On Sept 28 I celebrated a full year freelancing for you guys! It's been an amazing time, and I just wanted to take a moment to reminisce and express my gratitude to this amazing community!
Let's start from the beginning - in Sept 2017 I had been without a job for more than 6 months and I was rejected from the game studios I applied to in August. My portfolio at the time had my WW1 Doggos project as its centerpiece, along with some 3d projects and concept art and illustration examples. The furry community had always been a backup option for me - I knew about it, liked it, and in college animals were one of my favorite subject to draw and paint! I started posting my doggos daily on the furry sites, hoping someone would be interested. I made myself a price sheet. A week later I posted them all, and no commission requests, no e-mails, nothing... Here I was, 1 year after finishing Art School, fired from my first job, and nobody was interested in my stuff... What would the future hold for me? How would I be able to pay for my expenses? I was seriously suicidal, feeling that I've wasted my youth chasing after a ridiculous pipe dream - and I didn't even have enough to leave behind to cover the expenses for a modest funeral...
But after I went to sleep, I woke up to find not one, but TWO notes on my furaffinity account - both interested in commissioning me! You would not believe my elation at that point! I was literally jumping for joy! What surprised me was that, since then, I've had a continuous stream of commissions and there was always someone in my queue! I got to learn a lot, I became faster, more experienced, learned new techniques and drew a lot! With saving, I managed to buy the gear I always dreamed of - a 27-inch Cintiq, I got to travel and even had a bit left over after that. I can't even compare the peace of mind I have right now to the hell I was in just a year ago!
And it was all thanks to you! I mostly wanted to write this journal to say thank you, thank you, THANK YOU a thousand times to my commissioners, who made all of this possible! It's been an honour to work for you guys and I hope you were satisfied with the pieces I made for you. I also want to say thank you to everybody who faved, shared and commented on my pieces and to those who recommended me to their friends! You guys make me feel less lonely and also help me with promotion, which, as a single individual, sure is tough! The gratitude I feel is immense and the furry community is one of the friendliest, most welcoming places I've ever seen!
As for what comes next - I have a rough road map in my head, which I'll share it with you guys:
- My far-off plan (~2 years) is to be able to illustrate for clients like Paizo and MTG - which is why I'll also be working towards creating a decent portfolio in that direction as well
- Even if I get better paying gigs, my furry commissions will always stay open - you guys were there for me in my darkest hour and I'll definitely continue to be part of this community
- I will also start offering physical products - oil paintings being one of them. I was actually trained as an oil painter so pet portraits are a likely candidate for this. If you'll want an oil painting of your fursona... sure, why not!
- I will offer a new type of commission - flat color with visible linework - for a more affordable price than my current ones.
- I will try my hand at streaming, either now or in early 2019. The idea is that you can donate, hire me outright to draw anything you want for an hour etc. I will be talking during the streams but not show my face (for now) so we'll see how entertaining that is.
- In 2019, I'll try to be present at least at the Eurofurence and maybe another convention. I will be meeting you guys, selling prints&merch, and doing on-the spot traditional commissions!
That's about it! Thank you for reading this, thanks again for being a part of my life and if you got this far, I would also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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5 years, 6 months ago
08 Oct 2018 22:15 CEST
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