So I kinda stole this idea from  graffiti, except I'm changing the species to Chocobos.
I have 6 invites left as of this posting. (Possibly 8, depending on whether or not two friends and would like one. Sorry I didn't clarify earlier!)
SO! If you want a Weasyl invite, just send me a link to a drawing of a Chocobo made by you. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE GOOD! It can be made in Microsoft paint with a mouse, a bunch of pieces of paper placed together to look like a Chocobo, drawn in ketchup on a plate, etc. As long as it is identifiable as a Chocobo, you'll get an invite!


LET THE CHOCOBOS BEGIN.


My Weasyl is: https://www.weasyl.com/profile/xirafina

I slipped into a non-active state on here again, and I apologize. :<
My inspiration to draw had been wonky for the past couple months, so I hadn't been producing much until recently. I hadn't had hours at my job for a month, so I was stressing about that and a plethora of other life stuff which was probably what was sapping my motivation.

BUT
Got a new job within the company that has consistent non-seasonal hours, and it's close enough to walk to!
My car's brake line burst yesterday which means no driving for me for a little while, which sucks but I'm extremely grateful it happened to break about 100 feet from my house instead of on the highway or something. :<

So here's some stuff that's happened while I was away/lurking:

My boyfriend  nimitz42 gave me his old computer as an early birthday present! It's roughly 2357348547854 times better than my old one. (For reference: It took over 5 minutes to open Photoshop with my old one. With this one it takes about 5 SECONDS.)
Everything about it is better. My old computer couldn't handle a single game of any kind, couldn't run Livestream or watch it without difficulties, and slowed down to an almost complete stop whenever I tried to have an audio call with a single person on Skype and draw in Photoshop at the same time. It was all around slow as balls.
His old computer (now mine) has 8Gigs of RAM, 664 gigs of free hard drive space, a processor that can actually process, a graphics card that can handle pretty much any game I can throw at it, and it's connected to my TV via an HDMI cable which makes everything look delicious. Even the screen resolution is better! Now I can draw on much bigger canvases in Photoshop without fear of incapacitating lag, which will help me create smoother looking pics in the future! I also got SAI and will experiment with that as well. AND I can now Livestream if anyone wants to watch me draw!


In other news, my 22nd birthday is tomorrow, October 7th! Nim and I were supposed to go to a local chowder festival, but it's been moved to next Sunday because there's a 20% chance of rain tomorrow afternoon and 70% chance tomorrow night. That doesn't even make sense to me, I mean the festival ends at 5! >:I

But I guess that's a possible meet idea if it would garner enough interest by next week. :o
It's in Haverhill, MA, and it's from 12 noon to 5pm. $10 per person to get in, get free unlimited chowder, and see live bands and whatnot. http://www.winnekenni.com/chowderfest2012.html

So I think that's it! I'm going to be experimenting more with a detailed "painted" looking style now and then, so let me know what you think!

Commissions are now open! They will remain open until I have at least 1 Transformation slot filled and 3 normal commission slots filled.
These commissions will differ a bit from my normal ones in that for this batch, I am requesting payment upfront. (If you know my Paypal, please don't send it until I request it.)
Also, this marks the end of the $10 Transformation sequence special. After I close commissions this time, 7 panel Transformation sequences will cost $25, so get one for cheap while it lasts!
And YES, I will draw porn from now on as well!

All you have to do is send me a note with details! :>

Prices with more recent examples are here: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/xirafina/

Terms of Service is here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3238240/
(A huge thank you to anyone and everyone who helps out, or even spreads the word! :'> )

Porn. It's everywhere - Especially on FA.
My gallery is about 95% porn-free at the moment.
I've pretty much always been a "clean" artist, and porn is not what I'm known for.

My question to you is: What if I started drawing it more often?
Would you be intrigued enough to want me to draw characters of your own if I found I had a knack for it?
Now I figure most people who have their mature filters off are fine with regular porn, but what about going into fetish territory?
Death, vore, latex, Transformation sequences where the character turns into genitalia, etc.


I'm just curious about what you think.
Honest opinions here- You're not going to hurt my feelings I promise. :>

I'll spare you the gory details, (Unless you would like to know then feel free to ask) but I got hit with a hospital bill, a car problem, and a complete absence of hours at work until next week.

So I was thinking, since I've seen these around lately, that I would possibly do a Transformation auction in the future if enough people were interested. It would probably be a ladder auction, meaning the higher the bid goes, the more features/options would be available. I wouldn't be expecting the highest bid to be over $50, so the "steps" on the ladder of the auction would be set fairly low. (But who knows.) I would probably add the very rare option for the artwork to be adult if the bids go high enough as well, since I don't do adult artwork for non-close friends.
Typically, a Transformation sequence from me costs $10, and is basically a series of 7 colored sketches with no background.

During the auction, the options would be as follows: (I can tweak them with your input though!)
Starting bid: $10
If highest bid goes over $25, I'll line the drawing (Instead of just leaving it a sketch.)
If highest bid goes over $35, I'll add shading.
If highest bid goes over $45, I'll add a background.
If bid does happen to go over $60, I'll give you the option to add mature content.
Over $70- ???

As an incentive to bid, and to give as many Transformation fans as possible the opportunity, the option to spread the auction picture around by posting a link to it in a journal will most likely be rewarded with $1 to $5 off the final bid.

What do you think? Would I get people to bid? Could I pull it off?
Even if I get one bid, I'll still be better off than if I don't do anything at all, am I right!? :D

It's freaking amazing.
We have leftovers in the fridge and I've started to just tear the crust off for myself and leave the pizza for whoever wants it lol.
Oh I'm back from no-internet land by the way.
Here's some stuff that's happened that you may or may not be interested in:
All moved into the new place! It's on the 3rd floor and ACTUALLY HAS WINDOWS OMG <3
I took my dove Cocoa out of her cage today specifically so she could bathe in all the sun she had missed while being in a basement apartment.
Now she's just sitting on my computer desk cooing at me and being fat. :<
I had my Cockatiel Leo out today to enjoy the sun as well, and we had some delicious bonding & preening time together. I had to clip his wings and nails (which he didn't enjoy lol) but he was a good boy and didn't try to bite at all. I swear he's one of the sweetest Cockatiels. So adorable too, he's my widdle sweetiebabycutiebeakface! <3
So yeah! There are still a ton of boxes everywhere that need to be unpacked this weekend, but other than that everything is pretty awesome at the moment.

Also, I'm going to get a toaster oven and possibly start doing Shrinky Dink charm commissions if anyone's interested. :>

I think that's it!
*dances*
*you all receive Choco/Mog materia*

BYYYYYEEEEEE
Last day of moving today!
Completely.
Out
of
this
dickmagnet of an apartment that smells of my worst roommate's balls.
Unfortunately, the internet at the new apartment won't be up til Wednesday. D:
So I'll be doing  tain's commission during that time, but won't be able to get in contact with anybody. (Unless you have my phone number, but I highly doubt the few of you who do would OMG NEED to contact me after only a couple days of no internet lol.)
This is definitely going to be a MUCH less stressful time from this point on.
Oh man I'm so excited. :>
I'll miss you guys!

So to entertain everyone while I'm gone, here are some Indian Ringnecks being ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE saying "What're ya doin'?" and licking a phone!

Hey there!
Oh man how do I start this...
Ok so long story short: The lease holder of the apartment  nimitz42 and I are living in, is kicking him out for TOTALLY legitimate reasons. /sarcasm
It baffles me that he didn't expect me to move out with my own boyfriend, but I digress.
The point is, I'M MOVING OUT OF THIS APARTMENT! WOOO!
We were planning on moving out anyways, because of the oppressive environment most of our roommates create, and this was just the push we needed to get out and find a place.
Right now, we're working on finding a good roommate(s) to live in the second bedroom with to cut down on rent, and we've been moving all of our stuff over there while buying new things we need and starting to arrange everything while cleaning both the houses up. The point is, I haven't been on the computer as much lately because of this, and if I'm not on often for the next week or so, this is why. (Also due in part to the possibility of no internet while getting it set up at the new place.) There will be a bit of a delay with commissions, but I guarantee they will be finished before any deadlines. }:>

Also, check out this hilariousawesome sketch I got from  cameraman
http://i.imgur.com/omQwb.png

...Til I finish what's on my list down there. VVV
You have no idea the amount of appreciation I have for you guys, who spend their hard-earned money because they like my art so much. :'>
Everything and anything helps at this point, trust me.
I'll be back open again soonish, depending on my life situation. (Due to certain circumstances, I am moving at the end of the month and may possibly not have internet for a little while.)

Thank you and I love you all! <3


...Except you. Yeah, you. ಠ_ಠ

Two great people I know are in desperate need of help right now. It's FUCKED UP how the best people are usually dealt the worst hand in life, but I believe this is due in part to the fact that good people are strong enough to overcome whatever gets thrown their way, so eventually, they'll shine brighter than ever before. Good luck guys. <3


 lonelygabu 's already disabled mother suffered 2 mini strokes and a heart attack. She was denied for disability and has NO insurance, so the cost of bills from the medication, the doctor visits, and the in-home physical therapist is putting a HUGE dent in their already low funds. Gabu is also discounting a lot of his jewelry and having deals on his art commissions soon to help pay for the bills.
INFO HERE:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3316937


 border-walker is extremely close to becoming homeless. His mom is being forced to sell their house to pay off her debts and hopefully get enough to afford an apartment so Border-walker can finish college. He's opened Name-Your-Own-Price commissions to help earn what he can towards basic necessities.
INFO HERE:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3370322/


If you can't donate/commission, sharing this info is wicked cool too. :>

It's  nimitz42
Go bug him. :>

Picking up  raymondfrostwolf for a quick run to McDonald's to get some burgers and some of those I CAME IN MY PANTS delicious Shamrock Shakes. <3 <3 <3


Anybody want anything?

ADD ME ON SKYPE!
Please. :>

Anybody can add me! My Skype name is Xirafina!
I have a headset so we can even audio chat LIKE A REAL PHONE CALL c'mon guys who doesn't want that???
(Bear with me I haven't completely gotten the hang of it yet.)
Oh and anybody who had me on AIM, I've uninstalled it cause it's a pain in the ass lol.

CHEAP COMMISSIONS OPEN! http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/3238240/



Here they are: http://images.cheezburger.com/compl.....d5f0e5967e.jpg

I'm opening commissions for the first time in ever! :D
These will be cheap starting prices til I can get some practice in and become more comfortable with the whole process that involves being commissioned.

Here is a list of rules that will most likely grow the longer I am open:

1) I have the right to deny any commission proposal for any reason. Please respect that. :>

2) I won't draw any kind of porn unless I'm really hurting for cash OR you're a good friend. I've also never attempted non-human porn before and won't be comfortable offering it as a public commission option until I've practiced first.
Sexually suggestive art is ok though! ;D
SCRATCH THAT, IF YOU WANT PORN, I'LL DRAW IT FOR YOU! Lol

3) There are fetishes I simply can't/refuse to draw. Please ask about a specific one to see if yours falls under that category.

4) If your commission involves something I love drawing or am comfortable drawing, it will most likely turn out better than something I've never drawn before. (Not to say that I don't like honing my skills on different things!)

5) If I complete a drawing for you, I have the right to post it in any of my own galleries if I choose.

SOME THINGS I'M COMFORTABLE DRAWING
-Birds
-Chocobos
-Wings
-Canines
-Ponies
-Derpy things
-Pokemon
-Ferals
-Eastern/Asian dragons

SOME THINGS I'M NOT COMFORTABLE DRAWING BUT WILL PROBABLY TRY TO DRAW ANYWAYS
-Realistic anthros
-Elaborate/semi-elaborate landscapes
-Extreme angles/perspective
-Pictures with a ton of characters in them
-Inanimate objects


5) When you commission me, it is normally on a "first come first serve" basis. The only time a commission lower on my To-Do list would be completed before one higher on the list is if the first customer didn't approve their sketch & pay as fast as the second.
Example: I send customer 1 their sketch for approval, then get to work on Customer 2's sketch. Customer 1 has yet to respond, and customer 2 approves their sketch right away, so I begin work on customer 2's picture.

HOW TO:
-Note me with what you'd like a drawing of, and references for all characters involved. (If it is a written reference, I will be happy to work with you as well!)
-I will tell you how much the drawing will cost.
-If you still want the picture, I will put you on the next available spot on my "To-do" list. (Kinky!)
-I will send you a sketch of your picture. If you aren't satisfied, I will redraw it up to 2 times and no more.
-Once you are happy with your sketch, I will send you my Paypal address for you to send payment to. Also, please mark the payment as paying for Services, not Goods. Currency is in USD!
-When your drawing is done, I will send you the full size version. You are totally allowed to post your finished commission anywhere you want as long as you display a link back to my user page! This goes for ANY gift art I have drawn for you/involving your characters!
-????
-PROFIT!


Aaaannd without further adieu, the goods:

SHRINKY DINK CHARM COMMISSIONS COMING SOON!

Chibi kitty icons: $2.50 for flat colors, 3.50 for shading.
Two types, Happy
and Mischievous

$3 for a colored sketch of a single character.
+$2 per character (Fast turnaround time because I love doing these)
Example 1 Example 2

$6 for a flat color lined image of a single character.
Flat color example: Example 1 Example 2
+$5 per character in an image.
+$2 per character for shading.
Example of a drawing with shading and a simple background
+$5~$20 for a background with details, scenery, etc.
Example of a $5 background
Example of a $20 background
Plain/simple backgrounds are free.

Transformation sequences: $25 for a 7 panel transformation sequence.
Example 1 Example 2
Note: For now, I'm only doing feral transformations as I'm not comfortable with anthro TF yet.

Reference sheets: $25 for 3 views, an info section & 1 detail shot.
Additional full body views are $8 each.
Additional headshots are $3 each.
Example of a $25 reference sheet

>>>>(Double base price for pornographic images!)

All prices are in USD!
Still developing my prices so if you want anything else just ask!!! :>

Got questions about other stuff? Ask here! :D

I HAVE PICKED THE REFERENCE SHEETS ALREADY, PLEASE DON'T POST ANY MORE. THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST! :D

For a drawing I'm working on, I need 2 characters to be my guinea pigs, so if you'd like to have your character involved in a clean piece of artwork, comment on this journal with reference sheets for your characters! You can post more than one ref, but I'm only using ONE character per person.
(The character can be anthro or feral, but depending on the size of the character I may change it to anthro to suit the content of the picture.)
When you comment with your reference sheet, you will need to pick a color for each reference sheet you post: Yellow or Black.

Here's an example of the type of comment I'm looking for:

"Here are my three character's reference sheets!
[Ref sheet here] color: yellow
[Ref sheet here] color: black
[Ref sheet here] color: yellow"


This is first come first serve (As long as I get one of each color), GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!

This Kakapo rapes the shit out of this guy's head, and every time I watch it, I laugh myself into a coma.




MOAR burds:

Cockatoo & laser pointer:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?featur.....h9LIgx5eM[/yt]

WHERE:
Spare Time Lanes in Manchester, NH
216 Maple Street
(603) 625-9656
http://www.stadiumtenpin.net/

WHEN:

Sunday, February 19th at 10:30PM (For Glow bowling)

HOW MUCH:
It is 17 dollars per person, which includes unlimited bowling and shoe rentals.

WHAT'S GOIN DOWN:
Having fun Galactic bowling (glow bowling) and enjoying the light show and DJ.

WHO'S HOSTING:

 aleric_the_red_panda
Ask him if you have any questions!

Please comment to let me know if you plan on going so I can tell him to inform the bowling alley how many people will be in our lane. (Or you could...you know...tell him directly by commenting on his journal here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/...../#cid:24514718 )

SO!
I've been on somewhat of an unplanned hiatus....for a few months....isn't that hilarious? C'mon guys laugh with me! D':

A SHITSTORM has happened between the time I last logged out and now.

My boyfriend of 3 years and 8 months and I are no longer together for reasons I won't get into here.
I am now in an unbelievably blissful relationship with Aaron, the sexybeast some of you met at Furfright.  furfright (Which I attended but didn't post a follow up journal because I suck lolol. In short, it was awesome.)
That ties into why I was on a hiatus in the first place. (It's not just me blabbing about my personal life I swear)
I had to move out of my ex's parents' house, and now Aaron & I are living together. The move has been a slow and messy process in between my and his work schedules it's taken forever. During this time I've had limited internet access, and it didn't help that I had forgotten my FA password. /derp

So I'm in the process of going through the messages that have piled up during my absence and clearing them out so it's not so cluttered it demotivates me into not doing anything on this site.
To my friends who have tried contacting me, I haven't abandoned you! I just haven't been on, I'm so sorry!! D':
I also got a Scanner on Black Friday, so I'm going to scan in all the traditional art I've been doing lately and pretty them up in Photoshop once I get a VGA cable to connect my computer to the TV since there's no space in our room for a monitor.

I'll probably be uploading the unedited traditional scans in my scraps soon if anyone wants to see what I've been doing.

<3

Final details:
Due to some stupidity on my part, I ended up having to reserve a different hotel than the Super 8. (It's a 2min drive to the con though, so no worries.)
The hotel I reserved ended up being the Courtyard Hartford Cromwell

(4 Sebethe Drive · Cromwell, CT 06416)

It ended up being more expensive, but I am paying the difference so you don't have to bring more money for the hotel than you already are. :D

I'll be getting out of work at around 3pm tomorrow, and do some last minute packing so I should be on the road by 4pm latest.
I'll be swinging by to grab  pjt at McDonald's, and  trinaredmoon &  aleric_the_red_panda at his place.

Trina, I will act as your extra money for cool stuff during the con to repay you for my badge. :>

I've reserved the nights of the 13th, 14th 15th and 16th.
Again, nobody needs to bring more than the $55 they would have brought for the first hotel.

Any questions/contact info needs just note me! I'll be checking back later tonight! :>

EDIT: It seems I'll be leaving a few hours later than expected.

Alright so here are the more refined details for the planned journey to FurFright 2011:

YOU WILL NEED AN ID (Or a parental consent form if you are under 18). Here is the information on that: http://furfright.livejournal.com/364507.html
If you have a question about your ID, contact the Registration Director via the Email found on this page: http://www.furfright.org/contact.htm

If you haven't Pre-registered yet, the normal "Monster" admission fee is $30 for all three days of the con, and you can Preregister on this page: http://www.furfright.org/attendee_registration.htm
If you DON'T pre-register, your registration fee at the con will be $40 instead of $30.

The hotel room I'm going to try reserving will be in the Super 8 of Cromwell. (AKA Overflow Hotel #2)
Address: 1 Industrial Park Road
Cromwell, CT 06416
860-632-8888

The room will be the 3 Queen suite, which is $95.29 per night. (The site says it accommodates 3-6 people)
It comes with these amenities:
-Free continental breakfast
-Free high speed internet
-Pets allowed
-Bus/truck parking
-Free parking

I'm going to reserve 4 nights- Thursday night, Fri. night, Sat. night, and Sun. night.
I'm planning on leaving to grab some people on the way there sometime Thursday. Then we'll all stay the night at the hotel and be rested for the opening ceremonies Friday at 11AM.
This way, I won't have to suddenly jump into con-going RIGHT after driving 3 and a half hours to pick some people up on the way, and they won't either.

The room will hopefully end up being occupied by these fine people:
 xirafina
 trinaredmoon
 aleric_the_red_panda
 pjt
 paul43090
 blarmajin
 projectx

The room will be $95.29 per night. Since we'll be staying 4 nights, that's $381.16 for the hotel expenses.
Divided amongst 7 people, however, it's about $55 per person. (rounded up)
The pre-registration fee is $30 per person. If you register at the con, it's $40.

So not counting money for food/art/etc., EACH person needs to bring AT LEAST $85.
If you don't/can't Preregister, you will need to bring at least $95.
PLEASE bring the $55 for the hotel in cash if you can. I'm paying for the hotel on my debit card, so it's much easier if you can physically hand me the money for your share of the room VS. trying to have the hotel staff figure out how to have 7 different people pay for a room using different methods.

ATTENTION
 trinaredmoon is still taking commissions to help her get to Furfright! Here are her prices:
-ART- -BADGES-

Sketches = $3 No name (w/ bg) = $4

Traditional colored = $8 No bg (w/ name) = $4

Digital colored = $12 No name, no background = $3

References = $25 Name, bg = $6

Icons = FREE Digital = + $1
Please at least give them a look and tell all your friends! :D

The con starts Friday October 14th at 11AM, and ends Sunday October 16th at 6:30PM.
Code of conduct: http://www.furfright.org/codeofconduct.htm

LOOK I FOUND A NIFTY MAP OF THE CON! http://www.furfright.org/conspace.jpg

http://www.furaffinity.net/full/6449634/

 avirae Just made some gryphon adoptables, and they're FREE! All you gotta do is claim one, draw it, give it a name, gender, and a personality.
Only 2 designs left at the time of this post!
Link to the adoptable page: http://www.furaffinity.net/full/6449634/

WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO BUT DOESN'T HAVE A ROOM/PEOPLE TO ROOM WITH?

Well maybe this is your lucky day!
We're still hammering out the details, but basically  trinaredmoon,  aleric_the_red_panda and I would like to attempt to get our own room and share it with (at least?) 2 other people this year.
 raymondfrostwolf, I know you expressed interest in going, then decided not to go, then idk. The point is I'm confused. Are you interested in going?

To try and make it,  trinaredmoon is accepting commissions to raise money. Details here: http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/2607312/

Also, would anybody be interested in Name Your Own Price commissions from me? I'd be limited to clean feral artwork ("Suggestive" art is ok though.) but if anyone is interested, send a note my way, because I'd like to help Trina raise money to go.
Any questions about anything, let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading.

For each of the first 17 people answering this journal I will put his/her avatar and the 3 submissions I like most from his/her gallery on the list.

IMPORTANT: If you answer, you'll have to do the same in your journal, putting me on the first place, completing the list with 17 other people. The idea of this is not to get a free feature, it is to spread art around for everyone.

Please link to the journal you have made, and I will put you on the featured list :D

1)  amusedinsanity
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/5656326/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6221798/
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/3985780/ <- those markings are GORGEOUS!
2)  ncsuwolf69
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5928025/ <- I lol'd
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5114733/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4984963/ <- though I don't like the vast majority of adult art, this shows a very good collection of the artist's works.
3)  kalira9
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/4238137/
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/5842296/ <-cute!
http://www.furaffinity.net/full/4369701/
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
14)
15)
16)
17)

 fuzzzbucket 's dog has cancer and is in DESPERATE need of help! Fuzzzbucket is opening up name-your-own-price commissions to help pay for the surgery needed to prevent her from having to euthanize her Shih Tsu!
Here is a link to Fuzzzbucket's journal:
http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/...../#cid:19988272

Please imagine yourself in her situation. How would you feel if your dog was dying and people you didn't even know helped raise the money to save her life?
Even a single dollar helps.

Where: China King Super Buffet.
755 Main Street
Haverhill, MA 01830-2166

When: Saturday, June 25th at around 11AM. (Yes, this Saturday.)

Who so far:
 xirafina
 paul43090
 kinielcat


What: Going to the China King Buffet to eat and have a good time. We haven't made any reservations because we don't have a set number of people going, so anyone and everyone is welcome to meet us there. (Everyone pays for their own food, of course.)
The meet was planned to end after everyone finished eating & talking, but if you'd like to aimlessly wander around with us afterwards, feel free!