I lost a friend earlier this month.

Aaron is younger than me by several years, and had a year or so ago suffered partial heart failure due to a congenital condition. He survived this, but it weakened his body and he had been on oxygen ever since.

Early this month I received a phone call that I had hoped I never would. Aaron had collapsed while changing his oxygen tanks and EMTs had been unable to revive him.

He's gone.

As always seems to happen, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. A fellow computer tech and gamer, he was always one of the guys. He even had a girlfriend, who was with him when he collapsed. I can't even imagine how she must be feeling.

The memorial service is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Even friends from across the country are flying in, and I hope we can keep our chins up. Aaron wouldn't want us to mope.

 masukari1 and I have been working on a new base of operations for our Tekkit Minecraft game - a large ship hovering over the landscape. Kenji's design. We hadn't been able to figure out what to name the ship... at least until I got the phone call. Now, in Aaron's honor, we christened the ship the Blackhawk - his callsign. I know it probably sounds silly, but it's a good way to keep him in our minds. We're all gamers, after all.

Anyway.. I guess that's about all.

I'm wondering what people might ask Lynceus if they had the chance...

So, open book. Ask the dracat anything you want!

Well I've been working like crazy and playing Minecraft.

Work has involved a new pursuit for me in the IT field - Linux. I've got Ubuntu 10.04 on a Precision 690 "power workstation" (i.e. huge workstation with server motherboard) and this thing is a beast. Dual Xeon server CPU cores. The fun part was the hardware (I'm such a bench tech), and now the software is... draining me. Getting Samba, SQL, Apache and Wordpress working on this thing has been a slow process... Samba (for filesharing with Windows machines) is working properly after about two weeks of wrestling with the config files, and so I've moved on to the other things. Apache is for web serving; this machine is supposed to be a prototype for a new web server. Since I know basically nothing about Apache and SQL, it's been an uphill battle :P Heck, I'd never even really used Linux before I built this rig. Since I'm a child of the DOS era, though, command prompts don't scare me and I cozied up to the Linux prompt pretty damn fast.

But things are going reasonably well as I stumble through the dark on this :) It's been draining but rewarding.

At home, been helping Luna with her projects as always and have also been playing a lot of Minecraft. I discovered the Tekkit Lite modpack and am happily building solar panels and considering the pros and cons of nuclear power as I grumble to myself about never being able to find enough damn copper for the wires and chipsets. Also gotta get that crossbreeding farm going.

As for art, I'd considered doing a series of pictures about my TRON character, L.I.N.C.S. For anyone who's played the TRON 2.0 PC game, you'd probably understand when I mention that my character handles virus code (the ball primitive), has several other weapon subroutines and has a custom-built super light cycle. But my ambitions always seem to outshine my actual artistic talent, so I don't know if I'm going to be able to pull off such a series of pics... or even have time to try.

Blah.

So apparently I have a family history of gallbladder problems - three of my four grandparents have had problems with theirs.

Just as the winter vacation was starting I came home from work and Lulu freaked out because my skin was yellow - jaundice. After some investigation it was determined that I had a gallstone.

But this wasn't an isolated case. After this gallstone was extracted it was determined I had several more, including one that was 2.4cm in diameter! My gallbladder was inflamed and needed to come out entirely. So right after Christmas, I had a laproscopic surgery procedure and got the damn thing out.

But I wasn't done yet. In the time between the first gallstone and the surgery, ANOTHER gallstone had lodged itself. So I had to get THAT one out too. Getting the gallstones out was easy, since all I did each time was go under anesthesia and swallow an endoscope. Very simple, really.

Yeesh. I'm stuck with a 10-pound lifting limit right now (to put that in perspective, a gallon of milk is around 8 pounds), since I still have four incisions healing on me.

So a grand total of four hospital visits, probably three different doctors, and did I mention my Pandora and possibly my home PC both need repairs? This kinda sucks...

Haven't been drawing much lately either...

Do you dream lucidly? I often do. For those not in the know, this means the ability to literally take control of your dreams and move around in them as if you were awake. It's a pretty incredible experience.

Last night I had one such dream (well to be more accurate, probably up until about an hour ago!). Everyone knows Tron, right? Well I descended into the Grid myself.

Most of the dream centered around my lightcycle. I don't remember everything - something about defeating a tyrannical monitoring program with my rod primitive (read on) and taking his armor, fussing over getting it recolored to my appearance - and then taking my lightcycle out to a customization station to work on it.

I actually already have a version of my character for Tron - His name is L.I.N.C.S. - Logistical Intrusion Neutralizer and Countermeasure System. Basically, I'm a very high-tech ISO who actually uses virus code to fight viruses. If you're familiar with the IT industry, you may know a program called ComboFix - a benevolent virus written to temporarily seize control of the system in order to kill other viruses. Basically, that's me.

Now if you have seen anything about the extended world of Tron (basically, if you've played Tron 2.0), you'll know that a Rod Primitive is actually the device used to summon a lightcycle. It is also a weapon, just as the disc is - it's just a different kind of weapon. The staff weapons seen in Tron Legacy are one example of the use of the Rod Primitive. (In Tron 2.0, the Rod Primitive can turn into a sniper rifle or shotgun.)

The Ball Primitive is also in Tron 2.0, which is the virus weapon I use.

Extended Tron lore also shows there are multiple types of lightcycle. The type seen in Tron Legacy was a Mark 6 type and was considered the most modern type. My lightcycle was a hybrid of this type and the Super Light Cycle from Tron 2.0 - with an open-air seat (unusual at the time) and a much longer wheelbase, almost resembling a chopper. I remembered fussing over the front end, wanting a more classic Mark 6 look to the front end without sacrificing the extended wheelbase. Also installed some nasty upgrades to give anyone chasing me an unpleasant surprise.

It was at about this point that I was approached by two females who I didn't like the look of at all - you know the type, the kind who are excessively flirty because they obviously WANT something. (maybe they were those annoying sex banner ads?) I'm married, so I would have none of this. It was then that I discovered that my wedding ring (which apparently glows on my L.I.N.C.S counterpart) is also an effective slut repellant. One of these girls started to straddle my bike, facing me while I was sitting on it. I started to swat at her with my ring hand and she flew off the bike because of what was apparently a repulsion field emitted by my wedding ring *snicker*

It was about that time that my alarm went off, yanking me out of the grid and back to reality. Shame, really. I wouldn't mind going back. That lightcycle needs some more work.

Whew! Six weeks of mandatory layoff and I've managed to do little more than put on a bit of weight :P

That's why I've been so out of the loop lately. Mostly the reason I've been away is either playing Star Trek Online or writing. Haven't touched my sketchbook for a while. I've recently rediscovered my talent for writing, putting my Pandora to good use for writing things for my wife. She's been loving them ^.^ Always been pretty sharp with the English language, in no small part due to the tutelage of my mother and a fantastic elementary teacher who I'll probably remember my entire life.

Anyway, gaming...

Guild Wars 2 officially launched yesterday. There is now a huge 10-inch figure of Rytlock Brimstone, Tribune of the Charr Blood Legion, gracing my mantle - as I bought the collectors' edition. I don't regret it for a second :P I'm on the Crystal Desert server, and of course my character's name is Lynceus Glaciermaw. I'm a guardian. If you happen to see a huge white Charr romp past in blue plate armor and swinging a massive two-handed sword, most likely charging in and doing the guardian's work of keeping people safe, it's probably me! I apparently look so good someone even asked me if I was one of the game developers *laughs*

At any rate, I'm already level 27 on day two (hey, I had early access) and I'm quite happy romping around doing good for everyone I meet. I'm one of those guys who will do what a guardian is really meant to do - watch out for other people. I have a skill, for example, that teleports me to the ally with the lowest health and puts a protective barrier around them. I find such skills very useful. Damage dealing? Sure, I can hit 7+ targets at once with one swing of my massive sword (oh so very satisfying), but I really excel in keeping other people safe!

For those who don't know, Guild Wars 2 is more action-oriented than most other MMOs. Swinging my sword is less about targeting an enemy and more about actually standing in a place where the blade will make contact with them. Conversely, you can actually DODGE in this game - I can fling myself out of the way of an incoming AoE, weapon swing or gunfire, for example. With this more action-oriented combat system, it's more about positioning and what you wield than using six million different skills. In order to keep targets busy to give everyone else a chance to stay safe, I wield that huge sword to hit as many targets as I can simultaneously with one swing. Or since combat skills are entirely dependent on what type of gear you're wielding, I might switch to a sword and shield to use shield skills that have a more defensive nature - like creating reflective barriers with my shield to deflect incoming arrows or spells.

Classes are also encouraged to work together by way of an interesting addition - the ability to effectively combine their powers. If an elementalist creates a field of flame and a ranger fires arrows through that field, those arrows will catch on fire and deal fire damage to whatever enemy they hit. Or a mesmer (a caster specializing in illusion magic) might create a field where his party can become invisible so the entire party can ambush the enemy. These kinds of combo attacks between players further encourage cooperative play.

Yesterday I got involved in a massive fight against a giant that was terrorizing a small city in Diessa Plateau - at least 20 players taking him on. (The fight still lasted at least ten minutes.) What would most armored types do? Run up and start swinging at him, right? That's not what I'm there for. This guy was nasty. Getting close to him was a bad idea, even for someone in full heavy armor. I tasked myself with supporting those who did get close - the warriors - by getting them back on their feet when they got knocked down. (I was very busy.) Other than that I left the damage dealing to those with the ability to hit the giant from a safe distance. Basically, I'm a heavily armored, well armed field medic. The kind of battlefield synergy that I experience in Guild Wars 2 is the kind of cooperative gameplay that I find extremely satisfying. We watch out for each other, help each other back to our feet, and we take down the enemy - together. Booyah!

I'm the kind of person who will deviate from his personal gameplay to run over and help someone in trouble. It's just the kind of person I am. Guild Wars 2 is really good for this kind of attitude - the game really fosters cooperative gameplay and is one of the few MMOs where people are always relieved to see someone else show up. Already completed a skill challenge? Heck, people would be relieved if you stuck around to help them finish it. There's no killstealing, no XP siphoning, no loot stealing. You don't even have to be in a group with someone to help them. These are things that make me happy - being the one that everyone breathes a sigh of relief when they charge in out of nowhere to help. "Take the enemy down, I'll watch your back!"

At any rate, I'm having a blast with Guild Wars 2. I not only have a great game to play but I also have the opportunity to play it exactly as I would intend to - to support those around me and keep them safe without giving up being a badass armored warrior who can kick ass on his own! I don't think I've ever enjoyed any MMO like this one.

Ya know, I've been thinking recently -

Come out of the bomb shelters people, sheesh! Lynxie's thought process won't kill ya. :3

Anyway, I was just thinking about my art. I have actually started likening my art to playing Guitar Hero or pretending to play music along with a much-loved music track; that is to say, I don't think I'm truly that much of an artist. Now when I say that understand I don't hate myself or anything, I just feel like I'm not quite at the level to be able to put pictures together in such a way that makes me much of a real artist. I always need pose reference - in fact, if you look in my favorites, you'll see a picture by Cougr recently faved. I drew a picture from that. I don't trace or anything, but without that ref picture I never would have been able to pull it off.

Now the thing about playing air guitar is ya don't really care. You're still having fun! You get the results (the music) and you're having a good time doing it, and frankly you would be an idiot to say you were actually responsible for the music. You know better than that. It's much the same way with my art, I think Most of the time when you see a good pic by me, it's usually been kitbashed together by studying poses and parts of poses from other pictures (most of the time Lulu's art). I won't deny that I use training wheels for drawing. It's sometimes disappointing because I wish I could do this kind of thing on my own, and sometimes I want to do something in my head I don't have a reference for (Occasionally I'm able to pull it off myself anyway though!).

(as a side note, I believe that part of my problem is I'm so frantic to get an idea out of my head onto paper for fear of losing it that I have to get help to do so in a decent amount of time. I have trouble being patient with myself for fear of forgetting an idea.)

Now doing things this way would be a serious problem if this were my actual line of work - you can't fake your way through a career; not if you truly want to do good work, at least. But I'm an IT tech. I draw because I like to draw and I like to try to get my ideas on paper. I have no delusions of grandeur of being some fantastically talented artist. In fact, I rather suck. :P The fact that I can produce anything that I consider to be halfway decent is usually due to the help I use. I know I'm slowly growing, and who knows, maybe sometime I'll be able to do things on my own more consistently. But for now, most of my art is sourced from other artists I like and respect.

All of this said isn't out of some kind of lack of self-esteem (though sometimes I do feel a bit meh about it). It's merely me acknowledging reality and asking you, my watchers, to see what I see.

I would appreciate more input on my work if anyone can spare it. Meaningful encouragement that tells me exactly what you like about the pics I upload is also immensely helpful to me. I appreciate every comment anyone gives.

So yah, I know I'm an artistic hack, but the way I figure it is, at least I recognize it. I'm glad to be able to see this shortcoming, and I'm honestly reasonably okay with it most of the time because it's merely a hurdle to get over - a goal. And you know what they say, you have to have a goal in order to improve. :3

GUILD WARS 2 BETA

The beta weekend was a smashing success in my eyes. I'm honestly really looking forward to that game going live, though it's unlikely to do so this year.

Naturally, I'm a charr - I created Lynceus as an Elementalist, in the Ash Legion. If you saw me in world during the beta, I'm white and wearing almost all blue, wielding a staff. I'm pretty distinct, even among my own kind!

This is the second beta weekend I've participated in. This one was even better than the last one! (and the final event was hilarious and super laggy!)

What I'm enjoying about Guild Wars 2 is twofold - first of all, the fact that the game is structured in such a way that player interactions and cooperation are (gasp) encouraged. You have incentive to run over and help someone in a fight, or revive someone who you don't even know. There's no killstealing, no loot stealing, and you don't even have to be in a group with someone to fight alongside them. Just start slinging spells, shooting or swinging to help out. It's one of the few MMOs I've played where I'm actually GLAD to see some random person show up. Hell, there isn't even any competition for resource nodes.

The other thing is the more dynamic nature of the fighting. WoW players will take time to get used to this - you don't just stand still. You can actually manually dodge in this game. If a trebuchet is about to drop something on my head or someone is just shooting at me, I can throw myself out of the way with a double-tap of a direction key. (there's a stamina bar for this.) It's good for getting out of AoEs too. You have to MOVE in a fight. Especially me, since I'm an elementalist and wear very light armor.

Even when you go down, it's not over. Remember Borderlands' system of being able to fight while down until you bleed out? Guild Wars 2 has the same idea. You get four skills while down on the ground so you can still fight until you either bleed out or kill an enemy (which gets you back on your feet). Of course, if you're in this situation, don't be surprised if a total stranger runs up and starts trying to revive you.

Crafting is fun too. You have to figure out new recipes on your own vie a discovery window, where you experiment to see if things go together. And the armor customization... finally finally FINALLY a game that allows me to dye any of my armor - anytime, anywhere.

MINECRAFT

I've been working with Kenji on a very large project on the Furry Pound Minecraft server - building the home of Lynceus' clan, the Glaciermaw citadel Avatakira. It's a massive round stone structure and I have big plans for it. If you want to see the current progress, go here:

http://mc.furrypound.net

Click the Current button to get to the map. Once you're on the map, click the SWAMP waypoint and then scroll the map to the right - look for a huge round structure in a snowy area. That's Avatakira. (You can also follow the rail track to the upper left of the citadel to see the rest of our home complex.) With any luck I'll be posting screenshots of the build at one point or another.

Well it's been pretty normal lately. I've been mostly working, though my annual temporary layoff is getting closer.

My art has been in a real slump lately. Well, honestly, just my digital art. I still have a coloring job to do for someone - I haven't forgotten, chaz!! It's just been really hard to drag myself over to my tablet for some reason. I've come to the conclusion that I'm really not cut out for commission work, if for no other reason that I can't guarantee good turnover time - which in my opinion is unacceptable. I haven't tamed my muse - so I can't just sit down with a sketchpad and draw what I feel like any time. I have to be in the right mood, and even then I generally only want to draw certain things (like Lunamira). Those are not the kind of tendencies that make a good commission artist. As a result, once I finish the picture for Chaz, I doubt I'll be offering commissions, at least not for quite a while.

Ever teach your mother to play an MMO? That's what I'm doing lately, since my mom decided to join me in playing Star Trek Online. I realized pretty early on that this had less to do with playing the game and more to do with playing the game with *me*... I think my mom misses me. After all I'm the last one to have left the nest, and my parents have little to keep themselves occupied besides their used book business (Yoozd Books). I realized it's time to get in the habit of keeping in touch with mom.

My mother is having difficulty finishing the game's tutorial, but she seems to be having fun with it just the same - which is cool. It'll be interesting playing in a group with her - I'm looking forward to it.

Beyond that, it's just life as usual. Lunamira has been playing more games recently because she's been having a frustrating lack of artistic ideas lately - something that bothers her quite a bit. Throw in her wisdom tooth extraction within about a month or so and she's been kinda bleh lately. But that's what I'm there for - to keep her sane.

At any rate, not a whole lot else to tell. Mew.

Well, this is nifty.

Looks like the sun erupted a particularly large flare yesterday and now a large solar storm is headed our way at around 4 million miles an hour. The storm is apparently going to arrive early tomorrow morning (2-5 AM) and last all day, so do not be surprised if you experience power or networking disruptions. Nothing serious is likely to happen, however; we're well protected with our natural deflector shields (aka the magnetosphere). Still, things like power, GPS and wifi might be disrupted tomorrow. Should be an interesting work day for an IT tech like me. :P

Well I've completed my 28th trip around Sol, and I have to say it's been a nice weekend. Today is technically my birthday but we did birthday things yesterday. My parents took us out to Olive Garden and told us they were buying us a new bed (which we need) and my best friend got me a Turtle Beach headset for my PS3! Yeesh!

But the best presents always come from my wife's pencil. She presented me with a very sweet and sexy picture of her in a tiny apron (and nothing else) holding a big birthday cake. Sexy and adorable. She also drew a cute chibi of herself in a maid outfit ^.^

I think she's actually going to draw more for me and make me dinner :) Dear god I love that woman so much <3 She's amazing.

At any rate, yah, I'm 28 now, whee. :P

In other news, I've still got a trade to finish coloring and a commission to do, but other than that I've been working on a few private comics for my wife and working on her birthday present :3 I might post it next month here on FA.

*sigh*

Just checked my account balance today. Whoopee, all the bills decided to hit AT THE SAME TIME and now my savings are GONE, and my bank account is at -77.90. The worst part? I just checked it YESTERDAY and it looked FINE.

Does anyone have some bricks I can smash my head between? I need that right now.

My folks are going to help me, which is a godsend, but I'm still just pissed beyond belief that this happened at all. I thought I was GOOD at taking care of my finances. I know, I know, I just came off layoff but they ALREADY gave me money to make sure I could make rent (which I did). I looked things over carefully to make sure I hadn't been robbed, and frankly I almost wish I had been. That way I'd at least have someone else to hate for all this. And someone else I could pin to a wall with their own shattered femurs and then proceed to messily rip all their their skin off with a rusty scalpel.

Drakitty is not happy.

*pounds head through a wall*

I thought the "ask my character(s) questions" thing was a nifty idea.

So... anyone have questions for Lynceus? The dracat is listening!

Whew! Layoff is over. I'm in that temporary money crunch point where the last of the unemployment is trickling in and I'm scraping together rent money because the next paycheck isn't coming in for two weeks :P I have a feeling I'm going to be very, very tight on money soon.

I've been working on lots of art. I've discovered that I honestly don't enjoy doing digital work very much. I'd much rather kick back with a sketchbook, and that's mostly what I've been doing. I have a ton of pictures that need to be scanned, inked and colored... no idea when I'll get around to doing that.

Mostly what I've been drawing is pinups, or a short series of pics. Nothing serious.

My last paid commission is about 80% finished and I should be able to finish it up and post it before long. After that I just have to color a trade I'm doing with someone and my art obligations will be finished. Apologies to those still waiting. >.<

My Pandora had a minor, known issue (for those who own one - it was Purple Tint) and I shipped it off to Germany to get fixed. It's now back in my paws and working just fine.

Beyond that, not a whole lot to report. Luna's been working on her project, and I've been helping. We got a gym membership to try and stay in shape, and we're going to be trying to go on a diet soon. With any luck that'll make us feel better.

Finally... for those who are familiar with old DOS games... anyone have a fully functional, registered copy of Blake Stone? It had weird copyright protection that didn't allow any more than the first level to be played unless it had a DIZ file in place that I haven't been able to replicate. Anyone have a functional copy? Wanted to put it on my Pandora.

Anyway.... yah. I'm back, let me know if anyone needs something.

Were you one of those people who played Hellgate London a long time ago? If so, you were probably like me and were royally pissed when they shut the game down in the middle of what looked like a successful operation. EA does that - they shut down seemingly successful MMOs, probably just because they aren't making enough money.

Well, Hellgate has returned. Apparently it's been snapped up by a Korean company and has been enhanced, made free to play and it's actually quite good. Lulu, Kenji and I have rejoined this old favorite, and if you liked Hellgate back in the day, you might be interested to see it now.

It's now called Hellgate Global. All of the expansion and previous subscription material has been made free to play, with one noted exception (I'm sure you were waiting for this)....

...If you know anything about Korean MMOs, you know they're free to play at a price of annoyance. Namely, that ingame "item mall" thing that requires real money to get items. Thankfully Hellgate doesn't have many items in this mall you can't live without.

However, the one item you HAVE to have that costs money is a ticket to allow your character access to Act III of the story. I understand this costs five bucks. Not bad, really, but this is the kind of stunt that I think might have killed Hellgate in the first place - telling people it's free to play and then pulling a "oh wait, you have to pay to get to this content." Unhappy people on the Global forums have equated this new annoyance to making the game effectively like a demo.

The other annoyance comes in the form of locked weapon mod slots. Roughly half the mod slots in most weapons you find will be locked, requiring an item mall purchase to unlock them. Of course, in Hellgate, since the weapon turnover rate is so damn high it's not really worth doing this; all this change really ends up meaning is that weapons now effectively have fewer mod slots. I suppose I can handle that.

Beyond those two annoyances, however, Hellgate is just as good as I remember! So if you were an old player of this overlooked MMO, go find Hellgate Global. There's only one server, so if you happen to see Lynceus or Lunamira running around, that's us!

It's the beginning of my second week of layoff and frankly I'm having quite a nice time. For those not in the know (most of you I'd imagine) working for the agency I work for has a mandatory layoff time each year, linked with the fact that we work pretty closely with the school year - not to mention the fact that we're a nonprofit agency. Don't worry furs, I do get unemployment for the six week duration and a guaranteed return to work, so I'm not starving or anything. It basically amounts to a vacation.

Despite the free time, art's been really slow going. I'd like to extend a personal apology to both  lafeel and  daelyhelaxon for not getting their pictures done yet. I'm sorry you two, I just haven't been able to get into doing color work lately. Lafeel's pic is in the process of being colored as I force myself to get it done.

My Pandora has been having problems lately. Being an open-source device that's still in development, it's bound to have a few issues so I'm not particularly surprised or upset. Specifically, its LCD video cable has shown signs of being faulty - a known issue for the units produced around the time I got mine. The screen occasionally gets what's known on the Pandora forums as the "Purple Tint." I'll be shipping it back off to the UK to get repaired soon, thankfully at no cost to me beyond shipping costs. The unit is still under warranty.

Lunamira recently started up an RPGMaker project and I've been helping her with coding as well as getting her started into the world of creating spritesheets - she promptly got the hang of creating sprites and zoomed way past my own skill and experience with them; now she's making sprites that would get the attention of a Game Boy Advance game developer. No surprise there. She's also been getting better with the coding. I anticipate her not needing me much at all before long.

Our Minecraft complex on the Furry Pound Minecraft server has grown to gargantuan proportions. If you're on that server and are heading east of Pony Mall through the rain forest and come upon a massive complex that looks like it could be a small city, that's probably my home. Take a stop in the guest room and leave us a note you were there. :) I like people to see the work we put into our home. Just watch out for the occasional baddie spawning inside the grounds, we're still working on that problem (and the outer perimeter wall is only about half done!).

Anyway, not much beyond that to report. Drop me a note if you need anything.

~ The Dracat

Driving home from the dentist on Friday my car overheated and blew itself up. It's terminal. The head gasket blew, the head is warped, and three of the four cylinders filled with water. The car is 9 years old, and hasn't given me a bit of serious trouble until now, but now I'm borrowing my dad's extra car to be able to go on with my life. It's likely I'll be buying that car from him.

Naturally, this is within weeks of both my next rent and my mandatory layoff time from work. I've no idea what's going to happen next; just gotta save money as much as I can.

Commissions are still going. I'm going to try to stream tonight.

Not been feeling very worthy of carrying a Y chromosome lately. Being an IT technician is not the most masculine thing I could be doing with my life (but it's the only thing I'm capable of, and honestly, I do enjoy the work), and as you can imagine I don't get as much exercise as I probably should. I've decided to start trying to eat better and take supplements to make me feel a bit more like what I feel I should be.

Any married man who's devoted to his wife wants to make her happy, and I'm no exception. It's however often difficult to even get a smile out of Lunamira - not because she's unhappy or depressed, but because she's simply a very quiet and often shy personality who doesn't have strong reactions to very much. At times this is mildly taxing.

I've been just working through things, getting healthier things to add to my diet and trying to be the man she deserves to have. I don't anticipate this will be easy.

(Speaking of diet, I somehow had the idea that wheat germ would be gross, but it's really not that bad. Had it in my oatmeal this morning. Has a sort of nutty quality about it.)

Okay, enough of my boring personal life no one cares about. Let's see how the crappy scribbles- er commissions are going.

 tapewolf Finished.

 shadowzero20 Ready to color.

 lafeel Ready to color.

 wingblack Flat colors done, only needs shading and background.

I also really need to finish my half of the trade with  daelyhelaxon since he's finished his half and is waiting patiently.  lei-lani asked me to wait on her trade.

It's likely I'll also have another commission coming soon.

Don't hesitate to get ahold of me if you need something, furs.

Well, I've finally got some commissions and I'd like to thank everyone who's been supportive and spread the word, and of course the folks who actually decided I'm worth spending money on. I'll do my best to give you something you like :3

Folks, by all means let me know if you have any questions or need to tell me something!

Here's how things stand so far.

COMMISSIONS

 tapewolf - Single character full color commission

STATUS: Fully penciled, scanned and ready to ink. This one will not be streamed and takes priority for specific reasons (i.e. deadline).


 shadowzero20 - Single character full color commission

STATUS: Fully penciled, scanned and ready to ink. Will stream if commissioner desires.


 lafeel - Single character full color commission

STATUS: Refining sketch. Almost ready to scan and send for second stage sketch approval. Will stream if commissioner desires.


 wingblack - Single character full color commission

STATUS: Selecting/blocking in pose. This one might be a bit of a challenge.


TRADES

 daelyhelaxon - Two-character full color trade

STATUS: FULLY INKED. Will color this one on stream.


 lei-lani - One-character full color trade

STATUS: Fully penciled, scanned and ready to ink. Will probably stream this one. NOTE: On hold at Lei-lani's request.

Okay, since everyone turned up their noses at my other prices when I opened color commissions I suppose I'll have to just obey the laws of economics and drop the prices. *sigh* And here I thought I'd developed some marketable skills. Apparently not.

As before, single character. More characters we can discuss.

Sketches are probably going to end up free if I offer them in streams. I will probably regret this decision.

$10 digital inking Example
$15 digital color Example

I've also wondered if anyone would be interested in some of my writing. I frankly have a rather high writing level, having passed college writing 123 level (which according to my teacher, apparently and rather arbitrarily that makes me a better writer than 90% of the American public... whatever that means). I've always thought my writing was better than my art, I just didn't figure anyone CARED, and I'm probably right.

If anyone by chance wants me to write something for them, I suppose we could talk about it. I have no idea what I would charge for such things, I suppose it's negotiable.

Sorry if I seem a bit snappy. I'm not having the best time right now; money is tight and I'm a bit stressed at work right now - I've got new machines to image for service (one is on the bench as I type this) and the entire fleet of agency laptops is dropping into my lap today for maintenence. I'm a busy, financially strained dracat and standing on the street corner of FA waving my newly acquired digital color commission offer has attracted precisely zero customers, despite the fact that I recently passed 500 watchers. (Cynicism mode: They probably all watched me because of seeing the model sheets that LULU did, not realizing that it wasn't my art...)

*rubs temples* I can't even draw for myself lately, my muse has been so dead. I can only work with something someone else asks me to do. Don't know why. I suppose it's something.

Need stress relief...
*goes to play classic Doom or Quake on his Pandora*

...and it kicks ass.

My Pandora arrived a few days ago, and now I've got it loaded up with enough software and games to put to shame any PSP, PDA or smartphone. Holding a Pandora makes the 3DS look like an unimpressive, gimmicky and cheap toy.

If you've not heard of this remarkable device, and you're a retro gamer and/or computer poweruser, you'll want to read this. This device is a handheld computer only a bit thicker than a Nintendo DSLite. Make no mistake, though; this is not just a gaming device. It's best described as a pocket computer in the ways that any given PDA or smartphone simply fails to be. I plan to do all my writing on it.

Take a look at the specs:

-600Mhz ARM Cortex CPU running Linux
-256 MB RAM (That might not sound like a lot, but the PSP only has 32)
-Dual SDHC card slots and Svideo TV out
-430Mhz TMS320C64x+ DSP Core
-USB port (i.e. you can plug USB devices INTO it)
-802.11b/g Wifi
-Bluetooth
-PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
-D-pad, A/B/X/Y/L/R buttons and dual analog sticks
-43-button QWERTY keyboard
-4.3" 800x480 16-million-color LCD touchscreen
-10 hour battery life

The Pandora is constructed over in the UK, and I'm lucky enough to own one over here in the US. This little powerhouse does NOT COME CHEAP but if you're willing to shell out the cash it's quite perfect for a computer geek who enjoys retro games and who likes being able to use what feels like a REAL COMPUTER anywhere they want. It's an open-source device, which means it's customizable in ways most devices aren't.

This thing makes a PSP or 3DS look like a pocket calculator.

Sound good? Take a look at it. I know i'm going to be enjoying mine for a long time.

http://www.openpandora.org

My presence on both FA and WatchTail is probably going to be minimal for the next two weeks. The usual place I do my business on those two sites - my IT lab - is going to lose its internet uplink until the 17th. You can still reach me, I just may not respond immediately. Just wanted to let everyone know.

Hi furs, I'm here to announce that I'm participating in a charity auction to raise money for  KreziHeyzi - she is in dire need of oral surgery.

I am one of the artists donating artwork in the form of a commission. You can read all the details here:

http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2269004/

I'd really appreciate if you stopped by to check it out and place a bid on one of the many auction lots. If you can't bid, it helps to spread to word, too! Heyzi is a really nice person and she needs our help!

All of the 17 artists involved really appreciate all of the bids to raise money for Heyzii!
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2285623/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2285623/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2285623/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2285623/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2285623/
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2285623/

Well folks, with the help of my wife Lunamira, I've finally taken that huge step into color work. Now that I'm comfortable with the technique involved in what I do, I'm bringing it to you all!

Color commissions are officially open.
(Art trades are also still open.)

My price list for a single character goes as follows. The range takes into account the complexity of what you're asking me to draw (like the complexity of the character).

$5-10 sketch (digital or traditional)
$10-20 lineart (Digital inking)
$20-30 Digital color

Additional characters will have to be negotiated on a case by case basis. If you're interested in a commission, please let me know through a note and we'll talk about it. I can also stream your commission too on WatchTail if you would like to watch the process - in fact, I like it this way because I get instant feedback! I like to get things exactly right.

I accept Paypal.

As for subject matter: Pinups (either gender) are basically my favorite thing to draw. General naughtiness is not a problem, again for either gender. (I've drawn males jacking off too yaknow ;P) Hetero sex is about the only kind of sex I really feel comfortable drawing; I guess I could do lesbians (have done it before), and I have actually TRIED to do gay male sex - honestly, it's less about my comfort level with drawing it and more that I feel I can't properly render it. After all, I'm not gay and I don't know what it's like. I'd obviously feel a bit more comfortable drawing two girls (after all, I like the ladies :P) but I have reservations about my ability to pull off what a commissioner would truly like or want. I genuinely believe there are many other artists out there who would probably be better at rendering such subject matter. Until I grow a bit more confident about this, you'll have to ask me if I'm up for drawing such subjects. My sincere apologies for this.

Beyond that, I'm reasonably flexible on subject matter. Violence is not a problem as long as it's not gratuitous (or mixed with sex). Gore I'm not good at anyway. I can draw cubs as long as they're CLEAN PICTURES (I work for a child care agency for heavens sake!!!). Some fetishes are okay like bondage and such, but things like watersports and the like I'd prefer to stay away from. (Honestly, if you want a talented artist who will literally draw anything, look no further than Moodyferret here on FA! She's very good!)

I'm more than happy to work with you about what you might want in a picture from me; just note me and we'll chat about it. Don't be afraid to ASK, I won't shun you for it! I like to stay strictly professional about any art clients. We all have our fetishes. And if I'm not comfortable drawing it, I might be able to point you to an artist on FA who will be! I am familiar with MANY artists.

If you want something drawn, give me a shout!

Well, I was working on taxes during spring break and I've been bitchslapped. Because of updating tax tables submitted to my employer, my W-2 came back with NO wages withheld. Translation? I owe nearly 1000$ in state taxes.

I'm not in any real danger - I'll figure it out. But it would make me feel a lot better if I could get some extra income coming in. If anyone can spare 15 or 20 bucks for a commission, I'd really appreciate it. Art trades are still open too, I suppose.

Just let me know here on FA or if you happen to catch me in a stream.