Welp, I'm back at last. This journal is bound to be a bit long but I'll try to keep from going overboard. There's a lot going around in my head.

California
Consistently warm and sunny compared to home. Before FC, I spent time with a friend in Sacramento working on art and taking it easy. After the con, I had the pleasure of visiting elronddrakendil, whose mountainous hometown was remote but beautiful. We went hiking and made more art and saw the stars with clarity I can't get in the burbs. And much talking. SO much talking. Rondie more than earned her place in this piece, as did the player of the little roman kitty there - post FC I was in dire need of support and so many people stepped up to the plate and made sure I was going to be okay. Y'all are some amazing folks.

Rondie and I tried to draw the winestream that happened while I was visiting, but there were so many issues with our internet and then furstream that we unfortunately had to give up. (Sorry, roach!) Look out, though - we'll both be at Anthrocon...

FC
I'm still not finished my con report (will mention it in a later journal when I have), but suffice it to say that was among the best if not THE best convention I've ever had. I got to see so many people: elronddrakendil, of course, as well as kirydos, ampdragoness, danraccoon, lanhao, and especially catmonkshiro! (Many others, too; so hard to remember everyone when you're trying to write a journal.) Hardly need to mention all the suiting and dancing and goofy games. We ate far too much pizza. I learned how to play Werewolf. Tried Pho for the first time! And went to karaoke! And Fancy Friday, though unfortunately I discovered the unholy trifecta of sugar, caffeine, and alcohol that night (I was fine, I'm just not doing it ever again).

I don't deal at FC, but I did hang a panel's worth of stuff in the art show. Half of the pieces sold, and one - Adelaide - even went to voice auction at a pretty price! That's never happened to me before! I found out later the buyer has five other pieces from me, and at least four of his total are originals... MUCH LOVE MAN.

Also, bed gravity is a thing. Especially when another person is in the bed.

Next up
My next convention is What the Fur in Montreal, where I will be neither dealing nor showing art; after that is Anthrocon, where I do ALL THE THINGS. Attending WTF will be my first time both visiting Canada and traveling out of the US at all. I will be up to something there, but what exactly remains to be revealed. Hehehe. (It's good, I promise.)

The state of the bug
To make a long story short, I've had a lot to think about in the last few months as my life has taken several unexpected turns. I want to hit the artzone harder than ever before, but I also am seriously considering looking for some side work to buffer my savings for things to come. My priorities have changed, and while my ultimate goal someday is still to rock the art thing full time for good, something else I don't want to lose is before me in the immediate future. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for remote positions or freelance stuff (for starters) that I might qualify for. If you know of anything like that, maybe drop me a note, eh?

A decision on the charms
This has been a tricky one. In the last month I have consulted with my customers here and with several other artists about the situation to get advice and opinions so I could make the best possible decision for my clients and myself. After much deliberation, I have decided the following:

Charm and minifig commissions will continue at an increased cost with limited quarterly availability. No other sculpt types will be available going forward.

In more detail: up to and including the last batch, charm pricing started at $30. While it has been important to me that sculpted commissions are priced reasonably, I simply cannot keep making them at that rate (even considering the complexity pricing that usually applied beyond that) and be fairly compensated for my time. The detail level I achieve, especially with complicated characters, demands a lot of time, and I have to make a living like everybody else. The ability to do this is also a specialized skill I have developed over years of practice and should not be earning me less than minimum wage. For this reason, charms will now start at $60 and will continue on the complexity scale.

Going forward, charm commissions will be available in quarterly batches with limited slots. I'm not sure how many just yet, but obviously I'll want it to be a number I know I can finish before the next quarter. We'll see how it goes.

I hope you can understand my decision even if you perhaps wouldn't have decided the same thing. From this experience, I've learned not to close creative doors on myself! Anyone who ordered in the September batch got a price that will never be available again, though. I hope you enjoy your charms; they're handmade with plenty of love. Heh.

And now...
Back to work for me. I've still got streams and Patreon on the drafting table and will have another update when either of those is ready to start happening. All things in their own time.

Please contact me if there's something I can create for you! I know I make a lot of bugs, but I love other anthros too and enjoy a hearty challenge. Shout out to ofpenandsword@gmail.com!

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Cue the Queue
1. Trello Sculpt Items

Sari (sculpting)
Moth (painting)
Nodge (varnishing)
Abion (repainting)
2. Mothify Me Badge - glelin - pending
3. Mothify Me+ - seadogdriftwood - pending