what about male transformation? =o

Not a huge demand for it, a large majority of the members would have to be okay with it. They tend to prefer boobs.

shame...males deserved to be transformed as well :c

Well there is always TF/TG

(nods) yea...but if I'm transformed I'd like to start as a guy and finish as a guy ^w^;;

I might send some $ depending on what you end up doing.

I wouldn’t want to see 26 one page transformations. One page ones always feel unfinished to me.

If you're still playing around with what to do, maybe some smaller increment gets a sketch page, then every 25 gets an inked image, and every $100 gets a color image to end one transformation sequence and start the next?

I might post this on your forum too, I think I need to make an account.

We'll see what happens, I just want consensus between everyone and I don't want to keep people waiting on finished art. A lot of people like my one page TFs, and I thought variety would be best.

This sounds good to me. I often enjoy Miranda's 1 page TFs, but with that many of them in a row the law of diminishing returns would probably kick in...

I'll be making my donation later on today, myself, as this TF donation drive sounds interesting. :) I'm going to have to register on the smokingpen forums first so I can properly voice my own requests regarding TF-ed characters, though.

Other than that, good luck on the donation drive, hope it turns out successful so you can get these bills paid!

Get a job

Being an artist isn't considered a job? How about a marketing and advertising coordinator? What about an SEO expert? How about a web designer? Graphic designer? Backend php specialist?

Let me know which of my many jobs qualify in your eyes as a job. Thanks =)

I can only imagine a 15 year old behind the computer to be the one to type out this moronic statement.

And why would you imagine that?

Also, I forgot I work part time for my health insurance benefits. Does having a job count as having a job?

What about an online business? Is that a job?

When people say stupid things online, generally it's assumed they're an uneducated person. You can then assume it's likely they're a child or a teenager.

Because only ignorant, immature children should be making comments like that...

But then I'd only badmouthing 15 year olds. They're probably MUCH smarter than you are, idiot.

I'm pretty sure immature children are those who respond to a three word sentence with name calling like that.

Who called anyone names?

You never responded btw, to my various jobs that aren't jobs.

Let me know what you think.

"Because only ignorant, immature children should be making comments like that...

But then I'd only badmouthing 15 year olds. They're probably MUCH smarter than you are, idiot. "

This guy's more butthurt about this whole thing than you are. I respect you for being so collected about this.


How much of that do you actually get paid for? Those are all very impressive, but it doesn't sound like you get much for any of that.

That's none of my business of course. All I know about you is your art. You made it seem like all you did for a living was draw pictures for the internet, since you seem to rely so heavily on that instead of all your other jobs, which I would think should be more of a priority than drawing pictures.

But like I said, It's none of my business.

And why should you care what I think?

It's all part of my job(s).

Yes I draw pretty pictures for money, but those pictures don't upload themselves onto the internet. Those pictures don't get people to buy things without my website being prominently viewed, and often. My website has to be run, my other galleries have to be run. My advertising has to be paid for, has to be written, has to be effective. My download shop has to work, work well, and be secure as well as feel safe for the customers. My forums have to be maintained. My emails have to be replied to, quickly and efficiently and politely. Questions have to be answered.

Drawing pictures for the internet can be a very large, long, drawn out process. It's not just the pictures, but everything on whole. Any successful web comic artist, any successful online author owes much of their success to their whole, their website, their products, their service and so on. I don't have a staff, I have to maintain the whole myself.

If I did this for a living in the public sector, I'd be making a hell of a lot more money than I do making art - but you might have noticed the economy isn't fantastic.

I've done these jobs for companies in the past, but they'd rather have me as an intern for free doing the same labor as a paid employee, than hire me. Working in web design as a single freelancer can be great, but right now it's really rough. Local businesses don't want to update their websites, or if they do your quote is too high. If a business wants new menus, new business cards - they're going to get it done for free online via staples or vistaprint - they don't want to spend the 100$ your charging for a custom logo and deal with the hassle of getting it printed themselves. It's about cost, labor, and ease of use. It's harder to talk to a person, than just make something quick yourself. I find what I do now has easier customer interaction, and I don't care for phone calls at the crack of dawn about how "my book cover needs to be black" when the printer won't print it in black.

I'd rather do something I enjoy far more, even if I make less. It's about creativity and enjoying what you do. I enjoy doing graphics and things of that nature as well, but I don't like being haggled or compared to free services. I don't like to invest 50 hours into a project for someone to pull out because now they 'dont have the money'. Doing what I do now might seem like a gamble, but it's honestly a safer source of income. I know if I work hard on my artwork, I'll make money. If I work on someone's local projects, I can probably say its more than 70% likely they'll cancel and I won't have a dime. Contracts are only useful if you have the money to go after a company if they decide to not pay you. You can send them 50 or 5000 invoices, and none of it matters. You're a single person, a freelance designer. You're nothing to them.

I did pretty well for myself before the economy collapsed. A majority of my fans/customers/friends are now unemployed or cutting back on added/extra expenses. The first thing people trim from their wallets is that 65$ video game, or that 20 dollar book, or those 2$ downloads every week.

I don't think I've lost viewers or fans, in fact I'm sure I've gotten more as the years have progressed. I do what I can to make ends meet right now, and try to give freebies as much as I can, because I know not everyone can contribute or spend the money right now. It's how life goes.

I care what people think, because people are my source of income. Even the people who scream profanities and say I suck sometimes have valid points to make, even if it's hard to see it through the anger and frustration.

So you're a hobbyist/freelancer whose income is based purely on how interested potential clients are in you. Living like that can be very difficult. I commend you for going at it like that for as long as you have.

However, it may not be a bad idea to take a graphic design job - there are plenty out there - and do this on the side, at least until you can get back on your feet.

Of course, I'm probably looking at it too simplistically.

Like I said, local design firms are looking for people to do the work but not get the pay. Average starting pay should be around 20 - 25$ an hour, but recently people have been taking as little as minimum wage, with college degrees and years of experience. Someone freelancing out of college is only going to get an unpaid internship (which I've done repeatedly).

I could work in NYC, I could work in Boston, and anywhere in between. The low paying jobs are taken by people with 20+ years of experience because they were laid off. The internships are taken by anyone hoping to get a foot in the door, usually students out of college who are still living at home.

I don't have the luxury of trying to network while being the person who makes coffee in the morning and works 60+ hours a week for no pay.

I've had plenty of job interviews, and offers... but when you walk into some of these places and your gut is telling you to run the fuck out the door when you see how they treat their PAID employees, you wise up really fast.

I have a friend who works in a spanish only design firm, she used to work 40+ hours a week with a great salary. Now she's working part time hours but usually goes home before noon each day. No clients, no work, no pay. She lives with her family, so she's lucky.

I'm lucky and thankful I have work at home. Doing what I do means I can't be laid off, I just have to be determined and work hard.

It's really unfortunate that things are as they are, that so many people are out of work that any design firms or businesses that are hiring can pick and choose as they please. It's not a worker's market. One job I applied for had over 3000 applicants over a weekend. They picked ten people to interview, I was one of them (despite not having a BA and only having an associates degree). After the interview they offered me 8$ an hour, no benefits, 90 day contract only. I'd work long hours, up to 60+ a week, driving 50 miles to work and 50 miles home each day. I literally just blinked for a good few seconds, taken aback by the insanity of it all. If anyone who had interviewed had realized how little they valued our skills... I thanked them for their time and left my business card and offered to do any freelance or outsourced work they might need. Even the interviewer from their HR department understood, he had a distasteful look on his face from even reading what they were offering. Other employees are not working for 8$ an hour.

I'd have to pull in 15 plus an hour, full time and with benefits to equal what I currently make, and I still would have to continue to supply my download shop with new content. People have gift cards, people shop with me often. Think of it as if a regular online business just one day vanished. Amazon.com couldn't do that, neither can I, despite my small size.

There's not a dramatic difference between the demand for graphic design and web design product, and digital art downloads. Both are seen as a creative art that's an 'extra expenditure' on paper. Design firms are hurting, advertising agencies are hurting. I remember when I worked at the radio station, they were losing advertisers (small businesses and large) in the droves. People don't have the money for the 'extra' stuff right now.

People care more about individuals than companies, so while businesses shutter their doors, I'll still be here. I might be struggling a bit right now, but where there's a will there's a way. Eventually people will get back on their feet, jobs will start to open up again, and I'll be breathing a bit easier.

Well, I sincerely wish you luck. Sorry for being an ass earlier.

Thanks. S'alright.