostly because I really do love all of you to bits and I really didn’t want to come across as one of “those” artists that aggressively speak their mind to the point of being an asshole. But since one of my watchers have blatantly asked me to give them my personal information, I feel that the time has come for me to put my foot down about a certain topic.



This is not geared towards anyone in particular, and 99.9999% percent of my watchers I have zero qualms about. However, there is always those few people that take things a little too far. So please do not worry that this is about you… because if it was, chances are that you will know without a doubt.



I’m talking about a small handful of watchers and fans being clingy to the point of being creepy. It may be hard to tell by how friendly I am to others online and the fact that I am seemingly outgoing in my streams, but in my personal life, I am actually extremely introverted and get extremely uncomfortable when strangers act clingy towards me.



Most people I’m okay with, because they seem to understand the concepts of personal space. However, if you do any of the following, then it starts to be a problem.

· Send me constant messages and notes about any topic. While I am happy to talk with people about anything, constantly noting me asking to be my friend, leaving 15+ messages on one submission and badgering me with random crap several times a day becomes a problem.

· I am (chronologically speaking) a grown woman that has to worry about grown-up things. I do not have time to chat with you for long periods of time. I do not have any messaging services or skype and I do not plan on using them. Please do not constantly ask me to use them and chat with you or get your undies in a bunch when I tell you no.

· I am a private person who does not throw the world “friend” around loosely. I prefer to have a small handful of people that I call “friend” that are incredibly close to me than be “friends” with a ton of people that I don’t know too well. Because of this, I get uncomfortable right off the bat when a stranger asks me to be my friend. And then get bitchy when I tell them no. If you do this, then you have complexly blown the chance of being my friend.

· I am a nice person. Just because I am friendly to you does not mean that we are best buddies. Do not confuse the two.

· On the same note, just because you purchased art from me does not mean that we are best buddies. It was a business transaction. No different than you buying food from a cashier at a grocery store.

· My fictional universe is very personal to me with each aspect of it being a representation of someone or something in my life… and is my way of helping me make sense of this big blue marble called earth that we all live on. I will not merge it with your universe, open a portal between our headwords, etc. I have even dealt with a few people in the last few months who seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with my fictional universe where they seemed to eat, sleep and breathe my universe and were more obsessed with it than I am. Since my fictional universe is so personal to me, I find it a direct breach of personal space when that happens.

· This is probably the most important thing and it should be blatantly obvious, but since I have to post it, I guess not. Under NO circumstances will I give out my personal information including but not limited to: Phone numbers, my real mailing address and family information. Asking me these things will immediately make me think of you as a creepy stalker. Seriously.



I don’t want to come across as an asshole, but I feel that I need to put my foot down about these things and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to say that I am going to be a lot more stern with people who do these things. And if an individual keeps doing them after I have told them to cut it out, I will block them.

I know I already said it in my Christmas Submission, but I just want to wish all of my lovelies who watch me a Merry Christmas, Happy belated Hanukkah, Krazy Kwanza or whatever else you celebrate (I don't want anyone to feel left out :) )

I do love each and every one of you to pieces, so stay safe if you're traveling.

Hey all! :)
For the Christmas season, I'm offering themed commissions for $50 off! That means for $50 you can get a commission done in my basic coloring style... or for $100 you can get a commission in my new Radiant coloring style!

These pictures are one character and will be in full color. They will be done in time for Christmas!
I don't want to discriminate, so they don't necessarily have to be Christmas themed. They can be related to any winter holiday or non-holiday themed all together (Though if you want one of them in a holiday other than Christmas, you may have to explain things to me so I can more accurately portray other holidays)

You can look at the differences between the styles here:
http://tracivermeesch.com/coloringstyles.html

Here are the themes that you can choose from:

Winter Wonderland
Your character out in the snow.

FOOD!
With the holidays comes lots of great things to eat! You can choose what food your character is drawn with.

Under the mistletoe
Your character looking cute under the mistletoe.

Ugly Sweater
Your character wearing an ugly Christmas (or other Holiday) sweater.

Bah Humbug!
Your character as a scrooge or Grinch!


If you want a slot, comment below with your character references and details of what you want.
Must be paid for within 24 hours of me approving you or you lose your slot.
I will show you a rough sketch to make sure I'm drawing your character right, but the pose is up to me.
I'm opening four slots for now... but I may open more if I know I can get them all done before Christmas.

Slots:
1. StardustDragon258
2. Nuwame
3. SD Slayer
4. NewEnglander
5. SkylarBird

Just a quick note to let everyone know that my Christmas mailing is mailed out!
If you've asked for a Christmas card, it is on it's way to you! :)

Today (November 27th only), I am offering a free upgrade to radiant coloring on all single character illustration commissions or any type of character design commission!

In order to qualify, it must be bought and paid for today.
One per person, please. :)

Just taking a moment to wish all of my lovelies in the USA a very happy Thanksgiving! Spend it with loved ones and eat all the turkey!

To my Canadian watchers, happy belated Thanksgiving.

To everyone else... happy normal Thursday. :)

Since I ran out of cards so quickly, I ordered a very small amount of more cards to try and give out a few more to those who missed it the first time around. This is your absolute last chance to get a free Christmas card from me this year!

Go here to find out how to get one!
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7192066/

Edit 2: I had over 50 cards and I ran out in a day. I'm amazed at the response that I got! But yeah, I am no longer taking these.

EDIT: Pleaaaase for the love of Cthulhu write out your address clearly and please don't expect me to chase you down to ask for your address. You need to come to me, not wait for me to note you first. I'm already dealing with the herculean task of preparing my mailing without going insane as it is, so please don't add to the insanity. Noting people myself just adds another thing that I have to do. Follow the directions that I have written.... if you don't, you will not get your card.



So I'm currently putting together my annual Holiday mailing. As usual, I've ordered extra cards to send to any of my watchers who want one and spread the love. :)

My Christmas "cards" are always a small signed art print that I draw specifically for using as Christmas cards that year, and the 2015 cards are no different (They're really cute this year).

- There is no catch or strings attached... you don't even have to pay a cent for posting. You just get a free Christmas card in the mail. It's my way of giving Holiday cheer to those who support me.
- I can mail the card anyplace in the world, so you don't have to be a US resident to get one.
- My mailing goes out the Monday after Thanksgiving so the cards (hopefully) have enough time to get to where they need to go.
- I'd really prefer that you are watching me. This is a gift for my supporters after all. :)
- I have an undisclosed amount of cards. Let's just say I do have quite a few of them, but numbers are limited. So if you want one, let me know ASAP.
- This giveaway will last until either I run out of cards or the mailing goes out. Either way, it will be open until I post a big message at the top of this journal saying that I'm no longer giving them out.
- Don't be a jerk!!!! I'm doing this out of kindness, so causing any sort of drama over these cards will not be tolerated.


If you want one, just send me a personal message or email with your mailing address so I can send you the card. I will not share your info with anyone else, and the note you send me will be deleted after I have written out the envelope!

Today a stumbled across two google plus accounts that are impersonating personal characters of mine. They (nor anyone else) have permission to use my brain children in this way.

You DO NOT have permission to create accounts on any website to pretend to be any of my character. I'm very protective of my bebes and I consider this to be theft. Period. They are my characters... not yours!

I will report anybody that does this to get it removed off of the site.


EDIT: To anyone else... If you ever see my art or characters being posted without my permission, please let me know so I can report them. Thank you! :)

New York City was a blast! I had a ton of fun in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

However, my flight yesterday was the opposite of fun. It was extremely stressful and included:

A shuttle to the airport driven by someone who didn't know where he was going and kept taking unnecessary turns and getting us stuck in NYC traffic. Almost making us late for the flight and stressing me the hell out.
A delay for our flight leaving LeGuardia airport because we were going to be leaving on plane coming in from Orlando... which was late. By the time we left the ground, it was an hour later than our plane was supposed to leave so I was dead sure that I would be missing my connecting flight in Minneapolis and was completely stressed out again.
By some Christmas miracle, we did not miss our connecting flight... but we did have to make a mad dash to the gate... during which time I hurt my leg. So I had to basically run from one side of the Minneapolis/St Paul airport to the other (and it's a massive freaking airport) on a hurt leg. The plane to Flint was just starting to board when we got there.

On the plus side, I was able to quickly grab some Chik-Fil-A during the mad dash and eat it on the plane. I LOVE Chik-Fil-A but rarely get to eat it since the nearest one is an hour and a half away from my house.

I was planning on getting to emails and commissions today, since before yesterday I was feeling pretty good. However, I'm still feeling stressed from the flight today so I'm going to take it easy today. Maybe do a low stress stream with my peeps tonight to get me started drawing again.

If I owe you a commission or an email about a commission, I will start that back up again tomorrow. :)

Basically what it says on the tin.
starting tomorrow, I will be in nyc with my mom and aunt. I will be taking my iPad and iPhone with me, so I will have Internet access. But I'll be busy so I will be a lot slower to respond than normal.

Be good, guys! Art will continue when I get back!

Just a quick note to those that attend my streams that I am revising one of the rules to be a little clearer...


"It is an 18+ stream! While the art is usually clean, my chat regulars often are not and there is often cursing and innuendos. This will not change because I believe my viewers should be able to express themselves freely as long as nobody is being hurt. Therefore, viewer discretion is advised. Please do not complain about it or ask users to “tone it down”. You have fair warning about the content of the stream and it is your responsibility to make sure there are no children in the room (Unless you are SablewoodArt/Jez because I will bend this rule just for you), wear headphones so that others can’t hear, mute the sounds, etc."

THE SPECIAL IS CLOSED! However you can still submit the form if you want one. It just won't be discounted.

I'm pleased to announce that I'm opening up a new type of character design commission. These will be blind character designs based on music and songs. Basically, the client links me a song and I design a new character for them based around the mood and feel that I interpret that song. I'm excited about these since music is often a big part of my own inspiration! (Note: I will work with basically any type of song except rap. DO NOT ask for a rap song since it will be declined.)

Now the thing is, before I add them to my website as an "official" design commission type, I need some examples to show. Therefore, I am holding this special run of them at a hefty 20% discount so I can get the examples I need. :)

If you are interested, just fill out this form and I will send you an invoice. The discount will be taken off when I send the invoice.
http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/.....f9tB5WAn4auqPj
http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/.....f9tB5WAn4auqPj
http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/.....f9tB5WAn4auqPj

This special will remain open until I say it's closed.

The first of my updates to my professional documents are in place!

Terms of Service (TOS)
http://tracivermeesch.com/tos.html

Copyright Info for Artwork, Personal Characters, Azure Wheel and Adopted Characters/Eggs/Designs
http://tracivermeesch.com/copyrights.html

I do plan on updating my FAQs next, though it may take a bit more time to do it. :)

Just a quick heads up that I am in the process of rewriting my Terms of Service (TOS). I am also rewriting most of my professional documents including my copyright/image usage information.

Pretty much everything is staying the same, but I am rewriting a lot of it to make it clearer and easier to understand as well as condensing a few things.