Commission Related
Q. Why am I not in your queue?
A. Either it’s slipped my mind, or you’ve not contacted me or replied to my efforts to get in contact with you. My email is [email protected] and this is the best way to talk with me about your commission. You can also instant message me or FA note me if you’d like or if it would be more convenient, though I will ask references and important information be sent to my email unless I state otherwise. Q. Why haven’t you updated lately? A. To be perfectly honest, I actually have some health issues that do, on occasion, affect my ability to work on things. In 2013 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which is an incurable chronic pain illness. There are some days when I can literally not get out of bed, or even if I can I feel so bad emotionally or mentally or physically I don’t want anything to do with the internet. If you’re worried about me you can always send me a friendly instant message or note, and if you need something in a timely manner or by a deadline, again, a friendly message would do both of us wonders - my email is [email protected] if you need to contact me and FA notes are another quick way to check in. Personal
Q. Have you tried [positive thoughts, diet and exercise, obscure herbal remedy, specific medication] to help/cure your fibromyalgia?
A. I appreciate that you want to help. However, this is something I'm only comfortable talking about with my doctor or with other people who have fibro. Unfortunately at this point in time there is no cure for fibromyalgia, so if anyone is telling you otherwise, please, please do not give their words weight. Medically speaking they're talking out of their butts. Q. Were you influenced by X? A. Probably. I don’t know any artist who is literally so sheltered they have been in no way influenced by other artists or art forms or media. Personal style doesn’t magically manifest fully conceived and original the second someone decides they want to be an artist; I know my art style and what I draw has been a gradual journey of finding out what I personally like and want to use, while throwing out what I didn’t like or find appealing and copying what I like in other people’s art. |
Art and Technique Related
Q. Can I use your art for...? Can I share your art?
A. Possibly, please contact me. For the most part I don’t mind if my art is shared on other sites, so long as credit and a link back is given to me. However I do not approve of commercial use of my art by others, and I will not tolerate that or art theft in any way. Otherwise, if it’s a piece you commissioned yourself, feel free to use it to your hearts content for non-commercial personal stuff. It's yours, after all! Q. Do you take art requests or trades? A. I only take art requests from close personal friends, and I only do trades with friends and artists I admire or artists whose work I’ve followed for years. Q. What did you use to create ...? A. I use a lot of different brands for a lot of different things. Unless stated otherwise, for traditional art I normally use Copic markers, a mix of different brush pens (which you can buy on jetpens.com - the calligraphy pens as well as the Pentel brush pens I use are on there), Copic tech pens, Sakura jelly roll pens, prismacolor pencils, and magic. When I’m painting, I use a variety of brands, but I mostly have Windsor & Newton watercolor paints and student-grade acrylics I bought at my local Hobby Lobby. I can’t really vouch for any good brushes yet, I just use what I can get. As for paper, I use bristol board and 140lb coldpress paper of a variety of brands. If you want to buy cheaper art supplies or can’t find a good supply store in your area, I’d suggest the Dick Blick or Mister Art sites. For digital art I use the cheapest, smallest Bamboo tablet you can buy (seriously) and Paint Tool Sai and Photoshop CS6. The brushes I use in Paint Tool Sai are things I found on the internet or made myself; deviantart and google will be a help to you there. As for Photoshop brushes, I swear by the 3 point pencil brush and the stumpy pencil brush. They're a gift from the art gods in my opinion. Q. How do you get your watercolor effect in your digital art? A. I layer at least two, sometimes three or four watercolor textures over a digital painting. I set them to either soft light or multiply, depending on the effect I want. I paint using the stumpy pencil brush and some other painting brushes too. I would suggest using at least one watercolor texture that is a solid color with a very visible grain, and another that is at least two colors with some visible watery grainy texture to it (if that makes sense). |
Website / Art Gallery Related
Q. Why did you screen/delete/hide my comment?
A. I do not control comment functions on pages I do not maintain, however, on my own page? Most likely because the comment made me uncomfortable or made others uncomfortable. I also try hiding comments I deem trolling - I don’t tolerate drama or harassment. Those who make it a habit of harassing me will be reported to admins, and I don’t mind taking proof of harassment to certain forums and communities to warn others. If I’ve hidden your comment, I’ve also probably taken a screenshot of your comment beforehand in case I need to take such action.
Q. Why haven't you answered my friendly comment / note [that is not related to a commission]?
A. I'm shy. I am painfully shy. I also have severe anxiety, which makes socializing very, very hard for me. I read every single comment and note I receive but I have trouble responding to comments and notes, even with friends, when it's not business-related. If you genuinely are interested in talking with me or becoming my friend, you'd do better to hit me up on IMs sometime. It's a lot easier for my anxiety to handle chatting in real time.
It's also possible that I might have read your comment / note, started to respond, then... forgot about it. That happens sometimes. It's a symptom of fibromyalgia and it's happened on more than one occasion. Again, it's a lot better to talk to me thru IMs if you want to keep a consistent conversation going.
A. I do not control comment functions on pages I do not maintain, however, on my own page? Most likely because the comment made me uncomfortable or made others uncomfortable. I also try hiding comments I deem trolling - I don’t tolerate drama or harassment. Those who make it a habit of harassing me will be reported to admins, and I don’t mind taking proof of harassment to certain forums and communities to warn others. If I’ve hidden your comment, I’ve also probably taken a screenshot of your comment beforehand in case I need to take such action.
Q. Why haven't you answered my friendly comment / note [that is not related to a commission]?
A. I'm shy. I am painfully shy. I also have severe anxiety, which makes socializing very, very hard for me. I read every single comment and note I receive but I have trouble responding to comments and notes, even with friends, when it's not business-related. If you genuinely are interested in talking with me or becoming my friend, you'd do better to hit me up on IMs sometime. It's a lot easier for my anxiety to handle chatting in real time.
It's also possible that I might have read your comment / note, started to respond, then... forgot about it. That happens sometimes. It's a symptom of fibromyalgia and it's happened on more than one occasion. Again, it's a lot better to talk to me thru IMs if you want to keep a consistent conversation going.
Other Questions and Concerns
Q. I don't know what to say when you talk about your illness, especially when it's a bad day for your illness.
A. Here's an essay on things to avoid saying (which I heartily endorse) and an article on supportive things you can say (with another endorsement from me)! At the end of the day, though, you don't even have to say anything. Fibromyalgia is incredibly rough on not just me, but everyone around me - I won't get mad if you feel overwhelmed or hurt by what's happening to me. Just say you can't deal with it, and we'll move on.
A. Here's an essay on things to avoid saying (which I heartily endorse) and an article on supportive things you can say (with another endorsement from me)! At the end of the day, though, you don't even have to say anything. Fibromyalgia is incredibly rough on not just me, but everyone around me - I won't get mad if you feel overwhelmed or hurt by what's happening to me. Just say you can't deal with it, and we'll move on.