TL;DR: I'm making hard enamel pins for Year of the Rabbit! Keep your eyes peeled for the Kickstarter announcement in a few weeks!

o o o

Hey guys, has it really been a year since I last posted?! Holy cow!

Happy Year of the Rabbit! This is my year, and I intend to make it so! Move over, Tigers! (I love you guys - half my friends were Tigers growing up!)

It has been a bumpy 6 years. I've busted my butt raising my son and rising the ranks at my day job, even through Covid. A work injury set me back, but I've learned a ton of lessons about self-care. For that, the injury was a blessing in disguise.

In the beginning of the Covid lockdowns, my first and only dog passed away. This year, my cat of 12 years passed away. Most recently, my Grandmother, who was a major influence in my life, passed at the age of 90 years, God keep her.

These are the sorts of things I don't tend to share publicly. But this year is different.

As of 2023, I will have weekends off for the first time in 6 years. After a year and a half of physical therapy for my work injury, I no longer have to go to appointments 10 hours a week. I've finally had time to get back to my art.

Among several projects, I've been completing a series of Changeling ink illustrations for a collaborative project between me and my manfriend. With another friend, I am dabbling as a comic colorist.

And now, this year, for myself, and as a reaction to my Grandmother passing, I decided I was done waiting to become a successful artist. If my Grandmother was anything, she was a Tiger. Tigers do not apologize for being Tigers - this is the singular, emboldening thought I have been left with in the wake of her passing. Even when her voice was the unpopular opinion, I cannot help but admire her fearlessness in expressing herself.

As it happens, today I learned what Selective Mutism is - a form of anxiety that causes a person to be involuntarily incapable of verbally (or otherwise) communicating in unfamiliar or high-stress situations. Even if they really, really want to. It is more prevalent in children - who can grow out of it - but it can also affect adolescents and adults. And it overwhelmingly explains many of my fears about communicating myself. (I've not been diagnosed, but it is, at the very least, very relevant to me.)

I was supposed to make an announcement Sunday, but got too anxious. And maybe I am sending the wrong message by admitting it. Or maybe I am sending exaclty the right message, exercising my voice in light of what I have learned today.

All that being said, I am pleased to announce I will be making my first set of hard enamel pins in celebration of the years past and this new Year of the Rabbit to come.

Expect a slew of developmental posts, other announcements, and a launch announcement in the coming weeks, and thank you for reading this far along.

Glad to Be Back,
MOONJAWS

It is easy for me to assume here on FA (animal fans, what's that?!), but I thought it would be fun to ask. How many of you find animals important as spiritual/symbolic/archetypal figures? And I mean more than just a species to pick in a character design (which is totally a totally valid expression of appreciation), but as an avenue of ... personal revelation?

For me, the spiritual/symbolic component has always been inherent to my view and appreciation of animals. But I also think this way about the pursuit of art, and it really shocked me in college when I met people who's ultimate art goals were working for Blizzard. A fine goal, but hard for me to wrap my head-around as the be-all, end-all purpose to master the craft. For me, I need more.

And recently I got to wondering about how other people who love animals might relate to them, the same or differently.

How about you?

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WolfmotherGifts
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WolfmotherGifts

First official sale for Thanksgiving week, 20% off with purchase of 4 or more, mix and match, archival prints, stickers, even earrings! Check it out!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WolfmotherGifts
https://www.etsy.com/shop/WolfmotherGifts

International Shoppers:
My shop is US by default, but anyone interested in shipping internationally let me know and I can get a shipping estimate!

Thanks guys!

Hey guys!

I am stoked for my successful shop opening, Wolfmother Gifts, and just wanted to thank everyone who bought (online or in-person) prints, stickers, or earrings my first week open.

Folks who haven't heard, find my homemade goods at:
http://etsy.com/shop/WolfmotherGifts

Also check-out my new Instagram WolfmotherArt !!!
https://www.instagram.com/wolfmotherart/

Thank you for all your support. My dreams are happening TODAY and it is all thanks to you guys!
- Vicious

Heya folks, just wanted to share some news and ask for some feedback. I've finally taken the plunge and gotten a bona fide shop up! And I need the help of anyone willing to look it over and share your comments from a guest's perspective (or even a seller's perspective, if you have that experience!).

Please check-out my shop Wolfmother Art & Gifts at: http://etsy.com/shop/WolfmotherGifts

I am currently offering archival prints, stickers, coloring pages, and handmade earrings with more to come!

Happy Halloween!
Vicious

PS: I don't have International Shipping yet, but I plan on adding it. If anyone it interested let me know!

These areas interest me. Just wondering where I might conncet with like-mindeds.

Also, has anyone figure-out how to be a Christian and Heathen at the same time without being a Christian Heathen? I dig Jesus and Odin but I wouldn't conflate the two. It is a tricky nut.

Also, the nuance of language tickles and vexes me. XD I think a Heathen can claim Christ as their fulltrui, but I am not sure how a Christian might express that they primarily put their faith in Jesus but also learn from other sources?

Thoughts? Questions? Pitch-forks?

I've never spoken publicly about these musings before. Exciting! :D

I tried poking around on DA after my long absence, and maybe I just don't understand where anything is, but I feel like trying to search for anything on the website is like trying to look a word up in the dictionary with both hands tied behind my back. I liked searching and narrowing my search by category, and I can't even find how to do that??? Are they trying to "streamline" to the point of obscurity???

I feel like a dinosaur. Give me back my webrings and geocities and voyforums roleplay. ;o;

Remeber when Furcadia only had one set of wings??

/lament

Alright! Orders for my Coyote With Cactus print are in. Just waiting on the printers now, hopefully to mail out to folks in the next couple weeks.

In the meantime, I am considering doing my next print run for Wolf In Green. I am undecided if I would do a traditional print or another holo print. I expect the traditional print will be about 16" and the holo 12" (the largest possible for holo). Would there be any interest if I did print pre-orders? $30-$40 plus shipping. If so, I'll be taking orders in the next 2 weeks, hopefully to get prints done and mailed by December. As it happens, the greens and red notes in the painting seem to suit the season, no?

See the work in question, Wolf In Green: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38831781/

Thanks for looking!

Huzzah!

I've recieved enough orders to cover the initial expense of my Coyote With Purple Cactus holograph prints. Thank you so, so much to everyone who's ordered so far!

I will be accepting pre-orders for one more week, if anyone else is interested.

The print is a holographic 12" x 12" on heavy cardstock.

See the holographic effect: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGbWAs7.....d=e6k1j8tfw31g

See the full Coyote With Purple Cactus (NSFW): https://www.furaffinity.net/view/35043756/

I am still offering the Early Bird Special. Save $5 off $40 and get the print for $35 USD plus shipping.

DM if interested.

Thanks again for everyone who's supported me so far, I'll have major life updates to share soon as I get back on track with my art.

Love you all!
Vicious

When I am feeling in a funk, I sit down a this exercise:

I ask myself what I'm afraid of. I write down everything I've been afraid of doing or saying or worried might happen I write down what I've been avoiding and why I am avoiding them.

Last week I was avoiding starting my next painting. I have so many other stressors going on right now. I am still working on my divorce, still getting a handle on finances and daily to-do's. Still trying to make time to rest, relax, and take care of myself between errands and appointments. Trying to balance the time I spend teaching my son to be responsible with the time I spend having fun. It is exhausting.

Adding a painting to that scares me. Scares me that I won't finish, that my art will never go anywhere. Scares me that failing will just add to the pile of abandoned work that tries to tell me my skill in art amounts to nothing. It is paralyzing. But if I don't do it, if I don't keep trying, I -know- it will never happen. For sure.

The last two years I didn't even know where I would live. Not doing much art then was understandable. But now? Now it is time to try. I already did one painting this year. I even finished it!

It is time for another.

What's -your- scary thing?

I want to make prints of this painting: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/35043756/#

I am wondering how much interest there might be for a 19x19 or 16x16 on normal or metallic paper. Priced between $30-$40 (maybe extra for metallic, I still need price quotes from printers). Would any be interested if I did pre-orders?

Remember when people shared art and wrote informative descriptions or journals and people engaged in the comments? Like, actual conversations? I know it still happens, but it seems to happen much less than it did 20 years ago. Where has the conversation gone? Where do people go to engage the community? I know a lot of artists I pay attention to seem more active on Twitter. Is that the main hub of conversation these days?

Saturday morning, I'm naked, my son's not home, I got shit to do, I'm running around getting ready for work, cooking bacon, shaving my head, cleaning barf out of my mop and bucket from when my son threw-up the day before and work had called me in early. I'm making sure my oatmeal isn't burning. I lean out to my balcony, set my mop where it can dry, and catch eyes with a big toothy grin at the stoplight below. Remember: my tits are hanging out. The man nods me a Wassup? I smile, nod back, Wassup? The light changes, he drives off with a great story, and I go inside, thrilled. Being seen didn't bother me. Three years ago, I would have freaked. Now? I should have winked.

- Vicious

For real, I broke my tooth on a biscotti. But my Blueberry Black Tea refill was only $0.50. All things in measure.

I have been dreaming about work and personal life issues of late, the people that pose the most immediate challenges to me. Often I remember my dreams, but these ones have been hazy. I think my head is trying to work something out. No worries. I already know things are headed in the right direction.

God. What a mundane thing to write. And this is the part where I quibble over using, "the Lord's name in vain." But that's my voice, for better or worse. I want to stop cussing so much, but sometimes nothing else expresses with the same satisfaction.

Today I will not self-censor my word-choice impulses. If only to undo the reflexive habit. If I censor my language, I want it to be by choice and not by social programming.

I am not feeling especially punchy today. Maybe that's why my words feel flat. I write like I'm talking to myself, but that isn't at all how I'd tell the story to anyone in person...

Fucking biscotti. You were delicious anyway.

They don't really have anything in common. I just wanted to see who was still paying attention to this account. While all's quiet for me online, I am still pushing out of my comfort zone in real life. At my dayjob I am becoming more assertive and have thoroughly established myself as the humorously raunchy one. The people I worked with when I was first hired probably still surpass me, but for them, nothing was off-limits. In that regard, I am still feeling myself up. I mean out! I'm still feeling myself out. ;p

Also, I believe in equality, compassion, forgiveness, courage, and gratitude. I don't believe in social justice warriors who use social justice as an excuse to mistreat others. I've always held a lot of anxiety about sharing any kind of opinion that might vaguely whiff of controversy. It's time I get over that shit.

So I guess Coyotes and Boars did have something to do with Butt Sex and Social Justice Warriors. Coyote, for me, is raunchy and always pushing the envelope, prompting to question the status quo. And Boar breaks new ground, even to the point of feeling like the bottom's fallen out from under you. Boar makes hard dead ground into fertile soil. To ride the Boar is to ride your own fears forward to new and better things.

Like talking about subjects you're afraid to talk about in public.

Fuck yeah. You still with me?

Vicious

Simple designs can be strong, read quickly, and are easier to reproduce. But they can also be boring if not properly executed. Complex designs can be more stunning and interesting, but challenging to reproduce in derivative works. They also run the risk of having too many details muddying the main point of the design.

So I ask, what do you prefer in character design? Simple or complex designs?

Why?


- Vicious

C O M M I S S I O N
I'm opening one slot for a quick 2 hour commission for $40. Buyer's choice between a pair of interacting Derp Doodles (Colored), a full body character sketch (B&W), or detailed headshot (B&W). Comment or note if interested. Paypal only, payment required within 24 hours.

T W I T T E R vs D I S C O R D vs ???
Also, where do people go these days for quick online social interaction? Twitter? Discord? Does it matter? Are they totally different beasts? Something else?

- Vicious

It seems to me my art lacks proper voice. I can draw and pick pretty colors. I can labor for hours nit-picking over values and lighting and edge control and little details most people won't notice because it isn't their art. I can do anatomy studies and experiment with inking and watercolor techniques. I can even get nice results. But when I look at the body of work I have done, I don't get much sense of myself.

Or perhaps I get more the sense of who I was two years ago when I was afraid to speak up, to have a say, a voice. That perhaps seems the root of my artistic struggles. How can my work say anything when I don't allow myself to have a voice at all?

The last two years I have been gaining the strength to speak. To speak with people about my problems. To speak about subjects that have always been taboo for me to explore openly. A lot of these hang-ups are self-imposed constructs, probably the result of my perception of social norms. I was raised in a culture that makes sex dirty but expects women to be saintly sluts. How do wrap your head around that let alone talk about it or express it in art?

It seems to be a subject I keep revisiting of late. Why does sex have to be smut? Without blowing a buncha new-age patchouli-flavored smoke up anyone's ass, why can't it be seen as sacred in its many forms?

These are questions people have asked and debated many times, but asking them of yourself, for yourself is not the same as seeing other people ask. And I suppose only people who did wonder and explore the questions themselves would understand this. With age comes perspective. It is cliche, but ever so true for me these days.

I went on a bit of a tangent there, but my point is I hope that as I find myself, my voice, I will also find my art, whatever that is supposed to be. In the meantime, keep studying.

Thanks for reading,
Vicious

P.S.
I actually like the smell of patchouli.

Some months back when rent wasn't so high, I was searching for ways to keep on my art even though I wasn't feeling creative. Study is often a good alternative when you want to keep improving but don't want the creative pressure of doing your own stuff. So I signed-up for a Schoolism class on gesture drawing. I did the first week with full gusto, and then things petered out. Not without cause, but petred none the less.

The class is self-paced but the class content will not be available to me forever, so I recently decided to power-through the lessons and take notes so I can at least refer back to them later.

Sofar, the class has covered Line of Action and explained 10 second gestures in a way that has been way more productive for me than my college classes. Perhaps my college classes set me up to understand this class better, though. Or perhaps my classes would have wanted more from a 10 second gesture than what is explained in the Schoolism class. Either way, immediately helpful.

Also covered so far was Shape, Silhouette, Space, Exaggeration, and next is Extrapolation. These are all things I've encountered in classes before, but never with the same emphasis on storytelling. In this current class, it is encouraged not to stick to anatomical accuracy but focus on narrative accuracy. If it tells a better story to move body parts around or rotate the pose of a figure, to push and pull the figure in space to make the story clearer, then go for it! I always used to get hung-up on the anatomy (and still do). In past years, I started to speculate maybe drawing the feeling was more important than literal physicality of a subject, but hearing it in this class is really affirming.

That being said, for every drawing, the instructions begin with asking yourself, "What's the feeling, the story I want to convey with this gesture?" The answer to this question is the compass and tells how to draw a given figure to maximum effect.

I feel often like I am floundering when I want to draw these days. I don't know what to draw or why most times, except on rare occasion when an idea already exisists. But now I wonder if asking myself this question would help when I don't already have the story there to draw.

Whoo learning!

Anyway, check-out Alex Woo's Gesture Drawing on Schoolism.com if you want to see for yourself!

Whoot!
Vicious

I think I touched on this a while ago but didn't get very specific. I write this for myself, but I figured other folks might benefit by the example.

For some time I've wanted to push myself in a new direction, but in recent years did not have the time or energy for it. Most recently, after two or so months of feeling exhausted beyond comprehension, I determined I would make art anyway. No one's going to let me rest, no one's going to give me time to art. Like the other changes in my life, I am going to have to fight for it. Draw those last 9 minutes before bedtime, wake early if I'm tossing in bed anyway. If I'm going to be tired, I might as well have accomplished something.

That was the start of it. A couple weeks ago, that's what did. And suddenly I have a mad appetite to art. But I still am hugely frustrated that my art isn't where I want it. I will say I'm glad to be rediscovering my ink, and even more glad to break my censorship walls. What keeps me from speaking will keep me from speaking my truth, keep me from finding it in my relationships, and keep me from finding it in my art. But I want more paintings, more illustrations, and more visionary works.

Also, you can probably expect more adult content from me as I push my own boundaries. Not for spank-bank material, but for artistic exploration. (I'm sure it makes no difference to some folks, and that's fine. Have fun.)

Anyway. That was a huge preamble to what I really intended to write.

So, in practical terms, what do I want? Compositions that read easily in just 3 values, with perhaps 2-3 additional values that still sit squarely within the parent range. In other words, if I have two darks and two midtones, I want them to read simply as one dark and one midtone when I squint my eyes. Sachin Teng does this. I want to take advantage of unified shapes to clarify and strengthen readability. Mike Mignola is a master at this.

I still want those hard, straight lines. I always love having a sense of rhythm and expect elements of my current linework to carry over, but I also feel it could benefit from some more contrasting straight-edge lines.

I want to paint. I want bold, chunky brushwork in areas of light. Atmospheric, nebulous blooms of color in shadows. Perhaps like a watercolor underpainting with opaque lights painted over top. I'm not sure how I would handle transition points, but I won't learn until I do it.

Less literal, less precise. I have the bad habit when painting that I often don't see the forest for the trees. It leads to stiff, over-rendered work. Be stingy about where I focus that much precision, and know when to hold back.

Get really stupid good at anatomy so I can throw it out the window and just wing it. Or just spend more time doing more regular studies so I can throw it out the window and wing it. (That latter seems more immediately doable than the former. But we gotta have long term goals, right?)

I'm sure I'm missing stuff, but I am writing this on my way to work and my stop is after the next light. But there! I have an idea of what direction I want to move in. Thanks for reading!

Vicious

Thank you so much for helping with laundry quarters! That was super fast! My last goal for December is $35 for my Ratchet's dog food. Folks interested in helping can check-out my Ko-fi page here: http://ko-fi.com/vicious

Thanks for considering!

I also want to see about doing art for folks again, but I'm not quite ready to open public commissions. I don't want the pressure just yet of a commission queue. That said, I thought I'd take a sketch request or two, so if you're interested in a free sketch, leave a comment here with reference and we'll see what tickles my fancy.

Thanks for reading and supporting my work!
- Vicious

http://ko-fi.com/vicious
http://ko-fi.com/vicious
http://ko-fi.com/vicious

I don't actually need coffee, I need to do laundry (and buy dog food, but that's the next goal). I made a ko-fi in case anyone wants to help save me from smelly socks. I'm already at $10 of my $25 goal, so thanks for that.

I originally intended my Ko-fi to be a place for design previews but I'm not ready for that.

Thanks for considering!

A buddy of mine is in the Religion department of my local university where quite a few of the teachers are, "recovering Christians." I don't know what the phrase means to them specifically, but I like it. I have my Jesus still, but I have been undergoing the long and terrifying process of re-envisioning what that even means, to have my Jesus.

I was never afraid of hell. But I was terrified of simply being wrong. It is probably what sits at the core of my perfectionism. Which is absurd to me as I find most questions in life are best approached as open-ended. Why not this, too?

I tend to get along better with Pagans, but I also am unable to abandon my Jesus. (You'll note I specify "my" Jesus - yours might not be the same and that's ok by me.) Even when I want to, even when I am angry or impatient or don't understand the big picture. And my Jesus is ok with that, the same way I am ok with my son when he doesn't understand the big picture.

That being said, I also have a huge bent toward what most Christians of my youth would have considered to be Pagan and, "Of the Devil, Bobby," (thanks, Waterboy). This also terrifies me. Largely because I was raised to be Spirit-lead, and my Spirit seems to lead me down most of the trods I was told a good Christian avoids.

I could rant endlessly on this, but I think it is enough to say (for now) that I have my Jesus and I have my Heathen pursuits. I don't consider myself a Christian Pagan or Pagan Christian. The label always seemed silly to me, regardless of relevance.

My apologies if I am vague on the particulars. Speaking openly on the subject has always been a fear of mine. What if Christians attack me for not being properly Christian, or Pagans criticize me for not being properly Pagan?

These days I feel like I am being hollowed out, emptied of what used to hold me back. These fears are growing trivial as I care less about labels and more about substance. More pressing issues stress me beyond concern about definitions of faith, which is perhaps why I find it important to start pushing my boundaries by opening up more.

I believe in Spirit, stories, symbolism, archetypes, dreams, the interconnectedness of all things, and subjective nature of our perceptions of reality. Jesus and I go back like car seats, but I also learn a lot from other sources.

Was that ranty enough?

Thanks for reading,
Vicious

Haven't had much time or energy for art since I decided to get a divorce. Finally got an apartment for myself and my son, but my day job is really only enough to cover rent. Nevermind my other bills. I'll be trying to make the difference with art stuff that's not too taxing on energy. My prices will be higher as well, to better support myself.

Check-out the most recent batch of Sharkteeth: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/29529394/

Anyone out there like to color? Lineart or coloring books? What's your favorites, what do you look for?

I used to love coloring books when I was a kid. Even now, coloring is the relaxing, playful part of art (when I'm just doing flat color, anyway). It has started to gain a lot of attention with adults again in the last few years, which I think is awesome. Too many adults forget how to be kids.

I love coloring critters. I love interesting lineart. I love a variety of shape and detail. Especially when you find hidden details, like cobwebs and snails in a garden scene.