zodiac1805

For a few reasons, I have moved to:

I wanted to sort of reinvent my DA profile and image. My art and style has changed quite a bit, as well as my entire life and outlook on it. This account was created when I was 15.  I turn 22 in December. I don't really have the same feelings towards the username and much of the art therein this gallery.

I've also come a terribly long way in my art skills since this page was active. I've got a tablet now, for one... I've got a better grasp of anatomy, facial structure, and just overall drawing for another.

This account will remain active as an archive and a helpful reminder for me to stay humble. Everyone has a starting place, and this is mine. Eventually the time for a starting place is done, and that time is now for me.

If you'd like to re-watch, that's great, but I won't be offended if I don't have people flocking to this new profile and gallery.

Thank you, my few watchers  who actively followed me, for a great DA experience.

First: Apologies for my absence. I actually was unable to recover the password for this account for a while, and couldn't be buggered to jump through hoops at the time, so I decided to rework my DA. Basically a month ago I created another account. More on that in another journal.

Secondly: The requests for the group   If I've already accepted your request and you're still interested, then it is my intention at this time to reconvene work. IE: start from scratch on your image. This was a horribly unprofessional occurrence, and I don't ever plan on letting it happen again.

Third: Why did this happen?

Well, in the last six months a lot of things have gone on. I moved from Eastern Nebraska to El Paso TX,  my husband got in a series of car accidents, I've been going through some bouts of serious depression... and on top of that I have a toddler! It all compounded and DA unfortunately fell through the cracks.

I should have kept better communication, and for that I do apologize.

If anyone is interested in still following my art, this is the account I moved to: theladyems  If  Our-Dreams-Come-True is still interested in having me as a contributor, note me, and I'll put up my request guidelines and formally join the group again. My life has evened out a TON, and I'd like a bit of experience before I take on commissions, which has always been my goal as an artist.

My home internet has been spotty for a few weeks now, hence why nothing has been heard or seen from me as far as requests go.

On top of that the computer with photoshop on it has been chronically overheating. I just bought a cooling pad and should finish something in the next couple of days. I'm so sorry for this hold up and the lack of communication.

I seem to have bad luck... whenever I take on a deadline all sorts of things go wrong. I'm working to overcome this.... it just really sucks and feel terrible about letting anyone down. Please please please be patient with me, this whole situation really has been a blow to my confidence.

I'm looking for a challenge of sorts... to boost my artistic skill and ability. As of late what I've been doing is realistic portraits, and I'd like to expand into something else.

My guidelines for submitting a request are simple:

Color/detail will probably take longer than a simple portrait sketch, or even straight up sketch.

I can do some animals, but if I'm unfamiliar with them, I'll take a little longer to do proper reference research.

I can do people, humanoids, and most of the WoW races.

I can do dragons what I would call adequately, although the technical wing proportions are usually off. (ie, the beast wouldn't lift off the ground using real physics.)

I can do semi-realistic portraits.

I am willing to do fanart, although I will not make them available for prints.

Fair warning about my artistic weaknesses:

I have never done risque work, and when I've done studies it usually turns out looking terribly cheesy.

I have never done mechanical work, although with proper references I could make a college try.

I do not have extensive background practice, but can implement them as needed, given some time.

What I will not do:

Cruelty, brutality, pornography, explicit incest, and anything else at my discretion. I may also make exceptions to these guidelines at my discretion.

I require a full color reference or description of your character(s)/creatures and the poses you want them in. If you give me artistic leeway with poses, that's fine, but don't whine about it later. I'm doing this for free. (not that I've ever been commissioned for something, but on principle.)

Average time for sketch requests to be completed is probably 1 day. Average time for full color lined/painted is probably 3-5 days. Full background can take a week or more. If I am running late with your request, I will let you know asap, and keep you updated on progress with screenshots/work in progress scans.

I'll only do three requests at a time, because I tend to bite off more than I chew, and I'd like to keep this moderated well.

If you want prints of the request (Hah, cause that happens.) and you are the owner of the character(s)/creatures portrayed then I will be happy to submit to DA as a print, or otherwise arrange for a print to be sent to you. If I make profit off of said print, the money will be donated back to you as DA points, or through paypal at your discretion.

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Requests currently  undertaken: 2/3

I'm sitting here, and thinking to myself: MY GOD. I haven't done this much pencil sketching and shading since I was in highschool.

Then I really thought about it, and I realized: Pencil sketching is all I do.

Well, that and digital painting underneath it.

I keep thinking about my progress as an artist. I've got portraits down for the most part, cartoony though some may be... I'm not very serious about the whole painting aspect of things, which annoys and frustrates me, but not to the point of motivation. (Hah! Take that!)

Anyone else ever feel like... no matter what work you do, it never seems to look...polished when you 'finish'? I mean, you see the overall piece and go: "God, I'm such an amateur." I look at my friends' work, my mother's work (that's not really a fair comparison, since she's 56, and much more practiced than I am) and I think about what they do right that I want to do, yet, never seem to accomplish. I could probably go through most of the artists I know in real life and tell them what I envy about their skills. I hate to say 'envy' but it really is. For a while I stopped looking at art and thinking about it, because I consistently felt like I was spinning my tires so to speak.

Now I just don't know. I feel like I want to do this professionally, but I also feel like it's 'too personal' to be a business for me. On the same note... isn't artistry supposed to be personal, and this internal struggle between growth and hampering my own progress just a part of it?

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Maybe I should just stop thinking about it, and keep doing what I want to do.

Le sigh.

(And, Pi, if you're reading this, get ahold of me pleeease. I would love to hang out with you this summer sometime, but I feel like I might just be annoying you and getting ignored, which is silly and not true.)