Apologies for my absence these past few months. Since starting my job in May, I've had much less time to spend keeping up with deviantART, as well as my art in general.

Firstly, I would like to thank any of you that came by our table at this year's Detroit FanFare convention. It's great getting the chance to interact with other creators and fans alike. Caught up with a couple of former college classmates and made the acquaintance of a few artists. Even spoke with bibliographer Randall Scott of the Michigan State University Library, who purchased a copy of 'The Uniques Tales' to add in their archives, which is the largest collection of comics in the country. That alone made my year. I shared this with *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove, the creators of the series, so hopefully the rest of the writers and illustrators have been made aware of the exciting news.

As I mentioned before, I'm afraid that my art has had to take a back seat, between working a full-time job, seeing friends and family, and tending to other, everyday matters around the home. And while my actual art output has been severely slashed, I assure you that I haven't stopped working on personal projects. With *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove's help, I've been gradually roughing out and refining a concept for a comic series, which actually got its start when I began working at my current place of employment. Oddly enough, I find that having myself occupied with menial tasks frees my mind to wander and put together ideas.

And don't get me wrong, I am rather fond of my job and the people there. The folks are friendly and assembling batteries for the medical field gives me a very real sense of purpose. As it happens, we had ourselves a company Christmas party this last Friday with a half-day of work. There was food, presents, and pleasant conversation with some good laughs. It says something when your boss will sit at the same table as you and take the time to talk and ask about you. And while I don't necessarily need another set of tools, the gesture is still appreciated.

Getting to the heart of the matter, I will not be taking on more commissions but with a few exceptions. And if you're curious and want to inquire, please feel free to drop me a note, comment, or write an e-mail. I'm not closing up shop entirely, simply limiting myself as my time has become more limited. In regards to current commissions, particularly the sketch cards, I'll try to get to these when I'm able. I appreciate your continued patience. But if it has run out, I understand and will return your payment if it's already been sent. No harm done.

Thanks for following along, which I hope that you will continue to do. And with less than a week left, I'll go ahead and wish you all a merry Christmas and happy holidays! I hope that yours is spent with loved ones.

--------------------
$10 SKETCH CARD COMMISSIONS [link]

SLOTS:
(1) ~10th-letter - Cerebus the Aardvark
(2) ~10th-letter - Flowering Nose
(3) ~CapnFlynn "Age of Apocalypse" Magneto
(4) ~Juniperfern O.C. Claudette Schwarz

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea _{($10 commish, price remains the same; also free print and shipping)}

--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
four sketch cards
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

-EDIT: this artist feature is a repeat-

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~Honguu-Setsubi!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Fall category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She made an absolutely lovely picture of Drew and Annarie sitting together on a bench, cute as can be. And definitely kudos for even making an attempt at Annarie's motley hoodie. Believe me, I've tried my hand at it as well and that gets my respect. So take some time to look over my personal picks from Honguu-Setsubi's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Happy Easter
Oh mai... Whut.
CoP - Cherry
SD sketches, OH NOES DX
WWP - Hellhound

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

Wow. It's been a wee bit too long since the last journal. Sorry about that, everyone.

Getting down to business, I wanted to let my fellow deviants in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and others nearby that I'll be attending this year's Detroit FanFare. You can find me at table 613 along with former college-mate and good friend Jason Westlake this weekend, so be sure to catch us there! Likewise, be sure to pick up a copy of FanFare's exclusive artists sketchbook, "Re-Imagining Detroit," which includes my "The Mighty Tool Man Taylor" [link] drawing. Nab a sketchbook and I'll be more than glad to sign it.

For those wondering about the results of the Harvey Awards, sadly 'The Uniques Tales' did not take home this year's award for Best Anthology. *sigh* Still, the nomination does give myself and the rest of the collaborators confidence for next year. I know that artist couple extraordinaire *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove have mentioned a few times in passing about a future 'The Uniques Tales' vol. 2, so here's to possibilities.

--------------------
$10 SKETCH CARD COMMISSIONS [link]

SLOTS:
(1) ~glitterkunt - O.C. Gerxa _{(finished: [link]}
(2) ~10th-letter - Cerebus the Aardvark _{(awaiting pencils)}
(3) ~10th-letter - Flowering Nose
(4) ~CapnFlynn "Age of Apocalypse" Magneto
(5) ~Juniperfern O.C. Claudette Schwarz
(6) ~Hulk-Collector "Crimson Mist" Batman _{(exchanged for existing card: [link]}
(7) -available-
(8) -available-
(9) -available-
(10) -available-
(11) -available-
(12) -available-
(13) -available-
(14) -available-
(15) -available-
(16) -available-
(17) -available-
(18) -available-
(19) -available-
(20) -available-

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea _{($10 commish, price remains the same; also free print and shipping)}
(2) -available-
(3) -available-
(4) -available-
(5) -available-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
four sketch cards
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother

Recently Finished:
'11 Burgie Awards event poster [link]

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

-EDIT: this artist feature is a repeat-

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~Honguu-Setsubi!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Fall category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She made an absolutely lovely picture of Drew and Annarie sitting together on a bench, cute as can be. And definitely kudos for even making an attempt at Annarie's motley hoodie. Believe me, I've tried my hand at it as well and that gets my respect. So take some time to look over my personal picks from Honguu-Setsubi's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Happy Easter
Oh mai... Whut.
CoP - Cherry
SD sketches, OH NOES DX
WWP - Hellhound

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

The Harvey Awards are currently accepting votes and as it happens 'The Uniques Tales' (created by dynamic husband-and-wife duo *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove) has been nominated this year for Best Anthology! This is a considerable honor to myself and all the other talents that contributed to the book, and with your help perhaps we can win this award. If you would be so kind, visit the Harvey Awards website to fill out and submit a ballot before the August 6th deadline. Votes are accepted only from contributors in the comic field (independent or otherwise), however. But given that deviantART is an art community, the odds are good that many of you already are.

Here are some of the many talents that came together to create 'The Uniques Tales' with a presence here on dA:



Thanks, and wish us luck!

--------------------
$10 SKETCH CARD COMMISSIONS [link]

SLOTS:
(1) ~glitterkunt - O.C. Gerxa _{(finished: [link]}
(2) ~10th-letter - Cerebus the Aardvark _{(awaiting pencils)}
(3) ~10th-letter - Flowering Nose
(4) ~CapnFlynn "Age of Apocalypse" Magneto
(5) ~Juniperfern O.C. Claudette Schwarz
(6) ~Hulk-Collector "Crimson Mist" Batman _{(exchanged for existing card: [link]}
(7) -available-
(8) -available-
(9) -available-
(10) -available-
(11) -available-
(12) -available-
(13) -available-
(14) -available-
(15) -available-
(16) -available-
(17) -available-
(18) -available-
(19) -available-
(20) -available-

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea _{($10 commish, price remains the same; also free print and shipping)}
(2) -available-
(3) -available-
(4) -available-
(5) -available-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
'11 Burgie Awards event poster
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
four sketch cards
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother

Recently Finished:
---

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

-EDIT: this artist feature is a repeat-

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~Honguu-Setsubi!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Fall category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She made an absolutely lovely picture of Drew and Annarie sitting together on a bench, cute as can be. And definitely kudos for even making an attempt at Annarie's motley hoodie. Believe me, I've tried my hand at it as well and that gets my respect. So take some time to look over my personal picks from Honguu-Setsubi's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Happy Easter
Oh mai... Whut.
CoP - Cherry
SD sketches, OH NOES DX
WWP - Hellhound

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

It's been a couple of months since last I posted an update here on deviantART, and I feel that an explanation is in order. I've been employed by a small, battery assembly factory through a work temp agency. It is good work, but has cut significantly into my personal time and energy that would otherwise be devoted to my art. I've been trying to gradually shift gears, to become accustomed to working a typical eight-hour shift, rest, then spend some time on artwork. But it's been a painfully show shift, I regret to say.

To my current commissioners, I ask for your continued patience. If, however, your patience has worn thin believe me when I say that I understand your frustration. It is incredibly frustrating to genuinely have the desire to illustrate, but little to no stamina left after putting in my hours at the factory. To those who have already paid for artwork yet rendered, and are tired of waiting, please send a note and I'll be sure to refund your payment. I don't like being a debtor, so either way you're getting the artwork as originally agreed on or the money back. If, though, you're still interested in keeping your current commission, I thank you and assure you that your wait will be rewarded.

In the meantime, because this transition has been taxing, I will keep commissions open but forewarn potential clientele that there will be a significant wait and especially caution those who ask for artwork of a time-sensitive nature. Advance notice will be required and no rush jobs, period. I simply cannot put together an illustration in haste and still maintain the sort of quality that I personally expect from my work. Especially when it comes to my art, it may take time but it will be done right.

My apologies for the rather sullen note of this particular journal. I expect that the next will be better, hopefully. I thank my viewers for their support and sympathy, and assure you that these are simply growing pains. It will pass and it will get better.

--------------------
$10 SKETCH CARD COMMISSIONS [link]

SLOTS:
(1) ~glitterkunt - O.C. Gerxa _{(finished: [link]}
(2) ~10th-letter - Cerebus the Aardvark _{(awaiting pencils)}
(3) ~10th-letter - Flowering Nose
(4) ~CapnFlynn "Age of Apocalypse" Magneto
(5) ~Juniperfern O.C. Claudette Schwarz
(6) ~Hulk-Collector "Crimson Mist" Batman
(7) -available-
(8) -available-
(9) -available-
(10) -available-
(11) -available-
(12) -available-
(13) -available-
(14) -available-
(15) -available-
(16) -available-
(17) -available-
(18) -available-
(19) -available-
(20) -available-

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea _{($10 commish, price remains the same; also free print and shipping)}
(2) -available-
(3) -available-
(4) -available-
(5) -available-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
four $10 sketch cards
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother

Recently Finished:
O.C. Gerxa sketch card [link]

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

-EDIT: this artist feature is a repeat-

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~Honguu-Setsubi!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Fall category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She made an absolutely lovely picture of Drew and Annarie sitting together on a bench, cute as can be. And definitely kudos for even making an attempt at Annarie's motley hoodie. Believe me, I've tried my hand at it as well and that gets my respect. So take some time to look over my personal picks from Honguu-Setsubi's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Happy Easter
Oh mai... Whut.
CoP - Cherry
SD sketches, OH NOES DX
WWP - Hellhound

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

The job search still continues, though I've recently been working a fill-in factory job after an employee quit without much notice. Granted it's temporary, but it's money all the same. My main complaint are the odd hours, which mess with my sleep and keep me from my artwork. For those waiting on commissions, again I apologize. I had intended to get a fresh start on things when the opening came up that very same week in March. However, I have found time to illustrate,  as you can see from my most recently finished sketch card.  [link] Hopefully I'll have time to do even more this coming week, so thanks for your patience and keep watching for more to come.

I've also got two additional bits of news to share. First, and more importantly, issue nine of The Uniques Tales has recently been finished for the anthology series and the first volume collection should soon see it's debuted online release! After paying a visit to friends and comic creators *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove last Thursday, I was able to finally hold the anthology in my own hands. Let me tell you, the sensation of holding and admiring your own artwork in a publication is nothing less than surreal. That, and reaffirming the pride you take as an artist in your work. I can hardly wait to display copies of this first volume at the conventions!

The second bit of news I mentioned involves an April Fool's Day joke, or more appropriately a "Fish Day" joke. Didier Pasamonik of the French website Actua BD posted this little bit of tomfoolery on the first of April, which included my Fast Food Mafia artwork: [link] The trick involved said that KFC was announcing the launch of a Colonel Sanders comic, with the highly-guarded recipe as a "magic potion" like in Asterix. Normally I dislike the whole April Fool's Day holiday, in part because I find little humor in pranks. However, this was one joke that I could appreciate!

--------------------
$10 SKETCH CARD COMMISSIONS [link]

SLOTS:
(1) ~glitterkunt - O.C. Gerxa _{(finished: [link]}
(2) ~10th-letter - Cerebus the Aardvark _{(awaiting pencils)}
(3) ~10th-letter - Flowering Nose
(4) ~CapnFlynn "Age of Apocalypse" Magneto
(5) ~Juniperfern O.C. Claudette Schwarz
(6) ~Hulk-Collector "Crimson Mist" Batman
(7) -available-
(8) -available-
(9) -available-
(10) -available-
(11) -available-
(12) -available-
(13) -available-
(14) -available-
(15) -available-
(16) -available-
(17) -available-
(18) -available-
(19) -available-
(20) -available-

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea _{($10 commish, price remains the same; also free print and shipping)}
(2) -available-
(3) -available-
(4) -available-
(5) -available-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
four $10 sketch cards
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother

Recently Finished:
O.C. Gerxa sketch card [link]

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

-EDIT: this artist feature is a repeat-

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~Honguu-Setsubi!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Fall category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She made an absolutely lovely picture of Drew and Annarie sitting together on a bench, cute as can be. And definitely kudos for even making an attempt at Annarie's motley hoodie. Believe me, I've tried my hand at it as well and that gets my respect. So take some time to look over my personal picks from Honguu-Setsubi's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Happy Easter
Oh mai... Whut.
CoP - Cherry
SD sketches, OH NOES DX
WWP - Hellhound

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

Wanted to write you guys and give you an update for the month of March, so here goes.

After conferring with my former college mate, Jason, my planned convention appearances have been altered. As much as I would've liked to, it doesn't look like I'll be attending the Motor City Comic Con in May. There's some sentimental feelings that I have towards the show, since it was my first comic convention, both in visiting and attending as a guest in Artist Alley. If things turn out for the better, perhaps Detroit FanFare in September will be a possibility. This convention attracted some of the same people from Novi, so I wouldn't feel as bad for missing Motor City. Those aside, my application to JAFAX in June is currently under review (keep your fingers crossed ), plus artist couple extraordinare *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove have encouraged me to attend Youmacon in November with them. I'll keep you posted as these plans develop.

Also, apologies to those who have been waiting on commissions. I'll be working through the list of sketch cards, as seen further down in the journal. And I ask a particularly large pardon from ~AstraKiseki, who has been patiently waiting on her second portrait commission for so, so long. I'll see if I can work on that as early as this coming week. As an added compensation, you can expect it to have higher detail, as well as a print mailed to you completely free of charge. Consider that my way of saying sorry.

For those interested in commissioning a sketch card, prices are temporarily at a flat rate of $10 USD per card (Plus $1 USD for mailing costs, more if it's an international shipment.), be it in grayscale or color marker, headshot portrait or full body figure. Refer to the designated gallery folder for samples of my sketch card work, to give you an idea of the attention to detail that you can expect: [link]

For the time being, there will be a limit of twenty slots made available; first come, first served. I accept payment through PayPal and check, though I generally prefer the former to the latter. Please send me a dA note if interested. I'll update the slots as they're filled, regularly.

SLOTS:
(1) ~glitterkunt - O.C. Gerxa _{(currently inked in, awaiting colors)}
(2) ~10th-letter - Cerebus the Aardvark
(3) ~10th-letter - Flowering Nose
(4) ~CapnFlynn "Age of Apocalypse" Magneto
(5) ~Juniperfern O.C. Claudette Schwarz
(6) -available-
(7) -available-
(8) -available-
(9) -available-
(10) -available-
(11) -available-
(12) -available-
(13) -available-
(14) -available-
(15) -available-
(16) -available-
(17) -available-
(18) -available-
(19) -available-
(20) -available-

On a final note, I've added a new deviant in the Artist Feature, so make sure to take a look! To those that are still waiting on their prize artwork (You remember, that Salad Days art contest held back in May '09? ...Oops. ), we'll see about righting that embarrassing little mishap at our earliest convenience.

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea _{($10 commish, price remains the same)}
(2) -available-
(3) -available-
(4) -available-
(5) -available-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
five $10 sketch cards
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother

Recently Finished:
the Holy Family portrait, for a local lady [link]

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~Honguu-Setsubi!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Fall category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She made an absolutely lovely picture of Drew and Annarie sitting together on a bench, cute as can be. And definitely kudos for even making an attempt at Annarie's motley hoodie. Believe me, I've tried my hand at it as well and that gets my respect. So take some time to look over my personal picks from Honguu-Setsubi's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Happy Easter
Oh mai... Whut.
CoP - Cherry
SD sketches, OH NOES DX
WWP - Hellhound

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

It's been a blue moon since I've written a new journal, so here's my two cents on recent events. If you're interested in hearing how the Detroit FanFare convention went, head on over to my Blogspot site and read the review, there. [link]

Well, let's see, for starters I've moved my art studio space into a larger room. About time, too, because I couldn't make myself work anymore inside that closet. In all seriousness, it was about the size of a closet, and that's what it will eventually be turned into. It's been eating away at me for a long time, now, not having a real place to call my "office," "studio," or what have you. I've got that sort of mentality that requires a work space to do real work. And trying to work out of a closet or in the living room doesn't cut it. Period. So while it's still very cluttered, I feel much less aggravated and can try getting my act together.

In other news, it seems like the commission work has started coming in from different directions. When it rains it pours, so it seems. There are a couple of potential commissions that I'm anticipating in particular. I'll be sure to elaborate more on them when it's a sure thing. But I will say this: one might include drawing the line art for a comic anthology's short story. Really interested in the premise, and at the moment I'm waiting on the script. I'm very optimistic about this.

Didn't sell the sketch cards at Detroit FanFare, which I'll admit was a bit discouraging. But as my father told me, you've just got to keep producing, and to that end he's right. I've enjoyed drawing the sketch cards that I've made so far, and I'll see if I can't keep at it. I mean, they're small, can be done within a day, and I have some ideas for where to go with them when I've made enough. On that note, I'm adding sketch cards to my repertoire of commission offers. All are done in Faber-Castell artist markers and Micron pen, but the prices will vary, some. For those interested, here's what I have in mind:

Grayscale markers, single figure (head to waist) -- $15 USD
Grayscale markers, single figure (full figure) -- $20 USD
Color markers, single figure (head to waist) -- $20 USD
Color markers, single figure (full figure) -- $25 USD
Sketch cards with multiple figures, we'll negotiate on price.
Sketch cards are mailed in standard envelopes, so include an additional $1 USD for mailing costs. More, if it's international. And all cards automatically come in a plastic protector.

Like I mentioned before, I've currently got a bit on my plate, but sketch cards are easy enough for me to fit in. (And having some extra pocket money for the holidays wouldn't hurt, either.) So to test the waters, I'm currently offering only five slots. First come, first served. Grayscale and color are both fair game.

SLOTS:
(1) -empty-
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

So that's about the jist of it, here on the home front. Keep vigilant, as more will inevitably come.

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
fantasy portrait, for a friend's mother
the Holy Family portrait, for a local lady

Recently Finished:
pastel drawing, for a friend [link]

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

EDIT: This is a repeat feature.
This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

As you may have noticed, there's been a recent appearance of sketch cards in the gallery. This is in part due to the upcoming Detroit FanFare, which is fast approaching. Be sure to mark this October 30th and 31st in your calendars, especially those who live nearby or within the Dearborn, Michigan area.

True, this convention falls on Halloween weekend, however there should be plenty to see and do for those who attend, including a "pre-show" zombie walk that Saturday morning. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the artists and vendors handed out candy to the kids, either. Might do a little of that, myself. And I would be remiss if I failed to mention special guest Stan "The Man" Lee. Even if you aren't especially a Marvel fan, you've got to admit he's established one heckuva legacy in the comic industry.

If visiting yours truly for a little one-on-one time at the table isn't enough, there's a possibility that I'll be attending the "Shots 4 Sketches" after-hours event on Saturday night. Right now it's just a matter of Jason and myself agreeing whether or not to commit. I'm not much of a drinker, but then again the artists don't actually have to drink the shots. (Working the following day with a nasty hangover is not my idea of fun.) A portion of the proceeds also goes to charity, and I'm usually inclined to help a good cause. In relation to that, the American Red Cross Detroit Chapter will be there that Saturday to take blood and money donations as part of the "Blood 4 Comics" event -- pretty self-explanatory.

So stay tuned for further posts, and if you can come visit the table that would be great! Expect to see more sketch cards and at least another zombie mini-print or two. Maybe another special addition as well, but for now that's my little secret.



--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

EDIT: This is a repeat feature.
This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

Apologies for the inactivity as of late. That can be accredited to two causes, procrastination aside. Firstly, I've been working a full-time factory job as a temporary fill-in, and the hours just wear me a little thin during the week. Secondly, not one but both of my computers have had viral problems. At least I managed to salvage my data from the desktop before wiping the drive, but the netbook is stuck in a start up loop. Hoping to have it looked at and see if the data can be salvaged. We'll see. Not holding my breath, but we'll see.

Right, right. Moving along, I've been conferring with one of my former Kendall classmates, Jason, and we've agreed on attending the Detroit Fanfare convention that is coming October 30-31st. [link] Not exactly sure how I got their attention, but they sent me an invitation via e-mail. Nothing like a special guest, mind you. Simply an invitation to reserve a space at the show. Still, felt that was kind of flattering. So if you missed me at the Motor City Comic Con last spring, you'll have another chance. Always appreciate a greeting and good conversation.

In other news, ~Arada is partaking in #Joint-Comic-Project's current character contest, so I'm helping to get the word out for her. If you would send a vote for her that would be kind of you, and I'm sure that she would appreciate it very much. ( Read more in her related journal, here: [link] ) And while I'm on the topic of promoting, independent filmmaker Matt Keatman had asked if I would promote the short film "Bureau of Vital Statistics", which, as some of you may remember, I illustrated the storyboards to. ( Page one: [link] ) Watch "Bureau of Vital Statistics" on YouTube, here: [link]

Can't think of much else to add, other than my apologies to those who have been waiting on commissions, namely ~AstraKiseki, and the Salad Days contest art prizes. You haven't been forgotten, I assure you. And I'll be sure to go the extra mile with the artwork to make this long wait worthwhile. The $20 character portrait commissions are still available, as are regular commissions, but just be aware that I won't likely get to them soon.

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming 2nd Burgie Awards
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

EDIT: This is a repeat feature.
This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

So here's the big reveal of all the work that's been going on behind the scenes as of late. The latest issue of 'The Unique Tales' has made its online debut today and is available for your reading pleasure, absolutely free. If you're a fan of *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove's 'The Uniques' series, I probably don't need to elaborate too much. But for those of you who are unfamiliar, 'The Uniques' is a present-day, superhero comic book series revolving around a younger generation, rag-tag team of heroes. Issue three of 'The Unique Tales', 'The Uniques's sister mini-series, delves into the Golden Age of their heroes' precursors during World War II. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Read 'The Unique Tales' #3, "...As Defined By Our Choices," here: [link]

I have to really applaud Adam and Comfort with their undertaking in 'The Unique Tales'. It's no small task orchestrating a mini-series like this, collaborating and constantly deliberating back and forth with the contributors involved. They may not work for Marvel, DC, or the other big name publishers out there, but make no mistake they are true professionals. (And quite frankly I am glad for their independence. They have their own, real identity as artists and in their work.) So it's been a privilege working with them and indirectly with the others contributing to this particular issue. And with that, here are the contributors to "...As Defined By Our Choices."

Written by: Bryan Glass [link]

Cover by

Drawings by:

Color by: and

Taskforce pin-up by:

Liberty pin-up by:

Ghost pin-up by:

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$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


Recently Finished:
~ZeeBluePiggy's Maus the Mouse King [link]

--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming Glutton-o-thon event
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

EDIT: This is a repeat feature.
This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

This makes my third year attending the Motor City Comic Con, and I have to say that it feels good having another one under my belt. Again, I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Jason W. for a second time, as well as Brandon C., a first-timer to the comic convention scene. Both are former college classmates of mine and all-around real good guys, too, so it made for a very comfortable visit of drawing and chatting during the show.

Sadly, while *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove (creators of the self-published series 'The Uniques') were unable to attend, we were able to see some other familiar faces from the Grand Rapids area, including Gina V., ~SCOTTeFRESH, and even an illustration professor of ours. It was very encouraging to visit with each of them for a bit. Also visiting Guy Davis' table was a special treat since he's a personal favorite of mine, contributing enormously to Dark Horse's 'B.P.R.D.' series as well as his self-made series, 'The Marquis'.

Didn't sell a lot of prints, though the Fast Food Mafia did alright. The caricatures, however, went over very well. So that was reassuring. As you may have noticed, there are also some recent additions to the gallery. During my downtime, I hammered out some monochromatic marker drawings to sell. Well, none of them actually sold, so if one should happen to catch your eye be sure to let me know!

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming Glutton-o-thon event
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

Apologies for the lack of updates, everyone. Been working on probably the most elaborate pin-up that I've done yet, and in digital colors to boot, for *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove's 'Unique Tales' mini-series. That, and getting ready for this upcoming weekend's Motor City Comic Convention [link] in Novi, Michigan has kept me recently occupied. So if you're attending, or just in the area, be sure to stop by our table. A simple "hello" is always appreciated.

On a side note, be sure to show your support for ~KidNotorious. He's one of the artists that I've been connected indirectly with through Adam and Comfort in their 'Unique Tales' endeavor. He's having some hard times right now.

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming Glutton-o-thon event
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

I've decided to put a hold on the B.P.R.D. prints until some point after mid-May. Been giving it some thought and if Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman (the central characters to Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. comics) weren't selling so well last year when I attended the Motor City Comic Con, there's no sense to invest valuable time into the lesser-known characters. I'll get to them eventually, but I'd rather focus my energy on artwork that will likely sell better at the upcoming convention, which brings me to the postcard zombie prints. I have a good feeling about this latest project and think that there are several pluses working in my favor, such as: smaller prints are easier to make and quicker to produce, they sell for less so encourages sales, and are part of a series so encourages collecting. The logic seems sound, at any rate.

Also, I thought that this was pretty cool, so I wanted to share it with you guys. I'm not really sure how Jason Yungbluth caught wind of my Fast Food Mafia piece, but he gave it a "Link O' The Week" feature on his webcomic site, Deep Fried. [link] I made a recent mention of his "Weapon Brown" series in a conversation in the comments section of that piece, so maybe it is somehow related with the feature. Seems too coincidental for it not to be. Anyway, the on-going series is awesome, especially the way Yungbluth incorporates and interweaves iconic comic strip characters into a gritty, post-apocalyptic scenario. If you're able to tolerate loads of violence and the occasional pinch of BDSM (if this were an action/sci-fi movie it would be rated "R", at least, so fair warning) you'll find "Weapon Brown" to be a good read.

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming Glutton-o-thon event
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

-EDIT-
Wanted to give some attention to Matt Keatman's short film, "Bureau of Vital Statistics". [link] Does it look familiar? Well, if you've browsed through my storyboards it should. This has been my latest storyboarding project to date. We've talked about working together again on another project, so you might expect more storyboard art under Matt's direction down the road.
-end EDIT-

Been somewhat AWOL as of late on deviantArt, so it's time for some updates.

In my previous journal I made mention of my contributions to an upcoming comic called Unique Tales, a sister mini-series to *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove's The Uniques. It will consist of nine short stories, beginning with the 1920s and continuing on chronologically through to the 1990s, the present time set in The Uniques. Various illustrators (and writers) are contributing to the project as well, be it cover art, interior art, pin-ups, or the like. Here are a handful, just to give you an idea of how big this is.

Each story will be released on the first Wednesday of every month. And as it so happens the very first story, "The Existence of Angels", is available to read for free at The Uniques website. [link] Once the mini-series ends in November it will all be collected into a large trade book.

In other news, I've recently finished a watercolor commission only to have another one fall in my lap. But before I move on to that, I'll be working the rest of this week on *Rebelshade and ~AstraKiseki's portrait commissions, which I've fallen grossly behind on. To make it up, you'll be getting a print of the finished pieces free of charge. It seems like the least that I can do. Note or e-mail me your mailing addresses, so I can send them to you when they are finished. Thanks for your continued patience.

The Motor City Comic Con is coming soon this May in Novi, Michigan. With that in mind, I need to get my act together and prepare some more prints to sell. The main objective will be to finish the BPRD pin-ups that I began, which included Abe Sapien, Hellboy, and Liz Sherman. The remaining three will include Johann Kraus, Roger the homunculus, and Captain Ben Daimio. If I can get that far, I will be pleased. If I do manage to have enough time for another pin-up, I'd like some suggestions. At any rate, if you find yourself in the neighborhood between the fourteenth and sixteenth, be sure to stop by our table to say hello!

Also be sure to check out the latest Artist Feature in this journal, below. That also reminds me, ~AnhDang, ~WhiteTigaw, ~ZeeBluePiggy, my apologies that ~Arada and myself haven't completed the S.D. art prizes just yet. Some parts are finished, others are not. We will get to them when we can. Thanks for your patience.

--------------------
$20 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea ($10 commish, price remains the same)
(2) -empty-
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming Glutton-o-thon event
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
*Rebelshade O.C. Prince Zebulan
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something that I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~WhiteTigaw!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Summer category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She went above and beyond the call of duty by submitting not one but four entries into our little contest, one for each season. Thank you very much, WhiteTigaw! So take some time to look over my personal picks from WhiteTigaw's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
WWP Summer Vacation
SDPP - Lumin Domun
WWP Students - WW style
WWP Students - WW style 3
WWP Students - WW style 4

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

Time for a few updates, for those of you who have a keen interest in following my activities. Been keeping myself busy, partly with a special project for *AdamWithers and *ComfortLove, creators of the self-published The Uniques superhero comic. If you follow them you'll likely know this already, but for those not in the know they're starting a new series called Unique Tales with short stories written and illustrated by other artists that expands on the history and setting of The Uniques. I've been working out character designs for several superheroes, which has been exciting since I love this line of work and greatly admire Adam and Comfort. The last designs will be finished this week, but will wait on posting them until the time is appropriate. So look forward to that. You can read more on the series here: [link]

In other news, I have a watercolor painting with a deadline coming up very soon, so I'm afraid that my commission clients here on deviantArt will have to be patient for a while longer. My apologies, particularly *Rebelshade and ~AstraKiseki. After February 1st, you'll be my top art priority.

A final update, this is not a done deal yet but it looks promising. Joseph Bullock-Palser of 5th Wall Gaming got in touch with me recently to discuss using the Fast Food Mafia characters in a LARP (live action role-playing game) of sorts, which will be used at several conventions their business will be visiting, such as the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. I'm rather unfamiliar to the game scene, but this sounds like it has good potential. I'll be designing the name badges for the event, myself. So if all goes accordingly, you may have the opportunity to play as one of my fast food mafia characters.

--------------------
$10 CHARACTER PORTRAIT COMMISSIONS

SLOTS:
(1) *Rebelshade O.C. Prince Zebulan
(2) ~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea
(3) -empty-
(4) -empty-
(5) -empty-

examples: [link] [link] [link]
--------------------
S.D. CONTEST ART PRIZES [link]

Remaining:


Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
Burger Beast: poster for upcoming Glutton-o-thon event
Burger Beast: revamp of his blog's logo
*Rebelshade O.C. Prince Zebulan
~AstraKiseki O.C. Bai'chea portrait

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]

Remaining:


--------------------
ART TRADES [link]
Art trades are currently closed for the time being.

Remaining:


--------------------
CLUBS (that I belong to -- for GROUPS, refer to the widget)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

~mangareaderrad!
As the winner of our Salad Days contest's Spring category, she gets a special feature in my journal for this month. She was the first to enter into our little contest, which was not having a lot of luck, initially. So ~Arada and myself were very encouraged by mangareaderrad's contribution, which included an additional submission into the contest's Summer category as well. Thank you, mangareaderrad! So take some time to look over my personal picks from mangareaderrad's gallery, and of course I encourage you to browse through her gallery yourselves.

Here are some examples of her work:
Will you</acronym>
Summer love</acronym>
Philomela-WWP</acronym>
Abe</acronym>
Heartless in Wonderland_Color</acronym>

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:

Hey, all! If you're in Michigan, be sure to visit the Motor City Comic Con</acronym> in Novi, a suburb of Detroit in Oakland county. I'm setting up a space there with several fellas from Kendall College, like *SharpWriter. The convention starts this Friday and continues through Sunday, so if you come be sure to stop by... And of course maybe buy something. *coughs* But I'm not a hardball salesman, so I won't pressure you. If anything, just a "hello" would be nice. But if you care to see some of the goods I'm selling, here are three pin-ups, which you can buy as prints.



Additionally, there will be sketchbooks and I'll be taking commissions. So again, if you're able, come to the Motor City Comic Con. You'll have a good time.

Here are the highly anticipated (well, maybe not highly, but hopefully anticipated) winners of the Salad Days contest ~Arada and myself have collaborated together.





Our first prize, the "Best of Show" award, goes to ~AnhDang for her entry, SPRING SKIES: Drew and Annarie</acronym>.


She wins:
a full body, original character drawn by myself and colored by ~Arada
5 chibis of her choice by ~Arada
an artist feature in *Tyshea's journal
an artist feature for two months in ~Arada's and my journal
2-3 character drawings by ~Arada





~mangareaderrad was our very first contestant. This contest was slow to start with, which was rather discouraging to say the least. So her entry, Will you</acronym>, has special significance to ~Arada and myself.


She wins:
a colored character portrait (i.e. headshot) drawing with a chibi version accompanying it (~Arada and I will decide who draws and colors what)
an artist feature for one month in ~Arada's and my journal





~WhiteTigaw went above and beyond the call by creating an entry for each of the four seasons. Wow! In the end, ~Arada and myself decided on WWP Summer Vacation</acronym>.


She wins:
a colored character portrait (i.e. headshot) drawing with a chibi version accompanying it (~Arada and I will decide who draws and colors what)
an artist feature for one month in ~Arada's and my journal





~Arada and myself were very impressed by ~Honguu-Setsubi's entry, .Happy Easter.</acronym>. Honestly, we were pretty close to making the "Best of Show" a tie between ~AnhDang and ~Honguu-Setsubi.


She wins:
a colored character portrait (i.e. headshot) drawing with a chibi version accompanying it (~Arada and I will decide who draws and colors what)
an artist feature for one month in ~Arada's and my journal




I was keeping my fingers crossed that ~ZeeBluePiggy would have something for the contest. She did not disappoint with her entry, SD That One Tree</acronym>.


She wins:
a colored character portrait (i.e. headshot) drawing with a chibi version accompanying it (~Arada and I will decide who draws and colors what)
an artist feature for one month in ~Arada's and my journal



~Arada's choice:
~WhiteTigaw, ~mangareaderrad, and ~Honguu-Setsubi will be getting an icon for deviantArt from ~Arada.

~silentsketcher's choice:
~WhiteTigaw and ~Slayer-1412 will each receive a sketch from myself. The details we can figure out later. Just ask.

-edit-
The contest is closed. Thanks to everyone who has submitted an entry! I'm personally very glad with the turn-out. ~Arada and myself will take some time to decide on the winners, so until then please be patient. We'll try to not keep you in suspense for too long.
-end edit-

Now, before you get too excited, this contest isn't being put on by *Tyshea or the Wormwood Project</acronym>. This is a little something that ~Arada and myself are collaborating on, just the two of us. We're such big fans of Salad Days that we wanted to hold a contest to help create more artwork for the comic, as well as good will amongst its fans. Now by all means you can enter even if you don't have an original Salad Days character or haven't so much as even heard of the comic. That's fine and, in fact, if it means we've helped create a new fan of the comic, that would be wonderful. At any rate I'm rambling, so on to the contest description and rules.

~Arada and myself both have characters in *Tyshea's Salad Days: Annarie, an Easter bunny</acronym>, and Drew, a cu sidhe</acronym>. The concept of the contest is to include the two outdoors with a seasonal theme. They could be building a snowman during winter, jumping in a pile of leaves during autumn, having a picnic during spring, or lighting fireworks during summer. Whatever you like, be creative. And there's no reason to limit it to just the two of them. If you have a Salad Days character, have them join in on the fun. In fact, we encourage you to.

So here's the rundown with the seasons. There's four, of course: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Choose the season you'd like best. With each one we'd like you to include a specific tree and flower somewhere into the picture. It can be the actual plant, a design on a shirt, just a couple leaves, or whatever. Take your pick. Spring's pair is a dogwood tree and violets, summer's is a willow tree and lily of the valley, autumn's is a maple tree and fern (not a flower, but ~Arada likes it a lot), and winter's is a pine tree and snow drops. You can submit multiple entries, but you're limited one entry per season.

Moving on, the judges will be ~Arada and myself, who will also be making the prizes for our winners. First prize will be the "Best of Show", which we'll agree on together. "Best of Show" will get a full character drawing with limited background done by yours truly and colored by ~Arada. If the winner chooses, they can have two characters instead, but will be only upper body drawings. They don't have to be Wormwood High characters, but we'd like it better if they were. Same goes for the other prize drawings, which brings me to the next batch.

There will be four prizes following "Best of Show", one for each of the four seasons, so four winners. Each of these contestants will win a colored portrait (i.e. headshot) character drawing with a chibi version accompanying it. ~Arada and I will be alternating between who will draw the portraits and who will draw the chibis. We're also keeping the artist combinations random in relation to the seasons, so we won't have lots of entries for one season and little or none for another. Lastly, there will be at least two honorary mentions, one chosen by ~Arada and one by myself, that we find particularly noteworthy. The prizes for honorary mentions will be up to the individual who chose it. ALL contest winners will also have an artist feature in my journal, as well as ~Arada's.

The deadline is April 12th and you may start submitting entries as early as Tuesday, January 6th. As mentioned earlier, you may submit multiple entries. It won't necessarily give you an edge, but more Salad Days fan art is always appreciated, especially by *Tyshea, and won't go unnoticed. Be sure to send the contest entries to ~Arada via note. It would be a nice gesture if contestants would send me a note as well, though it isn't necessary. We will be keeping track of the entries in our respective contest journals, both to show the entries off and encourage others to join in on the fun.

Here's ~Arada's journal on the contest: [link] If you found my journal a little confusing at any certain point, I suggest you read hers. She laid out the details a little more simply than myself.

Entries by Contestants:
Will you</acronym> and Summer love</acronym>
SPRING SKIES: Drew and Annarie</acronym>
SD That One Tree</acronym>
WWP Spring Break</acronym>, WWP Summer Vacation</acronym>, WWP Back to School</acronym>, and WWP Winter Holidays</acronym>
.Happy Easter.</acronym>
Timeless Entry</acronym>

Entries by Seasons:
Spring
Will you</acronym>
SPRING SKIES: Drew and Annarie</acronym>
WWP Spring Break</acronym>
Timeless Entry</acronym>
Summer
Summer love</acronym>
WWP Summer Vacation</acronym>
Fall
.Happy Easter.</acronym>
WWP Back to School</acronym>
Winter
SD That One Tree</acronym>
WWP Winter Holidays</acronym>
--------------------
COMMISSIONS [link]

Current Commissions:
-none-

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]
Remaining:
one of her original characters
Spiral Knight [link]
Xenosaga's Chaos and/or KOS-MOS

--------------------
ART TRADES [link] (Want to do an art trade? Just ask and I'll get back to you on it.)

-EDIT: Art trades are currently closed for the time being.-

Current:
OC art trade: both doing ~Mishuku's Mishuku and my Drew, i.e. Cu Sidhe [link] [link]
OC art trade: dancing Angie & Sith [link] [link] and *Tyshea's Drew the demon dog
OC art trade: ~bigdave2080's Ozymandius [link] and my golem, Adam [link] ( his: [link] )
fantasy art trade: !NightStorm's Boraeus & Zephyr [link] and my Cu Sidhe [link] with a folklore/mythical creature of her choice
OC art trade: ~VeraPeneda's Cale and Vaeros [link] [link] for my Cu Sidhe [link]

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
CLUBS (clubs that I belong to)


--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

Romeo-casually!
It was back when I did an art-trade with =Aeolus06 that I first learned about !romeo-casually, known at that time as ~random-crazyness. But it wasn't until the #WormWoodProject that I really took notice of his work. Since then I've come to be a fan, especially with the plethora of Salad Days characters and fan art he pumps out. ... Seriously, it can be staggering at times. And you can tell the quantity does not hinder his quality.

Here are some examples of his work:
OC - Audacious Vixen</acronym>
WWP - X the son of Santa Claus</acronym>
OC - Color Theory</acronym>
WWC - Hot for Teacher</acronym>
WWP - V.S.W</acronym>

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:
[link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link]

Other Past Features:
super features [link]
various artwork feature [link]
first ten feature [link]

EDIT

Since I've not been able to manage drumming up much business, I'm keeping my commission prices at half-off indefinitely. That is, portraits, full/upper bodies, and backgrounds will cost half what they're listed as below. The special price reduction for commissions including over three characters will remain the same. So it's still $5 off each with line art or shaded art and $7 off each with digitally colored art.

Like it says below, just contact me via deviantArt's note system or at my business e-mail address, andrew.shirey@yahoo.com. If you are the rare sort willing to pay the original full price, I would appreciate it greatly.

END EDIT
--------------------------------------------------

Some points I want to make regarding commissions:
I reserve the right to refuse work when I see fit. And I absolutely refuse to do pornographic work. That aside, I'm pretty open and flexible to anything else.
I accept payment through PayPal. I will not work on your commission until I recieve payment AND have come to an agreement on the commission itself. All the details need to be hashed out before I begin.
If you are interested in commissioning me, please contact me either through deviantArt's note system or at andrew.shirey@yahoo.com, my business e-mail.
For personal promotion, I will post commissions on deviantArt unless a client specifically expresses not to. Watermarking your commission is also an option.
Reference images are helpful and good descriptions are key. I can't help you if I don't understand what you want.
I keep the original work, unless you're willing to pay extra.
The time it takes to complete a commission varies. Circumstances may also come up that can affect my work time. Regardless, once we've agreed on a commission, it's a done deal: you will get what you've paid for. Also, I try to work on a first come, first served basis.
Unless some personal reason is expressed against such, I might be inclined to make prints of the commissioned work available to others for purchase. Keep in mind, this would only be in the case where it seems very likely to sell. Such an example would be a detailed pin-up of a popular, copyrighted character. If the character does not belong to you, I see no reason why not.
No refunds. Sorry.

Now for the commission rates themselves:

LINE ART (pencil)
character portrait - $15
upper/full body character - $30
additional characters cost the same, but after 3 characters I'll knock off $5 for each extra
background - $10-30 (depends on detail)


SHADED ART (pencil)
character portrait - $20
upper/full body character - $40
additional characters cost the same, but after 3 characters I'll knock off $5 for each extra
background - $15-40 (depends on detail)


DIGITALLY COLORED ART
character portrait - $25
upper/full body character - $50
additional characters cost the same, but after 3 characters I'll knock off $7 for each extra
background - $20-50 (depends on detail)


Miscellaneous Details:
Commissions can be done on 8.5x11", 9x12", or 10x15". The first is typical paper while the latter two are bristol. If you are interested in a print or having the original mailed, we'll discuss that as we hash out the commission details. Also, since I find 10x15" work a pain, both to draw on and to scan, I charge an additional $5 for commissions of that size. In regards to backgrounds, if you want just a plain color/shade or simple design, I won't charge for that. I understand this isn't a perfect commission system, so there are items it doesn't cover. We will work those out in notes/e-mails.

--------------------------------------------------

Current Commissions:
Lonewolf portrait and portrait of herself

Finished Commissions:
Subject R-1-X</acronym>

No, not in the apocalyptic sense, my friends. My physics summer class is coming to an end in less than two weeks. It's a little bittersweet, because this is my last college class. Now I need to get to work on... well, work. I've got a few commissions here and there to keep me busy for a while, but nothing longterm. Don't be surprised if I start taking commissions here in the near future. If you have any advice in regards to how to go about doing commissions, please feel free to comment. My main concern is the printing and shipping process, which is something I'm completely unfamiliar with. I won't go through deviantArt for that, primarily because you can't sell fan art. And let's be honest, artwork of popular characters sells better. I know that from firsthand experience at the Novi convention.

By the by, I finally posted a new artist in my feature, so go take a look.

-EDIT-
I just noticed my subscription for dA is almost up. Would anyone be willing to strike a deal, perhaps a deviation for a sub? I'm willing to talk. Write me any proposals you might have in my journal.

--------------------
10 FREE SKETCHES [link]
Remaining:
one of her original characters
Spiral Knight [link]
Xenosaga's Chaos and/or KOS-MOS

--------------------
ART TRADES [link] (Want to do an art trade? Just ask and I'll get back to you on it.)

Current:
OC art trade: both doing ~Mishuku's Mishuku and my Drew, i.e. Cu Sidhe [link] [link]
OC art trade: dancing Angie & Sith [link] [link] and *Tyshea's Drew the demon dog
Scotty and the Devil (the concept: [link] [link] [link] ) and my Cu Sidhe [link]
OC art trade: ~bigdave2080's Ozymandius [link] and my golem, Adam [link] ( his: [link] )
fantasy art trade: !NightStorm's Boraeus & Zephyr [link] and my Cu Sidhe [link] with a folklore/mythical creature of her choice
'Salad Days' art trade: both doing ~pilviQ's Claudine the Mara [link] and my Drew the Cu Sidhe [link] (also Archie the "evil chicken" [link] )
OC art trade: ~VeraPeneda's Cale and Vaeros [link] [link] for my Cu Sidhe [link]

Recently Finished:
-none-

--------------------
ADDITIONAL ART AGENDA (Some artwork I'm currently working on and artwork I intend to do in the future.)

For Others:
~CubaNectie: 10,000th pageview deviation special, ~CubaNectie's El Pablo Fuerte [link] fighting Street Fighter's Zangief or Tekken's King
*AdamWithers & *ComfortLove: The Uniques superheroes
~Anime-Otaku-Neko: "Jin's tales" girls
!Shia-Izumono: 3000th pageview deviation special (Ayumi Hamasaki, anime, or rpg-related)
~Timinus: 'Beserk' the anime/manga's Gatsu

For Myself:
=Aeolus06's Peanuts gang

--------------------
CLUBS (clubs that I belong to)


--------------------
WEBCOMICS
[link]

--------------------
LITERATURE (writings of fellow deviants I enjoy reading)
Goth Inc.
Charming and macabre, ~RinLockhart weaves a morose world around the innocent, childlike Rin. Like a light in the darkness, she begins to attract all sorts of characters through a series of events. With the mysterious Agrodolce Mental Institute connected to the pasts of several, only Catherine knows the secrets that link them together. A good read if you like dark stories. Here are the first five chapters of the on-going story:
Chapter I: Mary's Blessing [link]
Chapter II: The Kidnapping [link]
Chapter III: A New Friend [link]
Chapter IV: Reminisce [link]
Chapter V: Sick [link]

--------------------
FRIENDS (some of my friends on dA (if I forgot to list you please don't be mad, just remind me please))
purely thru dA

personal friends

art college acquaintances (classmates, mentors, ...)

dA "family"
my "l'il sister"

--------------------
ARTIST FEATURE
In the spirit of community, I decided to feature a different, fellow dA'er fairly regularly. To the artists: please don't feel obligated to do the same, this is just something I wanted to do. I enjoy your work and I want others to as well.

This journal's featured artist is... (drum roll, please)...

Fortheloveofpizza!
I can't recall if it was her artwork for 'Salad Days' or 'Avatar' that I first saw, but regardless I know both left an impression on me. She's a very character driven artist, which I know I am. A good portion of her gallery is composed of female pairings, like Kim Possible/Shego and Katara/Toph. (I'm not strongly for or against homosexuality, but don't be a hater, okay?) Her style is delicate and can certainly show some tenderness.
Here are some examples of her work:

And to that end, I salute you! Keep up the good work!

Past Featured Artists:
[link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link] [link]

Other Past Features:
super features [link]
various artwork feature [link]
first ten feature [link]