I just heard the news about Leonard Nemoy.

While I was never a Trekkie, I am a gi-mungous sci-fi geek and I always had a high amount of respect for him since I consider him to be one of the pioneers of science fiction.

RIP Mr. Spock.

Go here for details:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6509955/

I originally wasn't going to open up round 2, but some people have expressed interest in it. So here we are. XD
Opening these up now since I'm nearly done with the current round.

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 optional!

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 four slots for now... but I may open more if I know I can get them all done before St Patrick's Day...

1. NewEnglander
2. Lykos_Thebes
3. Nuwame
4. Yuri_Bloodfang
5. Yuri_Bloodfang

Just a quick note that I will be retiring my 2015 calenders at the end of the month, so this is your last chance to grab one!

Female Calender:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/traci-verm.....-21686609.html

Male Calender:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/traci-verm.....-21770508.html

Zodiac Calender:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/traci-verm.....-21843757.html

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 four slots for now... but I may open more if I know I can get them all done before St Patrick's Day...

1. JetDelta7
2. SkylarBird
3. ChapterAquila92
4. Nuwame

Special Reserved Spots:
Lykos_Thebes (x3)
NewEnglander

I really feel like throwing money at talented artists to get pictures of my own characters at the moment. If you're taking commissions, I'd like to know. I'll take a look at your stuff and possibly commission you if I really like yours style.

The only rule is that you have to be good with human-looking characters. This is a no-budge rule since all of my characters that are nearest and dearest to my heart are humanoid.
Knowing how to draw athletic/muscular body types is also a plus!
I definitely won't be commissioning porn either. XD

No hurt feelings if I don't choose you since I'll likely be getting multiple people responding. :)

One of the people on my mardis gras picture list dropped out, so one slot has reopened! This is your last chance to get one of these themed pictures!

I'm planning on finishing these in the next few days, so please have payment ready!
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/6454490/

I'm almost done with my current Mardis Gras themes pictures and I'm having a ton of fun drawing these pictures, so I'm opening up another round of them! This is your absolute last chance to get one of my mardis gras themed commissions!

I'm going to be doing Mardis Gras or Carnivale themed commissions! So... 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 new Radiant coloring style!

These will be done in time for Mardis Gras, which is February 17th! :)

1. Yuri_Bloodfang
2. JetDelta7
3. NewEnglander

I'm almost done with my current Mardis Gras themes pictures and I'm having a ton of fun drawing these pictures, so I'm opening up another round of them!

I'm going to be doing Mardis Gras or Carnivale themed commissions! So... 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 new Radiant coloring style!

These will be done in time for Mardis Gras, which is February 17th! :)

1. Lykos_Thebes
2. SkylarBird
3. NewEnglander
4. Nuwame
5. AidenGull

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! So... 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 new Radiant coloring style!

These will be done in time for Mardis Gras, which is February 17th! :)

I'll be opening up four slots for these:
1: JetDelta7
2. Yuri_Bloodfang
3: Yuri_Bloodfang
4: Nuwame

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:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.co.....1d0c79e849.jpg
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 four slots for now... but I may open more if I know I can get them all done before Valentines Day...

1. Lykos_Thebes
2. Lykos_Thebes
3. NewEnglander
4. HeroesFanboy138

Extra Spot: Nuwame
Gift Slot: JetDelta7

Just a quick note that I've updated my stream rules today:
http://ulario.deviantart.com/journa.....2014-488760772

I just wanted to take a minute to tell all of my watchers happy holidays, no matter what one you celebrate.
And if you don't celebrate the holidays, I'm still sending you lots of love!

I hope you guys all have a good holiday season. :)

Right now I'm watching Christmas specials on my iPad with my quaker parrot, Dexter.
He's being so cute since every time it's turned off, he walks over the screen and touches it to try and get it to turn back on so he can keep watching it. XD

I did have two Christmas cards returned to me, so if you gave me your mailing address, live in the US and didn't get a card, chances are that it was one of the two that came back to me. >_>
(I don't know if the cards that went overseas made it yet or not... but I know the ones I sent to Canada did).

Also, a few people sent me cards in return. I don't know who you are, but thank you so much! I really wasn't expecting anything in return for it. I really do love you all to bits! :)

- When did you start drawing?
As long as I can remember. I wasn't' serious about it until the summer before High School, though.

- Which hand do you use for drawing?
I am 100% completely and utterly right handed. XD

- Which is easier to draw - male or female?
Neither. I've tried to avoid becoming a one note artist by restricting myself to drawing just one gender. Or species for that matter.

- Which is easier to draw - long hair or short hair?
Um, I really don't have a preference. It really depends on what fits the character I'm drawing.

- Is it easier to draw the head facing towards the right or the left?
Ah yes, I tend to suffer from the dreaded 'everyone faces left' syndrome. I try to consciously avoid doing it.

- Is it easier to draw the side view of the face or the front view?
Side or 3/4. I'm actually not a huge fan of front views to begin with. XD

- What do you have problems in drawing?
Um, A lot.
Perspective, backgrounds, trees, dynamic poses, character interactions, trying to think of a damn pose, shall I go on?

- What do you like to draw?
SPAAAAAAAACE! No really, drawing sci-fi is definitely my favorite. I like drawing weird aliens and creatures (especially avians).
I think the reason that I like to draw anthros is because there's so much potential for creative creature designs, but science fiction is my first love by far.

- Are you a traditional artist or a digital artist?
Digital, but I do have formal training in traditional mediums. Especially watercolor.
I'd love to do more traditional work, but it's not as bright and shiny as my digital work so nobody seems to give a crap when I do it, and unfortunately I don't want to put the money and energy into something that won't sell.

- Where do you start drawing from?
A rough sketch of the entire body. Then I go ahead and add the details.

- What is your drawing habit that you are aware of?
Static poses. It drives me nuts when I draw a character standing around doing nothing, but I often can't think of more exciting poses. XD

- Any tips for coloring/shading?
Grayscale out your shading before you slap color willy nilly. It will help get the contrast for your piece set up and the lighting. Be aware of your light sources.

- How long does it take to finish a piece of art?
Um, maybe about 4 hours from start to finish?

- What music do you listen to while you draw?
Movie scores or classical.
Sometimes I'll put Youtube or a movie in the background.

- How long does it take you to come up with an idea?
That I really can't answer. :/
Sometimes ideas come to me. Sometimes they take me forever to think of.

- Your favorite drawing utensils?
In sai, gimme my vector line tool,, marker brush and custom shading brush.
In Photoshop. Airbrush. Gimme.

- Your favorite color/the color that you use a lot?
Bluuuuuuueeeeee! Oh man, so many of my personal designs and characters wear blue. XD
Ulario should be flat out banned from using blue for new character designs. XD

- Your favorite style(s)?
Um. I don't know?
Classic Marvel (IE the Jack Kirby days)?
I really have a hard time answering this since I love and appreciate all styles. :)

- Are you satisfied with your current art?
Not... really.
So much I can improve on.

- What kind of artist are you aiming for?
I don't even know. I just want to keep learning and hopefully continue to make my living doing what I love. :)

I have time to do a few more of these before Christmas.
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. As long as they are bought and paid for by Sunday, they will be done before Christmas since I plan to complete these in streams next week
I don't want to discriminate, so they don't necessarily have to be Christmas themed. They can be non-holiday themed all together (Though if you want one of them, 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.


1. JetDelta7
2. Lykos_Thebes
3. Nuwame
4. SDSlayer
5. NewEnglander

With the introduction of my blind character designs this year came a whole new era of people sending in forms for character designs but not paying, which is a huge time waster for both parties involved. Because of this, I really need to update how my blacklist works, so starting Jan 1st, there are going to be a few changes.

First of all, this one time I am wiping the slate clean and forgiving everyone on my current blacklist. The only exception to the forgiveness is for people who are on my ban list on any site or for anybody who doesn't pay for a design.

Changes:
- For blind character designs (or any form based design commission), I will give a two-strike rule. That means if someone submits a form and doesn't pay on two separate occasions, then they will be on the blacklist.
- For people who bid on one of my auctions and back out or don't pay, it will be an automatic blacklist. While I do believe strongly in second chances, backing out of auctions is a huge dick move and it is super unfair to anybody else who is bidding.
- Of course, if someone behave like a complete ass during any commission, it may be a cause for blacklisting.
- If someone submits a design form and does not pay, there is a chance that I will design the character anyways... but auction off said character to someone else since some of the prompts submitted to me but not paid for are pretty cool. It's a shame I never for to do some of them.
- I am considering adding a way for people to get off the blacklist... but I really don't know if I can make that work as they are usually on the blacklist for a reason.
- Part of me wants to be a mean asshole and make a "wall of shame" on my website where my blacklist is displayed publicly. That may be too much of a dick move on my part, though. XD

I wasn't planning on doing this year, since there's nothing that I really want for Christmas (I have everything physical that I want)... but a few people asked if I was going to do one this year, so here we are. XD

Like last year, if someone wants to do a trade, I'll be more than happy to draw art for you of equal value if you want to do an exchange. Just keep in mind that I'm in the middle of my holiday rush so I may or may not be finishing my end a bit more slowly than I normally do. >_>
I won't start on my end until yours comes in the mail so I can better estimate how much work I need to do for you.
Just let me know if you want to trade and I'll give you my mailing address.


Basically, these are the things I'd like for Christmas.

Tea:
I am pretty much powered by tea, so it's always appreciated. Looseleaf only and preferably not a brand that I can just go to my local grocery store and buy. XD
My tastes in tea aren't too picky. I prefer white teas, but I will also drink black or red if the blend goes well with honey. Fruit flavored teas tend to be my favorites.
I haaaate chamomile. (I think it tastes like pee!)

Parrot toys or treats for Dexter:
I love to keep my birdy-boo happy. Dexter is a quaker parrot... so he's about the size of a cockatiel. Toys for budgies would probably be too small for him while toys for macaws and large birds would be way too huge. Make sure it's bird safe so it won't come apart and hurt him.
As for treats, he likes nutriberries and (oddly enough) Bonomo's turkish taffy. He likes the vanilla and strawberry flavored bars. Just don't get the chocolate flavored one because chocolate is toxic to birds. He also didn't seem to like the banana flavored one.

Michaels Gift Cards
Since I'm making a new years resolution to start doing more traditional art.

Art of my characters is always loved!
Feral Ulario and Aredon are my two characters nearest and dearest to my heart... closely followed by Shae, Liah and Rahst.

Um... anything from my Amazon wish list...
http://amzn.com/w/D1DSP6XFJC4V

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 non-holiday themed all together (Though if you want one of them, 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.


1. Lykos_Thebes
2. SkylerStormfeather
3. JetDelta7
4. NewEnglander

So I just officially added my new coloring style as an official option for commissions on my website.

It is called "Radiant Style" since that was the #1 choice on my poll when I began writing it up.
(As I write this, "Soft-shaded" is the #1 choice... but I do think I like Radiant better. Also... my joke answer is tied for the #1 choice, which I wasn't expecting... but I'm not calling it "Batman coloring"! XD )

The Radiant coloring option is also available on all forms for character/clothing designs!

I've also made a few tweeks to my terms of service. Most of it stayed pretty much the same, but I added some clarification for "revisions", since I sort of got tired of people asking me to change big things in the line art when I already started coloring when I strongly feel that these changes should have be asked for during the roughs stage.

Future commissions options that I'm planning on adding in the next few weeks:
Species design.
Planet/Solar System design.
Different types of character sheets.

Also... THEMED CHRISTMAS DISCOUNTS!

I've just sent out my Christmas mailing for all of my watchers and online friends.

It included:
Over 60 Christmas cards.
Three moderate sized boxes containing gifts for my closest online friends.
Two manilla envelopes with prints.
A gryphon in a pear tree.

So basically if you've sent me your address, you're getting a card. If you live inside the USA, it should get to you in a week or so.
If you live outside the USA, I can't say exactly when you'll get it, but I'm guessing a few weeks. Some countries take longer than others (Oddly enough... in the past when I've sent packages to Canada, it took the longest out of any country).

In any case, y'all should have them before Christmas. :)

My quaker parrot, Dexter helped me with the mailing.
And by "helped" I mean he sat in my lap, chewing up a ribbon while saying "pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty".

So my last few days have been fun.

On Thursday, my computer prompted me to update to Windows 8.1, which I did. However, when it had finished, I tried booting up my computer and I got a lovely parser error accompanied by a blank screen. Another reason for me to hate windows 8! YAY!

I made the decision that since I've been meaning to clean up a lot of my programs anyways, I'd just run a refresh on my computer (restarting my computer, but keeping all my files while removing programs).

Somehow in the little bit of time between refreshing my computer and getting all my firewall/virus protection software up and running, my computer managed to catch a buttload of malware. So most of my day yesterday was spent running virus scans and cleaning registry.

Then I had to reinstall all of my vital programs. Which took another good chunk of yesterday and today.

But I think all of that's behind me and I'm back to making art today, although I'll probably be doing personal stuff for the next few days to de-stress myself from the last few days (although in all fairness, I started to de-stress myself last night with a bottle of sake while I was out eating sushi with my friends). >_<

(I'm currently typing this with a parrot sitting on my hand. Not easy. Haha.)

I just wanted to take a minute to say that I'm very thankful for all of my watchers and fans. It really is because of you guys that I can keep doing what I love, and it's pretty humbling and awesome to continually receive support from you. I really do love you all!

So to my American watchers, Happy Thanksgiving!
To my Canadian watchers, Happy belated Thanksiving.
To everybody else... happy normal Thursday. XD

If you're celebrating, have fun, be safe and eat all the Turkey! :D

I already had my Thanksgiving last Sunday so I don't have any festivities today, but I will be going out with friends for sushi tomorrow. :)

Have a feral gryphon character?
Want me to draw them for free? Keep reading!

I'm starting to plan out my official Christmas image for this year, and I'd like to have a few feral gryphons in the image (besides myself).

The Rules (Please read before posting... I'll know if you didn't):
* Must be feral (walks on 4 legs) and must be a full gryphon (no hybrids or taurs). Sorry, but there's no way around this rule.
* Gender doesn't matter. Nor does the avian/feline species that makes up the character.
* If your character is exceptionally massive, I will have to shrink them down to fit in the picture.
* If you are kind of interested and want to know what your character will be doing in this picture before entering your character, let me know and I'll note you with the details. I don't want to say it publicly since this picture is going to be a surprise for all my watchers for Christmas and I don't want too many to know about it before hand.
* I will pick out two or three gryphons that I feel would fit the picture and draw them.
* Yes, this is totally free. This Christmas picture is my way of giving back to my watchers and is being done out of the kindness of my heart.
* Owners of the characters chosen will get a high res copy of the picture.
* Credit for the characters will be given in the description of the final picture.
* You have until Saturday, December 6th to enter your character.
* I am planning on having the picture completed a few weeks before Christmas, but I can't give an exact date. I will also try to complete it in a stream.
* Will be colored in my new coloring style.
* If you're interested, post a picture of your feral gryphon below.

EDIT: 45 extra cards and I already ran out in less than 12 hours. I... really did not see that coming. o_O
Anyways, if you missed out, don't fret. I'm going to make a public Christmas greeting art a little closer to the holidays.



As usual, I've made my own Christmas cards this year. However, for some reason, the printer sent me twice the amount of cards that I ordered. So I have a big surplus of cards!

I'd like to do a good deed by giving out cards to anybody who wants one. My cards are basically a 5x7 print of a piece of art I have made that cannot be seen anyplace else with a holiday greeting and a hand drawn doodle on the back. :)

Here's what you need to know:

* Must be comfortable with giving me your mailing address. I can assure you that I will not use it for anything but sending you a holiday card.
* This absolutely 100% free! Since it's my Christmas mailing, I'm even paying for shipping.
* No strings attached. This is a free card. That is all.
* The art that is on the card cannot be found in any of my online galleries. It is totally original!
* I'm doing my mailing the Monday after Thanksgiving, so you have until next Sunday to give me your information. Unless I run out of cards before then.
* If you want one, tell me that you want one in the comments below. Once I've given you the go ahead, you can send me your mailing address VIA private note or by sending it in an email to zemothe44(at)yahoo.com
* If you do not want one, please do not comment just to tell me that you don't want one/would as for one but don't want to give out address/etc. (I find it kind of annoying...)